Daniel Schroeder lives in a world where dreams and fantasies can be bought for the right price. It’s an intriguing proposition, the idea of being able to fulfill an ambition, to achieve the unachievable, to participate in the illusion of sex with a virtual stranger without the complication of awkward entanglements and empty promises. Daniel has even created his own program in which the participant is left with the impression that for just a moment in time, life is a journey filled with wondrous contentment. And it worked—until one time it didn’t, and the things that weren’t supposed to last, the memories that weren’t supposed to imprint did, altering the perception of reality and making the illusion permanent.
A mnem isn’t designed to last; it’s designed to be a mnevermind, like a story that the subject writes with a beginning, middle, and end that a sherpa like Daniel is paid to orchestrate. He’s a tour guide of the subliminal who enters the mnem, doesn’t interact with the subject or manipulate the illusion, but is there to make sure it comes to a safe and satisfying conclusion. The routine is so familiar to Daniel that he could pretty much do the job with his eyes closed; there aren’t many surprises, until the day he enters a mnem and meets a man in black who is tangible and sentient and becomes a part of Daniel’s existence.
Elijah Crowe is that man and he is an enigma. He’s able to be where he shouldn’t be, and he becomes a near obsession for Daniel. They relate to each other on a visceral level in their fantasy world, where they talk and touch and kiss, then Elijah disappears and leaves Daniel to decipher the puzzle of who he is and leaves him determined to find his man in black in the real world. When he does, though, Elijah is nowhere near the same sexy and confident man he is within the mnems he prowls.
Mnevermind 1: Persistence of Memory is just the beginning of the mnem, so don’t expect a tidy middle or end to this chapter in the series or you’ll definitely be disappointed. Just expect an outstanding story from an author whose imagination shines brilliantly, and you’ll get exactly what you’ve paid for. The only reason I was disappointed when this book ended was because I knew I was going to have to wait for Daniel and Elijah’s complicated connection to tease out.
Buy Mnevermind1: The Persistence of Memory HERE.