Two absolutely fantastic sci-fi novelettes from Frasier Armitage.

I have a confession to make: I read one of these novelettes around the middle of last year, but I totally blanked on doing a proper review of it here on the blog. That was Investation, the perma-free short fiction available from Frasier’s website for newsletter signups. So, since I recently got done reading his newest work, Rememory, I thought I would rectify my error and review both now:

Investation

Blurb

Duncan invested his paltry inheritance on the celestial market. He picked up a cheap solar system on the fringe of the universe. But when first contact was made with the aliens from Duncan’s planet, his stock options were the least of his worries…

Review

I absolutely loved this short story. Immediately the blurb put me in mind of Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold! by Terry Brooks, which I read when I was a kid and remember with fondness. I loved that type of dry humour, and I can tell you Investation is exactly that vibe condensed into seven quickfire chapters. The setting, characters and worldbuilding are all really well done, and Duncan’s journey is great fun. I highly recommend signing up to Frasier’s newsletter and downloading yourself a copy of this. It’s definitely worthwhile.

Rememory

Blurb

In the future, memory is currency. Felix is broke, on the run, with nothing in his head but a combination of numbers. Someone robbed him of his mind. Now it's time he took it back.

Review

Rememory is a high action thriller with a really great central concept where memories are traded as currency. It’s a delightful cyberpunk dystopia, following Felix as he tracks down those who stole his mind. First of all, the character work is excellent. You’re never quite sure whether those around Felix are trustworthy, with the constantly feeling like perhaps Felix has made a mistake, that he’s been duped. I don’t quite know how to explain this, experiencing that supreme vulnerability was unexpectedly visceral. Forgetting the minutiae of your day might not be so bad, but imagine trading away your important memories. Imagine, even, trading away the memory that you traded them! Something about the prospect of elective amnesia is incredibly unsettling. You’d be totally reliant on the honesty of strangers, and the avenues to abuse are especially disquieting. So the book carries this darker undercurrent to it that leaves you thinking long after the end (and that’s a hallmark of great sci-fi for sure)

Everything else about Rememory is tight. The pacing is fast, the action exciting, the plot thoroughly engaging, and the prose evocative. I don’t think I could point to a single negative thing about this. It’s simply an extremely well executed concept, delivered expertly. The story even subverted my expectations somewhat by the end. I was so caught up in the unsettling vibe of the book that I was legitimately surprised it ended where it did. I very much enjoyed this story and I would highly, highly recommend anyone picking it up on Kindle.

Overall, Frasier Armitage writes consistently fantastic short fiction, and I am very excited to see he’s working on his first full length novel, New Yesterday, which is coming soon. I’ll absolutely be keeping an eye on it.