quirkycatsfatstacks's review
4.0
I originally fell in love with Madeleine Roux's writing back when Salvaged came out (not that long ago, actually). And now she's bringing readers another science fiction thriller, Reclaimed, and I am all sorts of here for it.
The Ganymede compound is offering what seems to be too good to be true. They're offering a fresh start – a total erasure of all the bad memories, leaving one feeling finally and totally free. As the saying goes, what often looks too good to be true...
Yet, some cannot look away from this opportunity. Take Senna; she's gone through hell and back and still to this day faces public outcry whenever her face is recognized. It feels like the only way forward is to remove the person she used to be. To remove the nightmares of her past.
“It means we can help you,” Patron told him, offering what smile they could given their strange, alien face. “It means the technology can take it all away.”
Wow. Once again, Madeleine Roux has managed to create a novel that simultaneously punches you in the face and the feels. Reclaimed is a tense science fiction novel that raises questions of self, identity, trauma, and the limits of technology.
In other words, this book is going to make you think. It's also going to work hard to make you feel something towards the three leading perspectives, all of whom have different reasons for wanting specific memories erased.
I'll admit that I didn't like all three characters at first. It took me quite a while to appreciate their complexity. That changed before the book was done, though I'll admit the harsher and sadder parts of their story still hurt to think about. That's how you know a character was written well, I suppose.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read and found myself quickly devouring the contents. I think the thing I love the most is that it blended science fiction with horror and thriller elements, thanks mainly to how human beings process trauma. It was fascinating.
Thanks to Ace and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
The Ganymede compound is offering what seems to be too good to be true. They're offering a fresh start – a total erasure of all the bad memories, leaving one feeling finally and totally free. As the saying goes, what often looks too good to be true...
Yet, some cannot look away from this opportunity. Take Senna; she's gone through hell and back and still to this day faces public outcry whenever her face is recognized. It feels like the only way forward is to remove the person she used to be. To remove the nightmares of her past.
“It means we can help you,” Patron told him, offering what smile they could given their strange, alien face. “It means the technology can take it all away.”
Wow. Once again, Madeleine Roux has managed to create a novel that simultaneously punches you in the face and the feels. Reclaimed is a tense science fiction novel that raises questions of self, identity, trauma, and the limits of technology.
In other words, this book is going to make you think. It's also going to work hard to make you feel something towards the three leading perspectives, all of whom have different reasons for wanting specific memories erased.
I'll admit that I didn't like all three characters at first. It took me quite a while to appreciate their complexity. That changed before the book was done, though I'll admit the harsher and sadder parts of their story still hurt to think about. That's how you know a character was written well, I suppose.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read and found myself quickly devouring the contents. I think the thing I love the most is that it blended science fiction with horror and thriller elements, thanks mainly to how human beings process trauma. It was fascinating.
Thanks to Ace and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
lady_logomancer's review
4.0
I liked this book! With the MC Senna being scapegoated for something that was not her fault, she hides for a year with a friend. Lonely and feeling like a burden, she applies to be part of a cutting edge program designed to delete your worst memories. As soon as she and two other patients go to the remote treatment location on one of Jupiter’s moons, things start to get really weird!
Listen, I love me a bananas book and this totally qualifies. Senna knows something is wrong pretty early on but she’s there for a reason and she’s determined to finish this thing out. She’s super vulnerable and I felt like reaching in the book and grabbing her out a few times. It’s like watching a trapped bird and dying to open the window for her.
Once you start getting the awesome model and fellow patient Zurri involved though, things really get interesting. Zurri takes no shit from anyone, I seriously loved her. Sure, she’s kind of meant to be brash and spoiled but I liked her the best, a strong woman will always get my vote.
The third patient, Han is just a teenage boy and I didn’t connect with him as much but he’s still an important part of the triad.
I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say that this books is creepy as hell, atmospheric, maddening and entertaining. If you are a fan of movies like Annihilation or Ex Machina you’ll like this.
Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy of Reclaimed!
Listen, I love me a bananas book and this totally qualifies. Senna knows something is wrong pretty early on but she’s there for a reason and she’s determined to finish this thing out. She’s super vulnerable and I felt like reaching in the book and grabbing her out a few times. It’s like watching a trapped bird and dying to open the window for her.
Once you start getting the awesome model and fellow patient Zurri involved though, things really get interesting. Zurri takes no shit from anyone, I seriously loved her. Sure, she’s kind of meant to be brash and spoiled but I liked her the best, a strong woman will always get my vote.
The third patient, Han is just a teenage boy and I didn’t connect with him as much but he’s still an important part of the triad.
I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say that this books is creepy as hell, atmospheric, maddening and entertaining. If you are a fan of movies like Annihilation or Ex Machina you’ll like this.
Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy of Reclaimed!
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
This was a fantastic read, loved the thriller mystery and these characters, and I had a great time reading it!
metafiktion's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Who would’ve thought that in a genre of infinite possibilities, the most horrifying antagonist would still be a run-of-the-mill creepy, rapey narcissist of a man? (Every single woman, that’s who.) I wasn’t super convinced by the interplay between the scientific and moral elements in this novel but overall still a pretty solid story.
lini002's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jhaverinen's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.25
gulegardiner's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, and Alcohol
grey_jayne's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Madeleine Roux can write some great sci-fi horror thrillers. This had a great build-up which lulled me into a sense of security. By the time I realized what was going on, Roux had locked the doors with the horror inside.
I adored Salvaged and this was a cool tangential follow-up. Only one thing bothered me: a couple of plot points revolved around a 14 year old in the 2270's knowing David Fincher's The Game. It's unlikely 14 year olds know it now, let alone ones 250 years into the future.
I adored Salvaged and this was a cool tangential follow-up. Only one thing bothered me: a couple of plot points revolved around a 14 year old in the 2270's knowing David Fincher's The Game. It's unlikely 14 year olds know it now, let alone ones 250 years into the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
errantdreams's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Madeleine Roux’s science fiction/horror novel Reclaimed takes place a couple hundred years in the future. Earth is in bad shape, and Senna lives on a space station. She has a lot of trauma from a horrible event that left her as the sole survivor, and a reclusive, wealthy, brilliant technologist, Paxton Dunn, offers her a way out: he can erase the traumatic memories, and leave the rest of her intact. Along with her are two other participants. Han, a brilliant 14-year-old boy who idolizes Paxton, wants to forget details surrounding his mother’s death. Zurri, a supermodel, wants to forget the horrific death of her stalker. Paxton promises the LENG program can help all of them, but there are unexpected side effects, and the participants start to wonder if more memories aren’t being taken away from them than just the ones they expected.
The characters are wonderful. Paxton is not the stereotypical reclusive genius. While he surrounds himself with beautiful women, that’s a detail that becomes much more interesting as we learn more about those women. Senna is shy and easily overwhelmed, but she has a great deal of strength inside. Zurri is the very definition of fierce; while she comes across as a demanding diva, she too has that inner strength, and has some very firm moral convictions. Han seems like an arrogant kid, yet he has his own sort of brilliance and his own emotional needs. Not a single character in here disappointed me or felt too one-sided. Senna is the closest we get to a traditionally “likable” character, but they’re all absolutely engaging. They make a particularly intriguing whole as a group–not at all three characters I would have thought to throw together.
Most of the book takes place on the barely-inhabited Ganymede. The place is dangerous, and Paxton lives there with just a skeleton crew. There’s intriguing use of some technologies, not always in expected ways. We do eventually see how LENG works, getting a bit more information with each person who’s subjected to the method. The LENG program is very beautifully handled in how it’s revealed to us a bit at a time, via both its effects and the experiences of the three participants. The theme of how our traumas inform who we are, and what might happen if we try to curate our memories, is riveting.
This is my second Madeleine Roux book, and I love both of them. I hope she writes more books that take place in this universe, as the combination of horror and science fiction is a favorite of mine!
The characters are wonderful. Paxton is not the stereotypical reclusive genius. While he surrounds himself with beautiful women, that’s a detail that becomes much more interesting as we learn more about those women. Senna is shy and easily overwhelmed, but she has a great deal of strength inside. Zurri is the very definition of fierce; while she comes across as a demanding diva, she too has that inner strength, and has some very firm moral convictions. Han seems like an arrogant kid, yet he has his own sort of brilliance and his own emotional needs. Not a single character in here disappointed me or felt too one-sided. Senna is the closest we get to a traditionally “likable” character, but they’re all absolutely engaging. They make a particularly intriguing whole as a group–not at all three characters I would have thought to throw together.
Most of the book takes place on the barely-inhabited Ganymede. The place is dangerous, and Paxton lives there with just a skeleton crew. There’s intriguing use of some technologies, not always in expected ways. We do eventually see how LENG works, getting a bit more information with each person who’s subjected to the method. The LENG program is very beautifully handled in how it’s revealed to us a bit at a time, via both its effects and the experiences of the three participants. The theme of how our traumas inform who we are, and what might happen if we try to curate our memories, is riveting.
This is my second Madeleine Roux book, and I love both of them. I hope she writes more books that take place in this universe, as the combination of horror and science fiction is a favorite of mine!