Book of the Month – San Diego Public Library
cover by Patrick Farley
What if you could take your worst memories — those of extreme trauma or loss of a loved one — tie them to a unique musical melody, composed just for you, and seal them away in a box?
The memories are not lost, but stored deep within your brain. You can revisit them if and when you wish, simply by activating the melody of your box.
Would such a device be used for good — or for evil — if it got into the wrong hands?
Read the first chapter online, or scroll down to purchase THE MELODY OF MEMORY.
testimonial
"Yes, this is a book by the spouse of Science Fiction writer, David Brin, which is why I picked it up. In this book, The Melody of Memory, be prepared to be transported to Tyra, a troubled world plagued by cycles of collapse and darkness that have haunted its people for centuries. As civilization begins to claw its way back from the brink, a haunting question emerges – will the curse repeat itself once more? For amidst the tragic cycles, a unique technology persists – a way to tie traumatic memories to melodies and store them away in boxes. While this gift can be a blessing, it has also become a tool of repression, inhibiting humanity's growth, and ability to learn from past mistakes, for no one remembers making them, and the cycle continues. It is a cautionary tale for those who don’t remember the past being condemned to repeat it and it is also a thoughtful reflection on how humans process pain. I enjoyed it and recommend it."
– Betsey Wilxox, General Secretary of the Heinlein Society
How can we avoid another war?
For centuries the colonists on planet Tyra suffered unexplained cycles of collapse and dark ages. Now, as civilization seems to be clawing its way back, is that curse repeating, yet again?
Aya Voss is perennially unlucky. Caught as a child on the wrong side of the border, she grows up separated from homeland and family, always the outsider, isolated and tormented. Drafted out of school to help manufacture weapons for use against her own people, Aya struggles to survive and to rejoin those she left behind, as devastating war, plague and madness tear away all she knows.
Amid the tragic cycles on this world, people retained one consistent technology — tying unpleasant memories to a melody, then stashing them safely away in a box. At times a blessing, memory boxes long ago became tools of repression, hobbling humanity’s ability to learn from mistakes.
Might Aya’s new generation be the one to break this cycle at last and forge destiny anew?
The Melody of Memory is a coming-of-age story, as Aya manages to join — and then help lead — a revolution. A revolution of courage and purpose, to see past her own pain and Tyra’s. To help heal a wounded world.
published 2021 by Ring of Fire Press
Watch the book trailer for The Melody of Memory.
purchase The Melody of Memory
Amazon.com US: paperback and ebook
Amazon.ca Canada: paperback and ebook
Amazon.co.uk UK: paperback and ebook
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Barnes and Noble US: paperback and ebook
Google Play US: English-language ebook
Kobo.com US: ebook
Mysterious Galaxy San Diego: paperback
about the author, Cheryl Brin
Cheryl Brin studied geochemistry at Caltech. She has worked as a researcher, editor, teacher and tutor. The Melody of Memory is her first novel.
She can be reached at her blog, Chemistry on Your Table — how science is shaping how we eat and live in the twenty-first century, or on Twitter @cherylbrin.
Cheryl lives in southern California with her husband, science fiction author David Brin, and near their three adult children.
