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A review by publius
Unforgettable by Eric James Stone
3.0
It's been a couple years since I discovered Eric James Stone's short stories. They are clever, witty, and seeded by unique ideas that meld science and the human experience. Whether its a story about the religious proselytization of a whale-like species of alien that dwells within fiery heat at the heart of stars or a tale that involves a tyrannosaurus rex, teleportation, and Buddism, or one about man's first discovery of sentient life on another planet, Stone's stories are part science fiction, part humanity and always mind-popping.
Unforgettable retains Stone's clever touch, though at novel length. Nat Morgan is an scientific anomaly, a man who cannot be remembered by anyone. As soon as he is out of sight, he is, within a minute, lost from memory. Even electronic records fail to retain memory of him. He is a fluke of quantum mechanics, leaving almost no trace behind. Only things written out about him are retained, and it is this one form of record that allows Morgan to find himself one of the few honest jobs that might be available to him--as a spy.
When a simple mission to steal a piece of technology goes wrong, Morgan finds himself bound to a beautiful Russian thief. Strangely, and for the first time for him, she doesn't forget him as others do. Together they will take on a dangerous villain with a quantum chip that dominate the world and end humanities ability to choose.
It's an intriguing set of concepts that Stone has combined. Written like a thriller, Unforgettable is every bit a slice of science fiction that takes place the day after tomorrow, but with all the page turning capacity of a spy novel. And yet, in a turn from many spy/thriller genre tropes, Morgan's story takes on questions that transcend superficial spy versus spy games. It's enjoyable, fun, and satisfying.
And yet, Stone dodges questions about Morgan's life that merit deeper inspection and treatment. From birth, Nat Morgan is completely forgettable, and it is only through sheer will that his mother stays with him as long as she does, while a father who cannot recall where baby Nat has come from leaves Nat and his mother confused. Perhaps this is the wrong book--or the wrong genre--to address the myriad of issues that a man who cannot be remembered would face: he cannot be loved or even known, cannot develop relationships, know responsibility or duty...who will he become? How will he be socialized when society does not know or recognize him? And how does he respond--having no experience with any relationships of any kind--when someone, a woman, suddenly recognizes and remembers him?
Again, perhaps this is the wrong genre. Stone has set up the novel like a thriller, and pacing requires a certain amount of action and movement. But still, it's hard to read even an enjoyable and fun book like this and not wonder how this man must be different from every other man, let alone how he is sane.
Stone's Unforgettable comes to a close addressing other interesting questions, especially about agency and freedom and security, and it is how Stone ties these questions into his fast paced and well-plotted tale that makes Unforgettable, well...unforgettable. I look forward to reading the sequels and following Nat Morgan's further adventures. There's more to this story to tell, and Stone has shown that he has the capacity to spin a story that will keep readers glued.
Unforgettable retains Stone's clever touch, though at novel length. Nat Morgan is an scientific anomaly, a man who cannot be remembered by anyone. As soon as he is out of sight, he is, within a minute, lost from memory. Even electronic records fail to retain memory of him. He is a fluke of quantum mechanics, leaving almost no trace behind. Only things written out about him are retained, and it is this one form of record that allows Morgan to find himself one of the few honest jobs that might be available to him--as a spy.
When a simple mission to steal a piece of technology goes wrong, Morgan finds himself bound to a beautiful Russian thief. Strangely, and for the first time for him, she doesn't forget him as others do. Together they will take on a dangerous villain with a quantum chip that dominate the world and end humanities ability to choose.
It's an intriguing set of concepts that Stone has combined. Written like a thriller, Unforgettable is every bit a slice of science fiction that takes place the day after tomorrow, but with all the page turning capacity of a spy novel. And yet, in a turn from many spy/thriller genre tropes, Morgan's story takes on questions that transcend superficial spy versus spy games. It's enjoyable, fun, and satisfying.
And yet, Stone dodges questions about Morgan's life that merit deeper inspection and treatment. From birth, Nat Morgan is completely forgettable, and it is only through sheer will that his mother stays with him as long as she does, while a father who cannot recall where baby Nat has come from leaves Nat and his mother confused. Perhaps this is the wrong book--or the wrong genre--to address the myriad of issues that a man who cannot be remembered would face: he cannot be loved or even known, cannot develop relationships, know responsibility or duty...who will he become? How will he be socialized when society does not know or recognize him? And how does he respond--having no experience with any relationships of any kind--when someone, a woman, suddenly recognizes and remembers him?
Again, perhaps this is the wrong genre. Stone has set up the novel like a thriller, and pacing requires a certain amount of action and movement. But still, it's hard to read even an enjoyable and fun book like this and not wonder how this man must be different from every other man, let alone how he is sane.
Stone's Unforgettable comes to a close addressing other interesting questions, especially about agency and freedom and security, and it is how Stone ties these questions into his fast paced and well-plotted tale that makes Unforgettable, well...unforgettable. I look forward to reading the sequels and following Nat Morgan's further adventures. There's more to this story to tell, and Stone has shown that he has the capacity to spin a story that will keep readers glued.