MEMORTALITY

Stephen H. Provost, Pace Press Softcover $14.95 (260pp), 978-1-61035-289-5

Lost loved ones live on in our memories—at least, that’s what people say. For salty, sarcastic Minerva Rus, memory has the power to resurrect the people she’s lost. Part psychedelic journey, part conspiracy theory, Memortality is an unforgiving fantasy about unfulfilled desire and overcoming unimaginable obstacles.

After a tragic traffic accident that costs Minerva the use of her lower body and her best friend, Raven, Minerva learns that she can summon the dead through her memory. Her power gives her access to a world she didn’t know existed, but it also makes her a target for people who want to misuse her gift. Minerva, who uses a wheelchair, considers her first enemy to be her own unreliable body. However, as she learns to trust herself, she loses her self-hatred.

It’s refreshing to find a disabled main character who isn’t limited by her wheelchair, although Memortality does follow ableist tropes. When she’s reunited with her dead best friend, Raven, Minerva stops thinking of herself as “broken” and begins to see herself as powerful and desirable. Together, the friends face off against a government agent who pursues them through the labyrinth of Minerva’s imagination.

Punchy and fast paced, Memortality reads like a graphic novel. Its short chapters are exciting, well plotted, and compelling. Provost, a reporter, is a no-nonsense writer who delivers on the action without ruminating too much on character motivation or description. His style makes the trippy landscapes and mind-bending plot points more believable and adds a thrilling edge to the novel.

As Minerva regains her confidence, she finds out what she’s truly capable of. As she learns to use her incredible powers, she explores the depths of her mind in this vivid crossover fantasy.