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Memory Blank
Imagine what it must be like to be Cal Donley. He regained consciousness on the orbital colony Daedalus. It's a beautiful place, home for more than a million people, but Cal doesn't remember leaving Earth. In fact, he can't remember his name or most of the past dozen years.
What disaster has stripped away so much of his memory? Why? And what about the dried blood on his hands?
"In the realm of novels, John E. Stith's Memory Blank...is a good solid mystery, a good adventure, and even a good science-fiction novel--all between one set of covers."-- STARLOG
What disaster has stripped away so much of his memory? Why? And what about the dried blood on his hands?
"In the realm of novels, John E. Stith's Memory Blank...is a good solid mystery, a good adventure, and even a good science-fiction novel--all between one set of covers."-- STARLOG
- GenresScience Fiction
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
John E. Stith
23 books52 followersPUSHBACK , a mystery-suspense novel, was published in November 2018 and is a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, mainstream category.
PUSHBACK : At his ten-year high-school reunion, an investment counselor finds he doesn't know one person there, and soon realizes he must outwit an unknown antagonist who wants him dead.
"...unsettling Hitchcockian thriller...Judicious use of humor provides some relief from the dark plot line. Fans of Daniel Palmer-esque intelligent suspense will be pleased." -- Publishers Weekly
"Ordinary Hijacked by Extraordinary, With Comedy... what’s most captivating about PUSHBACK is that even with people like Dave Barlow—just an average guy doing average things—life can take a shocking turn for the worse. But the book reminds us that, also like Dave, we have the power to turn it right-side up again, with humor at the center of our inner strength." -- The Big Thrill, magazine of International Thriller Writers
Science-fiction author John E. Stith's works include REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS (Nebula Award nominee from Ace Books), MANHATTAN TRANSFER (Hugo Award Honorable Mention from Tor Books), REUNION ON NEVEREND, and RECKONING INFINITY (on Science Fiction Chronicle's Best Science Fiction Novels list for its publication year, on the Nebula Award preliminary ballot).
His other novels are SCAPESCOPE, MEMORY BLANK, DEATH TOLLS, and DEEP QUARRY.
He's the author of ALL FOR NAUGHT, which collects "Naught for Hire," and "Naught Again" both first appearing in ANALOG. If you hear about "Naught for Hire" verbally, you might think the title is "Not for Hire" but it's not. Check out the Naught for Hire website for even more info on the upcoming webisode series starring Ben Browder.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 11, 2019
Reviewed by Lori
Book provided by the author
This review is for John E Stith, who is a Sci-fi writer. This book is not romance at all. I just wanted to let the readers know this right off the bat, so that no one is misled and reads something that they do not want to read.
I want to start out this review by saying that if I woke up and had no recollection of who I was or what I had been doing for the last twenty years, I think I would just sit there, wherever I was, and just start crying hysterically.
Cal handles his memory crisis with a lot more aplomb then I would have. He also has his cool wrist unit whose name happens to be Vincent, and is quite the smarty pants. I loved it, because where Cal was super cool, calm, and collected, and he doesn’t get his feathers ruffled, Vincent was the comic relief that was needed to offset each other.
Cal was smart, tenacious, and was determined to find out what’s going on and why his memory was tampered with.
Nikki is Cal’s wife, and the audience has limited contact with her during the book. She is a woman who loves her husband very much, is confused about his behavior as of late, and is afraid to hope that her husband loves her back. The audience gets glimpses of what is going on behind closed doors regarding their marriage, but it’s enough to know that things are not good.
I loved having Cal’s perspective of what’s going on in his marriage, and it’s written from a male author, so we’re getting a man’s take on the situation.
I was enraptured with the book within the first few pages and I couldn’t put the book down, until I got to the end. Give this book a try, even if sci-fi isn’t something the reader is into, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Book provided by the author
This review is for John E Stith, who is a Sci-fi writer. This book is not romance at all. I just wanted to let the readers know this right off the bat, so that no one is misled and reads something that they do not want to read.
I want to start out this review by saying that if I woke up and had no recollection of who I was or what I had been doing for the last twenty years, I think I would just sit there, wherever I was, and just start crying hysterically.
Cal handles his memory crisis with a lot more aplomb then I would have. He also has his cool wrist unit whose name happens to be Vincent, and is quite the smarty pants. I loved it, because where Cal was super cool, calm, and collected, and he doesn’t get his feathers ruffled, Vincent was the comic relief that was needed to offset each other.
Cal was smart, tenacious, and was determined to find out what’s going on and why his memory was tampered with.
Nikki is Cal’s wife, and the audience has limited contact with her during the book. She is a woman who loves her husband very much, is confused about his behavior as of late, and is afraid to hope that her husband loves her back. The audience gets glimpses of what is going on behind closed doors regarding their marriage, but it’s enough to know that things are not good.
I loved having Cal’s perspective of what’s going on in his marriage, and it’s written from a male author, so we’re getting a man’s take on the situation.
I was enraptured with the book within the first few pages and I couldn’t put the book down, until I got to the end. Give this book a try, even if sci-fi isn’t something the reader is into, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
December 28, 2016
Cal Donley regains consciousness, not remembering who he is. He quickly realizes he's lost the last twelve years of his life. With the help of Vincent, his Smart Watch, he is able to figure out his identity and re-enters his life, not letting many people know the truth of his condition.
I enjoyed this book! Since Cal couldn't remember anything, the book centered around him figuring out why his memories were wiped clean and who he could trust. He could remember that he was on Daedalus, an orbital colony, and it was interesting to learn more about that. His Smart Watch, Vincent, was able to tell him his name, where he worked as well as his job title, and that he was married, among other things. Vincent was more than just a computer and they had some fun interactions.
I thought this was a good blend of mystery and science-fiction. I'm more of a mystery fan and liked how Cal worked to solve the mystery of who he was and what he knew. He met quite a few characters along the way and it was interesting to see where they all fit into his story. This book held my attention from the beginning and I liked how everything came together in the end. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!
I received a complimentary copy, which did not affect my review in any way
Mel's Shelves
I enjoyed this book! Since Cal couldn't remember anything, the book centered around him figuring out why his memories were wiped clean and who he could trust. He could remember that he was on Daedalus, an orbital colony, and it was interesting to learn more about that. His Smart Watch, Vincent, was able to tell him his name, where he worked as well as his job title, and that he was married, among other things. Vincent was more than just a computer and they had some fun interactions.
I thought this was a good blend of mystery and science-fiction. I'm more of a mystery fan and liked how Cal worked to solve the mystery of who he was and what he knew. He met quite a few characters along the way and it was interesting to see where they all fit into his story. This book held my attention from the beginning and I liked how everything came together in the end. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!
I received a complimentary copy, which did not affect my review in any way
Mel's Shelves
September 25, 2019
What a fantastic read!
A classic mystery with wider moral implications set in the world of science fiction. This book was a joy from start to finish as we really experience the emotions of Cal at the same time that he does.
No fluff or extras; this is a page turner that keeps you guessing even up until the very end.
Fantastic work.
A classic mystery with wider moral implications set in the world of science fiction. This book was a joy from start to finish as we really experience the emotions of Cal at the same time that he does.
No fluff or extras; this is a page turner that keeps you guessing even up until the very end.
Fantastic work.
March 19, 2023
1986 Science Fiction Murder Mystery
Waking up on a space station covered in someone else's blood is bad, but having lost the memory of your last ten years is worse. Your home, your job, your wife ... why you have illegal drugs in your pocket, what happened last night -- all gone. Only the dread feeling of something even more terrible about to happen in the next few days.
Rereading this almost forty years later, it holds up surprisingly well. The human elements and how people act -- especially human foibles -- are pretty solid. The motivations, as they are eventually revealed, are all entirely believable. Some of the big reveals still have enormous power, and as our hero gets ever closer to the answers, the stakes become huge.
But it does require suspension of disbelief. It was written before the internet, before cell phones, before Covid, before smartwatch assistants like Siri -- and it manages to anticipate them all, if imperfectly. There are a few things that exist today that you've got to assume they somehow get rid of in the next century or so, like cell phone tracking. Still, I'm a sucker for amnesia stories, and this one pulls you right along as our hero slowly fills in the blanks, trying to figure out if he might actually be a murderer.
1986 Science Fiction Murder Mystery
Waking up on a space station covered in someone else's blood is bad, but having lost the memory of your last ten years is worse. Your home, your job, your wife ... why you have illegal drugs in your pocket, what happened last night -- all gone. Only the dread feeling of something even more terrible about to happen in the next few days.
Rereading this almost forty years later, it holds up surprisingly well. The human elements and how people act -- especially human foibles -- are pretty solid. The motivations, as they are eventually revealed, are all entirely believable. Some of the big reveals still have enormous power, and as our hero gets ever closer to the answers, the stakes become huge.
But it does require suspension of disbelief. It was written before the internet, before cell phones, before Covid, before smartwatch assistants like Siri -- and it manages to anticipate them all, if imperfectly. There are a few things that exist today that you've got to assume they somehow get rid of in the next century or so, like cell phone tracking. Still, I'm a sucker for amnesia stories, and this one pulls you right along as our hero slowly fills in the blanks, trying to figure out if he might actually be a murderer.
March 17, 2022
Un bel giallo con ambientazione fantascientifica.
Scritto bene, molto scorrevole, con alcuni aspetti che ovviamente risentono dell'evoluzione tecnologica del mondo reale ma che per l'anno in cui è stato scritto (1986) erano piuttosto "avanti".
Mi ha intrattenuto piacevolmente, complice un protagonista (ed un co-protagonista) con cui è facile empatizzare.
Unico neo: a circa un terzo del romanzo c'è una dinamica tra due personaggi che è molto forzata. Utile per l'evoluzione della trama ma è veramente troppo "tirata per i capelli".
Scritto bene, molto scorrevole, con alcuni aspetti che ovviamente risentono dell'evoluzione tecnologica del mondo reale ma che per l'anno in cui è stato scritto (1986) erano piuttosto "avanti".
Mi ha intrattenuto piacevolmente, complice un protagonista (ed un co-protagonista) con cui è facile empatizzare.
Unico neo: a circa un terzo del romanzo c'è una dinamica tra due personaggi che è molto forzata. Utile per l'evoluzione della trama ma è veramente troppo "tirata per i capelli".
July 12, 2024
This was rather unfortunate because the author makes an astounding prediction for what is essentially a smart watch running Grok AI, but that is about it. The story is slow and uninteresting. I lost interest in the mystery way too early
July 5, 2017
Più thriller che fantascienza, ma niente di che.
December 6, 2016
Good story line, interesting, but very dated. This was written when hard drive space was very expensive and so a key limitation in books plot is very flawed concept (nowadays). Otherwise would have given it a 4 star.
But it does have a Watch as a personal computer (way more advanced than current models), thumbs up on that idea.
But it does have a Watch as a personal computer (way more advanced than current models), thumbs up on that idea.
September 8, 2015
For the time it was written, mid-80's, this had insteresting story about living with technology. I haven't reread it since and I doubt it has held up.
April 6, 2017
A man has his memory wiped out on a satellite community and has to learn what happened (and whether he was a murderer). Those who like mysteries and science fiction will like this.
April 27, 2017
Had me enthralled since the first word. Only complaint is the plot was fairly obvious early on in book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews