Memortality by Stephen Provost

Memortality
By: Stephen H. Provost
Publish Date: February 1, 2017
Published By: Pace Press
Genre: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 260 PDF
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
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Minerva Rus can raise the dead. And it might get her killed.

Minerva’s life has never been the same since the childhood car accident that paralyzed her and killed her best friend, Raven. But when the long-dead Raven reappears in her life, now as a very attractive grown man, she discovers that her photographic memory has the power to bring the dead back to life ... heal her paralysis ... and shape reality itself.

Pursued by a rogue government agent who wants to eliminate her and her talents, Minerva must learn to control her powers to save herself and Raven. Because if she dies, he dies as well―again.
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Memortality has a really neat concept – use your memories of someone you loved that has died as a way of bringing them back. This made me think, what are memories really and can we actually use this human quality in some currently unknown way?

Minerva Rus, crippled in a childhood accident, has the gift of a photographic memory. She hasn’t really made use of it but once CIA operative, Bradley Carson, comes into her mother’s life and the family’s, things change. Minerva’s closest friend, Raven, who died in the terrible car accident that left her crippled, also returns to her as a grown up living memory who becomes more and more real the more she remembers him. Raven’s character is very sympa and I immediately took to him, especially as he cares a lot for Minerva.

The beginning jumps around a bit so that we get some back story but I like the pacing of the story and things develop quickly as Minerva tunes more deeply into her “gift” with Raven’s prompting. There are some good twists that I didn’t see coming, and Raven eventually is able to show her the “Between” world.

“Bradley Carson” is the agent who is torn between his duty to infiltrate Minerva’s life for interested higher ups and what he considers to be doing the right thing. He has to make some critical choices when one of his agency contacts, Jules, begins behaving strangely.

Eventually we discover deep, hidden family secrets. I think the author could have actually introduced these secrets earlier on to make the story overall darker and more compelling as the concept of giving the memortality gift could have very sinister and far-reaching implications. Provost could have made more of this to deepen the story I feel.

Minerva is a very independent thinker and I love how she makes up her own mind about what to do in situations no matter what others tell her even though she feels she’s seen by most everyone in a very negative way, and then too when her world is undergoing a complete metamorphosis. So a good female lead character.

The ending wraps up in a light and fun kind of way.

Overall, Memortality is a fast-paced interesting read that will entertain readers with the intriguing idea that our not well understood human quality of memory might actually be used for other interesting purposes. 4.3 Stars!

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AUTHOR BIO:

Stephen H. Provost is an author of paranormal adventures and historical non-fiction. "Memortality," his debut title on Linden Publishing's new fiction imprint, Pace Press, is due out in February 2017 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

An editor and columnist with more than 30 years of experience as a journalist, he has written on subjects as diverse as history, religion, politics and language and has served as an editor for fiction and non-fiction projects. His book "Fresno Growing Up," a history of Fresno, California, during the postwar years, is available on Craven Street Books, and his next non-fiction work, scheduled for release in June of 2017, will examine the history of U.S. Highway 99 in California.

In addition, the author has published several books as Stifyn Emrys, beginning in 2012 with "The Gospel of the Phoenix" and also including the nonfiction works "The Way of the Phoenix" and "Undefeated." He also has published three works of fiction: "Feathercap" (children's); "Identity Break," (young adult science fiction/adventure) and an accompanying novella, "Artifice."

The author served as editor of four young adult novels: the "Mad World" series by Samaire Provost - "EPIDEMIC," "SANCTUARY" and "DESPERATION" - and the award-winning "Lorehnin: A Novel of the Otherworld," Volume 6 in the Otherworld series by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson. He has worked in journalism as a news editor, sports editor and reporter for four daily newspapers in California, and is currently managing editor for an award-winning weekly, The Cambrian. He has worked as an educator and has been featured at occasional speaking engagements.

He lives on the California coast with his wife, stepson, cats (Tyrion Fluffybutt and Allie Twinkletail) and dogs.

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