Dissolution
A Novel
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4.4 • 16 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
NAMED A BEST THRILLER OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE
“Suspenseful, provocative and surprisingly tender.”—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“Cleverly weaves together time travel and memory games into a hard-to-put-down thriller. It’s an expertly crafted puzzle of a story.”—NEW SCIENTIST
A woman dives into her husband's memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension
Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It's the loneliest she's ever felt in her life.
When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn't losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she's told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.
Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband's mind, probing the depths of his memories in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last. But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after, she risks far more than her husband's life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Binge (Ascension) combines a suspenseful plot with an inventive structure in this unnerving sci-fi thriller told mainly through transcripts of a strange interrogation. In 2021, octogenarian Margaret Webb is questioned by Hassan, a stranger, who insists that she try to remember the events that brought her to his interrogation room before "dissolution" happens in 11 hours. This setup—which is as disorienting for the reader as it is for Margaret—makes turning pages to find out what is going on compulsive. Hassan tells Margaret that her husband, Stanley, a resident at an assisted-living facility, is in danger due to his involvement in a research study, and that her memories are vital to his safety. Flashbacks to the 1950s fill in some of the blanks, starting with Stanley's time as a protégé of Professor Waldman, who believes that "human memory possesses unlimited depths." Binge nimbly toggles between present and past, keeping his foot on the gas as he gradually reveals what's preceded Margaret's interrogation. With plausible science and multifaceted characters, this high-octane outing excites.
