Ars Memoriae is Beth Bernobich's first book, which is set in her Éireann world with past short stories appearing in Asimov's and Postscripts that I have unfortunately not yet read, but missing those didn't lessen my enjoyment of this richly accented alternative history. Ars Memoriae also sports a gorgeous cover by the always brilliant Vincent Chong.For the last 800 years or so the seat of European power has not been placed in England, but with Ireland here called Éireann. The Queen of Éireann suspects different factions may be starting trouble in Montenegro that could throw off the balance of power in the region. She decides to send one of her must trusted agents, Adrian Dee, to task as he falls into political intrigue on the home front and abroad.
Adrian is a likable--albeit stuffy--character whose disability makes him immediately intriguing. Adrian is plagued by fantom memories of a person he almost could have been in another reality. These flashes had taken him out of service to the Crown, but when he is called back he does his duty to in order to regain some of the respect he lost. There are some personal journal entries mixed in the narrative that give a good inkling of the mental turmoil he goes through that left me curious for an episode centered around the start of these memories.
Ars Memoriae is a subtle Science Fiction story, which falls into place with an unexpectedly sweet and romantic ending. Adrian's spy tactics are well thought-out, but the story meanders a little too much during his initial investigations causing a very slow start. Once another pivotal character is introduced the speed bumps even out to a strong and climatic ending. There is a steampunk/dieselpunk aspect, but it is little exploited in this novelette for me to get a grasp on, but there is quite a cool device that turns up at one point.
Fans of Kage Baker and other time twisters should definitely take note of Ars Memoriae and its associated stories. I give Ars Memoriae 7 out of 10 Hats. Beth Bernobich is one of the Yeti's authors to watch for 2010 and she has certainly earned that place. Bernobich's first full length novel Passion Play is set for a an October release from Tor.
UPDATE: Bernobich and I just traded e-mails and she has officially sold her Éireann stories to Tor to be published in novel form. The 3 published stories along with a new one will be combined into one novel tentatively titled The Time Roads. The stories will be changed somewhat to better fit into a normal narrative instead of separate adventures. This is part of a two book deal that includes a fourth book in The Erythandra Series, which starts with the aforementioned Passion Play and again shows what potential Tor sees in Bernobich. Over the next 3 years she is slated to publish at least 4 books with the possibility of Éireann coming out in that time frame as well.
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