The Persistence of Memory

Mnevermind Trilogy, Book 1

By: Jordan Castillo Price

Narrated by: Seth Clayton

Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Every day, Daniel Schroeder breaks his father's heart.

While forgetting your problems won't solve them, it does seem like it would make life a heck of a lot easier. Daniel thought so once. Now he knows better. He and Big Dan have always been close, which makes it all the more difficult to break the daily news: the last five years were nothing like his father remembers.

They're both professionals in the memory field - they even run their own memory palace. So shouldn't they be able to figure out a way to overwrite the persistent false memory that's wreaking havoc on both of their lives? Daniel thought he was holding it together, but the situation seems to be sliding out of control. Now even his own equipment has turned against him, reminding him he hasn't had a date in ages by taunting him with flashes of an elusive man in black that only he can see.

Is it some quirk of the circuitry, or is Daniel headed down the same path to fantasy land as his old man?

©2012 Jordan Castillo Price (P)2016 Jordan Castillo Price

Even better in audio. Fantastic narrator choice!

Okay, so you’d probably figure since I’d already read this trilogy, why would I be so eager to listen to it also. Well, for one thing, the narrator. Seth Clayton. He’s newer, but everything I’ve listened to that he’s narrated has been awesome! And he does a great job emoting and using just the right pacing and various tones for each individual character he narrates, so it’s almost like a full cast audio!

Anyway, with that in mind, I was curious if I would get a different feel for the story, and if it would change my previous thoughts when I finished. The first go round, after reading each book one at a time, I recall feeling almost like the end of each story (except the last, of course) was just barely starting, almost like a cliffhanger.

But, having already read the complete series, this time around, since I knew what was coming, I felt like I could just lean back and enjoy. And chuckle. And outright laugh! Its amazing how listening with my ears instead of just absorbing words with my eyes gave me a whole new sensory experience. Gave me a whole new level of enjoyment.

There were just so many little things I’d missed the first go round. Like Larry. And his ideas about people paying to do interesting things to pigs in Mnems. Okaaaay…Or the specific details within each Mnem. Like the quality of the packet determines if things are window dressing, or if they have little or no smell or taste. And many more little things caught my attention that somehow I seemed to miss the first time I read this book.

And the narrator? He was spot on! I’m SO looking forward to the rest of the audios!! JCP picked another winner like she’d done with Gomez Pugh.

I feel spoiled, and tend to always have high expectations from this author. JCP books are the bomb. Full package deal. Icing on the cake..and I could go on *smiles*

Cover Art? Awesome. Check.

Narrator choice? Awesome. Check.

World Building? Awesome. Check.

Quality All Around Product? Awesome. Check.

You just CAN’T go wrong with a JCP story. Grabbed me with PsyCop. Kept me with Mnevermind. And keeping my interest peaked with all the standalones and shorts for the various series already published.

If you haven’t checked them out yet, please consider grabbing up these stories. The audios do nothing but complement the books. And with the quality covers, do yourself a favor, and get a print copy too! You’ll be glad you did. Highly, highly recommended.

Such a great mind play! Wonderful!

So, I admit. I was absolutely NOT attracted to this series when I read the blurbs on the books. I’m not into dystopian stuff and though I can appreciate a good mind fuck, that’s not generally what I look for in a romance. It sounded like there was going to be some sort of robot or electrically created person… yeah. Not my thing. But… I like Seth Clayton as a narrator and I ADORE all the stuff I’ve ever read by Jordan Castillo Price so… I said – I’ll give it a try!

OMG.

It both is and isn’t what I expected. But it is friggin’ awesome!

So, yeah. It’s a bit dark. (Not nearly as dark as the Mary series or Meatworks, though.) Daniel is up against a wall both emotionally and financially, so he’s not super cheery and he’s really not even looking for a hook up much less a relationship.

I’m not going to go into much detail about the story – because what’s the fun in that? You’ll have to figure things out along with Daniel as far as what’s what. But… I will tell you that I was very surprised by the turn of events – pleasantly.

Besides a fascinating bit of science and philosophy (what is memory, experience, reality, etcetera) there is some moral dilemma thrown in here, a bit of hurt/comfort and disability type stuff as well.

The stuff about reality is really compelling. Everyone’s had that sensation of trying to figure out “am I dreaming” or waking up from a dream KNOWING it was real, but then eventually figuring out that it wasn’t. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s disappointing. With this “technology” that sense of memory goes one step further and blurs the definition of “reality”. Add to that when things go wrong… it makes for a very compelling story.

I found “the man in black” to be fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more about him. Which leads me to how this is both awesome and sucky at the same time. On the one hand I’m psyched because I can at least read the next two books in the series – but I’m bummed because only one (so far) in audio format and the audio is awesome!

Seth Clayton did a lovely job with Lane Hayes’ books as well as Raine O’Tierney’s book, so I knew he would at least be acceptable. Well, he really seemed to fit this genre/story to a “T”. He adds in some “special effects” with his voice, he does the dry humor perfectly, and manages to give everyone a unique voice without making anyone (including aunt Pipsie) sound ridiculous. He definitely added to my overall enjoyment of the story and really brought this to life. I loved how he handled “the man in black’s” character in addition to (of course) Daniel and Larry and his Dad.
(I can’t wait for the audio – I’m gonna read the next two books – but I’m gonna be excited for the audios when they come, too!)

Highly recommended. 5 of 5 stars

Warning: Terrible Book but great narration

Great Narration, but good narration cannot overcome a poorly constructed story, let alone overcoming the authors 8th Grader attempt in character development.

Don't waste a credit.

Loved it!!

What made the experience of listening to The Persistence of Memory the most enjoyable?

I loved this book when I read it previously. Listening to it in audio reminded me of what a brilliant story this is.

What did you like best about this story?

JCP can do no wrong. I'll follow her down any rabbit hole she leads me. Truly one of the best storytellers writing today.

What about Seth Clayton’s performance did you like?

Seth Clayton was the perfect narrator for this book. His Aunt Pipsy and Larry were a delight. I like that he treated Elijah's voice so well. It will be interesting to see what he does with Elijah in the second book.

A Wickedly Fun Novel

Audiobooks are usually my least favourite way to enjoy a novel, but Jordan Castillo Price's Mnevermind audiobook is a pleasure to experience. There were parts that had me laughing aloud, especially the reader's perfectly dry delivery of Daniel's humour. Seth Clayton was definitely the best narrator for this novel.

The emotional ups and downs of Mnevermind were enhanced by this medium. Hearing the characters come to life made it impossible for me to turn off the novel. The story itself is equal parts fascinating and heart-wrenching. The intricacies of the Mnevermind world are fascinating, and the emotional ties Daniel has with the other characters in this book are fully formed and beautifully expressed.

I own and have reread this series several times, but next time I intend to listen to this novel rather than read it. This audiobook is just that perfect.

Seth Clayton is amazing

The book is similar to Jordan Castillo Price's other work in that we have characters who are both tragic and brilliant, backed up by secondary characters who are both recognizable and quirky. The world building is amazing, although the existence and use of landlines is jarring. This is a world without Apple products or cellphones, but one that includes the use of technology to create dream-like (but not exactly like) scenarios. The angst is cranked up high, and there isn't much humor to lighten it. It would have sunk under a lesser audio talent. Clayton brings the characters to life. The voices are distinct, and the non-lexical elements of language (ums, ahs, sighs, etc.) are all present in ways that most narrators don't attempt. I usually save audio books for the car, but with this one, I was hooked, and brought it inside to finish in one day. Fantastic.

Wonderful!

What made the experience of listening to The Persistence of Memory the most enjoyable?

I love Jordan Castillo Price, and the complex characters that she creates. Her world is familiar and feels utterly believable, her people are flawed, lovable and interesting.

What about Seth Clayton’s performance did you like?

Seth Clayton's performance is fantastic, he makes this book and the people in it come alive to the listener.

AWESOME

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This book was awesome as was the narration. It is a refreshing story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Persistence of Memory?

Larry. The guy was awesome. And how someone appeared where they weren't supposed to.

What about Seth Clayton’s performance did you like?

His voices. Larry stood out, but everything was great!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

An experience so mind blowing you won't remember what happened... or will you...

Slow Burn 🔥

A lot of World building in this 1st installment.
The Characters are bearly meshing.
Not a hooking read to make you keep reading the series. but received them for a review and so I will continue to listen and hopefully it gets more interesting.

The Narration was SUPERB!👌

Intriguing story

There were a lot of things I really liked about this book & a couple things I didn't like quite as much.
What I liked: I sympathized greatly with Daniel; he wasn't perfect - he definitely had character flaws, but I felt for him; I was completely emotionally invested in his story. I found it interesting that he's 45 too. I liked all the main characters, (except those that are intentionally meant not to be liked, (cough, Daniel's mother, cough)). Daniel's father is a great guy. I even grew to like his one rather obnoxious coworker at his second job, who turned out to be more than he seemed in some ways. I'd like to know the "man in black" better as well. I liked the feel of the book, how it felt contemporary, but with the sci-fi aspect of the memory machines & atmospheric journeys into people's dreams. I also greatly enjoyed the narration - Seth did a fantastic, completely perfect job.
What I didn't like so much: While I appreciated the slow burn & suspense, I wanted the book to continue so that I could see MORE of what goes on with a budding romance, to see more of everything. There is a very abrupt ending, clearly meant to lead us into the next book, but I would've appreciated to have the story continue in one volume, even if it meant for a twice-as-long book. This wasn't the kind of cliffhanger that left me stunned, with bated breath; instead, it just left me feeling like there just should've been the next chapter. The only other thing I didn't like was some of the ableist language - the R-word is used more than once & it should've been clearer that it is a horrid term to use. There is also some characterization of fat people that some might object to.
So - I did like it. I will probably read the next one at some point soon, but I mostly would've liked for this book & the next to just continue on as one book.