Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Volatile memory is a very refreshing read, full of vengeance, sci-fi tech, and queer themes. I really appreciated the themes of self acceptance and the feeling of alienation from your body. I’ve read some of Haddon’s previous work and thoroughly enjoyed it, though Volatile Memory definitely feels very different from his novels in the world of Reforged. However, I think the approach to worldbuilding is similar. Admittedly, I’m very new to the sci-fi genre, so I can’t confidently compare the worldbuilding in this book to the genre as a whole; however I do think Haddon gives the reader enough information about the world to be interested, without making the world itself the focus of the novel.

Additionally, I think telling this story from Sable’s perspective was a great choice that made the story much more interesting. There’s something about a story told largely in the second person that I just eat up every time.

Give me a story that tackles the metaphysical minefield that is defining identity and I am here for it. I loved the themes here, and the technology was incredibly fun. The writing as well was surprising and fresh—particularly the mix of 1st and 2nd person POV, which is hard to pull off. What was missing for me was… more book? I felt that there was more to explore, but we only got to graze the surface. And because of the length, certain things (no spoilers) came about very quickly, and they could have hit harder if they’d been allowed to marinate. What can I say; I prefer a slower burn.