The Mountain of Kept Memory was kind of strange...but in a good way. Incorporating an eclectic mix of ideas, the result was a story that straddled genre lines, containing both fantasy and sci-fi elements. The mythology of the world was absolutely gorgeous, and I also liked the idea of an immortal that lived inside a mountain.

The main problem though, is that this book was very slow. While the eventual payoff was worth the sluggish start, it's still a lot to ask of readers, and by the time the plot gets good, it might be a little too late to win back their attention. I myself found it difficult to connect to the characters after a while, especially given the POV shifts between our two protagonists Gulien and Oressa. The transitions weren't always done very smoothly, and I found them occasionally jarring.

Still, I enjoyed the read overall. It's great also that this was a standalone, and it was impressive how Ms. Neumeier was able unpack all this drama and intrigue in a single volume. We even got a bit of romance, that was deftly handled and not overdone. Since my favorite types of romantic arcs are always more understated, I really liked that it didn't distract from the main storyline.

Overall, I had a good time with The Mountain of Kept Memory, and felt it was a good mix of dark and epic fantasy. I'll be looking out for future works by this author.

I requested this from Netgalley, because of one bit from the description: "this gorgeous fantasy in the spirit of Guy Gavriel Kay and Robin McKinley". If you're going to say that, and live up to it, then it's going to be amazing. (Also, Guy Gavriel Kay and Robin McKinley have very little in common apart from being ... amazing, so I'm dying to see what constitutes a cross between them.)

If you are going to say that and <i>not</i> live up to it ... I will eviscerate the book in question. Slowly. In print, of course.

But no. I think I get it. There is a certain scope and range to the story which is not unlike GGK, and a certain facility with the language which, if you squint, resembles Robin McKinley. But I wish, I really do wish, that publishers or whoever it is who puts out blurbs like that would realize that they are far more likely to be doing their authors a disservice than helping them. Because I went into this book – heck, I requested this book – with a light in my eye like "Oh, yeah? Prove it. A lot."

And while I still can't say I approve of using two of my favorite writers in the blurb, it didn't take all that long for me to let it go and just enjoy the book. Because it really is a solid, unique book with lovely, lovely writing. I required it to be nothing less than amazing, and it was.

The characters are alive, well-rounded and very much <i>themselves</i>, just about always responding to situations in ways that I didn't expect, but which were perfectly in keeping with the way they were built. It would have been very easy for the young princess Oressa to become a cliché of a trousers-wearing, I'm-not-going-to-behave-like-a-proper-princess rebel – and she did not. She is wonderful.

And so are her brother Gulien and the invading prince Gajdosik (who has such good reasons to invade). They all kept surprising me, they grew through the story, and they won my heart.

I read this not quite in one sitting, but not for lack of trying. The main reason is that it took me a little while to figure it out (and, I'll admit, to get past my prejudices), but once I was sucked in I was solidly in the author's world. It's a remarkable invention – magic used like I've never seen it used before, capricious gods (or are they?), perilous artifacts – it's deep, and wide, and hopefully has plenty of room for lots more stories.

As I mentioned, one point of commonality Ms. Neumeier has with, say, Robin McKinley is an easy grace with the language (easy-seeming – I'm sure the seeming is achieved with blood and sweat and tears) that is one reason why I read fantasy. She does not indulge in the villain's point of view to save herself the trouble of explaining his motives; she does not ever let a character take the figurative microphone and blether on in endless infodumping. She does not choose to simply say "he was exhausted and in pain", but <i>shows it</i>: "He lounged in his chair, feet up on a small table and crossed at the ankles, head tilted back against the cushions, eyes mostly closed. He would have managed to look comfortable, except that he was also ashen pale. There were dark shadows under his eyes and lines at the corners of his mouth that Oressa was almost sure hadn’t been there even a day ago." See, kids? That's what the old writing advice means. And the author knows how to avoid Reality Show Recapitis, in which what happened just five minutes ago is retold for the benefit of some character who wasn't there, although I the reader very much <i>was</i>. "'I believe we would appreciate the long version, eventually,' murmured Gajdosik", she writes, and my note was "Oh, bless", because so many (lesser) writers would have felt the need to remind their short-term-memory-lacking audience of everything they read a chapter or two ago.

It just struck me that I can myself add another writer to the short list that nobody else really ought to be compared to, but to whom I am, to my own surprise, going to draw a comparison… Dorothy L. Sayers. There is an air of Peter and Bunter about Oressa and Gulien, with Oressa piffling away and only to the patient and observant revealing her actual level of intelligence, and Gulien solidly and stolidly moving forward whatever the obstacles. (Of course, Peter's piffle is usually an intentional defense mechanism, and Oressa just can't be bothered to straighten out the tangles before she speaks, but the resemblance still struck me.)

One book does not a Very Favorite Author make, but somewhere in packing boxes I apparently own two other books by Ms. Neumeier. Now I need to go find them. And I can't wait to see if there will be more from Carastind.

I just hope no one does her the disservice of comparing her to Tolkien.

Favorite line, which won't mean much out of context but which twisted my heart a little in: "Don’t talk," Oressa said quickly. "Please, don’t. Look, I’ll do both parts."

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review, with thanks.

Right until the end I really didn't know what I thought about this book. Honestly, I also thought it was a series until I came onto review it, so that was kinda affecting me, but I'm glad it isn't a series.

A lot is going on here, some of which I still don't understand. The basic fantasy old time stuff I understood, but the sci-fi aspect I don't understand at all. I think at the end I kinda understood, but I still really don't... I feel like it could have been explained better throughout rather than jammed all together in the time of need. Also, the plagues... those aren't normal plagues... that was kinda interesting, but the word 'plague' through me off for a few chapters.

I did like the characters. They were all so different and had their own way of doing things. There is a little romance, but it is definitely slow burning and not at all the main focus. I liked that even though I wanted So. Much. More. I really liked them. Even at the end I didn't understand the King though. I also would have loved to read some of this through Gajdosik's POV. He ended up being my favorite character!

I thought the setting and description was done well for the most part. The one thing I kinda disliked was how the map in the front didn't have the other places mentioned (Gontai, etc.). I'm sure this was done because the characters didn't know about the places, but it was a little weird. Also, how great is trade if they aren't going all over the world?

In the end, I ended up reading all of it (sometimes touch and go). If you don't mind POV changes every chapter and you like fantasy while being kept in the dark trying to figure out the mystery, I think you will like this. Honestly, not a bad book. It just so happens I don't think this was entirely my style.

DNF'ed @ 45% - While normally I am very much all for this kind of fantasy (my friends say I'm weird because I can't stand real life politics, but just add fantasy and I'm all over it), but something about this just...bored me. I kept putting it down, picking it up and putting it down for something else.

Its possible that like Neumeier's other books I will enjoy this better as an audiobook, but as for the novel itself I just could not get into it.