Book Review: Memories Of The Past
Memories Of The Past. Robert Asbille, Amazon Kindle, 28 January 2023, Paperback and eBook, 390 pages.
Reviewed by Andrew Reynolds.
In his book Memories Of The Past, Robert Asbille posits an interesting idea: the reason so many of the world's major religions share stories about spiritual leaders being able to perform miracles is because they really could.
That idea becomes the core of his novel and the discovery that such things are possible drives the story. This story takes place in the not-so-distant future, in a world shaped by forces very much like those driving our world today. In this environment, two competing power blocks become aware that a man found the means to tap into nearly supernatural powers. Of more interest to them, he also found out how to teach these abilities to others, and all of this happened in 1942, during the Second World War.
Unfortunately, all that survived that period are only an overview of what was accomplished, not how the powers were tapped, nor how others could learn them. So to discover the secret to these abilities, both political blocks use time travel to send teams back to when the ability to learn these powers was discovered, hoping to obtain detailed knowledge of the process while denying that ability to the other group.
The protagonists, a team of scientists and government officials from the power block centered around the United States, represent different aspects of human thought regarding the supernatural. Some are open to the idea, while others are skeptical of or even openly hostile to the idea that humans can exceed what is considered natural. The antagonists come from the power block centered around Russia and China, and for them, there is only one goal: gain knowledge, and deny the other side that knowledge, no matter what.
As with all things involving humans, once the teams arrive in 1942, what happens next is not neat and clean. Yes, the "bad guys" prove they are as ruthless as their mission would suggest. At the same time, the other side proves it is just as willing to do whatever is necessary to gain the upper hand. And our protagonists? They have to navigate the moral dilemma of how to keep their conscience as clean as possible while doing what is necessary to discover and protect the knowledge they've been sent to find.
I won't spoil this novel by giving more details. Suffice it to say that Asbille's story gives his readers glimpses into the minds of his different protagonists, examining the motivation that drives them as they move forward. The story also gives them enough inventive obstacles they must overcome to keep it moving forward. The ending leaves the reader questioning whether one or more sequels will follow, as it clearly hints that the story continues onward.
Unfortunately, whether or not more novels are planned is unclear at this point. If you read the book and find it to your liking, perhaps you should contact the author and suggest you'd be interested in finding out what happens next. That might be the spur he needs/wishes for to stir his imagination further down this storyline.