Reclaimed

The sole survivor of a suicide cult leaps at an opportunity to have her traumatic memories erased in this tense sci-fi thriller from Roux (Salvaged). Senna Slate is eager to move on from her time in the Dohring-Waugh cult, but overwhelmed by the bustle aboard the Tokyo Bliss space station. When tech pioneer Paxton Dunn offers her a chance to participate in a trial program that promises to erase bad memories, Senna travels to Paxton’s facility on Ganymede to participate. She’s joined by demanding supermodel Zurri and teenage hacker Han, both of whom have their own traumatic memories they wish erased. Senna, Zurri, and Han’s distinct personalities captivate as they settle in on Ganymede, offsetting the more two-dimensional Paxton. As they proceed with the program, uncomfortable side effects plague Senna and the others, including disorientation, brutal headaches, and frightening visions. Entertaining as it is to see these characters grapple with their sense of self as they realize there’s something wrong on Ganymede, the focus is more on Paxton’s strange technology and the way he abuses it than on the experiment’s human consequences, culminating in a reveal which, though thought-provoking, is not entirely convincing. Still, sci-fi fans will be taken with Roux’s premise and well-crafted intrigue. [em]Agent: Kate McKean, Morhaim Literary. (Aug.) [/em]