Dissolution: A Novel

Themes: Memory, Time-Traveling, Love, Murder, Sci-Fi Thriller, Horror, Atmospheric I listened to this book on Libby and let me tell you the narration was damn good. Apparently this book is considered a sci-fi techno thriller. I would say there are some similar threads in it to Minority Report by Philip K. Dick and We Spread by Iain Reid. I think what Binge does really well in this novel is the alternating view points between Maggie and Stanley --husband and wife. This is not exactly about time-traveling. It explores the possibilities of tapering with memories. There was an eerie feeling to the book as Maggie narrates this unseen force known as the "Omega" that erases people from existing. It erases people from existence but they still have to get rid of the bodies and kill people. The human experiment part of it was horrifying. Binge wrote such a fantastic villain only known to the reader as Hassan. Though pretty early on I figured out it was Jack. That was supposed to be one of the big plot twists. But I knew Jack was evil when we are first introduced to him in Stanleys early childhood memories at school. His only friends are gifted. This makes him feel like he belongs. He comes from a rough childhood. The romantic elements of the book really stood out to me. Stanley is a hopeless romantic and a bit of an intellectual, outsider type who comes into money as a young adult. Despite his awkwardness with girls as a boy he does find the love of his life, Maggie. The part no one talks about this book is their bond of love across all these memory timelines. Where an older version of Maggie sees her younger husband through his memories. There is so much love between them. The little detail of them reciting Romeo and Juliet back and forth to each other despite Stanley's memory loss was touching. Even though I said this is a fast-paced thriller-- it's also about the things you do for the one you love. "Come back to me."