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Persistence of Memory
A Fallen Angels Review's Recommended Read!!!
Five years ago, Joah was culled-kidnapped by the government to be trained as a soldier. In the process, they erased his memory, destroying his past, his dreams, everything but his name. Armed with that alone, Joah escapes from the facility in search of someone to help him recall the man he used to be.
That person is Tobin, Joah's husband, who never gave up hope of finding him again. He refuses to believe that the strength of his love alone won't be enough to bring back Joah's memories of their shared lives, and he's determined to bring back the man beneath the soldier, the man he knows has to love him.
But an alarm in the chip blocking Joah's memories was triggered at his escape, and if the chip isn't removed soon, it will shriek his life away. Removing it won't bring back his past, and may destroy the present that Tobin has tried so hard to build between them. Can the love they once shared possibly survive?
Gay / Science Fiction / Futuristic
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
4 people are currently reading
485 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Snyder
301 books568 followersAn author of gay erotic/romantic fiction, J.M. Snyder began in self-publishing and worked with Amber Allure, Aspen Mountain, eXcessica, and Torquere Presses.
Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Amazon Shorts, Eros Monthly, Ruthie's Club, and Tit-Elation, as well as in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain, Cleis Press, eXcessica Publishing, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance.
In 2010, Snyder founded JMS Books LLC, a royalty-paying queer small press that publishes in both electronic and print format. For more information on newest releases and submission guidelines, please visit JMS Books LLC online.
Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Amazon Shorts, Eros Monthly, Ruthie's Club, and Tit-Elation, as well as in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain, Cleis Press, eXcessica Publishing, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance.
In 2010, Snyder founded JMS Books LLC, a royalty-paying queer small press that publishes in both electronic and print format. For more information on newest releases and submission guidelines, please visit JMS Books LLC online.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
November 28, 2014
I do have a heart!
December 14, 2014
4.5 stars
At once tender, heartbreaking, and brutal, this book packs so much into so few pages. Novellas often lack depth; not this one. The world building is remarkably well done.
Tobin and Joah's love is epic and true. The world they live in is torn by cruelty and war, but they find each other again and again.
Despite the bleak setting, this was a truly romantic story with a unforgettable HEA.
At once tender, heartbreaking, and brutal, this book packs so much into so few pages. Novellas often lack depth; not this one. The world building is remarkably well done.
Tobin and Joah's love is epic and true. The world they live in is torn by cruelty and war, but they find each other again and again.
Despite the bleak setting, this was a truly romantic story with a unforgettable HEA.
November 15, 2008
23-854 knows he is more than a number. He has no memory of his past. He is expected to follow blindly to ordered he hears from the micro-chip in his head. He is a soldier, he has no memory, but he has held onto one thing that he knows is from his past. He knows his name is Joah. For the past 5 years he has been held like a prisoner of war...fighting when they want him to fight, killing when they want him to kill. Joah, is desperate to remember his life, so he plans an escape knowing that he will be running for his life if he is successful.
While making his escape he is shot in the leg. Determined to find out about his past, he somehow walks up to an old farmhouse. He spies a handsome man gardening and prays that he will either know who he is, or be willing to help and hide him out.
When the man appears to know him, and even calls him by his name he faints from the stress and loss of blood.
Ashe cannot believe his eyes. Here is his beloved Joah. His childhood friend and the one true love of his life. When the soldiers took Joah away, he never gave up hope that he would return to him. Ashe had heard of the government experiements of people being robbed of their memories and turned into killing machines. He knows this is what has happened to Joah. Ashe doesn't care what Joah has done, he only knows that Joah has finally returned, and he is able to breathe again.
But, NO ONE escapes from the compound. So Ashe and Joah must fight to be together or lose everything forever.
The relationship that Ashe and Joah had was so beautiful. Ashe is very patient and re-introduces Joah to the happy past he and Ashe once shared. It was so easy to get involved and fall into this story. It was an emotional read and I teared up a few times. I liked the originality of the storyline and was captivated with it from the first to the last page.
While making his escape he is shot in the leg. Determined to find out about his past, he somehow walks up to an old farmhouse. He spies a handsome man gardening and prays that he will either know who he is, or be willing to help and hide him out.
When the man appears to know him, and even calls him by his name he faints from the stress and loss of blood.
Ashe cannot believe his eyes. Here is his beloved Joah. His childhood friend and the one true love of his life. When the soldiers took Joah away, he never gave up hope that he would return to him. Ashe had heard of the government experiements of people being robbed of their memories and turned into killing machines. He knows this is what has happened to Joah. Ashe doesn't care what Joah has done, he only knows that Joah has finally returned, and he is able to breathe again.
But, NO ONE escapes from the compound. So Ashe and Joah must fight to be together or lose everything forever.
The relationship that Ashe and Joah had was so beautiful. Ashe is very patient and re-introduces Joah to the happy past he and Ashe once shared. It was so easy to get involved and fall into this story. It was an emotional read and I teared up a few times. I liked the originality of the storyline and was captivated with it from the first to the last page.
January 29, 2012
How exactly does one explain a story so moving that it's sliced your heart into tiny bits, ripped your idea of love apart, and then pieced it all back together again, making it more beautiful than it was before?
Not only did J.M. Snyder's Persistence of Memory move me, but in approximately 100 pages it managed to change the way I see love.
This is a story of of the future. A time when people are pulled from their homes by a government that erases their memories, brainwashes them and turns them into soldiers.
The people culled by the government not only lose the ability to remember who they were, they lose the ability to remember that they were ever someone other than the soldiers they are once culled.
Five years ago, Joah was culled but he managed to hold onto one thing. His name. And Joah knows that if he had a name then there is someone out there who can tell him who he was; who he should be.
The story opens with Joah's escape from the government compound and it took no time at all for me to fall in love with his strength. J.M. Snyder put a little twist on the usual escapee/fugitive theme. Culled soldiers have a chip inserted when they are first taken. The chip not only takes away the soldier's free will but, if someone manages to escape, it lets out a constant and high-pitched shriek the farther away a person gets from the compound. You go too far and the shrieking begins to burst blood vessels, causing the soldier to bleed from the inside out.
So, is the government worried once Joah escapes? No, because they expect him to die.
Joah fights against the voice in his head telling him to go back, the constant shrieking, and the wounds he's gotten during his escape. He's determined and his determination is the only thing keeping him alive.
And then he finds Tobin.
Tobin was a gorgeous character, the husband who was left behind when Joah was taken away. Tobin is the man who has waited for Joah for five long years. Tobin had no reason to hope his husband would return to him, but he held out hope anyway.
This is where J.M. Snyder put a stunning spin on the way love is usually handled in the romance genre. Tobin's love is so strong and everlasting as he patiently tells Joah who the two of them were before Joah was culled. Joah's desire to love Tobin as much as Tobin loves him broke my heart. There was no insta-love to be had in this story but the bond between Joah and Tobin was so much more believable and so very touching.
I loved reading about how these two men rebuilt their love in the midst of a very unique situation.
One thing I loved about this story was that the problem of the chip implanted in Joah's brain by the government was not abandoned. It plays a large part in the way the story ends. I felt like I was balancing on a high wire for the last 20% of the book. Never have I wanted two men to get their Happily Ever After as badly as I wanted it for Joah and Tobin.
The way that J.M. Snyder pulls everything together in the end was brilliant. I smiled for a couple hours after I read the last word.
I recommend this little story a million times over because this story is not just a gem, it's a million tiny diamonds.
Not only did J.M. Snyder's Persistence of Memory move me, but in approximately 100 pages it managed to change the way I see love.
This is a story of of the future. A time when people are pulled from their homes by a government that erases their memories, brainwashes them and turns them into soldiers.
The people culled by the government not only lose the ability to remember who they were, they lose the ability to remember that they were ever someone other than the soldiers they are once culled.
Five years ago, Joah was culled but he managed to hold onto one thing. His name. And Joah knows that if he had a name then there is someone out there who can tell him who he was; who he should be.
The story opens with Joah's escape from the government compound and it took no time at all for me to fall in love with his strength. J.M. Snyder put a little twist on the usual escapee/fugitive theme. Culled soldiers have a chip inserted when they are first taken. The chip not only takes away the soldier's free will but, if someone manages to escape, it lets out a constant and high-pitched shriek the farther away a person gets from the compound. You go too far and the shrieking begins to burst blood vessels, causing the soldier to bleed from the inside out.
So, is the government worried once Joah escapes? No, because they expect him to die.
Joah fights against the voice in his head telling him to go back, the constant shrieking, and the wounds he's gotten during his escape. He's determined and his determination is the only thing keeping him alive.
And then he finds Tobin.
Tobin was a gorgeous character, the husband who was left behind when Joah was taken away. Tobin is the man who has waited for Joah for five long years. Tobin had no reason to hope his husband would return to him, but he held out hope anyway.
This is where J.M. Snyder put a stunning spin on the way love is usually handled in the romance genre. Tobin's love is so strong and everlasting as he patiently tells Joah who the two of them were before Joah was culled. Joah's desire to love Tobin as much as Tobin loves him broke my heart. There was no insta-love to be had in this story but the bond between Joah and Tobin was so much more believable and so very touching.
I loved reading about how these two men rebuilt their love in the midst of a very unique situation.
One thing I loved about this story was that the problem of the chip implanted in Joah's brain by the government was not abandoned. It plays a large part in the way the story ends. I felt like I was balancing on a high wire for the last 20% of the book. Never have I wanted two men to get their Happily Ever After as badly as I wanted it for Joah and Tobin.
The way that J.M. Snyder pulls everything together in the end was brilliant. I smiled for a couple hours after I read the last word.
I recommend this little story a million times over because this story is not just a gem, it's a million tiny diamonds.
April 12, 2009
Wow, that was beautiful. I mean it. Snyder's incredible talent for making her characters alive amazes me every time.
In this futuristic short novel, Joah was "culled", kidnapped to become a soldier in the army decimated by border wars. A chip was inserted into his mind and it stole all his memories - the only thing that he was able to keep was his name. After five years, Joah managed to escape and find his way back to Tobin, his husband, who never stopped loving him and hoping for his return...
The book is so full of unconditional love and hope that it made me all teary eyed when I read it. Fantastic!
In this futuristic short novel, Joah was "culled", kidnapped to become a soldier in the army decimated by border wars. A chip was inserted into his mind and it stole all his memories - the only thing that he was able to keep was his name. After five years, Joah managed to escape and find his way back to Tobin, his husband, who never stopped loving him and hoping for his return...
The book is so full of unconditional love and hope that it made me all teary eyed when I read it. Fantastic!
Want to read
November 30, 2017VERY excited about this Kindle freebie today! 11/30/17
December 12, 2014
What an epic love story! And it was only 100 pages long!! I can’t believe how much this book touched my heart. I ached for Tobin when Joah came back and had no memory of him. Even without their past, it was so sweet to see how easily they fit back into each other’s lives. The ending was perfect and beautiful and left me with warm fuzzies all over. 5 huge stars!!
January 23, 2010
For five years, Joah is culled and trained as a soldier. A chip embedded inside of him, to make him forget everything. But Joah remembers his name, he hangs on to that, and escapes the facility. He thinks he will find someone who at least remembers him and helps him. Then, the first man that he meets is none other than Tobin, his husband. Tobin never gives up hope to find Joah again. He believes that their love is strong enough to bring Joah back. But the chip threatens to kill Joah, and the removal of the chip will only erase all memories that Joah has, including his name. Is love enough?
OMG! This story is so beautiful and so romantic and pulling all of my heart strings. It nearly brings me down to tears (there are people near me, I'm worried they will get to panic seeing me suddenly sobbing like a baby). It's so beautiful to read how Tobin, who believes in Joah and himself never let go. And Joah, even if he cannot remember the past, knows that in the present he can love Tobin again and he WILL hang on to that, if that is the last thing he can do. Their love story is breath-taking - and what I love as well, that the sex scene is clean. It's not even like the usual hot scenes, it's more like tender love making. I still feel my heart squeezed at the very last pages. Now excuse me while I'm sobbing in private.
OMG! This story is so beautiful and so romantic and pulling all of my heart strings. It nearly brings me down to tears (there are people near me, I'm worried they will get to panic seeing me suddenly sobbing like a baby). It's so beautiful to read how Tobin, who believes in Joah and himself never let go. And Joah, even if he cannot remember the past, knows that in the present he can love Tobin again and he WILL hang on to that, if that is the last thing he can do. Their love story is breath-taking - and what I love as well, that the sex scene is clean. It's not even like the usual hot scenes, it's more like tender love making. I still feel my heart squeezed at the very last pages. Now excuse me while I'm sobbing in private.
March 29, 2016
A lot of emotion in a short package. The image of a man who clung to one scrap of his past when the rest was taken from him is haunting, and I felt for both him and the husband he had to reconnect with. The story felt a little short, like things were foreshadowed and then left out, but that was obviously me reading things into the story that weren't there. But I was caught up in the story and read it in one sitting.
April 7, 2018
3.4 Stars
I imagine, had I read this when it came out over 10 years ago, I would have rated it higher. As it stands now I just think it needed more.
As a love story, it's beautiful; that someone could hold so tightly to love that withstands the erasure of memories & knowledge of self, is heart-breakingly romantic. But of course, since it's set in a dystopian future, I felt like the world-building was lacking tremendously, as were the details...like what war led to this, between who and why? Who are the armies now fighting in this battlefield not all that far from the farm and/or town? What are they fighting for (or against)? Why did solar cars get shoved aside in favor of the kind that run on a plant fuel? How do flowers even provide the biomass for that kind of use (especially since they seem to harvest it by hand, with scythes, as they don't have a combine anymore)? (Also, WHY don't they have a combine anymore?) They don't seem to grow anything else so what are they eating? If so many men are culled for this army - soldiers killed so frequently at that - then how does the population grow enough to support it? (There are no children even mentioned in the story...even for the straight couple.) If the population is dwindling so much, then who is buying the flower-fuel and for what? (Would have made more sense to have the farmers also be enslaved in some way, or be tenant farmers, working to provide for the army/government.)
So much of the specifics (what we were given anyway) didn't make sense.
Anywho, like I said, the love story part was wonderful, but wasn't enough to make ME love the story.
I imagine, had I read this when it came out over 10 years ago, I would have rated it higher. As it stands now I just think it needed more.
As a love story, it's beautiful; that someone could hold so tightly to love that withstands the erasure of memories & knowledge of self, is heart-breakingly romantic. But of course, since it's set in a dystopian future, I felt like the world-building was lacking tremendously, as were the details...like what war led to this, between who and why? Who are the armies now fighting in this battlefield not all that far from the farm and/or town? What are they fighting for (or against)? Why did solar cars get shoved aside in favor of the kind that run on a plant fuel? How do flowers even provide the biomass for that kind of use (especially since they seem to harvest it by hand, with scythes, as they don't have a combine anymore)? (Also, WHY don't they have a combine anymore?) They don't seem to grow anything else so what are they eating? If so many men are culled for this army - soldiers killed so frequently at that - then how does the population grow enough to support it? (There are no children even mentioned in the story...even for the straight couple.) If the population is dwindling so much, then who is buying the flower-fuel and for what? (Would have made more sense to have the farmers also be enslaved in some way, or be tenant farmers, working to provide for the army/government.)
So much of the specifics (what we were given anyway) didn't make sense.
Anywho, like I said, the love story part was wonderful, but wasn't enough to make ME love the story.
September 5, 2014
Whew, that was a very emotional read for me. I just felt my heart breaking the entire time. I can't honestly say that I liked it all that much but I can say I get it. I don't normally like too much heart break in my romances but I see the beauty of the story and why so many would connect with it. So, if I look at it just as a true love story I can say I found it beautiful. Whew, this really punched me in my gut. Beautiful ending. Thanks Dani :)
Read.
My Sweet Dani's pick for our Snowman challenge.
Read.
My Sweet Dani's pick for our Snowman challenge.
October 27, 2011
4,5 stars
Released in January 2007 Persistence Of Memory is a m/m-Methusalem.
I never gave it - or every other book by J.M. Snyder - a second glance due to the authors preferred writing style in first person-present tense narrative.So not my thing...
What a mistake.
Thanks to the gentle push of a friend I finally gave it a try.
Set in the future POM is a beautifully written,heartbreaking little gem of true love conquers all.
Highly recommended!
Released in January 2007 Persistence Of Memory is a m/m-Methusalem.
I never gave it - or every other book by J.M. Snyder - a second glance due to the authors preferred writing style in first person-present tense narrative.So not my thing...
What a mistake.
Thanks to the gentle push of a friend I finally gave it a try.
Set in the future POM is a beautifully written,heartbreaking little gem of true love conquers all.
Highly recommended!
September 28, 2023
It’s a short but powerful story. I loved the ending, but I thought there was too much inner monologue. I’m sure it was necessary since Joah couldn’t remember anything, but it still dragged the story down.
October 11, 2010
What a totally amazing story. Wow. I will remember this one for a long time. I will probably read it again as well. The writing and the characters' emotions are as beautiful and gentle as the story told is scary.
The idea of a future government needing soldiers so badly that they "cull" them from the general population, stick a chip into their brains that wipes all previous memories, then retrain them to be fighting machines is bad enough. But what this means for one of those soldiers who manages to hold on to his name, then escapes and finds his way back to his husband, makes the idea come alive in a very vivid and scary way.
Yes, it may not have been totally realistic in its assumption that some memories cannot be deleted. But we don't really know that, do we? The hope that remains at the end of this story is that there are certain things human 'ingenuity' cannot tamper with. I, for one, will cling to that hope as long as I live.
The idea of a future government needing soldiers so badly that they "cull" them from the general population, stick a chip into their brains that wipes all previous memories, then retrain them to be fighting machines is bad enough. But what this means for one of those soldiers who manages to hold on to his name, then escapes and finds his way back to his husband, makes the idea come alive in a very vivid and scary way.
Yes, it may not have been totally realistic in its assumption that some memories cannot be deleted. But we don't really know that, do we? The hope that remains at the end of this story is that there are certain things human 'ingenuity' cannot tamper with. I, for one, will cling to that hope as long as I live.
June 6, 2012
This is definitely one of my favorite JMSnyder stories. The story of man who has lost everything but his name when he is "culled" for service as a soldier and his memory is erased when a "chip" is embedded in his brain. Somehow he has managed to hang on to his name for 5 years until he make his attempt at escape for "freedom" another concept that has been taken from him. He knows that someone somewhere knows him and is waiting for him.
When he miraculously finds this person, he doesn't remember him at all. But he does feel like he is in the right place with the right person. But the chip inside his head is a ticking time bomb. Should it be removed? What will happen if it is removed? Will he remember his past?
So movingly and poignantly written. Just beautiful.
When he miraculously finds this person, he doesn't remember him at all. But he does feel like he is in the right place with the right person. But the chip inside his head is a ticking time bomb. Should it be removed? What will happen if it is removed? Will he remember his past?
So movingly and poignantly written. Just beautiful.
March 7, 2013
A short, but interesting, and well developed story. I felt like I was able to build such a clear picture of the state of the world, and the lives of the people there without any sort of info dumping. The plot is interesting, and well developed. I enjoyed the struggles of the characters, and seeing the relationships and how they changed over time, and with circumstances. My only complaint was that the ending, while not perfect, was a bit too neat. I wouldn't have minded if what they thought could have happened did, it could have been an interesting way to explore ideas of love, belonging, and what truly binds people together. Instead it was a little too schmoopy romantic for me.
April 13, 2009
I'll only say this: BREATHTAKING!!!
I feel like i have butterflies in my heart (or head...lol) since i finished this book.
I highly recommend it.
I feel like i have butterflies in my heart (or head...lol) since i finished this book.
I highly recommend it.
May 30, 2023
This had a really great premise but the romance was way too rushed and the use of multiple plot conveniences also annoyed me.
The plot conveniences in this story should seriously be used as examples in the dictionary definition for the term. So Joah is stumbling through the woods after escaping the facility and ? Seriously? And near the end, the MCs are told that
I also rolled my eyes at Tobin's melodramatic, sappy behavior. At one point, the guy is telling Joah about the first time they had sex and here's how Tobin recollects the event:
"I screamed your name into the night and the stars exploded around us, showering you with stardust and light. You were beautiful, Joah."
Right.
But my biggest problem was the rushed romance and how it made me uncomfortable. The gist of the story is that Joah was kidnapped by government forces 5 years ago and he had a chip implanted that either removed or suppressed all of his memories. The guy managed to hang onto his name but that's it. He doesn't know who Tobin is, he doesn't remember anything about him and he definitely doesn't have any sexual experience in terms of having any memories of that stuff.
But Tobin acts like it's perfectly normal for him to treat Joah as if the guy had just been gone for a long vacation and they're now resuming their relationship as if nothing had happened.
And making the whole thing worse is that Joah just goes along with everything and he's doing and saying what you expect a romance hero to do...except the author doesn't seem to be taking his mental state or his lack of memories seriously. It made no sense.
To be honest - I was kind of hoping the story would have a big twist by the halfway mark where we find out that this icky version of Tobin and the unrealistic version of their home life was just a hallucination created by the chip to stop Joah's loyalty towards Tobin. I was imagining that the real Tobin would show up to rescue him and the second half would do this premise and the characters justice by dealing with the situation respectfully and realistically. Unfortunately, that's obviously not what happened.
There were a lot of other little things that didn't make sense. Like . Or like .
The reason I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 star is because the story actually gets interesting in the last 3 chapters. We're introduced to additional characters and an additional angle to the entire memory situation and that added excitement and a bit of creepiness into things. I really liked the tone change but unfortunately, it was way too little, too late.
This author is one of the most extreme examples of hit or miss for me. So far, I've read two stories by her and one of them was a 1 star read and the other was a 5 star read. It remains to be seen if I find something mid-tier but this author is one of the OGs in the MM romance genre and her story premises are almost always unique and interesting so I'm going to continue exploring her work.
The plot conveniences in this story should seriously be used as examples in the dictionary definition for the term. So Joah is stumbling through the woods after escaping the facility and ? Seriously? And near the end, the MCs are told that
I also rolled my eyes at Tobin's melodramatic, sappy behavior. At one point, the guy is telling Joah about the first time they had sex and here's how Tobin recollects the event:
"I screamed your name into the night and the stars exploded around us, showering you with stardust and light. You were beautiful, Joah."
Right.
But my biggest problem was the rushed romance and how it made me uncomfortable. The gist of the story is that Joah was kidnapped by government forces 5 years ago and he had a chip implanted that either removed or suppressed all of his memories. The guy managed to hang onto his name but that's it. He doesn't know who Tobin is, he doesn't remember anything about him and he definitely doesn't have any sexual experience in terms of having any memories of that stuff.
But Tobin acts like it's perfectly normal for him to treat Joah as if the guy had just been gone for a long vacation and they're now resuming their relationship as if nothing had happened.
And making the whole thing worse is that Joah just goes along with everything and he's doing and saying what you expect a romance hero to do...except the author doesn't seem to be taking his mental state or his lack of memories seriously. It made no sense.
To be honest - I was kind of hoping the story would have a big twist by the halfway mark where we find out that this icky version of Tobin and the unrealistic version of their home life was just a hallucination created by the chip to stop Joah's loyalty towards Tobin. I was imagining that the real Tobin would show up to rescue him and the second half would do this premise and the characters justice by dealing with the situation respectfully and realistically. Unfortunately, that's obviously not what happened.
There were a lot of other little things that didn't make sense. Like . Or like .
The reason I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 star is because the story actually gets interesting in the last 3 chapters. We're introduced to additional characters and an additional angle to the entire memory situation and that added excitement and a bit of creepiness into things. I really liked the tone change but unfortunately, it was way too little, too late.
This author is one of the most extreme examples of hit or miss for me. So far, I've read two stories by her and one of them was a 1 star read and the other was a 5 star read. It remains to be seen if I find something mid-tier but this author is one of the OGs in the MM romance genre and her story premises are almost always unique and interesting so I'm going to continue exploring her work.
September 4, 2013
SO sad, yet so sweet.
Tobin is devastated when his husband is kidnapped and has his memories erased and forced into being a soldier. Joah has no idea about anything...he knows nothing except his name...and that someone out there must know him and can help him figure out who he is. He escapes after 5 years captivity and unknowingly makes his way back to Tobin.
The interaction between Tobin and Joah is just so incredibly loving. The pain Tobin feels is so real you want to wrap him up and save him. Joah may not remember him but he feels the love and sees the truth.
The ending was great. I was worried how it could happen, and it wasn't perfect, but it was really the only solution and it worked for me.
Tobin is devastated when his husband is kidnapped and has his memories erased and forced into being a soldier. Joah has no idea about anything...he knows nothing except his name...and that someone out there must know him and can help him figure out who he is. He escapes after 5 years captivity and unknowingly makes his way back to Tobin.
The interaction between Tobin and Joah is just so incredibly loving. The pain Tobin feels is so real you want to wrap him up and save him. Joah may not remember him but he feels the love and sees the truth.
The ending was great. I was worried how it could happen, and it wasn't perfect, but it was really the only solution and it worked for me.
July 13, 2010
This was a wonderful story and so far my favorite story by J. M. Snyder. Joah's conviction, he can remember his name which means that there is someone out there who remembers him. The sweetness of Tobin with his hope that Joah will remember something-anything. Joah seeing Tobin's heart, knowing that it would be easy to fall in love with Tobin without his memories. I cried silently as I waited to see if Joah would loose Tobin again. The writing was beautiful. J. M. did an awesome job making you feel what Tobin and Joah were feeling.
June 20, 2020
3.5 stars
Well written and emotionally "packed" but I was left with too many unanswered questions about this dystopian world.
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Free on Amazon 11/30/2017
https://www.amazon.com/Persistence-Me...
Well written and emotionally "packed" but I was left with too many unanswered questions about this dystopian world.
**********************
Free on Amazon 11/30/2017
https://www.amazon.com/Persistence-Me...
December 13, 2008
What a great romance with an interesting plotline. I really liked all of the characters in the book and thought it was well written.
July 26, 2017
It was perfect. I'm gonna try writing a review when I can put into words how amazing this was.
November 21, 2018
Wow. A short story that packs a hell of an emotional punch. That ending had huge sloppy tears rolling down my cheeks, and I don’t even care. I loved it.
July 8, 2014
This story appealed to me on two levels. First, being half Irish, I do have considerably more than a romantic "streak" which is quite compatible with my purely erotic passion. The author of this book has a lovely way of expressing the love between two men torn apart by a border conflict in which one of the men was "culled" and programmed to be a combative killing machine. This is a fast-moving story, so to tell much more might amount to a "spoiler". Ultimately, it pays homage to the power of memory and the endurance of true love. There is a dream-like effect to the book that is quite compelling.
On an entirely different level, this story evoked my own memories that my own father had a great and dear friend in the Army during WW II whose name was "Ray". I often got the impression my father was particularly heartbroken, if not devastated, when Ray was killed in combat. He even named one of my younger brothers after him, and I sometimes got the impression this was always his favorite of his four boys. As destiny would have it, my younger brother also was the most genuinely like my father and shared the most common interests with him. He was also, clearly, straight, which perhaps helped. (Alas, not I..I was the confounding gay boy in the family who couldn't pound a nail and was a disaster in team sports, yet got a double dose of my father's musical and creative inclinations as a part time jazz quintet drummer who also loved drawing and creating whimsical cartoons. It is probably complete fantasy, but I still like to think that maybe there was something bordering on romantic love between Ray and my father, even if it was no doubt the hell of war that drove them to such a bond. Neither is alive to shed light on the depths of their emotional bond and deep friendship.
All lives have their myths, and this story by J.M. Snyder reminded me of one of the myths I created to convince myself my dad was not as incomprehensive of the possibility and power of male/male love as he seemed. I like to think he and Ray not only had each others' backs during the war, but provided other comfort and solace that he could not speak to us of; this will forever remain a mystery, something too painful for my father to reveal, yet how I would've liked to have known more about his relationship with "Ray".
This book reminded me too of my own persistence of memory and the lovers, now mostly gone, who linger in my dreams night after night.
On an entirely different level, this story evoked my own memories that my own father had a great and dear friend in the Army during WW II whose name was "Ray". I often got the impression my father was particularly heartbroken, if not devastated, when Ray was killed in combat. He even named one of my younger brothers after him, and I sometimes got the impression this was always his favorite of his four boys. As destiny would have it, my younger brother also was the most genuinely like my father and shared the most common interests with him. He was also, clearly, straight, which perhaps helped. (Alas, not I..I was the confounding gay boy in the family who couldn't pound a nail and was a disaster in team sports, yet got a double dose of my father's musical and creative inclinations as a part time jazz quintet drummer who also loved drawing and creating whimsical cartoons. It is probably complete fantasy, but I still like to think that maybe there was something bordering on romantic love between Ray and my father, even if it was no doubt the hell of war that drove them to such a bond. Neither is alive to shed light on the depths of their emotional bond and deep friendship.
All lives have their myths, and this story by J.M. Snyder reminded me of one of the myths I created to convince myself my dad was not as incomprehensive of the possibility and power of male/male love as he seemed. I like to think he and Ray not only had each others' backs during the war, but provided other comfort and solace that he could not speak to us of; this will forever remain a mystery, something too painful for my father to reveal, yet how I would've liked to have known more about his relationship with "Ray".
This book reminded me too of my own persistence of memory and the lovers, now mostly gone, who linger in my dreams night after night.
September 3, 2013
3.5 stars
The author manages to build a futuristic dystopia in just a few pages, fleshing out a world at war, seen through the eyes of one of its programmed soldiers.
Joah was culled, taken from his family, his husband, Tobin, and forced into the army. His memories are then stripped away in order to remake him into a fierce fighting machine and nothing more, and for five years he lives with nothing more than following orders. He loses everything he had but hangs onto the memory of his name and the feeling of belonging somewhere else.
The trope about love overcoming all odds is well used but it gets a special twist here when Joah finds that he still has something to give, and isn’t that what it’s all about?
This actually ties up well in the end, I’d read more about Joah and his Tobin but I’m fine leaving them here too. Just one question… why does it take Joah so long to make his escape and what triggered the decision, finally?
May 10, 2013
Man, what a lovely story! A touching tale of a love that refuses to die. I can certainly see why it gets such high ratings. I would alllllllllmost give it 5 stars myself.
Yes, this is sentimental. Yes, in certain moods, you might almost read it as sappy. But it's also dreamlike and flowing and poignant and really nicely done in general. It's in present tense, which often annoys me, but here it is used to good effect to further the dreamy qualities of the text. And in this case it's logical, too: the first person narrator has had all his memories stolen from him, so he is living in the NOW -- he has no past.
This is a rather short piece, so the world building is limited, but I think Snyder does a good job of creating atmosphere and giving roundness to the world with the space available. But it's the emotions and interactions between the two MCs, and the dreamily descriptive prose, that really shine and make this a standout story.
4.4999999 stars, allllllmost enough to round up to 5.
eta 5/10/13 -- I've kept thinking of this story ever since I read it. IMHO that means it deserves the full 5 stars. :-)
Yes, this is sentimental. Yes, in certain moods, you might almost read it as sappy. But it's also dreamlike and flowing and poignant and really nicely done in general. It's in present tense, which often annoys me, but here it is used to good effect to further the dreamy qualities of the text. And in this case it's logical, too: the first person narrator has had all his memories stolen from him, so he is living in the NOW -- he has no past.
This is a rather short piece, so the world building is limited, but I think Snyder does a good job of creating atmosphere and giving roundness to the world with the space available. But it's the emotions and interactions between the two MCs, and the dreamily descriptive prose, that really shine and make this a standout story.
4.4999999 stars, allllllmost enough to round up to 5.
eta 5/10/13 -- I've kept thinking of this story ever since I read it. IMHO that means it deserves the full 5 stars. :-)
April 25, 2016
For a shortish story, this was packed full of emotion. In a world where people are "culled", basically ripped away from everything and everybody they know, their memories/history/who they are ripped away and wiped "clean". All to be trained as soldiers...
But Joah somehow retained a single memory: his name. And based on this, he knew there was more. Knew he had a history and if only he could find someone who used to know him.
This book is written around him finding Tobin, the man who claims to be handfasted to him. And together they try to rebuild the lost memories and to have the life together that was so cruelly stolen from them.
I would have loved to have more. Know more about how their lives pan out in the years to come, but then that's a common lament of mine: I always want more!
But Joah somehow retained a single memory: his name. And based on this, he knew there was more. Knew he had a history and if only he could find someone who used to know him.
This book is written around him finding Tobin, the man who claims to be handfasted to him. And together they try to rebuild the lost memories and to have the life together that was so cruelly stolen from them.
I would have loved to have more. Know more about how their lives pan out in the years to come, but then that's a common lament of mine: I always want more!
July 9, 2015
3.75 stars.
Such a sweet and moving story. It was all very tender and pulled at my heartstrings something fierce...
Except for the whole book I expected the other shoe to drop...for the military to show up, for something bad to happen...and it just didn't.
Which was a bit disappointing, to be honest.
Still, a lovely read.
Such a sweet and moving story. It was all very tender and pulled at my heartstrings something fierce...
Except for the whole book I expected the other shoe to drop...for the military to show up, for something bad to happen...and it just didn't.
Which was a bit disappointing, to be honest.
Still, a lovely read.
October 27, 2011
4.5
For a relatively short book this is a very powerful story.
It's heartbreaking and sad, but the love conquers all is so uplifting and beautiful it makes it all worthwhile.
Recommend !
For a relatively short book this is a very powerful story.
It's heartbreaking and sad, but the love conquers all is so uplifting and beautiful it makes it all worthwhile.
Recommend !
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