Memories of Tomorrow

The Tales of Aerym, Book 1

By: Noah Isaacs

Narrated by: Kevin Elliott

For years, Aerym has felt that he was cursed, as if his very being was wrong. Some say that seeing isn’t always believing, but for Aerym, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. Fated to a life of catastrophe and ruin, the visions that plague Aerym's sleep always realize themselves, even when they depict his loved ones dying gruesome deaths before his eyes.

Now, years after he watched everyone and everything he had ever known burn to ash, Aerym finds himself with his sole remaining companion, Jasper. Lost and without purpose, they bide their time until the inevitable comes; when Aerym is warned of their imminent demise... Yet even now he doubts if he's strong enough to combat what's to come.

With little hope left for him and his friend, Aerym resigns to go far to the south, to the lands where magic is as common as war. To where he might get answers, and, if he's lucky, strength enough to gain control of his own life.

Memories and prophecies guide them on their path to salvation, but the past lies, and the future speaks only in tragedies.

Is it truly a blessing to know what's coming even if you're powerless to stop it?

©2024, 2025 Noah Isaacs (P)2025 Noah Isaacs

All the ingredients for an adventuresome journey

Book 1 of a 2-part series with a prequel story seems an odd place to start a tale, but here we are. Meeting our main characters and those that will become close friends, guides, and rivals. There's physical and emotional growth, sprawling landscapes, faux and deadly battles, special abilities, and magic. The cast is on the younger side, but this is no YA targeted quest. The descriptions and dialogue are full on adult language peppered with expletives. The adventure itself is about as flat as the prairies being traversed. But perhaps book 1 is focusing more on the world building, which it does a good job with. I wish a measure of tension and a few dashes of loss or torment were a larger part of the recipe. Kevin Elliott stretches the source material to its fullest extent and provides clear narration and recognizable voice changes between speakers. Overall, it provides satisfying sustenance for your ears. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 2.0x.]

Solid Start

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of the audiobook from the narrator.

3.5/5 stars (rounded up)

In the original description I was given, it was presented as something akin to Wheel of Time. Well it has the young characters going off on a grand fantasy adventure. Pretty original, definitely not Shannara levels of imitation. Plausible, flawed young characters. Can't exactly judge the full story arc as it is just a start, but it holds some promise at least. However, akin to early Wheel of Time, it is clearly a relatively inexperienced writer. There are bits and pieces of mistakes (nothing serious) and a lot of cases where the language could clearly be done better. It isn't enough to really detract from the story, and it is the kind of thing that will smooth out after a few more books.

Overall, worth a listen. Always nice to see reasonable new authors and it is entertaining.

Spell-binding

A short, yet captivating, glimpse into a new and magical world. I really enjoyed it.

Great tale

I really enjoyed this listen. Aerym started a bit brooding, and through the book, you see more of his character and reasons for his somewhat dark disposition shine through. My goodness, what a life. Good supporting characters. The book definitely setup for a second in the series at the end. I think the story could have been sped up just a bit, but otherwise, I liked it. Nice fantasy tale.

A slow start, but an engaging finish.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Memories of Tomorrow is definitely a slow starter. For the first half of the book, I struggled to feel engaged with the story or connected to the characters. I had difficulty picturing them or even telling Aerym and Jasper apart, they tended to blend together, and neither stood out in a meaningful way. Despite the author clearly aiming to create a rich world, I felt there was surprisingly little world-building or character backstory early on to anchor me or give me the investment I was hoping for.

There was also a production hiccup in the narration where a line was repeated, which briefly pulled me out of the experience. However, the second half of the book was a very different story. The plot found its stride, the narrative threads began to weave together into something intricate and compelling, and the narrator’s performance became more expressive. By the end, I was fully hooked.

The ending sets the stage well for the next book, leaving the future of the heroes wide open and the reader eager to follow where their journey goes next. Overall, it's definitely worth a read, if you find yourself struggling in the beginning, keep pushing through. It truly does find its rhythm and delivers a strong, engaging finish.