In a world just parallel to ours exists a mystical realm known only as the Gardens. It is a place where feasts never end, games of croquette have devastating consequences, and teenagers are punished for growing up. For a select group of Masters, it’s a decadent paradise where time stands still. For those who serve them, however, it’s a slow torture where their lives can be ended in a blink. In a bid to escape before their youth betrays them, Dora and Thistle–best friends and confidants–set out on a remarkable journey through time and space. Traveling between their world and ours, they hunt the one person who can grant them freedom. Along the way they encounter a mysterious traveler who trades in favors and never forgets debts, a crossroads at the center of the universe, our own world on the brink of war, and a traveling troupe of actors with the ability to unlock the fabric of reality.
Read the first chapter at Tor.com.
“Blending fairy-tale atmosphere with ‘the real world, ‘ Karin Tidbeck’s The Memory Theater is lovely, dark, and hopeful all at the same time.”
–Ann Leckie, author of the Imperial Radch Trilogy and The Raven Tower
At once arrestingly strange and hauntingly familiar, The Memory Theater is a brand new fairy tale you can almost remember hearing before.
–Lara Elena Donnelly, author of the Amberlough Dossier
“The Memory Theater is a wonder, sparkling with magic and menace. Karin Tidbeck has written a taut, engrossing fable about identity, time and home that wanders through worlds that lie hidden beyond the veil of our own.”
—Shawn Vestal, author of Daredevils
“Karin Tidbeck is one of the finest writers of fantastic fiction in the world. The Memory Theater is as intricate and as gorgeous as a Swiss watch, only this watch comes from the realm of the Fae. Tidbeck’s second novel is beguiling, terrifying, and hugely compassionate. A cause for celebration.”
–Nathan Ballingrud, author of North American Lake Monsters and Wounds
Translations
Minnesteatern (Swedish)
Published by Volante 2022
Translation by Andreas Vesterlund