UNCHAINED MEMORY

A woman and her therapist try to decode her strange visions of interstellar captivity in Frelick’s romantic SF thriller.

After waking from a mysterious, hourslong blackout in her car at the side of the road in small-town Tennessee, Asia Burdette returns home to find that her children have been killed in a house fire. Guilt-stricken, the young mother suddenly finds herself plagued by dreams of enslavement on another world. Confounding in their realism, the dreams depict an alien civilization in which human adults and children are forced to work as miners, extracting precious crystals amid brutal conditions. Asia remains tormented by restless nights and preoccupied with the circumstances of her blackout; it’s only when her case is assigned to Ethan Roberts, a handsome psychiatrist specializing in people dealing with lost time, that her luck begins to change. The vividness of her experience eventually reveals her to be an alien-abduction survivor, even turning Ethan into a believer. He jeopardizes his career to help unravel the mystery of Asia’s dreams, accompanying her on an increasingly dangerous journey of discovery that reveals that she’s not alone in her experience. Before long, the pair discover that there are some people who will do almost anything to keep Asia’s story a secret. Frelick offers imaginative descriptions and pulse-pounding action (“Dust billowed and choked the life from lungs and air filters. Supports collapsed and tons of mountain crushed screaming workers in pockets of tens or hundreds”). Although it does offer some upsetting content at times, its scenes of violence aren’t graphic. Throughout, the plot keeps readers guessing with a thoroughly well-crafted mystery, but those looking for passionate romance will not be disappointed; there are several love scenes. It all concludes with a hint of more adventures to come that will leave readers wanting more.

A suspenseful and steamy otherworldly tale.