REVIEW: Mists of Memory by N. C. Scrimgeour
Two years ago indie author N. C. Scrimgeour gave us the sea-faring, sea monster-filled dark fantasy Sea of Souls, which combined an impeccably crafted maritime Scottish-inspired fantasy world with atmospheric prose, a dark, chilling tone and near-perfect characterisation.
Now she’s back with the sequel Mists of Memory, and not only is there no sophomore slump with this one but it sails proudly out of the seaborne fog as one of the contenders for fantasy of the year. Mists of Memory is a blood-soaked, heart-rending, compulsively addictive example of what the very best of the genre can offer.
We pick up pretty much where we left off last time, with sailor turned fugitive Isla Blackwood dealing with the revelations of her true heritage while Darce Galbraith, her soul-bonded love interest and sword master turned sea wizard, is trapped back in the capital. Immediately the stakes are set: this is the selkies versus the Admiralty, the latter headed by the memorably villainous Grand Admiral who will stop at nothing to get his daughter back and slaughter as many selkies as he can in the meantime.
In the middle of this blood feud are Isla and Darce, bonded yet separated. Isla must convince her newfound selkie family that she can save them all by completing her mother’s destiny, while Darce must try and defeat the Admiral from the inside while trying to protect Isla’s increasingly bitter brother Lachlan.
Mists of Memory is about people trying to find their true home, and what happens when that is split between their love and their family; it’s a book about sacrifice and generational healing; and it’s a book about how hatred between two peoples can blind them into cycles of violence. The vessel for exploring these meaty themes is Scrimgeour’s fantastic magic system, which involves blood magic that controls the oceans, souls being transferred through selkie pelts, a dream-walking purgatory state and more—a frankly surreal mixture that somehow feels compellingly authentic.
But this swashbuckling sequel is also a wickedly dark and fun ride across the ocean, with huge ship battles, terrifying soulless selkies made of mist riding salt-spray death horses, gruesome torture and scene-stealing twists. Scrimgeour consistently raises the stakes and the set pieces—daring rescues, naval skirmishes and twisted magic are all painted in lucid prose which is never far away from a quotable line or a haunting description.
But most impressive about Mists of Memory, even among all the ship chases and sea magic and sea bird-bonding (so much sea bird-bonding) is the first-rate character work. Scrimgeour has this ability to create realistic characters with sympathetic motivations who you desperately want to work it all out—and then pitch them against each other to torture the reader, while never sacrificing the realism.
Indeed, some of the best scenes are simply quiet conversations: the utter relief you will feel when one character gives a subtle hint they’ve not yet given up on the other, only to be devastated when fate pitches them against each other again. Oh and when these characters are hurt… getting to the end of this book requires nerves of steel and your heart constantly in your mouth so much you fear you’ll spit it out onto your bookmark.
Mists of Memory is a non-stop, deliciously dark white-knuckle ride across waters perilous that somehow finds time to stop and give us character moments that make you and break you, sometimes on the same page. To ride the waves with this crew is to experience the genre at its best—put simply, this is one of the must-read fantasies of the year.
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