Memory Blank [Paperback]

John E. Stith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1986

Imagine what it must be like to be Cal Donley. He regained consciousness on the orbital colony Daedalus. It's a beautiful place, home for more than a million people, but Cal doesn't remember leaving Earth. In fact, he can't remember his name or most of the past dozen years.


What disaster has stripped away so much of his memory? Why? And what about the dried blood on his hands?


"In the realm of novels, John E. Stith's Memory Blank...is a good solid mystery, a good adventure, and even a good science-fiction novel--all between one set of covers."-- STARLOG

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ace (January 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441524176
• ISBN-13: 978-0441524174
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,847,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Some resources and info that might be of interest to readers:

Stith's site is www.neverend.com.

Look for Naught for Hire, an upcoming webisode series starring Ben Browder as a private detective in a comic near future filled with AI-based appliances that exhibit a range of human-like personality disorders. Look for the original story from ANALOG, included in ALL FOR NAUGHT.

Naught for Hire: Lying clients, criminal minds, deranged appliances -- Who you gonna trust?

The Naught for Hire site is www.naughtforhire.com.

A Naught for Hire fan community is www.naughtpiagency.com.

John E. Stith has a Facebook page, and there is a Naught for Hire Facebook page.

Also look for MANHATTAN TRANSFER. Aliens kidnap Manhattan. Read all about it.

REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS is hard SF set in a hyperspace environment where the speed of light is 10 meters per second. Flick a light switch and see the room slowly fill with light. Run, and you can create a sonic boom. Against this background is a starship hijacking where one man stands in their way.

The video page includes part of the the public domain program Science Fiction--Science Fact: SF2 that aired on PBS. All six parts are available on YouTube.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explores memory, mind, and self in action format, July 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Memory Blank (Paperback)

I believe that this is Stith's best (haven't read 'Reckoning Infinity' or 'Scapescope'). Protagonist is an individual living in an O'Neil type habitat who has undergone a procedure that rmoves memories of personal past for the previous several years. The rest of the book is the story of regaining his memory with the help of a cleverly written AI, and, of course, foiling a plot to end civilization as we know it. I really like Stith's writing; his characters are not necessarily the deepest, most convoluted personalities you could concoct, but they are very engaging. His writing, combined with an inventive plot, and the exploration of what memory is and how it relates to ego make this a very enjoyable novel. The worst thing about it is that it is out of print.