Title: Blaze of Memory
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy-Changeling #6
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2009
Whilst I enjoy Katya and Dev as a couple, and their story, they are definitely a couple that I struggle just a little bit more with compared to the others in the Psy-Changeling series. I’m not sure why, maybe because I’m particularly invested in the shifters in this world. And neither Katya nor Dev are shifters. Or this is the only story of the Forgotten, so I don’t have as many characters overlapping to be excited about. Or it could just be that I don’t identify so strongly with either of them. Whatever it is, whilst I enjoy Blaze of Memory, it’s not one of Singh’s books that I can’t put down. Which is maybe not such a bad thing… I actually manage to continue acting like a responsible adult when I read this book.
Although I’m not so excited about the Forgotten, it was still interesting to receive some insight into them and how they function. The different battles they’ve faced over the hundred odd years of silence. I particularly enjoyed the letters to Matthew placed throughout the book – it was nice to read about the thoughts and motivations of a mother as their lives fracture. Plus, it gives two different timelines and points of view. The past and the present of the Forgotten and how important feelings are to people and living their best lives.
One part of the Forgotten’s journey that I love, and that is emphasised in Blaze of Memory is the importance of genetic diversity in evolution. I have a background in biology, so I, admittedly fixated on the fact that the “purity” of the Psy causes some evolutionary dead ends. In contrast, the Forgotten are able to evolve alongside the world that they live in. And ultimately are a healthier population (not just mentally, but also physically and psychically adapting to the world around them). I probably didn’t really notice this on my first few read throughs. But I really liked fixating on that within this read through of the story.
Katya has appeared in past stories and is closely tied to Ashaya, but I like how her identity isn’t obvious from the very beginning. Whilst the books have been leading to a great story arc for the entire Psy-Changeling world, the arrival of Katya and the depths that Ming will go to to destroy his “enemies” is unleashed. It’s the next step of change and things are really starting to heat up in this war. Plus, Katya’s arrival ties another group of people more closely to DarkRiver, giving them all that much more power in the world around them.
The non-stop theme throughout this series is definitely that love can conquer all. And whilst I don’t blindly believe that, I love the hope that it gives. With each reading, I find a new positive and point of joy within. Love is a powerful force, and it’s great to be reminded of that in darker days. Something about Singh’s writing always reminds me of that.
Earth and Skye 
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