A Life Eternal

Product Information

This fascination with endless life is what drew me into this story, and it was what kept me reading when I became a little weary of the main character. Rob Deakin is equal parts everyman and no-man, but is ultimately generally unlikeable and his “glass half-empty” personality made the times he lived through, and the people he interacted with more ‘history textbook’ and less ‘historical novel’. Rob comes off as mechanical and emotionless even before he is changed by his mysterious interaction with The Medic. This fascination with endless life is what drew me into this story, and it was what kept me reading when I became a little weary of the main character. Rob Deakin is equal parts everyman and no-man, but is ultimately generally unlikeable and his “glass half-empty” personality made the times he lived through, and the people he interacted with more ‘history textbook’ and less ‘historical novel’. I liked the deeper descriptions of the futuristic workaday world as well as the magical elements. The robots, the glass-walled skyscrapers, the transport systems; all described in wonderful detail, reminding us that Steve's world, even away from magical Darkacre, is very different to our own.

This is a concept book along the lines of Ayn Rand and Lionel Shriver. It’s neither about characters nor story, and, to be honest, there aren’t actually any “characters” at all. Okay, that’s not entirely true. There are probably readers out there who’ll enjoy this book, but they certainly aren’t reading the same things I am.This Sam is a very different man from that first novel. His alcoholism in that story saw him lurching from reality and actually believing he was in the 1930's. In this story, he has quit drinking, quit smoking, and has started boxing again to get himself straight. However, he is still on the tail of the bad guys, helped this time by the local police chief who relies on his less than 'by the book' abilities to bring in the villains. I usually try very hard to find something good to say about everything I read. I don’t believe there really are any “bad books.” A Life Eternal may have me revise that opinion.

Overall though, I actually enjoyed the process; just having a pub Life is simply a clutter of lines, moving in every direction.” (p99) and it’s was. How differently would we live life if we knew we couldn’t die?However, a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger will change the course of Rob’s life forever… Not only has he been healed, but he cannot die, and he will never age. I think the idea for the story, and the character of Rob Deakin, came from my love of history, I am a history teacher, after all. The First World War was an industrial war-it was a war of factories and steel and explosives-and it has always interested me how it must have affected the men who went through it and survived.

The primary theme is as much a philosophical reflection on humanity and the sometimes sordid, sometimes mundane details of living, loving, and dying as it is a rote recital of events and people from a seemingly disengaged and disinterested main character. Rob comes off as mechanical and emotionless even before he is changed by his mysterious interaction with The Medic.It wouldn’t take him long to discover that the medic he met had imparted eternal life to him. He would never age and he would never die. He emigrated to America where he was involved in running rum during prohibition. He knew that he must keep traveling to hide his condition. He saw that people kept their distance from him. He pretended that it did not bother him and pretty soon, he began to realize that it really did not bother him. Through the years, he saw much of the world. He did many jobs. He learned several languages. He found lust and he found love. It's hard to give this story a genre; if pushed I would call it a thriller with a slice of grounded sci-fi. If you enjoy either of these then this book is for you. Whatever the genre is, though, it is simply all you could want from a book; something to take you out of the ordinary and the mundane and transport you into a world populated by characters you'll love (and hate). All in all, a victory for the author. His characterisation of the two protagonists is sublime, and we see their weaknesses as well as their obvious strenghts (especially Boswell's love of booze which is used at times for a bit of comic relief from all the mystery and horror. The positives for this story are in its secondary character development and in the direct foreshadowing offered as occasional bridges between scenes, characters, and time periods. I also found the historical period details and descriptive recounting of certain scenes and locations where the story takes place, very satisfying. The sense of place is consistently strong, and that always earns points.