Scan barcode
astridparamita's review
5.0
Immortal tells a story about Adam, a man who existed (most likely, according to Adam) since the beginning of mankind. He was not your typical immortal superhero guy with superpowers nor was he the most handsome man in the universe. Adam was more or less like a normal human; except that he stopped aging at thirty-two, has a super immune system, and a whole lot more story to tell.
To me, it was a modern book about being immortal. It’s funny and sarcastic (which I love!), and at the same time it’s also mysterious and gripping. I love the author’s take on it; I personally believe it’ll take a whole lot sense of humor to survive centuries on earth (plagues, natural disasters, wars, …!).
I would recommend this book for everyone who likes a funny twist on a fantasy story. Even if you’re not usually into fantasy stories, I’d still recommend this book. Adam will entertain you and make you laugh!
For my interview with Gene Doucette, the author of Immortal, please visit: http://astridparamita.com/2011/04/book-review-author-interview-immortal/
To me, it was a modern book about being immortal. It’s funny and sarcastic (which I love!), and at the same time it’s also mysterious and gripping. I love the author’s take on it; I personally believe it’ll take a whole lot sense of humor to survive centuries on earth (plagues, natural disasters, wars, …!).
I would recommend this book for everyone who likes a funny twist on a fantasy story. Even if you’re not usually into fantasy stories, I’d still recommend this book. Adam will entertain you and make you laugh!
For my interview with Gene Doucette, the author of Immortal, please visit: http://astridparamita.com/2011/04/book-review-author-interview-immortal/
wotv's review
5.0
I met Gene on Twitter and was impressed by his wit. I was a little afraid to read his book... what if I didn't like it? What would I say? Well, my son latched onto it first and told me it was one of his favorite books. He had recently finished The Passage and was looking for something completely different. He has eclectic tastes like his mom... Anyway, I had to unearth Immortal from his room (the cave, as we call it) and finally had a chance to read it.
It isn't easy to blend humor, action, suspense, mystery, and some fantasy into one book, but somehow Gene took all of the elements, shook them together, and poured out one hell of a novel. Read this one and you won't be disappointed.
I hope he's working hard on a sequel....
It isn't easy to blend humor, action, suspense, mystery, and some fantasy into one book, but somehow Gene took all of the elements, shook them together, and poured out one hell of a novel. Read this one and you won't be disappointed.
I hope he's working hard on a sequel....
chris_the_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting premise, though a bit too much "when you're an immortal like me..."
hoosjon's review against another edition
4.0
Not what I would term "fine literature," but an engaging read, promoting thoughts, both positive and negative, about immortality. It was good enough that I went ahead and got the second one.
favoritereadingplace's review against another edition
3.0
Ok. The author does better with spaceships.
djmcewen's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting concepts
I really liked the reworking of supernatural concepts into something that fits a bit more into the real world, even if we don't know the science behind it. Protagonist is a fairly decent sort and his stories are quite interesting. Fun read overall.
I really liked the reworking of supernatural concepts into something that fits a bit more into the real world, even if we don't know the science behind it. Protagonist is a fairly decent sort and his stories are quite interesting. Fun read overall.
dsoobs's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
majincloud's review
4.0
This book is something i've been searching for a while. It brings back the feeling i had when i was first watching Highlander as a child. The main character feels like Methos for the most part. It's what made me read the book with only one break (for sleep). The only reason i cant give it a 5 star is because of the bad guys. All of them have this "lets be gentlemen about violence" that at the beginning was kind of irritating an just got worse at the end. I get that all ofg them are professionals, but when more and more pop up it's like they're clones
All in all it's a great book and i will probably continue reading this series
All in all it's a great book and i will probably continue reading this series
mollymortensen's review
2.0
Warning: This is an adult book for violence, sex, and adult humor.
I am a sucker for funny books, so I when I read the summary I was sold. I mean, a funny immortal guy? I’m there.
There’s also more to the world than just one immortal guy, there’s vampires, iffrits, demons and all sorts of other things, which was cool.
I’m still not sure if I like the main character or not. He’s definitely an antihero; killing when necessary, and not always saving people, though he does feel bad about it later. He’s also a drunk. (He was drunk for like 90% of this book.)
The good:
I liked that for once there was an immortal who liked being immortal, even if he is a bit cynical about everything. He doesn’t want to die, and he’s a unique immortal, because he’s pretty sure that things that would kill a normal person would kill him too, he just doesn’t age or get sick.
There’s an info dump at the beginning telling about his life, but I didn’t mind it at all, because it was well done and witty. I loved his ability to blend into with whatever culture he’s around, his skin tone and hair changing. I wish this had been used more, it was a unique little twist.
He makes many observations about humans that really added to the story and made me believe the whole immortal thing. Like he comments that there are only so many faces out there, so it’s weird running into someone you used to know.
I actually liked the flash backs better than the main story. I understand the need for flashbacks with an immortal character living a long life, but the flash forwards (thankfully done in italics) complicated things a bit too much. Once it stays in one time the pace really picked up and it was a more enjoyable read.
The Bad:
I didn’t like the Iffrit Jerry, I thought he was crude. Fortunately he isn’t in the book much.
Towards the middle of the book it gets into the whole sex thing.
Adam’s done some horrible things in his life, (He always defends himself in parentheses saying it was what everyone at the time did.) but some of those things are pretty unforgiveable.
For instance when talking about his early life (cave man type days) he said: “We won the fight and rewarded ourselves by raping several of their women. It’s what one did. Don’t ask me to feel bad about it if you weren’t there.” This wasn’t funny and was completely unnecessary.
Verdict: Immortal is hard book to rate, because I liked most of it and it’s certainly an amusing book, with some interesting details, but there were aspects that I really didn’t like.
Odd fact: I was watching that new show Forever (which is very good by the way) and at the end of the second episode (Forever spoiler alert) the bad guy says something which totally made me think of this book.
“You want to call me something, call me Adam, feels like I’ve been here right from the beginning.“ – Adam, Forever
“I like to brag that I’ve been there from the beginning, and while this may very well be true, I generally just say it to pick up girls.” -Adam, The Immortal
Visit my blog Woven Magic Books for an interview with the author.
Point of View: First (Adam)
Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)
Comedy Scale: 2 amusing, but I didn’t laugh aloud.
My Rating: 5/10 Stars
I am a sucker for funny books, so I when I read the summary I was sold. I mean, a funny immortal guy? I’m there.
There’s also more to the world than just one immortal guy, there’s vampires, iffrits, demons and all sorts of other things, which was cool.
I’m still not sure if I like the main character or not. He’s definitely an antihero; killing when necessary, and not always saving people, though he does feel bad about it later. He’s also a drunk. (He was drunk for like 90% of this book.)
The good:
I liked that for once there was an immortal who liked being immortal, even if he is a bit cynical about everything. He doesn’t want to die, and he’s a unique immortal, because he’s pretty sure that things that would kill a normal person would kill him too, he just doesn’t age or get sick.
There’s an info dump at the beginning telling about his life, but I didn’t mind it at all, because it was well done and witty. I loved his ability to blend into with whatever culture he’s around, his skin tone and hair changing. I wish this had been used more, it was a unique little twist.
He makes many observations about humans that really added to the story and made me believe the whole immortal thing. Like he comments that there are only so many faces out there, so it’s weird running into someone you used to know.
I actually liked the flash backs better than the main story. I understand the need for flashbacks with an immortal character living a long life, but the flash forwards (thankfully done in italics) complicated things a bit too much. Once it stays in one time the pace really picked up and it was a more enjoyable read.
The Bad:
I didn’t like the Iffrit Jerry, I thought he was crude. Fortunately he isn’t in the book much.
Towards the middle of the book it gets into the whole sex thing.
Adam’s done some horrible things in his life, (He always defends himself in parentheses saying it was what everyone at the time did.) but some of those things are pretty unforgiveable.
For instance when talking about his early life (cave man type days) he said: “We won the fight and rewarded ourselves by raping several of their women. It’s what one did. Don’t ask me to feel bad about it if you weren’t there.” This wasn’t funny and was completely unnecessary.
Verdict: Immortal is hard book to rate, because I liked most of it and it’s certainly an amusing book, with some interesting details, but there were aspects that I really didn’t like.
Odd fact: I was watching that new show Forever (which is very good by the way) and at the end of the second episode (Forever spoiler alert) the bad guy says something which totally made me think of this book.
“You want to call me something, call me Adam, feels like I’ve been here right from the beginning.“ – Adam, Forever
“I like to brag that I’ve been there from the beginning, and while this may very well be true, I generally just say it to pick up girls.” -Adam, The Immortal
Visit my blog Woven Magic Books for an interview with the author.
Point of View: First (Adam)
Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)
Comedy Scale: 2 amusing, but I didn’t laugh aloud.
My Rating: 5/10 Stars