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martinatan's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Despite slow initial pacing that made it difficult to get into the plot, ultimately I came to appreciate the thrilling progression of events interspersed with endearing character moments. I appreciated that the story explored interpersonal and political dynamics with an ultimate message of unity and overcoming difference. I didn’t expect there to be a bio-horror angle but it came together decently and added to the disturbing nature of the setting. This book was not seamless in its plot and worldbuilding, but was still well-written and has a lot of heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, Genocide, Death, Medical content, Child death, and Blood
Minor: Grief, War, Cursing, and Xenophobia
cerilouisereads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Body horror, Death of parent, and Violence
azrah786's review against another edition
4.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury detail, body horror, self harm, war, death, death of parents, genocide
--
A brilliant debut, The Immortality Thief is a high stakes sci-fi adventure with a dash of horror that will keep you entertained all the way through. Don’t let the 600+page count daunt you because the chapters are short and the story is super compelling, you’ll be whizzing through and wishing for more as soon as you get to the end.
To sum it up the book is basically a locked room treasure hunt, where the room in question is an abandoned spaceship that is docked near a star on the verge of supernova. Long lost, the ship is known to hold data including the secrets of immortality - the Philosopher’s Stone experiments - and there are 3 groups with their eyes on the prize.
One is a handful of convicts who have been coerced into salvaging the data in order to avoid a life sentence in prison – our protagonist Sean Wren, smuggler and expert linguist, is part of this group. There is also The Republic, the last free human government, and The Ministers, an immortal species of alien trying to subjugate all of humanity – two groups that have been at war for centuries. But not only is time against them all, so are all the traps, monsters and secrets that have been hiding in the dark corners of the spaceship for the last thousand years.
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury detail, body horror, self harm, war, death, death of parents, genocide
--
A brilliant debut, The Immortality Thief is a high stakes sci-fi adventure with a dash of horror that will keep you entertained all the way through. Don’t let the 600+page count daunt you because the chapters are short and the story is super compelling, you’ll be whizzing through and wishing for more as soon as you get to the end.
To sum it up the book is basically a locked room treasure hunt, where the room in question is an abandoned spaceship that is docked near a star on the verge of supernova. Long lost, the ship is known to hold data including the secrets of immortality - the Philosopher’s Stone experiments - and there are 3 groups with their eyes on the prize.
One is a handful of convicts who have been coerced into salvaging the data in order to avoid a life sentence in prison – our protagonist Sean Wren, smuggler and expert linguist, is part of this group. There is also The Republic, the last free human government, and The Ministers, an immortal species of alien trying to subjugate all of humanity – two groups that have been at war for centuries. But not only is time against them all, so are all the traps, monsters and secrets that have been hiding in the dark corners of the spaceship for the last thousand years.
"It probably won't bite," I reassured her.
"In my experience, spaceships don't. Not usually."
Now going into this book I expected full on action but I was pleasantly surprised with how equally humorous and thought-provoking the overall storyline was, but there is of course a fair bit of tragedy, gore and terror involved too.
From the creepy monsters and murderous tech to venturing into the unknown, Hunt’s writing perfectly captured the eerie atmosphere and heart racing tension of always having to watch your back. Though the plot predominantly unfolds in the one vast setting, the worldbuilding is gradually fleshed out through character flashbacks and the secrets that are uncovered as the ship is explored, to give us an idea of the wider universe and its history. What makes this story in particular so original and refreshing though is the focus and commentary on translation, communication and languages.
"There's no point resenting what's already happened; it's done. The only thing to do is make my situation better from here."
Sean has a mouth that gets him into trouble just as much as it gets him out of it which made his perspective both endearing and annoying to follow. (If you like witty chapter titles then you’re in for a treat.) The guy has a good heart but lacks the usual qualities expected of a leading hero and it is his familiarity with the ancient language of Ameng that makes him a key player in the hunt. Thus he finds himself negotiating for his skills with an array of interesting characters.
Among those Sean finds himself having to work with, the most notable are of course Lantern Eyes and Indigo. The reluctant relationship and banter that sparks between this trio was so fun and was my favourite part of the book.
I’m not going to go in to much detail here because honestly it is so worth enjoying it first hand, but if you love stories full of twists and high stakes, a good monster chase, morally grey characters and reluctant alliances bordering on found family then you don’t want to miss this one!
I’m eager to get my hands on the next book in the series to discover more of this world Hunt has created and to see what happens next!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Blood, and Body horror
boojumssnark's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This review is a place holder for a properly thought out, constructive review.
While I work on that, the only thing you need to know is THE BOOK IS GOOD, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY READ IT.
While I work on that, the only thing you need to know is THE BOOK IS GOOD, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY READ IT.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Murder, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Self harm, War, Blood, Colonisation, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
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