For this review, I had a hard time picking where to start. So, I’ll just say that I loved The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt. I don’t remember what I was expecting when I requested this book, but what I read wasn’t it. This book caught me by surprise in the best way. So, let’s get right into the review.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.
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TL;DR
The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt is a fast, fun mix of science fiction and horror. Sean Wren treks through a derelict spaceship in search of data that could reshape the political landscape of the galaxy. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
The Immortality Thief is a ridiculously fun, fast paced, seat-of-your-pants read full of treasure hunts, traps, deadly enemies, betrayal, secrets, mysterious aliens, adventure and action as the story races to the find the secret to immortality.
Far off the edge of human existence, beside a dying star lies a nameless ship abandoned and hidden, lost for a millennium. But there are secrets there, terrible secrets that would change the fate of humanity, and eventually someone will come looking.
Refugee, criminal and linguist Sean Wren is made an offer he knows he can’t refuse: life in prison, “voluntary” military service – or salvaging data in a long-dead language from an abandoned ship filled with traps and monsters, just days before it’s destroyed in a supernova. Data connected to the Philosopher’s Stone experiments, into unlocking the secrets of immortality.
And he’s not the only one looking for the derelict ship. The Ministers, mysterious undying aliens that have ruled over humanity for centuries, want the data – as does The Republic, humanity’s last free government. And time is running out.
In the bowels of the derelict ship, surrounded by horrors and dead men, Sean slowly uncovers the truth of what happened on the ship, in its final days… and the terrible secret it’s hiding.
Review: The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt
In the far future, when Earth is a myth, the galaxy stands underneath a cold war between the Republic and the Ministers. The Republic represent humanity, and the Ministers are a plague that have subjugated and devastated humanity within their sphere. They’re near immortal warriors with abilities far exceeding those of the humans they oppress. It is against this background that Sean Wren, a thief who lives on the fringes of Republican society, is coerced into salvaging data from a ship that’s been lost to humanity for over a thousand years. Sean’s natural affinity for languages makes him an excellent person for this trip because what the team is looking for data stored in a dead language, a language that the Ministers attempted to wipe out. Sean and his team soon find out that lost doesn’t mean empty. Aboard that ship may be the key to altering humanity’s fate within the galaxy – for better or worse.
The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt is a first person point of view blend of science fiction and horror. Its action-filled, unrelenting pace still somehow fits in important character moments. Goodreads places this book at over six hundred pages, which means I was regularly putting down sixty plus pages during a reading session. I was glued to the book until the very end.
Sean Wren
Sean’s background is one of trauma. He and his partner, Benny, are the only survivors of a Minister raid on their town. They lived in a city on an independent planet that the Republic abandoned to the Ministers. Sean and Benny’s families were wiped out. As a teenager who didn’t know the end was coming for his family, Sean spoke typical sibling nonsense that was really mean to his sister. It was the last words he ever said to her, and he carries that guilt around with him years later. The fact that he and Benny were the only survivors means they have a bond stronger than any other loyalty, and Sean would do anything for Benny, even stop him from killing a cop. Unfortunately, this lands them both in jail awaiting a trial they surely can’t win. This brings them an opportunity to escape just legal punishment and potentially become richer than either could ever dream.
Sean is the only point of view throughout the book. So, the book’s success depends solely upon the reader liking him. I did. He’s funny, caring, a bit naive I’d say. He tries to make sure everyone wins. He’s a terrible fighter with claustrophobia and no sense of direction. The trauma and guilt of losing his family sticks with him and has taught him to preserve life if he can. Sean’s mouth will get him in trouble, and he’ll push people’s buttons to get a reaction. He’s a fantastic character.
Mysteries and Surprises
There are mysteries in The Immortality Thief, but they’re short-lived and not all that mysterious. That’s okay. The action and constantly wondering what would happen next propelled me through the novel, not the mysteries. I had guessed the terrible secret pretty early on, and I think most people will. That’s also okay. The Immortality Thief ended almost exactly as I predicted it would. I didn’t mind. Throughout the book, I constantly wondered what was around the next corner. Sean’s journey through the derelict ship is fascinating enough to carry the story on its own.
Now, just because the mysteries were easy to figure out doesn’t mean there’s no surprises. This book kept me on my toes. Hunt throws a variety of obstacles in Sean’s path from psychological to physical, from violence to diplomacy. I was surprised often because I didn’t know what was coming next: monsters, Ministers, structural failure, etc. And most surprising, Hunt makes time during all these challenges to grow Sean as a character and flesh him out for the reader. It’s not the action by itself that kept me glued to the page; it was worry over how Sean would overcome everything Hunt does to him.
Chapter Titles
Heads up. Pay attention to chapter titles. If they’re anything like they were in my advanced copy, there’s some real gems there. For example, “Some Fresh Bullshit.”
Conclusion
Taran Hunt’s The Immortality Thief continually surprised me through six hundred pages. It was a fun, fast read that would make an excellent movie or an even better video game. If interesting people exploring a derelict spaceship sounds good to you, you’re gonna want to read this book. Highly recommended.
The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt is available from Solaris on October 11th, 2022.
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