Despite its perks, immortality can, apparently, be a bore.
An ageless Egyptian pharaoh and his band of immortal friends (and enemies) descend on England on the eve of the Great War in a sequel co-authored by mother and son Rices.
In Anne Rice’s The Mummy (1989), Ramses II, known as the Great, whose long reign ended in the 13th century B.C.E., was resurrected in 1914 by English shipping magnate and archaeology dilettante Lawrence Stratford—or, more accurately, reawakened. After ingesting a special elixir, Ramses had become immortal. The earmarks of immortality include insatiable hunger (without gaining weight), capacity for alcohol (sans drunkenness, addiction, and/or liver damage), inexhaustible sexual prowess, and physical invulnerability. Not to mention that it turns your eyes blue. Occasionally, even immortals need a rest, so they secret themselves in a dark place, a pharaoh’s tomb, say, and wait for sunlight to rouse them again. Now the toast of London as Reginald Ramsey, Egyptologist, Ramses has shared the forever potion with his beloved, Julie, daughter and only heir of his now deceased discoverer. Elsewhere, assorted characters of varying longevity are slouching toward a stately home where Julie’s former fiance (no hard feelings), Alex, is hosting an engagement party for Julie and "Ramsey." Cleopatra, whose mummified remains, on display in the Cairo Museum, Ramses had revivified with a few drops of the elixir, is understandably perplexed, being the only immortal raised from actual death. Bektaten, monarch of an ancient African civilization, invented the elixir; she’s after Ramses because she suspects he stole the formula. Seeking the pure blend, not the bowdlerized version they ingested, are the fracti, hangers-on of Bektaten’s archenemy Saqnos, who live only 200 years and hope to extend their sell-by date. Complicated? Definitely, as is the plot to kidnap Julie at the party and the mind-meld that enmeshes Cleopatra and Sibyl Parker, a successful American writer of Egypt-themed pulp fiction. Once the party is in progress, the clashing immortals generate a modicum of excitement, though not enough to justify the copious expository front-loading and preachy dialogue.
Despite its perks, immortality can, apparently, be a bore.Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-97032-4
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Anchor
Review Posted Online: Sept. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
First of a three-book series covering the world of remote tomorrows, the effectiveness of this first volume is curtailed by its attempt to cover more than a century in time with its many generations of characters. Psychohistorian Seldon senses the coming crash of the galactic empire, prepares a chosen corps of his best students to colonize a remote planet where war cannot impede his work. The story of this colony's survival and eventual command of the broken empire sustains the narrative which is- this time-better science than fiction.
Pub Date: Aug. 30, 1951
ISBN: 0553382578
Page Count: -
Publisher: Gnome Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1951
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
An engaging story framed by a brooding meditation on time and meaning.
In this new novel by Haig (Reasons to Stay Alive, 2016), a man of extraordinarily long life deals with a painfully ordinary question: what is it we live for?
Tom Hazard, though he has gone by many names, has an unusual condition that makes him age exceptionally slowly—he's more than 400 years old in 2017 but looks a mere 40-something. Tragic events taught him early that his seeming agelessness is a lightning rod for witch hunters and the dangerously suspicious in all eras. For protection, he belongs to the Albatross Society, a secret organization led by Hendrich, an ancient, charismatic man who's highly protective of his members and aggressive about locating and admitting other “albas” into the group. After assisting Hendrich in one such quest, Tom starts a new life in London; he's haunted by memories of his previous life there in the early 1600s, when he had to leave his wife and young child to ensure their safety. He's losing hope that Hendrich will help him find his daughter, who he's learned shares his condition. He muddles through his days until he meets a French teacher who claims she recognizes his face. Unraveling that mystery will lead Tom to re-examine his deeply etched pessimism. Meanwhile, readers are treated to memories of his past, including encounters with Shakespeare, Capt. Cook, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Tom sometimes wallows overmuch about the changelessness of the human condition, and one might be forgiven for wondering why so much time has not done more to heal his oldest wounds. But Haig skillfully enlivens Tom’s history with spare, well-chosen detail, making much of the book transporting.
An engaging story framed by a brooding meditation on time and meaning.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-52287-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
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