A Life Eternal

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Out there, at this very moment, the three children of London; Deprivation, Crime and Horror, were hiding their despicable faces from the sun. But when the moon rose tonight, and the fog rolled around the dirty. dangerous streets, those white, inhuman faces would grin up into the night." Sam once again is on the trail of X-Ray and nothing is going to stop him getting his man. There is also the shadowy 'Widower Maker' to contend with, a serial killer who is as gruesome and awful as any character can be. All in all, Sam has his hands full, but, being the man he is, he isn't going to stop until he's won the day. I started this book as I usually do, right before bed. I generally read for an hour or so then fall asleep around 9:30-10:00-ish. I stayed up till 1:30 in the morning that first night, then read all the next day (even though I read a LOT, I'm a pretty slow reader much to my annoyance). I read this every chance I got until about the 70% mark when I stopped. I didn't want it to end. I loved it so much I didn't want to continue because that would mean I had finished it and would no longer be experiencing it for the first time. Does that make sense? My husband said that made no sense, lol.

Every now and again there is an aside in the voice of ‘the dark man’. Unlike many detective novels, where the murderer is just portrayed as a bad ‘un, the psychopathy of this murderer is believable, I thought. Gradually it dawns on us who it is. I rather thought the suspects were guessed too easily by the investigators. A little more than halfway through the book, it looks like the crime is solved. But Pence suspends Handy from duty. Jarman and Handy work out who the original Ripper was. 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. Overall, entertaining, as dark and atmospheric as such a tale ought to be and with an excellent plot twist. Recommended for thriller fans, especially historical thrillers. Thanks Netgalley. What kind of trouble would you get into if you were immortal? Rob is a soldier in WWI and suffers injuries fighting that should have killed anyone, but when he’s on the verge of death, a strange man touches him, and Rob recovers fully. Doctors are baffled. Sooner or later it becomes obvious that Rob isn’t aging. What’s going on?Richard Ayre's A Life Eternal is a book that poses so many dilemmas. If you were able to live forever, how would you feel? Is it something to treasure or resent, the power of immortality. The team is complete - Handy & his sergeant, Callow, Jarman & his factotum, Curmudgeon (a wonderful character, very aptly named). If there's one thing this story has, it's atmosphere. Coming from the other end of the country I have no idea what the south west is like (apart from a few holidays in the general area), but Kruse has created a sense of time and place brilliantly. 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’. The writing style is solid and again, very much like reading a first person interview. It reminded me of "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice, in its style, but Rob’s unburdening of self is less story and more ‘police report”...”I did this, and then I did that, and then I went here…”.

A brilliant, humane, thrilling story spanning decades of significant events in world history. It explores a subject that human beings have been pondering since the beginning of time. Eternal life on this earth. Eternal youth. Wouldn’t that be wonderful! Living forever in a body that never ages yet having the wisdom of an ancient soul. 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). This is a psychological study as well as a journey through the ages. It’s a sociological study as well. Rob’s experiences change him, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. It’s interesting to follow along and to wonder what turn he’s going to make next. It makes one wonder what they would do in his situation.So I'm a huge horror fan. It's my go-to genre. I love the adrenaline, I love the seemingly neverending fought against Evil and how all these characters overcome their plight. It seems the more intense the horror, the greater the cottage too overcome... But like with all good things you need a break. I wanted something to warm my heart, bring treats to my eyes, and yet keep my attention and interest. This book did just that.