One of the biggest limitations of the human condition is how fleeting our lives are. If there’s anything that people want more than money and fame, it’s living forever.
It’s a powerful desire that’s reflected in our literature. But is it really that tantalizing a price or just a curse in disguise? Most books about immortality tackle this dilemma in plenty of imaginative and sometimes concerning ways.
Books About Immortality
Whether by science or magic, plenty of books explore the possibility of immortality—or at the very least, extremely prolonged life spans that might as well be considered eternity. Below are just a few of them.
1. The Suicide Club by Rachel Heng
Lea Kirino is a “Lifer”, someone with the potential to live forever if she does things right. Successful, rich, and genetically perfect, there’s little doubt about her achieving eternal life.
And then that perfect life is turned upside down when she spots her estranged father on a crowded street. With him comes The Suicide Club—a group of powerful individuals who reject immortality in a world where death is illegal.
2. Diaspora by Greg Egan
Most humans have become citizens of the Coalition of Polises, a network of supercomputers that span the solar system. It allows them a deathless existence in virtual worlds with limitless possibilities.
“Fleshers”, or people who opt to stay as organic beings, still exist on Earth. However, when a cosmic explosion threatens all life on the planet, a pair of citizens must convince these doubtful people to find a way out—either by giving up their cherished bodies or finding shelter.
3. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
It is 1969 and a mystical woman has come to New York City, claiming to be able to tell anyone’s day of death. Fascinated, four siblings at the peak of adolescence sneak off to hear their fortunes.
What comes next are the five decades of their future. One runs away looking for love; another joins the army as a doctor; a third becomes a magician obsessed with bending reality, and still a fourth throws her life into the possibilities of immortality.
4. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Ursula Todd dies and is born again—a cycle she is unaware of but has undergone multiple times. And with every reset comes a life lived unlike that of the last, answering the question: “How would I have lived if I had done things differently?”
5. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Ten-year-old Winnie Foster discovers a magical spring on her family’s property—one that grants immortality to anyone who drinks from it. She meets Tuck and his family, who, having drunk from the spring, now experience the world unshackled by time.
Offered the same choice, Winnie must decide whether an eternal future is better than the life she has now.
6. The Postmortal by Drew Magary
The cure for aging has been found and made available for everyone. But the resulting world is far from what everyone has imagined. Immortality doesn’t necessarily solve all the other problems plaguing the world, especially ones easily solved by death.
7. Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
In the 25th century, humanity has conquered both the stars and time. Using an extremely expensive procedure, a person’s mind can now be stored and easily downloaded to a new body called a “sleeve”.
Thrown into a new body, Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs is tasked to investigate a recent death—his own client’s.
8. Mind Of My Mind by Octavia Butler
Doro is an immortal telepath, able to jump from body to body to maintain his existence. Intent on creating his own race of superhumans, he runs a breeding program by possessing the bodies of people he deems suitable and having them procreate.
The closest he has come to is Mary—young, poor, and slowly becoming aware of her latent abilities. But her wants are not the same as her father’s, leading to a devastating war that will set the course of humanity.
9. Healer by F. Paul Wilson
Steven Dalt should have died in that cave. Instead, he now has a parasitic passenger in his brain that has altered his body to perfection—no disease, no aging.
Through the years and across the cosmos, Dalt and his passenger become known as The Healer. And with a mind-altering disease currently ravaging civilizations, The Healer might be the only one equipped for battle.
10. Dracula by Bram Stoker
Everlasting youth and life may be the greatest of prizes but they come with an extremely steep prize. For Count Dracula, it means drinking blood, forever shunning the sun, and basically becoming a monster.
Unfortunately for him, his attempt to move to England and spread his curse is met with steadfast resistance. Led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a small group of perfectly normal humans work together to stop the undead from further encroaching on the land.
Reading Immortality Books
Humans have probably been searching for the secret to eternal life since we began understanding the concept of death. Writers have been writing about the subject for almost just as long.
Over the years, people have thought of creative ways how we can achieve immortality and its potential effects on our society, economy, and the world in general. And while a few paint utopias, most present a depressing vision of stagnation and corruption.
Of course, it’s not certain which one will come true. Humanity isn’t even close to artificially lengthening life spans, much less making them endless. But it is fun to speculate, isn’t it?
What book about immortality did you enjoy reading? Share it in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
