9.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2022/10/11/the-immortality-thief-by-taran-hunt-review/

A decade ago, Sean Wren had a family, a future, and a home. And then the Ministers came to Krystrom.

The mysterious, immortal aliens landed in Sean’s home city of Itaka, which had been recently been visited by the Republic, and razed it to the ground. Not content with simply burning the city, the Ministers marched through the streets, killing everyone they came across—every man, woman, and child—effectively transforming Itaka into a graveyard. Sean and his friend Benny escaped that day, now they’re all either has left.

After the last decade spent on the lam, the Republic has come calling again.

Sean’s now in a very different place than before. A refuge, criminal, and linguistic savant, imprisoned and left for dead, he’s given a simple choice—do the Republic a favor, or die behind bars.

Sent to an abandoned spaceship orbiting a dying star, Sean and his crew of four are to retrieve the Philosopher’s Stone—an experimental data set intent on and rumored to unlock the secrets of immortality. Return with the data before the star goes supernova, and he’ll be free to go: record wiped clean, and five million dollars richer.

There’s a problem though. The “abandoned” ship is a bit less abandoned than they’d thought. Inhabited by nameless terrors and dead men, it’s really not the best place to explore. Nor is the nameless ship “forgotten” either. A fact that Sean learns first hand when both the Ministers and more Republic soldiers arrive seeking the data. Now, surrounded by both his worst enemies and an entire ship full of monsters, Sean must find the Philosopher’s Stone, translate the data, unravel the mystery of what happened on the ship, and live long enough to escape before the entire thing vanishes beneath the surface of a dying star.

Simple, right?

—

The Ministers had turned off their lights, both collar and flash. I could hear them moving around, the soft scrape of boot against the ground, the swish of fabric, or a sword coming free. And something from far off to my right snarled.
<i>That</i> wasn’t a Minister.

—

The Immortality Thief was an amazing read in a spot I really didn’t expect much out of. Second week in a month I’d covered my big name releases already, this debut science fiction horror story took the zero expectations I came in with and absolutely shredded them.

The setting was a great first start. A “lost” spaceship orbiting a dying star. Only the star is dying quite a bit faster than we’d expected, and the spaceship wasn’t nearly as lost as we’d been told. It was, however, haunted by most of the things that go bump in the night, plus several more no one even had names for yet. Where I’d expected a small, cramped spacecraft to give the story a claustrophobic feel, the resulting behemoth left me awed and more than a little skeptical. Luckily, my fears were assuaged. With tight and crumbling spaces, random walls, pitch black corridors, and a massive assortment of terrors lurking almost anywhere, this was the perfect setting.

I often say that it’s the characters that make a story, and again the Immortality Thief got off to a bad start. See, my first several impressions of Sean Wren—the lead and sole POV—were that he was an annoying asshole. A bad thief with a “heart of gold”. A charismatic conman and savant that needed someone else to do the dirty work for him. But upon finishing the novel… yeah, I still kinda agree with this initial assessment. And yet I still came around to Sean somewhere during the tale, enough that not only had I stopped actively rooting for him to die, but also that I almost felt bad for him when he was constantly forced into terrifying situations. Which he was—a lot. I’d feel like this was a spoiler, except it’s a horror novel filled with monsters—what do you expect?

Let’s see… characters, setting, world—all good. Let’s touch on the plot. Solid enough, a simple smash-and-grab takes a twist, and all of a sudden we’re forced to work with our two worst enemies in order to survive. With the secret of immortality at stake. Sounds good, right? Well, you won’t be disappointed.

The humor/horror ration was also a winner. I’m not a huge fan of horror, unless it’s atmospheric and relies more on good story building and less on trying to make its readers actively afraid. In my book this was good horror: creepy, not actively terrifying, but with a tense atmosphere and excellent world-building.

Not much more to rave about, really. The Immortality Thief is the start of a series, so hopefully there’ll be more to fawn over in the future, though! I completely adored my introduction to Taran Hunt and expect great things from her in the future.

TL;DR

In short, the Immortality Thief is a stunning debut from author Taran Hunt. It’s atmospheric horror at its very best. A science fiction story set on a massive spaceship in orbit to a dying star, Sean Wren must recover the Philosopher’s Stone before the sun goes supernova. Unfortunately, literally everything on the ship is out to kill him. It’s a tense, immersive, and thoroughly enjoyable tale, one that you probably don’t want to miss out on. Read it today, read it tomorrow, read it next week, read it for Scifi Month—just pick up a copy if you love science fiction, atmospheric horror, or space opera. Whole-heartedly recommended!!

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book.***

What an interesting, complicated read! Sci-fi in all the best ways, 3 interesting and very different characters that I could not help but care for and be completely invested in. Horrific and heartbreaking and I could not put it down! Simply put, WOW! I don't want to write too much and ruin it for anyone so if you love Sci-fi and a richly woven story then this is for you! Well done on this first story by the author.

loved the premise of the book and was so excited to receive an ARC from netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. It is fast paced and gripping and I look forward to the next installment.

This book is Taran Hunt‘s debut novel and I was enchanted by it! If you look for a fast paced, epic sci-fi, involving sword fights in outer space, as well as fascinating discussions around alien cultures, traditions and language, this is the book for you!

And…don’t worry! Though it’s the first part of a series, I appreciate how all major loose ends are neatly tied by the time you finish. That is lucky for me because I am successfully able to sleep at night and wait patiently for her second book. It is also even luckier for Taran Hunt, because I will not constantly harass her with questions about the second part.

there will be a second part out soon, right?
The Immortality Thief Blurb
We are in a somewhat distant future, with a crew on an important mission. The crew members are on this mission “voluntarily” in order to gain a full pardon, their alternatives being life in prison or active service.

some choice
Their mission is to retrieve data from an abandoned ship, orbiting a star near the end of its lifespan – piece of cake, right?

easy
Well…of course not.. this is the beginning of the book and of these people’s troubles!

Obviously, they accept the deal – they have to. When they first refuse (it did sounded too good to be true), they find themselves implanted with a deadly bomb, set to explode unless they go retrieve the data from the abandoned ship. Along with them, on the mission, goes Quint – their “employer”‘s representative and Leah, a prisoner, like them, whom they didn’t know prior to the mission.

Before we dive into their journey, let’s discuss a bit of this world’s context:

Politics, Context and Culture of The Immortality Thief
There are two political systems in active conflict – the Terra Nova (now called the Republic) and Maria Nova.
The two systems compete on technology as well.
FTL (Faster than light travel) seems available for both of them.
The Republic is populated by descendents of humans.
The Ministers are a deadly alien race, appeared out of nowhere, subjugated humanity for hundreds of years, and still ruled humanity in the Maria Nova system.
Several independent planets, like Kystrom, were caught in the war and ended up belonging to the Ministers after short, deadly attacks.
A thousand years ago, after the First Ministerial War, when the Ministers had taken control of the Sister Systems, they’d purged the old languages in favor of a standardized single language that both Sister Systems still spoke today as a lingua franca.
In a series of experiments, called the Philosophers’Stone experiments, also a thousand years ago, humanity is said to have discovered the secret to eternal life. The war with the Ministers began soon after that. These discoveries were lost, said to have been destroyed by the Ministers to ensure humanity remained under their control.
The Chosen are religious people who believe the immortal Ministers were sent by God to punish humanity for that.
The Immortality Thief Plot
Sean Wren was a Kystrene linguist who watched all his family die. His birth city, Itaka, burned in war. His homeworld was abandoned by the Republic and subjugated by the Ministers. He is part of the crew on a mission to retrieve important data because of his unique linguistic abilities. He is the only one to speak Ameng, a language that had been dead for a thousand years. Coincidently or not, that is right around the time the Ministers came about. Benny is his Kystrene best friend, inseparable since they left their home planet together.

The important data they are about to retrieve is about the Philosopher’s Stone experiments. The data can influence the fate of the war and give the Republic the advantage they need over the Ministers.

Along with Quint and Leah, Sean and Benny reach the Nameless spaceship. They expect it to be completely empty, abandoned for a 1000 years. Obviously – it will not be so. Again, it’s just the beginning of the book! Of course it’s teeming with the weirdest creatures!

obviously
It turns out our crew are firstly met with a strange woman, who apparently had been there for a long time. Then, a ship full of Ministers arrives as well… Not such a secret ship after all, right?

With all these people, the only one wo can speak Ameng, the language the ship’s systems use, is still just Sean Wren. The Ministers keep alive his little crew just so that he can help out. They all set out to the ship captain’s office, where apparently the data can be found. Their journey is full of dangers, as the ship is filled with wild, hungry creatures, the remaining of some weird, awful experiments.

My thoughts
This is a fast paced journey. Discovering more and more details of past failed experiments, more and more details of the data held by the Philosopher’s stone, was exhilarating. The book is large and I still read it in a few days!

I loved the way the author views languages, I love the way she showed the way of respectfully approaching a different culture. It reminded me a lot of Andy Weir‘s “Project Hail Mary” with that part and it was just so, so perfect!

I would have loved it even more if humanity’s descendents had been a little more different as well. It seems weird to me that at least 1000 years from now people born on a different planet would worship practically the same God. I understand the logic, some traditions are simply meant to transform slightly, never completely, and religion is one of those things. However, I am always curious about how authors choose to see humanity’s future and, I think, the more different it is, the more interesting it is.

We get to see Sean Wren gradually understand history better, gradually come to terms with what happened on his home planet, with his town’s burning by the Ministers. The action on the ship is sprinkled with Sean’s memories of Kystrom. This creates a full picture of his background, development and feelings, without seeming boring and managing to keep up the suspense in between.

We see Sean observing and trying to understand Ministers even from the beginning. I loved that about him as a character, even though it might have been more interesting if he’d have had an evolution to get to this stage. Sean is naturally open minded about a different culture and doesn’t generalise. He is able to dissociate the person standing in front of him of the race that did awful things to his home town. That is a great thing and few, if any, real people are realistically capable of it.

This openness, as well as his unique capability of language understanding, makes him able to gather around him a diverse cast, who trust and protect him. The story’s plot twists are just wonderful and completely in line with his strength of character, making him an all too perfect hero. This is not as satisfying as it would seem. I loved Sean. I rooted for him. He is, though, just a bit too perfect to seem real. Perhaps the second book will surprise us a little on that front.

Quotes for a little feel of the book:
The nothing-place between leaving and arriving during faster-than-light travel isn’t really Hell. Hell is the absence of God, or the absence of other people, or something like that. FTL engines just… I don’t know, grabbed space and yanked it forward, rippling like a bedsheet tugged out of place, and our ship caught up in the folds. But it sure as Hell felt like Hell.

THE IMMORTALITY THIEF, TARAN HUNT
[…] flying a ship was like speaking a foreign language. There were all these strict rules to follow to get the grammar right, but so long as you had the gist of it intact, you could make it up on the fly and be pretty well understood.

THE IMMORTALITY THIEF, TARAN HUNT
I am seven hundred years old, Mr. Wren. I have seen terrors you cannot imagine and I have kept them from humanity like a shield in the dark. And what do humans do? Rebel, and resist, and murder. It is a bitter thing when the people you are trying to protect are ungrateful. I want you to stop trying to escape me.

THE IMMORTALITY THIEF, TARAN HUNT
A little fun fact:
Sean Wren speaks Kystrene, Illenich, Patrene, sign language, Wentrese, Tamarian, Ameng, Sister Standard. WOW, right?

Conclusion
This book was a perfect weekend read! If you like sci-fi and exploring new cultures, this is an awesome read!

P.S. I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review
Links will be available on the blog and on my yt channel starting 8 October 2022

3.5/5

Y'kno that side character.. the goofy one who has a morally straight compass, always tries to do the right thing, but some how ends up in more danger than they started or just ends up messing up everything? This side character often means an untimely demise that motivates the hero to do good and push to the end?

Well, now imagine that instead of a side character, that person is now your MC and you have Sean Wren.

The Immorality Thief is a light sci-fi novel that is part comedy, part tragedy. The majority of the story takes place on a creepy ship full of horrors, but the book itself is full of quips and ridiculous situations. It was an enjoyable, easy read, but felt too repetitive at times. Sort of a rinse run and repeat battle cycle. I've also never been a fan of the good hearted goofy side characters so I found Sean quite annoying (mostly in the nick name department). Though, in the end I could appreciate that his humor is a cover for his trauma.

The novel is self contained but ends with potential for more. I find myself curious enough about the Ministers that I would pick up a sequel if there is one.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After reading the blurb for this book, I started a hunt to discover how I could read this before release. Fortunately, I was able to obtain a copy from the publisher from NetGalley; the hunt was worth it! Taran Hunt does not disappoint with this fast-paced, humorous, space adventure. Although this is mainly a sci-fi read, I was delighted to find bits of horror in this novel. If you want an exhilarating plot with impeccable pacing and great characters, you'll want to be sure to pick this up.

The immortality thief is a gripping and action packed sci-fi novel. I was immediately intrigued by the setup of the story and knew there would be many twists and turns along the way. I was not disappointed!

I really enjoyed finding out about Sean’s past and how his past defines his reaction to his situation, although I found that the book was more plot focused than character driven. The story would’ve benefited from a few slower scenes so that the reader could recover between the action and bond with the characters more.

In general, the world building was complex and well written and it’ll be interesting to see how the story continues in the next book.

Thank you to Rebellion publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.

I believe this is the first in a series, and I will keep my eye out for the next book.

I felt this book was very much setting up characters, preparing us for the next book. It is very action packed, in a nutshell it’s one big long chase, running from monsters trying not to die whilst looking for something.

It’s a lot of fun, and now the chase is over, I look forward to finding out what’s going to happen next!

My thanks to Netgalley and Rebellion for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Having read the first few chapters, I’m eagerly looking forward to getting completely lost in the story. Unfortunately, my brain currently does not have the capacity for intricate plots or cool world building, both of which seem to be abundant in The Immortality Thief.

This is definitely one of my favorites of 2022 so far, and it's also going on my favorites of all time list. This was such a well-crafted story with amazing characters and dialogue, and a setting that was so well realized in my mind. The pacing and plotting of this story was so intelligently done and wonderful, I never found myself lost or slogging through the book. I am so excited to purchase my own physical copy of this book, and I've already been given the green light to make a display at my work (library) once we get our physical copies of this book! I cannot wait for more in this world and more by this author. I have definitely found a new favorite book and author. This was absolutely stellar, please give this a read when it's available. Run, don't walk, to your local bookstores!

The Immortality Thief is Taran Hunt’s publishing debut and my goodness, it is one hell of a debut.
The story is not a particularly complicated one. Linguist Sean Wren is ever so slightly persuaded to go looking for something called the philosopher’s stone, which is a key component in the Republic’s fight against the inhuman Ministers, a long lived might be human, might not, race that currently rule humanity. Initially, they try to persuade him to undertake the task by offering to wipe his and his friend, Benny’s criminal record and also paying him lots of cash. Unfortunately, Sean has this little impish side that has to push, and they subsequently settle for putting a bomb in his and Benny’s head. They then send them to a long-lost space station type thingy that is hovering ever so closely next to an exploding supernova. Along with Benny and a member of the group that have ‘hired him’ they make their way there.
From here, as you can imagine, everything slightly goes pear shaped. In a race against time, because the planet is going to go full supernova in a matter of days,they realise that far from being abandoned for the last thousand years like they were told, the place has people, well a person, on it! And just to make the matters a little bit worse, a contingency of Ministers turn up to find exactly the same thing that Sean and the gang want. Oh! And there happens to be a ship full of monsters that either want to eat you or kill you, or maybe both!
Lots of things happen of things happen, but eventually Sean finds himself with the most unlikeliest of companions and the knowledge of where the Philosopher’s Stone is located on the small planet sized space station.
However, to get there, they have to navigate a space station full of mutants and monsters all intent on killing them. Not only that they will discover secrets along the way, not just about the nature of the station that they are on, but about themselves.
The Immortality Thief is one of those books that as soon as the it starts, it immediately decides that the fastest point from A to B is to run like hell. The plot moves along at a blistering pace revealing secrets like hidden doors so that you can catch your breath for a little minute.
The characters develop really well, and you find that it is not long before your allegiances change and you don’t know who your are rooting for.
The Immortality Thief is an enjoyable thrill ride of a book and if you like your sci – fi fast and explosive then get your mitts round this.

This books completely surprised me! I had read no previous reviews and so completely didn’t know what to expect - but i certainly wasn’t prepared to be reading one of my favourite 2022 releases. It was very intelligently written, with impressively crafted characters who had a brilliant dynamic. The pacing of the story was excellent, and the author intertwined all the contexts and sci-fi elements very naturally. It can sometimes prove difficult for authors to write a well crafted sci-fi story as well as including the setting without making the book clunky or disorganised, and Taran Hunt managed to avoid any messes that can easily be made! Overall, I can definitely see myself rereading this once I get a physical copy with the official release. I’m only frustrated that we’ll have to wait so long to get the next installation

My thanks to both NetGallery and the publisher Rebellion Publishing for an advanced copy of this rip roaring science fiction novel.

I grew up on science fiction. Comics, movies, and especially books. I loved the ideas, the action, aliens and strange civilizations. As a long time fan, it has been interesting to see how the genre has advanced, how the stories being told reflect the cultures and diversity of the people that read and write science fiction. The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt is a almost a throwback stories to the books I read from the seventies, with the writing and sensibility of today. Which together makes one of the biggest and boldest stories I have read in a long time.

Sean Wren is in a jam. Tasked to board a 1,000 year old space ship to find a long lost secret in a system with a large sun about to go supernova in only a week. His skills as a pilot and linguist in a lost language got him where he is, that and the fact that he and his companion, face life in prison for a job that went wrong. Once aboard the supposedly abandoned ship, things start to go wrong. One there is another human on board. Two the ship is boarded by aliens, called the Ministers who are responsible for the death of Sean's family and city. However there are worse things in the dark waiting for them.

Just a really great story. Hunt has a very smooth hand, and a fine sense of humor, apparant from the titles Hunt gives to all the chapters, and just the way the characters interplay with each other. Not to say this is a light story, oh no. Guilt, hate, genocide, violence, the effects of violence, are all explored and make sense in the story. Which is rare. The use of language in the story is also used well, and works well in the development of both the characters and the plot. The characters are all unique and yet all are dealing with problems that again make sense. Hunt keeps the story moving well, for a big book this goes fast and never bogs down, or fills scenes with superfluous details. Very solid story telling, in a a brand new universe I want to know more about.

This is the start of a series, and I am really excited about that. The care and the writing shows, the characters seem real, the story is scary, things happen that are tragic. I can not wait to read more by Taran Hunt, and look forward to other books in this series.

What’s this? Another sci-fi book that takes place on a spaceship and features disparate characters who have to come together to save everything? Sign me up! If you see that this book is over 600 pages and get a little scared, please don’t, it is fast paced and a very quick read. In fact, if you’re new to sci-fi I actually think this would be a great intro book. The writing style is fairly simple, there aren’t a whole lot of complicated concepts, and the ones that are here are well explained. In addition to the main story we also get flashbacks of Sean’s life growing up, in a city that was destroyed by The Minister’s, and yet it hasn’t destroyed his humanity or empathy.
Heads up: there is a fair amount of gore and body horror in the story, so just be aware.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I’m happy to see that it is the first in a series, which I will definitely be reading the rest of. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley & Rebellion Publishing for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

While I loved the premise - linguists in space! - overall this turned out to be a bit too chaotic and skirting too close to horror in places. It was a dynamic read, though!

OH! MY! WORMS (Yes, I had to mention the worms)! THIS WAS AMAZING, BRILLIANT, SENSATIONAL AND SO ON.

For the first 11% or so I could tell it was good, but wasn't sure how much I'd like it, and then it just kept getting better and better and now it's one of my favourite books. So if you feel like clocking out early you can, but I'd suggest you keep reading because it's so worth it.

The chapters have titles and some of them are hilarious, as is Sean's personality. He likes to assign things and people (and aliens) names in his head and constantly makes jokes, even when faced with near death.

Sean is also very kindhearted and never loses that which I think sends a good message. He's always for doing the right thing and that makes me so happy.

Indigo is ADORABLE. His past actions aside, you can't convince me otherwise. I love him and his light language.

OH YES, since I mentioned languages, Sean is good at them and is basically surviving with just that ability which gives me confidence in my own language learning abilities. If Sean can make it through a walking death trap, then I can surely make it through everyday life as well.

Tamara is the last member of our little trio, and you know what? I love her too. I love everyone, all the characters, it's impossible not to. Anyway, she's this hardened soldier who softens up during her reluctant alliance with Sean and Indigo. She does what needs to be done, and has some secrets of her own.

The plot was so compelling that I had a hard time putting the book down. I read it in two sessions, the second only necessary because I started the book too late the first time and was getting sleepy near the end. Otherwise I would've binged the whole thing in one go, it's that type of book.

Every situation the characters find themselves in could potentially lead to certain doom, the chapters aren't long which also makes it easier to keep going and a lot of them end in mini cliffhangers so you just HAVE TO know what happens next.

Speaking of cliffhangers, there's a huge one at the end. I NEED THE NEXT BOOK ASAP!!! I fell in love with this world and the characters inhabiting it and I'd love for it to have several sequels, spinoffs and movies. Or a tv show instead of movies, because then all the cool details could make it in.

If you like twists at every turn, space ships filled with monsters and the found family trope THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!!! GO READ IT. GO. NOW. GO.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The Immortality Thief is a sci-fi thriller set on a ship headed towards a supernova. I really liked the look of the cover and the blurb made me excited to try something a little different to what I would usually go for. Unfortunately I DNF this book at about 30% in. I felt the first few chapters didn’t really capture my attention or intrigue me, however it seemed to be a good set up, getting the world building in (and doing a good job without it being information overload). It’s hard to say what exactly it was that stopped me from getting into this book but I guess I didn’t find myself relating to any of the characters and that can be a problem for me. The further I got into the book the less interested I became and I just found myself not wanting to pick it up anymore. I don’t want to give a bad review as I don’t think it’s a bad book (in fact I may even pick it up and try again in future), for now, it just didn’t capture my attention enough and so will go with a neutral 3 stars.

promising a compelling plot and fast-paced, monstrous thrills (plus found family!), the immortality thief certainly has the recipe to delight and captivate the right audience. unfortunately, i was not in that audience.

i slogged through the first 10% of this book with mild-reluctance, hoping for something more, but nothing caught. the quipped, easy-going narrative voice kept me entertained for a bit. the characters were fine. the bare bones of the world-building served to move the actions along, but didn’t satisfy a picky reader like me. i just needed more. i certainly needed something more than the philosopher's stone as a plot device, dammit.

and yes, i’m picky and maybe in a bit of a mood after finishing some slower moving books—so i didn’t vibe with the immortality thief at all and had to DNF. i’m still hoping to comeback to this a bit later but my opinion of this book at the moment is: i’m too uninvested in everything to continue reading.

I enjoyed this book, but I like scifi, lots of action, and a twisty plot. No, there were no new, wonderful ideas in there, and I was a little dubious about the ending, but for sheer fun and keeping my nose glued to the book, this was good.
I have been reading and later, watching, scifi for many decades. I could rip this book apart by writing where all the ideas came from, but that would be a little cruel. Anyone new to scifi will love it, anyone who wants to spend some hours just being taken into another world will love it, as will anyone who liked plots full of action and some surprised. It's gripping, hard to put down and has merit. It's a book, a fun book, not an entrant for a literature competition.