[OT]Books Dealing With Immortality?

[Oni]

What are some good SF or Fantasy books deal with or touch on the subject of immortality? It's a subject that interest me and I've just finished reading Time Enough for Love and Interview with a Vampire and now I crave more.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

I never read it, but you may want to check out "The First Immortal": http://www.randomhouse.com/features/firstimmortal/

 

[astralpwka]

If you liked Interview, maybe also try Anne Rice's Mummy. It goes into the whole immortality thing also. Otherwise, all I can think of are vampire novels.

 

[Xyros]

Try Poul Anderson's _The Boat of a Million Years_.

 

[nameless]

Frank Herbert has a good story called "The Eyes of Heisenberg." Not about undeath per se, but there are explicit themes on the consequences of immortality. It's not too long, a little less than 200 pages, and it has Herbert's characteristic "low-tech" sci-fi.

-nameless

 

[s/LaSH]

If you haven't done so already, I'd suggest Gulliver's Travels. Not the oft-adapted initial Lilliputian section, or the second and fourth sections which are about non-human societies (in a way), but the third which is all about humans... and has immortals in it. Let's just say that it's not what you're expecting.

A good satire, in any case. And it's only two hundred years old.

 

[Limper]

CS Friedmans "Cold Fire" Trilogy

Horseclan books by Robert Adams

 

[John Crichton]

Might I suggest the Incarnations of Immortality books by Piers Anthony? The first book, "On a Pale Horse" was very entertaining and and easy read. The series focuses on all types of great concepts like Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil & Good. 7 books in all, some better than others (book 2 was a little weak) but quick to read and VERY entertaining.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

For a more action-packed, yet still thought-provoking, take on it, see if you can dig up issues of the still-mourned Valiant Comics' Eternal Warrior, or even Archer and Armstrong. EW is about an immortal, obviously, and often featured stories from throughout his life, from ancient Sumeria (IIRC) up to the present - and on into the future. His brother, also immortal, is the Armstrong part of Archer and Armstrong. Valiant was know for the complexity of its characters, and the self-consistency of its universe. I highly recommend either of these, or just about any other, of their titles (Turok being my fave, before they replaced him with another "Turok").

 

[Magius del Cotto]

You might want to check out Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series (especially the first one, titled Eternal Champion). While not dealing with immortality per se, it deals with the Eternal Champion, basically the hero for every occasion. The first book deals with one of the champions who is actually aware of the other forms of himself throughout the multiverse, which gives him a rather unusual take on things, I'd say. Good read, all told. Some interesting takes on things, I'd say.