If you could live forever, would you? It’s an age-old question that’s been stoking the imaginations of writers for centuries, leading to an abundance of books about immortality and the lengths people will go to attain it.
Elixirs of life, deals with the devil, transplanted consciousnesses, and the Fountain of Youth: The routes characters take to achieve eternal life are varied but equally fascinating.
To me, it’s most intriguing to imagine how immortality would affect not just an individual, but society as a whole. Drew Magary does a fantastic job of exploring this in The Postmortal, as does Neal Shusterman in Scythe. Living in a world full of unaging, undying people has its consequences!
Whether you’re Team Immortality or Team I-Hope-to-Live-a-Long-Life-and-Die-of-Natural-Causes, the following books will leave you with much to ponder when it comes to the blessings and curses of eternal life.
1. The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson
Ambitious in scope and brilliant in its execution, Anderson delivers a masterful examination of what immortality would look like — really look like — in different periods of human history, including aspects of eternal youth not often discussed in literature.
A few of the many scenarios Anderson plays with include: How would immortality differ for men and women, particularly in ages when men ruled without consequence? What would it be like to be born into slavery and grow up with the knowledge that you may never escape it?
This is an impressive and sweeping work of science fiction where historical, sociological, and philosophical ideas are raised and challenged by a group of people blessed (or cursed, depending on how you view it) with the gift of unending life.
2. Scythe by Neal Shusterman
In the future, humanity has rid the world of everything bad, including hunger, violence, war, and even death. Everyone lives forever in perfect health, which sounds like a dream. So what’s the catch?
It turns out even utopias are susceptible to overpopulation.
This is where the scythes come in. Responsible for culling the herd, scythes are the only means to achieve death in an otherwise perfect society. As two new apprentices, Rowan and Citra, begin their training, they discover that evil and corruption have taken hold of the scythedom.
Shusterman’s unique take on immortality and his layered world-building put Scythe a cut above the rest of the crowded crop of YA dystopian literature (which makes it a must-read for fans of The Hunger Games).
3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
RIP Dorian, you would have loved fillers and botox.
In Wilde’s only published novel, innocence and naivety give way to hedonism when Dorian Gray sells his soul to stay young and beautiful forever, letting his image in a portrait grow old in his place. As Dorian sinks further into a life of depravity, his portrait begins to reflect the cruel and immoral nature of his actions.
Eternal beauty doesn’t seem worth the price Dorian ends up paying in this classic book about immortality. I’m with Lord Henry on this one, who remarks to Dorian, “To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.”
4. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Babbitt’s beloved children’s book about accepting the inevitability of death has proven to have everlasting appeal, as evidenced by its many awards and adaptations.
Ten-year-old Winnie finds out the Tuck family has become immortal by drinking water from a magical spring, and she finds herself tempted to take a sip, too, in order to stay with Jesse and the rest of the Tucks forever. The evocative imagery and the emotional stakes make Tuck Everlasting a propulsive read for kids and adults alike.
5. The Postmortal by Drew Magary
Overwhelmed by diet, exercise, and other anti-aging tips? Take a trip to a fantasy land where humanity has come up with a cure for aging and people can choose whether or not to live forever. But as is often the case with offers of immortality, it might just be too good to be true.
Magary’s witty and macabre sci-fi novel chronicles the life of one man as he receives the cure and journeys into a postmortal life. One of the most intriguing aspects of The Postmortal is the in-depth exploration of how immortality would affect different aspects of society, including religion, government, and the family unit.
6. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Clay Jannon gets more than he bargained for when he takes the night shift at the local bookstore. He’s suddenly thrust into the middle of a conspiracy-laden adventure with a strange cast of characters, each of whom is devoted to unlocking the secret of immortality.
Sloan’s debut is a book about books that’s a delightfully wild read from start to finish and is perfect for fans of quirky bookstores, tech enthusiasts, and mystery lovers.
7. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Here’s one for the die-hard cyberpunk fans out there in the far-flung universe. In the 25th century, death is dead, as people can have their consciousness saved and “re-sleeved” into a new body. But that just means the body count is even higher and the deaths are much more gruesome.
This first entry in the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy is a thrilling hardboiled sci-fi noir that netted a Philip K. Dick Award and a Netflix adaptation.
8. This Immortal by Roger Zelazny
In this novel, mankind has nearly wiped itself out in a nuclear holocaust and the remnants of humanity are now employed by an alien race that operates Earth as a tourist attraction. (Capitalism knows no bounds, even in the wake of an apocalypse.)
The fate of the planet rests in the hands of one such employee: Conrad Nomikos, an immortal man with a mysterious past and supernatural powers.
Zelazny combines playful prose, strong overtones of Greek mythology, and unforgettable characters in his sci-fi debut that tied with Dune for the 1966 Hugo Award — a feat that says more about Zelazny’s writing than any glowing endorsement possibly could.
9. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Mitchell’s genre-bending, award-winning story takes you through the life of Holly Sykes, a supernaturally gifted woman caught up in the struggle between two immortal factions.
A wild ride with apocalyptic ends, this is more a collection of related stories, each of which bears its own distinct style. Mitchell fans will be delighted by the many nods and references made to characters from the author’s previous works, such as The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and Ghostwritten.
10. Immortality, Inc. by Chip Walter
Benjamin Franklin said nothing is certain except death and taxes, but it turns out he could be wrong on one of those counts. Walter, a former CNN bureau chief and award-winning science journalist, dives deep into the key players leading the charge on extending human life — potentially indefinitely.
Throughout the numerous interviews he conducted with scientists and Silicon Valley visionaries, Walter finds that it’s not a question of if immortality can be achieved but when. This is a gripping and insightful look into a subject that is both fascinating and fraught with social, moral, and ethical considerations.
11. Why We Die by Venki Ramakrishnan
Why We Die is an absorbing exploration of longevity from a Nobel Prize-winning structural biologist.
Ramakrishnan digs into the science behind aging while addressing the latest theories on ways to extend the human lifespan. The author also questions the ethics and fallout of these ventures, and whether living longer is actually better for us.
This book blends science and philosophy in an accessible — and thought-provoking — way.
