Chloe Gong's books have been featured in the New York Times and Forbes. Immortal Longings, the first book in her Flesh and False Gods series, is listed on the bestseller lists for the New York Times and USA Today, as well as Amazon's Best of Science Fiction & Fantasy list. We've got a lot going on in this one, so be ready for death, gore, suicidal thoughts, a toxic relationship or two, gratuitous violence and blood, murder, colonization, injury details, and classism. This is a review for Immortal Longings, if you are looking for a recap of the book before moving on to the second book, Vilest Things, click here for our series summary.
Every year, the kingdom of Talin stages a game in the capitol of San-Er. The winner gets riches beyond their wildest dreams but the games are incredibly deadly, for more than just the competitors. The people of Talin have the ability to move their spirits between bodies, so most of them don't get attached to whichever body their using. It makes the games more exciting, someone who is good at "jumping" can move their spirit before the body dies and therefore, stays in the game, but it makes the game more dangerous for the people who are just trying to get through their days. At any time, their body could be invaded unless they are strong enough to fight the intruder off. This year, there are two very interesting competitors: Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat who is one of the best jumpers alive and who is desperate for the winning pot to save the life of his comatose girlfriend, and Calla Tuoleimi. I'm sorry, Princess Calla Tuoleimi, who killed her parents in a massacre five years ago. According to official records, she was caught and killed, but she now has her eyes set on the current king, her uncle, and she plans to kill him before the palace can catch her. Luckily (for her), she will have some help from her adopted cousin August, the heir to the crown.
I was tasked with reading this book because the other members of my book club have already read it and they want us to read the sequel together. This book has such an interesting premise but it is incredibly confusing at the beginning, and at some points in the middle, and again at the end. If you were confused when I explained jumping in the previous paragraph, the book doesn't make it much easier to understand. In fact, as an avid fantasy reader, there were several things in this book that confused me or were not explained well. That being said, I did enjoy this book. It really started to pick up toward the end. However, it seemed to take forever for me to read and none of the characters are what I would call likeable. I'm not really sure what the motivation behind any of the main characters is, right now they are hiding behind a veil of being mysterious and it's too early to tell if the character construction and plot are just full of holes, but there are only two books in the series so I will report back soon. I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic, although I've been burned by that before.
I'm giving Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong 3.75 stars out of 5. Spice level is a measly .5. I hope momentum from the end of the first continues right away in the second novel and that some of my questions get answered, but we will see. For the series summary of Flesh and False Gods, click here.
For more from Chloe Gong, check her out at https://thechloegong.com/
Pairs well with homemade egg noodles and never really trusting your allies.
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