Passion For Pages: Immortal by Gene Doucette

Title: Immortal
Author: Gene Doucette
Publishing Date: March 8, 2012
Source: Publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):

“I don’t know how old I am.My earliest memory is something along the lines of fire good, ice bad, so I think I predate written history, but I don’t know by how much. I like to brag that I’ve been there from the beginning, and while this may very well be true, I generally just say it to pick up girls.”

--Adam the Immortal

Surviving sixty thousand years takes cunning and more than a little luck. But in the twenty-first century, Adam confronts new dangers—someone has found out what he is, a demon is after him, and he has run out of places to hide.Worst of all, he has had entirely too much to drink.

Immortal is a first person confessional penned by a man who is immortal, but not invincible. In an artful blending of sci-fi, adventure, fantasy, and humor, IMMORTAL introduces us to a world with vampires, demons and other “magical” creatures, yet a world without actual magic.

At the center of the book is Adam.

“I have been in quite a few tight situations in my long life. One of the first things I learned was if there is going to be a mob panic, don’t be standing between the mob and wherever it is they all want to go. The second thing I learned was, don’t try to run through fire.”

--Adam the Immortal

Adam is a sixty thousand year old man. (Approximately.) He doesn’t age or get sick, but is otherwise entirely capable of being killed.His survival has hinged on an innate ability to adapt, his wits, and a fairly large dollop of luck.He makes for an excellent guide through history . . . when he’s sober.

Immortal is a contemporary fantasy for non-fantasy readers and fantasy enthusiasts alike

Review

When I first heard of Immortal I admit I wasn’t all that interested. Not because I didn’t think it could be a good story but because I didn’t think it was a story I would like.

I was wrong.

I cannot even begin to explain how much I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. The plot was captivating, the characters were interesting, it was funny and amusing – just one of those books I didn’t want to put down and once I had to I couldn’t stop thinking about it. At times I felt like I was getting a history lesson but one that was hilarious and kept me wanting to learn more. Let me tell you, if History was anything like this in high school I wouldn’t have had my daily naps.

Doucette created a character in Adam that just made me smile a lot through the story – even when things are taking a turn for the worse. I’m not usually a fan of novels written in first person, but I loved the way this one was done. The narrative style sucks you in and makes you feel like you’re right there. Adam’s wit and storytelling of the past had me laughing out loud so many times, especially when it came to the “real” versions of how things went down years ago. Like David and Goliath? Not being a religious person myself, I found it utterly comical the way Adam described the “truth” to that little tale.

I really enjoyed how so many supernatural beings were involved in the book also. Vampires, demons, dragons, pixies – loved the pixies! Doucette even brought something different to the table with Jerry, the iffrit. Who, I thought was kind of charming in an offensive sort of way in the beginning.

I also really liked how the plot wasn’t all that predictable. And the stuff that I did figure out before it was revealed I didn’t even care that I knew because I was in such a hurry to get onto the next part.

Adam, the alcoholic immortal, is definitely a win in the fictional world.