I'd enjoyed other works by this author, especially the President's Vampire series, so I figured I'd investigate his other works.

I didn't finding this novel as enjoyable as the others I've read. The premise doesn't lend itself to the snark that the vampire concept does. The characters felt a little flat, one dimensional even.

So the overall premise is the Spaniards find the fountain of youth. They are trying to find a way to extend it now that the original fountain is dead. They find a Biology PhD to help create a new version for modern times. The way the story is built, there's a lot of flashbacks as we review some of the main antagonist's memories and past. We also visit the secondary protagonist's past, as it's linked. This goes back almost 4 centuries, so a lot to review.

I like the twist of who the hunter is. Though seems logical overall, when one thinks on it. That last twist I didn't expect. Probably should have, but not so much. Not so much that it came out of nowhere, but more that I didn't feel like the text was leading toward such a shift.

The whole end of the book seems anticlimactic after the confrontation in the hangar then in the casino. Perhaps I did with this as I try to suggest others not to do. I went in with expectations. This lead to disappointments and me to labels this as definitely a meh type book. ( )

The Eternal World by Christopher Farnsworth is a departure from his popular The President's Vampire series but delivers the same action and suspense you will find in his previous novels. This science fiction thriller is sure to be a favorite of Farnsworth's growing legions of fans!

Spanning the centuries between the discovery of the New World to modern day, The Eternal World is a thrilling novel of the desire for everlasting life and the life you lead with it.

In their search for gold, Spanish conquistadors land in what is now modern day Florida, searching for treasures. What they find instead goes far beyond their wildest dreams. One of them, Simon De Oliveras, becomes separated from the group and lays dying. He is saved by a young native woman who cares for him and gives him water to drink. From her care he grows well and stronger and he believes, after time, even younger. It is the water she gives him that is speeding his recovery. Together they begin a life far from all others. But Simon deceives her and finds the source of the water. When Simon is captured by the other Conquistadors he is branded a deserter and to save himself gives away the location of the village of the native tribes. Claiming that there is treasure among them. The young woman who cared for him watches as the Conquistadors attack and torture her village, believing that there is treasure among them. She watches as they rape the women, toss the children into fire and kill all the men. Torturing them to find treasure. Only Simon did not tell them what the true treasure is and as the majority of his crew perish, Simon takes only a handful to the secret place where the fountain of youth is hidden.

The native girl, Shako, who watched her people slaughtered survives. She vows to avenge her people. Taking some of the water for herself, she begins a centuries long vendetta against her former lover Simon.

As the remaining cadre of Conquistadors live through the centuries they find themselves hunted by Shako. But unknown to them there is an even greater enemy on the horizon. One they had thought they had cheated.

Time. Over time, the supply of water is running out. Now it is up to Simon to find a new source. But what he decides is even more outrageous. Instead, through modern science, he decides he will create the new source.

David Robinton is a scientist with a passion to heal. Watching his little sister die to the ravages of disease, he has dedicated his life to finding the answer. The miracle formula that will heal mankind. When Simon approaches him, David is at first skeptical until he watches a man healed in front of him. Without telling him how, Simon offers David the opportunity to replicate the cure. David leaps at the chance but who is the beautiful woman who follows him. And who exactly is Simon and what are his intentions. Slowly David begins to learn that the truth he is shown is only the tip of what the reality he is facing is to be. Slowly, the web of death and murder circle David as he searches for the answers to Eternal Life.

Farnsworth has written a terrific novel of fantasy and science. This will remind some of Michael Crichton and the morals of what science should and could accomplish. The Fountain of Youth is legend and obsession that has plagued mankind since the beginning of our days. Every culture has its own tale of it. Farnsworth tells his with the reality of presenting this one simple fact, not whether or not eternal life is attainable but should it be. Given the the gift of eternal life, what becomes of man when he no longer has to answer to a higher power. What becomes of his morality and his justice. If you cannot die, then what do you to fear?

A terrific thriller! ( )

I have never read any of Christopher Farnsworth's other novels so can't compare the writing or style of this book to his previous work.

From this novel, I have to say I was not impressed (but won't necessarily give up on the author). I found the characters flat, predictable, with no redeeming qualities and in some aspects, as with Simon, overly exaggerated. I also felt the plot did not take me to that level of believability necessary for any good sci-fi novel (I have tagged this as sci-fi).

The protagonist David comes off as naive and way beyond a typical idealist (he truly wants to save the world). I felt nothing towards Shako.

Actually I felt nothing for any of them except the little girl in the hospital. ( )

Farnsworth mixes historical fiction, supernatural, political intrigue, and medical thriller genres together to come up with The Eternal World, a fantastic novel about greed, power, and the struggle to live just a little longer.

Spanish conquistadors and the fountain of youth -- a popular tale, but not one I’ve seen fictionalized often, which made The Eternal World a refreshing read for me. Switching from modern times to the early 1500’s, the novel tells of the rise and fall of Simon De Oliveras and his fellow soldiers who discovered the “fountain of youth” while searching for gold in the Americas.

Simon, like most villains, does not see himself as the villain, and Farnsworth’s writing shows readers both sides of him. Simon truly believes he can make the world a better place using the Water. He believes he and his fellows share this benevolent mission. But drinking the Water and living so long has corrupted them all, and not everyone is on his side as he believes. Simon’s story is a good example of the corruptive effect of absolute power.

One of the most telling moments in the book comes when Aznar, a former Spanish priest turned hedonist and serial-killer, tells Simon how being kept alive by the Water ruined his faith in God.

“You took me to some pagan altar, and you sacrificed me. Humiliated me. Beat me. I thought I would die there. And I comforted myself with this thought: At last my pain is over. At last I will know God. I knew, Simon. I knew I was going to see our Father in Heaven. And then you gave me the Water. … I thought God would provide me life everlasting. Instead, it was you.”

Even the altruistic David, though he remains a hero in the story, is shown as being susceptible to the power. It is the nature of human beings, Farnsworth seems to be saying in this novel, that we are so easily corruptible. Perhaps we are only good people because we don’t have access to those things that corrupt us?

There is a little bit of everything in this book -- action/adventure, espionage, science and medicine, political intrigue, history, the supernatural, and even a bit of romance. I’ve been waiting a few years for Farnsworth’s next book and The Eternal World certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Purchased. Review courtesy of onebooktwo.com | one book, two reviews. ( )

A young conquistador, Simon, wounded, separated from his troops lays abandoned in the jungles of the New World, and is discovered by Shako, a young native girl. A member of the Water Clan of the Uzita, she chooses to save him by giving him the healing water of her tribe. Together, hidden in the jungle, they form a bond, teaching each other their language, and forming trust. But trust is broken when his friends come to find him and his commanding officer in his lust for treasure follows and murders her entire village. Simon and his friends are restored by the water, a fountain of youth, and vow to work to improve the world; however Shako seeks revenge for her family. Five hundred years later the source has long been destroyed and their supplies of the Water running low, Simon seeks the help of a young scientist in hopes of replicating the water. David Robinton , a scientific prodigy believes he is on the medical breakthrough of all time but discovers that his clients are not exactly who they portrayed themselves to be nor is the beautiful woman who expresses such attraction for him. The battle of the immortals is on and he is caught in the middle of it.
Written in the style of a screenplay, the action and the story move at a breakneck speed to the middle of the book at which point the author feels compelled to fill in the back story before coming to the finale. While most of the information shared is necessary to the completed story, it was a bit distracting to the pace of the story.
Overall this was a very enjoyable story and a quick read!
I received a free copy through Library Journal for my honest review. ( )