Book Review: Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars 

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of Flesh and False Gods

Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press (July 18, 2023)

Length: 372 pages

Author Information: Website

I’m always fascinated with authors who migrate from genre to genre or, in Chloe Gong’s case, jump from writing YA to adult fiction. When I heard that she would be releasing her adult fantasy debut, and that it would be inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, I was immediately intrigued.

Note that “inspired” is the operative word here. In truth this is in no way a retelling, even a loose one, but what it does is explore the classic play’s theme of enduring obsessive love in a very unique way. After all, I suppose anything would be “enduring” if your characters were immortal, or effectively so. In a world where some individuals can jump bodies at will, transferring their qi from one vessel to another, the best jumpers who are also good at preserving their life force can theoretically live forever. But life is also miserable in the kingdom of Talin, where this story takes place. In the capital twin-cities of San-Er, poverty is widespread amongst the general populace while the members of the monarchy live lavish, decadent lives. People are so poor and their morale so low, the only thing they have to look forward to every year are the gladiatorial-style games where competitors with the ability to jump bodies fight each other to the death. The winner would be awarded riches beyond their wildest dreams and be invited to join the upper echelons of society.

When you have nothing to lose, the games are worth the risk. For Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat who has already lost almost everything, the prize money would be enough to save the only thing left he has to live for—his comatose lover who needs expensive medical care to survive. He’s also confident that he’s the best of the 88 contestants in this year’s games, having honed himself into a deadly weapon with years of body jumping experience. However, what he didn’t count on was Calla Tuoleimi, herself a princess in hiding. Years ago, she killed her own parents in a bloody massacre and has been planning on ending the oppressive monarchy ever since. To do that though, she would have to assassinate the king, and the only way to get close to him would be to win the games. With the help of Prince August, who wants to overthrow his father, Calla enters the fray under a disguise. Eventually, she faces off with Anton and recognizes in him a worthy ally. However, only one can win the games, and in spite of herself, Calla finds herself falling for Anton, making her mission to be the final victor much more difficult.

Let me just start by saying Immortal Longings wasn’t a bad book, in that I found it entertaining enough, and that I can honestly say I was never bored. That said, it had a lot of issues, starting with the fact that, violence and graphic sex scenes aside, this didn’t feel much like an adult novel. Everything from the writing style to the level of depth in the plot and characters suggest a work of YA with just older protagonists. There’s simply too much that doesn’t hold up to even the lightest scrutiny, and as I’m reviewing this as a piece of adult fiction, I’m going to be a lot less forgiving.

First of all, while I am definitely one to appreciate complexity in magic systems and world-building, I’m just not completely sold on either the concept of body jumping or the book’s setting which is supposedly inspired by the historical area of Hong Kong known as the Kowloon Walled City. To the author’s credit, her descriptions of the surroundings are quite ample to the point of effusive, and yet I was still never able to picture the world of Talin clearly in my mind. On the socioeconomical and political levels, details were also painted with a broad brush and very sparse, and the time period was likewise confusing.

Then we have the characters. In a nutshell, they read like stereotypical YA archetypes, and when you add in the Hunger Games-esque premise, that feeling is even more pronounced. Each of them can be summed up in a couple sentences, their motivations shallow and predictable. Again, this might be par for the course when it comes to YA, but in this instance I wanted more. Frankly, it’s also bewildering why Gong based her characters on Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian/Augustus in the first place. All this does is place unrealistic expectations on our protagonists, frustrating readers when they fail to meet them, and Anton, Calla, and August certainly fell short on the mark in my eyes. It feels as though Gong only managed to scratch the surface when it comes to their character development, prioritizing the throwaway thrills of action sequences over meaningful depth.

In sum, Immortal Longings started off as a promising adult debut from Chloe Gong, but perhaps it might have been too ambitious. While it had its share of interesting ideas and some genuine highs, on the whole its story, character, and world-building elements feel too superficial and undeveloped for the novel to earn more than a middling rating.