A Life Eternal

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What an amazing book, I loved the way the story progressed and it’s exploration of the meaning of life and what it means to be human.

Although it mentioned important names and events that occurred in the last 100 years, one did not have to know those events to understand the story. The author grounded the book with significant historical events planted throughout as recognisable milestones that acted as both anchors and showing the passing of time. The premise of this book isn’t normally something I would pick up, but I was intrigued and thought I would give it a go. Rob Deakin is a compelling and likeable central character, and I found myself constantly pondering what I might do in his situation.Although I'm partial to 'A moment in time with Black Shadow Tess' because it's a gruesome OMG ewwwwwwww I can't believe that just happened kind of horror story!

There is also the shadowy 'Widower Maker' to contend with, a serial killer who is as gruesome and awful as any character can be. This fascination with endless life is what drew me into this story, and it was what kept me reading when I became a little weary of the main character. The primary theme of "A Life Eternal' is as much a philosophical reflection on humanity and the sometimes sordid, sometimes mundane details of living, loving, and dying as it is a rote recital of events and people from a seemingly disengaged and disinterested main character. Then we have the mysterious Medic, the true friend Jonathon Greene, the alluring Molly, the beautiful and wise Madeleine, the endearing Pearl, and many other wonderful characters that bring richness and depth to this story. With descriptive, imaginative, spellbinding writing Richard takes us on Rob’s life journey to discover for ourselves if this “gift” Rob has received is a blessing or a curse.As the story progressed, I quickly felt empathy to the main character Rob Deakin and by the end I was there with him, living the struggles as he comes to term with his plight. From the author of The Prophecy Trilogy Books, Point of Contact and A Life Eternal comes a second collection of short stories to thrill, terrify and entertain.

Having read a reasonable amount of "true crime" and historical material related to the 1888 Whitechapel series of murders, widely attributed to an unidentified serial killler best known by the press moniker of "Jack the Ripper", I was curious to see how historian - speculative fiction author Richard Ayre would approach the subject matter. To sum it up most accurately I would say this is a quick tour through modern history with a fantasy twist. What separates this from other similarly-themed tales is the unique explanation Ayre gives for the immortality his character suffers from as well as its resolution, and above all the journey Deakin takes. Rob comes off as mechanical and emotionless even before he is changed by his mysterious interaction with The Medic. The thread of the person who gave him this curse winds through the story and in the end, well, it tortures then saves him.Shadow of the Knife is set in 1890, two years after London was rocked by the murders of at least five (possibly eight or nine) women in the city's impoverished Whitechapel district. My thanks to the author, Richard Ayre, publisher Burning Chair Limited and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication on 19 November 2021. The positives for this story are in its secondary character development and in the direct foreshadowing offered as occasional bridges between scenes, characters, and time periods.