AustLit

'‘There is nothing so shocking, so beastly, or hateful to the imagination than to encounter another’s happiness, particularly when it is a happiness that you yourself cannot partake in.’ Spanning some 3,000 years and narrated by multiple voices, Forever Human follows a triangle of characters whose worlds are inextricably linked: Cassius, who remembers his past lives; Henri, who forgets; and Memphis, who may just have a greater awareness of the overarching plan of history than either of them. As Cassius toils on a formula for saving humanity from itself, the sinister Memphis shadows him and Henri through the ages on a significantly darker quest of his own. From modern-day Melbourne to first-century Pompeii, 15th-century Brittany, Edwardian London and beyond, this compelling tale of an artist, a mathematician and an enigma takes the reader on a delicious journey straddling science fiction and literary mainstream, with a touch of Greek tragedy thrown in for good measure. Conyers’ ambitious novel experiments with the literary equivalent of musical sampling and creative collage as he adapts, quotes and affectionately impersonates an eclectic mix of authors ranging from Fyodor Dostoyevsky to Emily Brontë, Franz Kafka to H. G. Wells and many more. Alongside his masterful use of language and plot, the author paints a menagerie of incredibly solid, believable characters, whose personalities will linger in the memory long after the final page is turned. Forever Human is part literary mash-up, part meditation on religion and history, part adventure, part puzzle, and last but by no means least: a touching love story. Forever bloodthirsty … Forever lovelorn … Forever human.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.