Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Toward Eternity by Anton Hur is a thought-provoking speculative fiction novel that intertwines the fates of its characters through the passage of a notebook, chronicling the rapid evolution of human society across generations. Set in a world strikingly similar to our own, Hur’s novel opens with the mystery of a missing nanodroid clinical trial patient in South Africa, introducing Dr. Beeko, a scientist continuing her late mother's work in nanotherapy—a revolutionary treatment that grants immortality by replacing all human cells with nanites. However, this seemingly miraculous process comes with unexpected complications as patients' “redundant selves” begin to resist the nanites, leading to re-emerging scars and altered personalities.

Hur’s exploration of language and its role in shaping reality takes center stage with the character of Panit, a nonbinary AI program that reads and analyzes poetry. Through Panit, the novel delves into the complex intersections of AI, language processing, cognition, and humanity. The narrative raises profound questions about what it means to be human, particularly when human consciousness and artificial intelligence begin to merge.

Yonghun Han, the first patient in the nanotherapy trials, reappears after going missing, his body now hosting a new consciousness that inherits his memories and language. Yonghun’s struggle with immortality, grief over his deceased husband, and the disquieting changes in his identity, echo the novel's central themes of death, immortality, and the delicate balance between creation and destruction.

Music, like language, serves as a powerful motif in Toward Eternity, especially through the character of Ellen, a cellist and the second nanotherapy patient. Ellen’s redundant self re-emerges in subtle changes to her playing style, paralleling how language and music can evolve, resist, and reinvent themselves. This resistance takes a darker turn as Ellen’s nanites begin duplicating her, leading to the appearance of doppelgangers that stalk her, a haunting metaphor for the novel’s exploration of identity and the body’s resistance to change.

The narrative takes a poignant turn as Panit is transferred into Yonghun’s consciousness-less nanodroid body. Mortal Panit grapples with love, loss, and the desire for a family. This desire is tragically thwarted by repeated miscarriages, and later by the revelation that their child has been cloned by the sinister corporation Janus.

Hur masterfully balances lyricism, philosophical reflection, and plot, weaving a complex narrative that challenges the reader to consider the nature of life, death, and humanity. The book’s structure, with its chorus of interconnected voices, and its meditative prose, will resonate with fans of both Martha Wells’ Murderbot series and Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go in the Dark.

Toward Eternity is a novel that’s easy to consume and hard to forget, prompting reflection on the stories we tell, the languages we speak, and the lives we lead. Hur’s book is a powerful meditation on the human condition, a story that, much like the characters within it, evolves with each reading. I really enjoyed reading a novel from a translator I admire and I’m looking forward to seeing what Hur does next!

📖 Recommended For: Fans of speculative fiction with a philosophical edge, readers who enjoy intricate worldbuilding and AI narratives, those interested in the intersections of language, identity, and technology, admirers of Martha Wells’ Murderbot series and Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go in the Dark.

🔑 Key Themes: Immortality and Identity, The Power and Limits of Language, The Intersection of Technology and Humanity, Grief and Memory, Resistance and Reinvention.