I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Immortal Prince—The Tide Lords Book One by established fantasy author This is my first foray into the work of this Australian author and it’s a great start. The Tide Lords series has an original premise: a world (Amyrantha) where about two dozen people have gained immortality (something about a meteor and an “eternal flame”) and a handful of them can manipulate magic at periods of “high-tide” (produced by proximity to a certain star). Some of the magical immortals (the Tide Lords) have used their powers to rule over (and at times destroy) mortal kingdoms and create half-human, half-animal slave species (the Crasii) that are totally at their control at high-tide.

The Immortal Prince starts at the end of a 1000 year period of low-tide, during which the immortals have taken a backseat and most of the mortals had forgotten about them, except in myths and tarot cards. Most of the Crasii are enslaved by the mortal ruling class, who use them as servants, laborers, and soldiers, usually treating them slightly better than they would their animal half (mostly cats, dogs, and certain amphibians).

The immortal prince from the title is Cayal who, at the start of the story, is trying to get himself executed because he is tired of life after 8000 years. Lady Arkady Desean, the Duchess of Lebec, is the smart and beautiful historian who wants to prove that Cayal is either a spy or a madman. After all, in her time the immortals are only figures of legend and tarot cards, whose existence is only believed by the Crasii (and what could slaves know?). The varied cast of characters also includes the Duke of Lebec Stellan Desean (Arkady’s husband and third in line to the throne), Jaryn Aranville (the duke’s kennel master), Tilly Ponting an older eccentric lady who is a tarot expert and friend of Arkady, Declan Hawkes (the King’s spymaster), Warlock (a very intriguing Crasii who may be able to resist the commands of the immortals), and an underground group that is trying to prepare a defense against the Tide Lords’ return to power, due with the incipient high-tide. There is a ton of material here for all sorts of interesting plot lines and character development.

Besides being fun to read, this book raises and explores some interesting philosophical questions. Is having immmortality such a wonderful thing? What are the best and worst ways to take advantage of your immortality? What happens to your humanity when you cannot die, but you can certainly feel all kinds of hideous pain, both physical and mental? Do immortals have any responsibility toward mortals? What are the prospects for a sentient species magicked into being with no freewill? Can (or should) mortals feel sorry for immortals?

I hope that the other books in this series (Gods of Amyrantha, The Palace of Impossible Dreams) become available in the U.S. soon or I might have to order them from the Australian distributor, Galaxy Bookshop. The Chaos Crystal, the fourth book in the series is scheduled for release in Australia at the end of 2008.