There is much I enjoyed about Toward Eternity – it has multi-POV storytelling that spans many many many years yet feels like a cohesive narrative, it features a diverse cast of characters, and it’s beautifully written; in many ways, this novel doesn’t feel like a debut. The author has done some interesting things with technology here, effectively creating a ‘ship of Theseus’ paradox with the idea of humans being able to have all of their cells replaced with nanites, curing disease and creating a kind of near-immortality. 

What didn’t quite work for me – the insertion of the poetry felt somewhat forced and took me out of the narrative. Some points felt a bit didactic to the point that the narrative and characters felt de-emphasized compared to the ‘argument’ of the text. 

I enjoyed this novel overall & would absolutely read another work by Anton Hur. 

Content warnings: violence, death, war, genocide, mention of miscarriage