Immortality. The dream of vampire-lovers everywhere. The way to say goodbye to the fear of death and move past the tether of time. Mortals across the ages have searched for a way to shake the mantle of death and become immortal.
Willie Bishop, Moore's main character, has attained the unobtainable. He has become the man who cannot die. Believe me when I say, he is revived from the brink of death multiple times by the not-so-divine hand of an unmerciful God. God, you ask? What could God have to do with something as horrible as the things that happen to Willie Bishop? God has everything to do with Willie's plight. The question that bears asking is: which God?
Willie Bishop is a man grown up on the streets of Brooklyn. Killing was his business when he was young, but unlike most hired men he managed to outlive his enemies and retire to a warm, sunny locale. He's back now, and older and wiser than before. When Willie gets back to town he has unwittingly entered a war zone. Far from the regular street-beefs, this war is being played on the cosmic scale. You see, the world is about to end, and Willie has been chosen. He faces off against Gods to try to save one girl and her unborn child, and ultimately, the entire world.
Moore's cast of characters are as colorful as a rainbow. From Shareeka Jackson, a young girl growing up fast, to Emory Masters, the man who first achieved immortality, the characters all have distinct voices and obvious motives. The story is fast-paced and filled with a realism that will leave any reader breathless with anticipation from one page to the next.
Ultimately, the story is one of redemption and recognition. A man who never saw himself as a hero is thrust into the role while the world falls apart around him. He's seen the dirty underbelly of humanity, but the hard part is recognizing the good when you see it.
Xavier Moore's The Forever Man is an epic odyssey of violence and hatred, and a story that reveals what it takes to overcome humanity's worst. Willie Bishop is a hero. He has become a God. Now he has to fight to protect the world that never did a damned thing for him in return.
- Amy Riddle-DeClerck
Publisher - First World Press
Date of Publication - February 12, 2014