“I have always used writing to learn what it is that I think. And I find myself disinclined to leave these mysteries unexamined. I would like to know what I think about this.”

Unute, also known as B, is an immortal warrior who occasionally goes into uncontrollable killing frenzies. This novel is based on the BRZRKR comic books, so if you haven’t read those, it’ll be a little bit confusing at first. From what little I’ve read of the comic, it seems to primarily be a celebration of violence, while this novel is more philosophical and thoughtful.

Unute is 80,000 years old. A modern-day Koschei the Deathless. (Like Koschei, he’s also associated with an egg.) In that time, he’s fought dragons, visited Atlantis, and seen advanced civilizations get utterly destroyed and forgotten about. Humans repeatedly rediscover science, math, and writing. For Unute, there’s nothing new under the sun, that is, until a man besides himself comes back to life.

The Book of Elsewhere is written in an experimental style. It jumps back and forth in time and alternates between first, second, and third person. Sentences are sometimes cut between paragraphs. Sometimes space between paragraphs is used for dramatic effect. I loved the poetic turns of phrase which show up sometimes. For example, soldiers in an aircraft experience “a reversed rain of bullets from below.”

This novel is partly a meditation on what immortality would be like. If you couldn’t die, you’d eventually do everything. Learn every language, try out every job and hobby, get multiple college degrees. Sometimes, you’d be kind, sometimes cruel, sometimes indifferent, sometimes silly. You’d get around to committing every sin and knowing every different type of pain. You’d sometimes spend lifetimes sitting in one place. You’d get imprisoned and experimented on countless times. You’d learn so much about human nature, you’d become a human lie detector. You’d know what most people are going to say before they say it. You’d go lifetimes without being surprised by anything. Your greatest wish is simply to become mortal.

“Every event that occurs in your vicinity reminds you of another, then another and another. By now, all people you meet remind you of someone, all food brings to mind another meal or many, all stories you ever hear are variations of others.”

I would think having lifetimes of experience would mean pretty much everybody you met would be dumb by comparison. It would be lonely not having an intellectual equal or anyone you could share memories with. It’s already hard to like an obscure band or TV show or video game others haven’t heard of, but imagine if everything you’re nostalgic about happened before everyone alive today was born. You’d constantly have to explain the same things over and over again to new people every generation.

I like that the special ops military unit isn’t stereotypical. One character goes on a rant against someone who assumes soldiers think therapy is a sign of weakness. If therapy helps make the unit better, why not use it? Old dogs can learn new tricks. “Only an idiot thinks the ways they were trained are automatically the best.”

I liked the chapter titled The Servant’s Story. The servant says in the book of Unute’s life, their time with him would be just a comma, just a short pause, but that’s a good thing. I also like that the babirusa, a type of pig with tusks that curve back on itself, is a key part of the narrative. It’s an animal I’ve heard of before, but most people probably aren’t familiar with.

This book introduces a lot of mysteries and resolves most of them by the end, while still leaving a bit of mystery. A satisfying ending. Highly recommended.