In a wild reimagining of Shakespeare’s timeless Antony and Cleopatra, author Chloe Gong introduced readers to the kingdom of Talin. There are twin capital cities, where every year thousands flock to watch the games the palace hosts. Anyone confident enough to jump between bodies can enter. It’s a fight to the death, but for the winner, it’s a future filled with unimaginable wealth.
The plot follows Princess Calla Tuoleimi, who's been hiding ever since her parents were murdered and she was blamed, and exiled aristocrat Anton Makusa. Calla wants revenge. Anton needs to keep his childhood love alive. To play to the end, they have to become allies. To win, they must fight each other.
Immortal Longings is a story fraught with tension, both in the romance and the danger of jumping from one body to the next. How can you trust anyone in a world where a body is a vessel? It’s difficult, if not downright impossible. Add in a hefty dose of betrayal and you’ll be clamoring to grab the sequel just to find out what happens next.
That’s what makes worlds with body-jumping so fun for readers. The tension always lurks, the danger is always present, and the stakes are always life or death. With methods ranging from scientific uploads to simply moving through skin contact, the logistics behind living in someone else’s skin are endless. Even though there’s more than a year to wait for the final book in the Immortal Longings series, there are plenty of other amazing books to read in the meantime.
Here are seven science fiction books featuring body-jumping for fans of Immortal Longings.
Altered Carbon
After mankind discovered an ancient civilization on Mars, we were able to spread across a region of interstellar space. The distances between colonies is great, making it easier to transport human consciousness to be downloaded into bodies once they arrive. Takeshi Kovac was once an envoy. Now, he’s a convict.
When he wakes in the body of a nicotine-addicted thug, he’s given an offer. Find out who murdered the last body of the billionaire who hired him. But to do that, he has to expose a conspiracy that spans across space into the upper echelons of society, one that might kill him—permanently.
Touch
When Kepler is on the verge of death, being beaten savagely in a dark alley, he reaches out to his assailant in his dying moments. He blinks, stunned, as he’s now seeing through the eyes of the killer himself. Somehow, Kepler can now jump from one body to the next, seeing the world through their eyes and live their lives.
He comes to love each body he inhabits, never meaning them any harm. But when one is brutally assassinated, Kepler vows to bring her body justice. He starts by seeking the truth, only to end intent on revenge.
Witch King
First, Kai was murdered. Then his consciousness was dormant. Now, he wakes up to find a lesser mage trying to harness Kai’s magic as his own. But it gives Kai a chance to get a few answers. Like why he was imprisoned. How the world has changed. And why the Rising World Coalition is gaining power. Finding answers won’t be easy. It will take all of Kai’s allies and all his pain magic. But the worst part is he probably isn’t going to like any of the answers he finds.
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Eight people witness the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. One of them is the killer. The only way to find which one did it is to inhabit their bodies. Over eight days, Aiden Bishop will live the day as one of the witnesses. Every night, at 11 p.m., Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered. He can only escape when he solves the mystery. Some of the hosts are helpful. Some of them are not. But every day, the day starts anew with Aiden in a new body.
Eight days. Eight murders. Eight witnesses. And if he can’t solve the murder, the cycle starts again.
Wild Seed
Doro can change bodies the way others change clothing. His hosts always die, sometimes by reflex, other times on purpose. He spends his time carefully cultivating his African village, seeking perfection. There is no one he fears … until slavers destroy his village and he meets Anyanwu. She’s a shapeshifter who can heal with a kiss, absorb bullets, or destroy anyone who threatens her.
Neither one has ever met anyone who equals their power, and their encounter sets off a struggle that spans continents and lasts centuries. Their future is uncertain, but their path will alter the nature of humanity forever.
Kiln People
In Kiln People by David Brin, life in the future is cheap. Disposable duplicate bodies make it easy for the wealthy to fulfil every desire—both illegal and legal. No one is immune, even people like investigator Albert Morris, who has sent his own duplicated into deadly circumstances more than once. But when he stumbles on a illegal bootlegging ring making copies of a famous actress, he discovers an explosive secret. A brilliant researcher was on the cusp of a revolutionary breakthrough before he disappeared. It’s up to Morris to find the scientist before this invention falls into the wrong hands.
In a world where nothing and no one are what they seem, where memory isn’t reliable, and the line between life and death no longer exists, it will take everything he has and more to find the truth.
This Is How You Lose the Time War
In the ashes of a dying world, two agents travel through time, occupying bodies as they go, trying to find the best future for their people. Only, the factions they work for are warring. And the future they’re trying to find doesn’t include the other. But when the Commandant finds a letter that reads, “Burn before reading,” a strange and unusual correspondence begins.
It began as a taunt. It turned into something else. Something more. Something that could change the past and the future. If they’re discovered it would mean death. After all, they’re at war. And someone has to win.
