Brian Stableford was a British writer, critic, and academic who wrote well over a hundred novels during his lifetime. He taught sociology for many years before becoming a full-time writer, one whose works spanned the gamut of science fiction and fantasy. His work was published in magazines like Asimov's and Locus, and he wrote tie-in books for the Warhammer universe. Aside from his own books, he also translated hundreds of French stories into English, contributed to various scholarly journals, and was a prolific reviewer. He passed away in February 2024 at the age of 75.
Perhaps his most acclaimed series was his Future History saga, also known as the Emortality series. Taking place over the course of centuries, the ambitious epic delves into a future where biotechnology and genetic engineering have dramatically changed the face of humanity. "Emortality" describes the status of these humans, where immortality is just out of reach but the natural lifespan has been expanded well beyond the norm. The books combine sci-fi, murder mystery, and philosophical quandaries about the nature of man in a world where death has become rare.
The first six volumes are considered the main sequence and were published out of series order. This list shows them in the preferred reading order suggested by Stableford. The Emortality saga also shares ties to many of Stableford's short stories but there are narrative inconsistences within this so we have only included the novels.
Inherit the Earth
The Earth is in an intense state of flux. World War Three, known as the biotech war, is on the horizon, and the 21st century is about to change forever. Rapid developments in biotechnology have splintered humanity. During a break-in at a research institute half a million mice are killed in a targeted arson attack, and researchers are missing.
Lisa Frieman, a forensic scientist, is attacked in her home but managed to save her computer from the thieves. Her former colleague Jordan Miller has gone missing. Why are the arsons happening? In a world run by corporations who wish to hijack the research of people like Lisa for their own nefarious purposes, uncovering the truth could be deadly.
Architects of Emortality
It's the 22nd century. Biomedical nanotechnology has made it possible for humans to live far longer and in near-perfect health. The search for true immortality continues. Damon Hart, son of the scientist responsible for much of these radical changes, lives in the shadow of greatness but would prefer to stay out of the spotlight altogether. He has rejected his inheritance in favor of fighting in underground virtual entertainment zones where pain is pleasure. But he cannot ignore his legacy, especially once a shadowy terrorist group forces him to the forefront of the Plague Wars. One of his foster parents has been abducted, and now they are both pawns in the endless corporate battle for biotech supremacy.
The Fountains of Youth
It is now the 25th century. Emortals are now the norm, living near-immortal lives and laughing in the face of death after receiving the special treatment upon conception. Mortimer Gray is one such person whose lifespan will go on for hundreds of years. But after a traumatic natural disaster kills millions of people, Gray becomes obsessed with death. He devotes the next 500 years of his life to studying it. How does civilization work in a society where death is an exception and not the norm?
The Cassandra Complex
When you can hope to live for centuries rather than decades, and some lucky folks are able to survive well into the thousands, what do you devote your long life to? Our future brethren take inspiration from the past, from great figures of arts, science, and diplomacy. Police officers Watson and Holmes are called upon to investigate a strange series of murders involving bioengineered flowers designed to feast upon the flesh of their hosts.
A student of history who has named himself Oscar Wilde becomes a central figure in the case, and together, these detectives must uncover not only the whodunnit and the why, but the grand question of what it means to be human in a post-death world.
Dark Ararat
Matthew Fleury is an ecologist who is woken up from cyrostasis earlier than planned. He's part of a mission leaving the disintegrating Earth in hopes of finding a new world for the emortal humans to inhabit. But as Matthew discovers now that he's awake, the first round of colonists on the ship have splintered into different factions. Some want to turn back while others want to stay on course.
To make things worse, Matthew's colleague has been murdered and he was revived to replace him. The investigation into this death begins, and with it the battle for humanity's future reaches a new peak.
The Omega Expedition
Madoc Tamlin was dying, but then he was put into a cryogenic chamber and frozen for an indefinite period of time until a cure for his terminal disease was found. He's just been thawed out in the 35th century but for other reasons. He's a test run for a more important frozen patient, the uber-wealthy financier Adam Zimmerman, whose fortune endowed the foundation which, centuries later, made possible the crucial breakthrough which birthed humanity’s near-immortality. What does the species’ future look like when nobody can die?
