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New Amsterdam #4
Ad Eternum
For centuries, the wampyr has drifted from one place to another. From one life to another. It's 1962, and he's returned to New Amsterdam for the first time since he fled it on pain of death some sixty years before. On the eve of social revolution, on the cusp of a new way of life, he's nevertheless surrounded by inescapable reminders of who he used to be.
For a thousand years, he's chosen to change rather than to die. Now, at last, he faces a different future....
For a thousand years, he's chosen to change rather than to die. Now, at last, he faces a different future....
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2012
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284 people want to read
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Elizabeth Bear
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 5, 2013
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: For centuries, the wampyr has drifted from one place to another. From one life to another. It's 1962, and he's returned to New Amsterdam for the first time since he fled it on pain of death some sixty years before. On the eve of social revolution, on the cusp of a new way of life, he's nevertheless surrounded by inescapable reminders of who he used to be.
For a thousand years, he's chosen to change rather than to die. Now, at last, he faces a different future....
My Review: This entry in Bear's New Amsterdam alternative history series, in which vampires exist and majgicqk works, and the world's various political powers have a variety of different uses for it, is a doozie, but a shortie. It's only 90pp long.
Don Sebastien de Ulloa, as the wampyr was styled when first we met him, returns to New Amsterdam (our New York) to begin a new chapter in his life. Abby Irene, a forensic sorceress who figured prominently in the series, has gone to her sorcerous reward. Unsurprising, since it's now 1962, and she was over a century old. Don Sebastien/Dr. James Chaisty/Jack Prior, as he now styles himself, is recognized on his transAtlantic jet flight by Dr. Damian Thomas, a sorceror with a plan to open a magical university in New Amsterdam: Its first, and he hopes Jack Prior (such a sweet hommage) will join their faculty and share his many centuries of knowledge with the students. What will he get in return?
A home. For so long as he wants it, for once, instead of so long as it's possible to hide his true nature. Universities, you see, outlast people, cultures, politics, nations...damned close to eternal, as it would seem. And a magical university is going to be able to protect our wampyr as long as he needs to be protected. They're sorcerors. They got this.
It's a tempting offer, but a millennium of survival habit, of keeping moving at all costs, is hard to overcome. A team of persuasive sorcerors, a meeting with the “Comte de Saint-Germain,” and the demise of Don Sebastien's other living arrangements as well as plans made with a certain werewolf, still don't convince him. But Dr. Damian Thomas...love...connection...that still seduces him after a millennium of watching human loves wither and die.
It is this sense of hopefulness, this willingness to answer the call to connect despite a weariness and a sadness and a misery of loneliness bred by a millennium's solitary wandering, that makes these 90pp so powerful. Why “live”? Why keep feeding and surviving? Because, well, because love and connection...they never stop mattering. Don Sebastien, older than anything else in the world that walks on its own feet (maybe), he still wants to be in it and with it and experience it.
Still.
Isn't that an amazing and a beautiful thing? I think it is, and that's why I read these books.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Publisher Says: For centuries, the wampyr has drifted from one place to another. From one life to another. It's 1962, and he's returned to New Amsterdam for the first time since he fled it on pain of death some sixty years before. On the eve of social revolution, on the cusp of a new way of life, he's nevertheless surrounded by inescapable reminders of who he used to be.
For a thousand years, he's chosen to change rather than to die. Now, at last, he faces a different future....
My Review: This entry in Bear's New Amsterdam alternative history series, in which vampires exist and majgicqk works, and the world's various political powers have a variety of different uses for it, is a doozie, but a shortie. It's only 90pp long.
Don Sebastien de Ulloa, as the wampyr was styled when first we met him, returns to New Amsterdam (our New York) to begin a new chapter in his life. Abby Irene, a forensic sorceress who figured prominently in the series, has gone to her sorcerous reward. Unsurprising, since it's now 1962, and she was over a century old. Don Sebastien/Dr. James Chaisty/Jack Prior, as he now styles himself, is recognized on his transAtlantic jet flight by Dr. Damian Thomas, a sorceror with a plan to open a magical university in New Amsterdam: Its first, and he hopes Jack Prior (such a sweet hommage) will join their faculty and share his many centuries of knowledge with the students. What will he get in return?
A home. For so long as he wants it, for once, instead of so long as it's possible to hide his true nature. Universities, you see, outlast people, cultures, politics, nations...damned close to eternal, as it would seem. And a magical university is going to be able to protect our wampyr as long as he needs to be protected. They're sorcerors. They got this.
It's a tempting offer, but a millennium of survival habit, of keeping moving at all costs, is hard to overcome. A team of persuasive sorcerors, a meeting with the “Comte de Saint-Germain,” and the demise of Don Sebastien's other living arrangements as well as plans made with a certain werewolf, still don't convince him. But Dr. Damian Thomas...love...connection...that still seduces him after a millennium of watching human loves wither and die.
It is this sense of hopefulness, this willingness to answer the call to connect despite a weariness and a sadness and a misery of loneliness bred by a millennium's solitary wandering, that makes these 90pp so powerful. Why “live”? Why keep feeding and surviving? Because, well, because love and connection...they never stop mattering. Don Sebastien, older than anything else in the world that walks on its own feet (maybe), he still wants to be in it and with it and experience it.
Still.
Isn't that an amazing and a beautiful thing? I think it is, and that's why I read these books.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
April 14, 2025
I picked this one up not knowing that it was part of a series, and I suspect that if I'd read the previous books and known what was happening that it would have made more sense, and I would have enjoyed it more. It's a well written novella, but not much happens and it ends just when it began to pique my interest. It's an alternate world tale featuring Sebastion, who is referred to as "the wampyr" far, far too many times until it began to bug me to distraction. He returns to New Amsterdam in 1962 after a long absence and encounters a circle of sorcerers who offer him a new position. Immortality is such a burden... It's a kind of angsty vampire story, like an Anne Rice precis, and has a misleading cartoony cover. I recommend most of Bear's hard science fiction unreservedly, but this horror/fantasy/sf mash-up doesn't stand alone well at all. It's a nice fast read but doesn't move me to look for the rest of the series.
April 14, 2021
3 1/2 stars.
I sucked this one down, partly because I'm on a Sebastian the wampyr kick, and partly because it's less than 100 pages. In this last installment of the series, it's 1960-something, and Sebastian returns to New Amsterdam, having just buried his aged friend Abigail Irene. Weary of the world, alone in a familiar city that is no longer quite so familiar, Sebastian stumbles upon a group of sorcerers who make him a unique and unexpected proposal. Unless you're really into this series, the story can be a little depressing - there's no action to speak of (although Sebastian does get semi-laid by a new beau), and Sebastian's "been there, done that" ennui can be a tad bit tiresome. Overall, however, I enjoyed the series immensely, and am glad to have read it. I loved the alternate history portions of it much more than the mysteries to be solved.
There's a last book, a collection of stories of Lady Abigail Irene Garrett, investigating various murders at the turn of the century. I intend to read them and hope for more awesome alternate history world building.
I sucked this one down, partly because I'm on a Sebastian the wampyr kick, and partly because it's less than 100 pages. In this last installment of the series, it's 1960-something, and Sebastian returns to New Amsterdam, having just buried his aged friend Abigail Irene. Weary of the world, alone in a familiar city that is no longer quite so familiar, Sebastian stumbles upon a group of sorcerers who make him a unique and unexpected proposal. Unless you're really into this series, the story can be a little depressing - there's no action to speak of (although Sebastian does get semi-laid by a new beau), and Sebastian's "been there, done that" ennui can be a tad bit tiresome. Overall, however, I enjoyed the series immensely, and am glad to have read it. I loved the alternate history portions of it much more than the mysteries to be solved.
There's a last book, a collection of stories of Lady Abigail Irene Garrett, investigating various murders at the turn of the century. I intend to read them and hope for more awesome alternate history world building.
March 10, 2025
I didn't realize when I read this that it is a part of a series. May have been better had I read the others. Probably won't now.
January 22, 2015
Hmm. I picked this up off the shelf in the library without realizing it was part of a series which I hadn't read. I began to suspect as I read further and further into the book, and references were made, seemingly with the expectation that the reader would know what they were.
I didn't.
Having said that, I enjoyed it very much anyway. And if I do go back and read the other stories, perhaps I will revise my rating upward.
I do think, though, that despite the lovely, lovely writing, and the delicate internal development, that this slim little volume is missing something. It seems to end just when it's getting started, teasing a story that never develops.
Let's say this: I'm intrigued; I'm not quite yet sold.
I didn't.
Having said that, I enjoyed it very much anyway. And if I do go back and read the other stories, perhaps I will revise my rating upward.
I do think, though, that despite the lovely, lovely writing, and the delicate internal development, that this slim little volume is missing something. It seems to end just when it's getting started, teasing a story that never develops.
Let's say this: I'm intrigued; I'm not quite yet sold.
January 12, 2013
Even a reader jaded by decades of middling to poor vampire stories (as I am) can enjoy this marvelous novella on a wampyr's arrival and adjustment to "the colonies" after many decades away.
I've not read much/any of Bear's New Amsterdam work, so this was an intro to that world and this character. Suffice it to say it's an excellent novella with a lot of hooks that make me want to dive into her works all the more.
I've not read much/any of Bear's New Amsterdam work, so this was an intro to that world and this character. Suffice it to say it's an excellent novella with a lot of hooks that make me want to dive into her works all the more.
February 25, 2012
This is a quiet examination of existentialism as it applies to vampires. Eternity seems a long time when there's not even sleep to help pass the minutes. Boredom threatens. Even the most determined of vampires must wonder why he bothers to persist. It's beautifully written but probably one for the fans only at these prices.
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January 2, 2017
New Amsterdam books always leave me so tired of living, so exhausted and a little disappointed (but not surprised) with humanity as a whole. I guess I'm getting second-hand feelings of don Sebastien, who is a very poor thing.
November 19, 2023
This is beautiful and evocative novella is billed as the capstone to the New Amsterdam series, but I hope it's not the last we see of this vampire.
November 21, 2017
Now a vampire lives forever, but not so forensic sorcerers.
The knitting afficionado and super-detective wampyr Sebastien gets the emo treatment as he thinks about how old he is and how many friends he has lost. There's not that much going on, mostly relying on references to old characters and situations that I didn't remember in enough detail to be really broken up about. It sort of seems to be setting up a reboot of the New Amsterdam universe a few generations later, with a new court.
Honestly three stars is a bit generous but the writing on its own terms is good and its quite short. Also, there is a werewolf (of sorts) added to the mix and I would read the sequel. (This is scored as the fourth book but chronologically happens after the fifth.)
The knitting afficionado and super-detective wampyr Sebastien gets the emo treatment as he thinks about how old he is and how many friends he has lost. There's not that much going on, mostly relying on references to old characters and situations that I didn't remember in enough detail to be really broken up about. It sort of seems to be setting up a reboot of the New Amsterdam universe a few generations later, with a new court.
Honestly three stars is a bit generous but the writing on its own terms is good and its quite short. Also, there is a werewolf (of sorts) added to the mix and I would read the sequel. (This is scored as the fourth book but chronologically happens after the fifth.)
May 21, 2018
Wonderful but a little too short
This is an excellent novella and my main complaint is that I wanted it to be a novel and was surprised when it came to a stop.
I definitely recommend this as a book that takes the idea of being a vampire seriously. It's fascinating to watch a protagonist who has reinvented himself so often that he no longer even thinks of himself as having a real identity. Every inconvenience is one he's dealt with before and that gives him a calm that others can find unnerving. I liked seeing how he dealt with social situations, especially when he knows someone wants something out of him but he decides to cultivate the friendship anyway, because nothing else takes away the boredom of existing for so long.
This is an excellent novella and my main complaint is that I wanted it to be a novel and was surprised when it came to a stop.
I definitely recommend this as a book that takes the idea of being a vampire seriously. It's fascinating to watch a protagonist who has reinvented himself so often that he no longer even thinks of himself as having a real identity. Every inconvenience is one he's dealt with before and that gives him a calm that others can find unnerving. I liked seeing how he dealt with social situations, especially when he knows someone wants something out of him but he decides to cultivate the friendship anyway, because nothing else takes away the boredom of existing for so long.
August 19, 2018
I didn't know this was part of a larger story when I picked it up - it's the first thing I've read by this author, but it's also apparently the last book in its series. There were lots of references to earlier characters and events that I didn't understand, but I really liked the rest of it. It had a nice melancholy, wistful feeling to it, and it was unexpectedly thoughtful and romantic sometimes.
Read
July 28, 20213 and a half stars. evocative novella set in the alternate history universe of Bear's New Amsterdam series, that introduces a worldweary vampire in a world that just barely acknowledges the species exists. nothing much happens, but this one's rather about introducing a new character to this series, which is always worth reading, written in a style that calls up old gothic novels in the writing and ambience but amends the settings to mark its own distinctive take on modern urban fantasy.
December 29, 2018
I feel the series is pretty much wrapped with this book. There might be more stories but I doubt there will be many of those. And I suspect that those would prefer to look backwards rather than forwards.
The ending was a bit abrupt but the ending to these so often have been. It was still enjoyable and worth the effort to acquire.
The ending was a bit abrupt but the ending to these so often have been. It was still enjoyable and worth the effort to acquire.
July 18, 2024
After Lady Abigail Irene Garrett dies of old age her long time wampyr companion decides to return (alone) to New Amsterdam after 60 years ago.
He makes new and renews prior acquaintances to help pull him from a deep ennui after long centuries of being undead.
He makes new and renews prior acquaintances to help pull him from a deep ennui after long centuries of being undead.
December 17, 2019
It was about vampires, I think. Not sure when the story takes place or who all the characters were, or the significance of just about anything in the tale. :(
May 4, 2016
2.5 stars, rounded up out of nostalgia and residual fondness for the narrator, as I recall him from previous books.
I wanted to like this more than I did. Alas.
This is a slim volume at 90 numbered pages, and I was a bit taken aback to discover that. I felt a little cheated, I must admit. (Though, as always, Subterranean makes absolutely beautiful books.) I had to go and check the Subterranean Press site and see if I had cheated myself or if they'd been up front that this wasn't much of a thing. As it happens, it's clearly listed on the purchase page that this book is short. (It says 96 pages, but the numbers only go to 90, so one assumes they're counting signature pages and copyright pages and so forth as well).
I hate to say it, but I feel I'm going to have to watch those page counts more closely when I buy books from Subterranean from now on. The other books Bear has published with Subterranean weren't exactly doorstops either, but this book (which seemed short even for a novella) left me feeling as if I'd read a teaser for a book I'd not yet purchased...
As a matter of fact, that's exactly what it felt like. I remember reading the very first story in New Amsterdam (the first volume in this series), which Subterranean had made available free online prior to the release of the collection. It was a lovely story, and I quite enjoyed it. It persuaded me to pre-order the book. Sadly, ad eternum reads as if it's missing all but its teaser story. I wanted more.
I wanted to like this more than I did. Alas.
This is a slim volume at 90 numbered pages, and I was a bit taken aback to discover that. I felt a little cheated, I must admit. (Though, as always, Subterranean makes absolutely beautiful books.) I had to go and check the Subterranean Press site and see if I had cheated myself or if they'd been up front that this wasn't much of a thing. As it happens, it's clearly listed on the purchase page that this book is short. (It says 96 pages, but the numbers only go to 90, so one assumes they're counting signature pages and copyright pages and so forth as well).
I hate to say it, but I feel I'm going to have to watch those page counts more closely when I buy books from Subterranean from now on. The other books Bear has published with Subterranean weren't exactly doorstops either, but this book (which seemed short even for a novella) left me feeling as if I'd read a teaser for a book I'd not yet purchased...
As a matter of fact, that's exactly what it felt like. I remember reading the very first story in New Amsterdam (the first volume in this series), which Subterranean had made available free online prior to the release of the collection. It was a lovely story, and I quite enjoyed it. It persuaded me to pre-order the book. Sadly, ad eternum reads as if it's missing all but its teaser story. I wanted more.
February 7, 2017
Jumping back to the future, as it were, we find Sebastian returning to New Amsterdam for the first time since the events of the first book - and after the passing of Lady Irene.
He returns to a place where it is no longer just to exist as a wampyr, but which is not entirely accepting of them, either, and a lot of the tension in the story hinges on that.
He also meets a new group of potential friends - all sorcerers and one perhaps immortal - but an encounter with an old friend (from 'Seven for a Secret'), and his recent past, leaves Sebastian uncertain of his future - or if he even wants one...
My biggest issue with this story is that it's another one that ends too quickly, leaving you with a sense of incompleteness... I do hope that there's more eventually. (According to a timeline at the beginning of Garrett Investigates, this is the latest, chronologically, of the stories.)
But I would like to see more of Sebastian and Ruth together, and also more of Damian. And I wonder what it would be like for Sebastian to actually become ...
He returns to a place where it is no longer just to exist as a wampyr, but which is not entirely accepting of them, either, and a lot of the tension in the story hinges on that.
He also meets a new group of potential friends - all sorcerers and one perhaps immortal - but an encounter with an old friend (from 'Seven for a Secret'), and his recent past, leaves Sebastian uncertain of his future - or if he even wants one...
My biggest issue with this story is that it's another one that ends too quickly, leaving you with a sense of incompleteness... I do hope that there's more eventually. (According to a timeline at the beginning of Garrett Investigates, this is the latest, chronologically, of the stories.)
But I would like to see more of Sebastian and Ruth together, and also more of Damian. And I wonder what it would be like for Sebastian to actually become ...
September 23, 2012
I do really like this series and the World it is set in.
I also like the structure of it being short stories over long periods of time, which is fitting for showing an ageless being. Bear is really good at depicting the perspective of an immortal, as much as one can.
The only reason I did not fully like this one is that it is not a full story. Every other book were fully contained stories, but this one read either as a teaser to a larger story, or an epilogue for the series. There is not much of a story, despite there being plenty of space to have one.
Personally, I am hoping it is the latter. The opening mirrors the opening of the first book, with the themes of loss, starting again, even heading to America, but this time a decision is made for permanence instead of an endless life of passing through and reinvention.
I hope that any future stories focus on the past and/or the other wonderful characters in the series.
Also, magic and forensic sorcery, as well as a good criminal whodunit, would be a great thing to see more of. Sorcerers and detectives are all over the place, but actual magic and mystery is generally sparse in the series.
I also like the structure of it being short stories over long periods of time, which is fitting for showing an ageless being. Bear is really good at depicting the perspective of an immortal, as much as one can.
The only reason I did not fully like this one is that it is not a full story. Every other book were fully contained stories, but this one read either as a teaser to a larger story, or an epilogue for the series. There is not much of a story, despite there being plenty of space to have one.
Personally, I am hoping it is the latter. The opening mirrors the opening of the first book, with the themes of loss, starting again, even heading to America, but this time a decision is made for permanence instead of an endless life of passing through and reinvention.
I hope that any future stories focus on the past and/or the other wonderful characters in the series.
Also, magic and forensic sorcery, as well as a good criminal whodunit, would be a great thing to see more of. Sorcerers and detectives are all over the place, but actual magic and mystery is generally sparse in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2013
With the last couple of Don Sebastian books, Elizabeth Bear has been giving us tiny, truffle-like treats. Just a taste of our favorite steampunk(dieselpunk?) Vampire Private Investigator. This one is the smallest of all. At a microscopic 90 pages, this feels more like the first chapter of a book then a whole novella. There is no real detective story in this one, the changes are mostly internal. Sebastian (going by Jack now) drifts through his un-life, unmoored by people or things. How he changes from this... well, that's the story.
I really would have liked more from this. Or perhaps combining several of these short novellas into one collected edition. It just feels wrong to sit down and read a book in just a hour or two. And Elizabeth Bear can write much more if she felt the need.
I really would have liked more from this. Or perhaps combining several of these short novellas into one collected edition. It just feels wrong to sit down and read a book in just a hour or two. And Elizabeth Bear can write much more if she felt the need.
May 6, 2013
Noting this is volume 4 of the "New Amsterdam" stories, which I did not know when I started the book, maybe I should have read vol. 1 first, but this novella came as part of a surprise package.
It's the second time in recent months, I picked an Elizabeth Bear-title and the second time I'm not exactly excited. Ad Eternum is a decent enough quick read, but the length of the story prevented me from getting into any of the characters or the setting of an alternative New York. I'm sorry to say, it would take a lot of persuasion before I pick up another title by this author.
It's the second time in recent months, I picked an Elizabeth Bear-title and the second time I'm not exactly excited. Ad Eternum is a decent enough quick read, but the length of the story prevented me from getting into any of the characters or the setting of an alternative New York. I'm sorry to say, it would take a lot of persuasion before I pick up another title by this author.
July 18, 2013
The last of the New Amsterdam series of novellas finds the wampyr in melancholy contemplation of his immortality. I missed the usual murder mystery. Instead there is the mystery of what he will do next. He contemplates the friends and lovers he has outlived, runs into an old friend and ruminates on his options. You can feel his temptation to walk into the light.
I would have liked a longer book, but that is always the way with Ms. Bears volumes. I think her exploration of her own feelings of loss reached a conclusion and so did the series. If you have read and enjoyed the earlier novellas, you will definitely want to read this one as the end cap. As always, she has given me something to think about.
I would have liked a longer book, but that is always the way with Ms. Bears volumes. I think her exploration of her own feelings of loss reached a conclusion and so did the series. If you have read and enjoyed the earlier novellas, you will definitely want to read this one as the end cap. As always, she has given me something to think about.
October 29, 2025
A wampyr readers feels we recognize returs to New Amsterdam, after many of his friends have died, but he’s being coy about his name. He’s telling people to call him Jack, making a new circle of friends, is cultivating a potential lover, drawn the aggressive attention of a potential rival, and is being offered a surprising new job. Insight from an old friend unexpectedly appearing may shed enlightenment upon what he wishes to do with himself.
This is an amazing dance of development and mystery in returning to this wampyr and New Amsterdam. Readers sift through tantalizing glimpses of memory, making equally tantalizing acquaintances through him. I found myself falling in love with this wampyr once again, enjoying his new experiences as much as he did.
This is an amazing dance of development and mystery in returning to this wampyr and New Amsterdam. Readers sift through tantalizing glimpses of memory, making equally tantalizing acquaintances through him. I found myself falling in love with this wampyr once again, enjoying his new experiences as much as he did.
August 27, 2013
You can read it in an hour. This is the most recent (set in 1962) of the wampyr series. It's quite brief. Our protagonist returns to New Amsterdam at last, to try to begin again after his beloved Abby Irene passes. Others reach out to him and he must decide whether to respond. We also see Ruth Grell the werewolf one more time.
This has very much the feel of a snapshot in time. It's all about mood. Nothing much happens, we just see these characters at a certain decision-making point in their existences.
I'd love a novel in this setting one day. This book just went by so fast that it didn't leave much of an impression.
This has very much the feel of a snapshot in time. It's all about mood. Nothing much happens, we just see these characters at a certain decision-making point in their existences.
I'd love a novel in this setting one day. This book just went by so fast that it didn't leave much of an impression.
June 30, 2012
This is the final novella in the series.
Especially compared to the previous melancholy, it's very hopeful. Where Seven for a Secret focused on the sorrow of outliving your friends and family, ad eternum focuses on making new ones while dealing with the fresh grief.
This isn't as complex or heavy hitting as some of the previous books. There's little plot and little action. It deals mainly with a return to New Amsterdam and changes in society that make vampiric life a bit easier. It's more of a nice long epilogue to the series rather than a standalone installment.
Especially compared to the previous melancholy, it's very hopeful. Where Seven for a Secret focused on the sorrow of outliving your friends and family, ad eternum focuses on making new ones while dealing with the fresh grief.
This isn't as complex or heavy hitting as some of the previous books. There's little plot and little action. It deals mainly with a return to New Amsterdam and changes in society that make vampiric life a bit easier. It's more of a nice long epilogue to the series rather than a standalone installment.
May 31, 2016
I quit on page 28. I didn't know why I was supposed to be interested in the wampyr. I didn't know what his motivations were. There was the question of why his voice, Jack Prior, said it was pleased to meet him from the mirror when he'd also used that name for himself, Jack Prior. That question wasn't enough to keep me interested. I didn't realize until I got on Goodreads that this was book #4. Nowhere on the book or inside cover does it say that it is book #4.
October 14, 2013
I picked this up on a whim from the library because it was short and I've been meaning to try Elizabeth Bear. Vampires aren't *really* my thing, but I still enjoyed it and would read more.
I was going to say that it was a bit confusing, but of course, I realized when I came here to Goodreads that it's the fourth book in a series. So reading the others would probably help.
I was going to say that it was a bit confusing, but of course, I realized when I came here to Goodreads that it's the fourth book in a series. So reading the others would probably help.
November 20, 2015
This was a good ending to the New Amsterdam series. Nothing much happens, but if you enjoyed the previous novellas and short stories, you'll enjoy this final one. Sebastien thinks a lot about mortality, as he always does, and makes new friends. We also find out what happened to Ruth and her quest.
January 23, 2017
A lot of the Sebastien de Ulloa novellas feel to me like the lead in to novels I really, really want to read. Good characters, good pacing, a real sense of what it might be like to live for a very, very long time, and some great lines sprinkled throughout. Just...where's my wampyr teaching college during the 70s novel? :D
February 1, 2017
I really enjoyed _Ad Eternum_, but the common theme to me for these novellas is that I'm way more interested in the stuff happening off-screen, and that's true here, too. I wanted to know more about the hotel (John Wick style), and what happens with the university. I did enjoy the new characters that were introduced here.
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