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Immortals
When it comes to staying young, some people will pay any price… What if Ponce de Leon really did discover the fountain of youth? Mr. Leon is alive in the twentieth century and is the owner of a high-end cosmetics company. His handpicked salespeople are his disciples. They remain forever young and healthy, but the cost is soul-wrenching. When Cynthia Edwards realizes her husband has become part of this madness she tries in vain to make her husband understand…but Mr. Leon demands terrible sacrifices.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1991
166 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Neiderman
74 books392 followersAndrew Neiderman is the author of over 44 thrillers, including six of which have been translated onto film, including the big hit, 'The Devil's Advocate', a story in which he also wrote a libretto for the music-stage adaptation. One of his novels, Tender Loving Care, has been adapted into a CD-Rom interactive movie.
Andrew Neiderman became the ghostwriter for V.C. Andrews following her death in 1986. He was the screenwriter for Rain, a film based on a series of books under Andrews name. Between the novels written under her name and his own, he has published over 100 novels.
Andrew Neiderman became the ghostwriter for V.C. Andrews following her death in 1986. He was the screenwriter for Rain, a film based on a series of books under Andrews name. Between the novels written under her name and his own, he has published over 100 novels.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 23, 2023
We all dream of living forever, eternal youth is the most preferred for many people. When Drake starts working as a sales executive for Leon Enterprises everything seems to work out perfect. Money is rolling in, a new car. Even the product itself seems to turn back the years in outward appearance. But Drake's wife Cynthia suspects some foul play. What is going on on Mr Leon's hacienda? What is his secret behind his young looks? Drake's personality changes dramatically. Page by page a terrible a terrible truth reveals. Can the Edwards be saved from a terrible fate? Absolutely stunning novel here with many eerie motifs and a good shot of satire on the delusions of youth in society. Very well written, a true page turner by Neiderman. The cover fully comes up with the expectations I had. Highly recommended blast from the past.
March 3, 2018
This book was a fun ride. And it was a fast read.
July 18, 2018
(2 stars)
THRIFT STORE WHY: A mix of the name, cover, and back cover text. I have a for super secret groups of immortals (oddly common in the genre, see Only Child), the cover is wild (though very irrelevant to the story), and the back cover promised what I like: vague devil related bargains, a clique of immortals, possible parent-killing-child content....
BACK COPY LIES (what the plot really is): A normal husband takes a one day turn for evil after getting a sudden, suspicious new job. His wife is left to feel like she's going insane for a very, very long time, as suspicious deaths keep piling up and her husband becomes an abusive asshole.
WOULD I RECC TO READ: Nope.
Review:
Admittedly, of my recent thrift shop grabs, this one was sort of tacked on. It didn't have the cover appeal of Perfect Little Angels or intrigue of Only Child, but offered a sort of mix of both. It had plenty of promise of elements I enjoy: family turmoil, hinted spooky child death (in the first page preview), secret conspiracies, and evil corporations. While it delivered on most of these (no kids were harmed in this book- funny to say that as a negative), The Immortals lack a certain... anything.
The beginning is rather slow, showing quite a bit of the family life and set up before we dive into the main plot. Then, Drake (our dad-man) gets the Evil Job, and suddenly he's... well, the worst! Oh man, is he the worst. Part of the reason I didn't enjoy this book is how much of it Drake spends being horrible to his family and wife (Cynthia).
Essentially, we follow Drake for the first part of the book, until he ends up visiting the CEO's private mansion and having a foursome with some random women. Then he comes back home, and we see from the wife's point of view that's he's become a pain in the ass: he's more aggressive to his brother-in-law, he doesn't want to spend time with his sick daughter, he bails on a party he was going to chaperone for his son, and he's suddenly spiked in terms of sex drive and sexual aggression (he rapes his wife a few times).
Cynthia becomes our view point and main character, with maybe two other dips throughout the book to follow the Evil CEO Man and one of his lackeys. I think another part of my dislike for this book is my dislike for the situation she's in- Drake occasionally has a lapse where he's decent to her, and like an abused wife, she's able to move past the last week where he was the worst. She makes many correct points about his work, his behavior, and new attitudes, but he brushes them off so often that she feels she must be the crazy one.
I appreciate Cynthia did get to yell at Drake at one point, but for most of the book she's a stressed, worried, haggard housewife. She takes initiative on several things, working to try and figure out what Drake's new job really is, but these often end up being mostly unsuccessful. Even at the end, where she is to a degree saving the day, it really falls down more to Drake and other men to do the work- she's a perpetual victim in every aspect of her life.
This is for sure because of the author, Andrew Neiderman. It's common in pulp, yes, but I won't stop pointing it out: man! Men sure do seem to hate women. Yes, Cynthia is not so bad as a protagonist, but all women in the book are either victims, idiots, or sex objects. Cynthia's friends don't like each other, care only about fashion and being housewives, and both are implied to have cheated on their husbands with Cynthia's husband Drake. At the CEO's mansion, women lounge around topless, there only to preform sex acts. A few women are salespeople like Drake is, but these ones are thus bold sex objects, who wear sheer, tight dresses and sleep around. Notably, Cynthia's part in the climax is to set herself up to nearly be drugged and raped, so that a man can rescue her.
I happen to know this author also wrote The Devil's Advocate, which judging from the movie, is pretty much exactly this book. The Devil's Advocate is about a lawyer who is invited to join a high-class new york law firm, and is suddenly thrust into a life of hot ladies, luxury living, and power. His poor wife is left confused, and her friends are idiots. The husband cheats on his wife (or at least is temped) several times, while his evil boss man encourages him further into sin. At the end, he realizes his mistakes and leaves.
So I think it's a pattern.
Last note about the ending, as well. The fountain of youth they were using to keep their salespeople immortal dries up, the CEO (ponce de fucking leon) is killed, and the whole mansion ends up exploding. Drake snaps out of his annoying stupor and helps save his wife, and they leave together, happy again.
Now, there's excuses made- Drake was on medication that made him like that, he was mindwashed into being a dickwad, only able to break free there because he'd been off his meds for a few weeks- okay, but. He was STILL the worst, and I don't think high hormones are any excuse for his actions.
Worse yet is this strange, heavy implication that he slept with like, all his sales-clients, including Cynthia's best friends (Who weren't drugged up on medications, so they sure consented). How's that going to resolve? I think the two of them should divorce and move away, honestly. The end frames it as a happy ending, but man, it really isn't. Cynthia needs to get out of there. Her kids deserve better.
Red Herring Mention:
Only cause I'm bothered about this one. The weirdest thing in this book, that I desperately want answers for, is a doll made of human skin that shows up early in the book.
What?!?!
Evil CEO gives it to Drake to give to his daughter. It's a weird, large but doll sized doll. When you squeeze various limbs, it makes different expressions. The mom notes it seems weird to her, as it has fake breasts and what feels like real hair.
The daughter is told to use special face lotion (what the evil company sells, makes people look youthful) on the doll every day to care for it. When the mom takes the lotion away from her, the doll rots the next day, revealing a strange skeleton, and that it was made from real skin.
WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Later, the CEO makes one remark about no one finding his jokes funny, but it's still very unclear what in the goddamn that doll was. It wasn't adult sized, for one, but had a skeleton and skin and hair and fake breasts? What, did he shrink a real woman down and make her into a doll? That's sure out of scope for this book, where the only magic involved is The Fountain of Youth. How did a skin care company even discreetly make a human-skin doll? Who do you hire for that? Why was there a skeleton in it? Why didn't the CEO realize that doll was going to ROT at some point (when the daughter grew tired of it) and reveal its secret?
Why did no one call the police?!? When it rots, the smell is described as being like roadkill.
Hey, what the fuck, book?
THRIFT STORE WHY: A mix of the name, cover, and back cover text. I have a for super secret groups of immortals (oddly common in the genre, see Only Child), the cover is wild (though very irrelevant to the story), and the back cover promised what I like: vague devil related bargains, a clique of immortals, possible parent-killing-child content....
BACK COPY LIES (what the plot really is): A normal husband takes a one day turn for evil after getting a sudden, suspicious new job. His wife is left to feel like she's going insane for a very, very long time, as suspicious deaths keep piling up and her husband becomes an abusive asshole.
WOULD I RECC TO READ: Nope.
Review:
Admittedly, of my recent thrift shop grabs, this one was sort of tacked on. It didn't have the cover appeal of Perfect Little Angels or intrigue of Only Child, but offered a sort of mix of both. It had plenty of promise of elements I enjoy: family turmoil, hinted spooky child death (in the first page preview), secret conspiracies, and evil corporations. While it delivered on most of these (no kids were harmed in this book- funny to say that as a negative), The Immortals lack a certain... anything.
The beginning is rather slow, showing quite a bit of the family life and set up before we dive into the main plot. Then, Drake (our dad-man) gets the Evil Job, and suddenly he's... well, the worst! Oh man, is he the worst. Part of the reason I didn't enjoy this book is how much of it Drake spends being horrible to his family and wife (Cynthia).
Essentially, we follow Drake for the first part of the book, until he ends up visiting the CEO's private mansion and having a foursome with some random women. Then he comes back home, and we see from the wife's point of view that's he's become a pain in the ass: he's more aggressive to his brother-in-law, he doesn't want to spend time with his sick daughter, he bails on a party he was going to chaperone for his son, and he's suddenly spiked in terms of sex drive and sexual aggression (he rapes his wife a few times).
Cynthia becomes our view point and main character, with maybe two other dips throughout the book to follow the Evil CEO Man and one of his lackeys. I think another part of my dislike for this book is my dislike for the situation she's in- Drake occasionally has a lapse where he's decent to her, and like an abused wife, she's able to move past the last week where he was the worst. She makes many correct points about his work, his behavior, and new attitudes, but he brushes them off so often that she feels she must be the crazy one.
I appreciate Cynthia did get to yell at Drake at one point, but for most of the book she's a stressed, worried, haggard housewife. She takes initiative on several things, working to try and figure out what Drake's new job really is, but these often end up being mostly unsuccessful. Even at the end, where she is to a degree saving the day, it really falls down more to Drake and other men to do the work- she's a perpetual victim in every aspect of her life.
This is for sure because of the author, Andrew Neiderman. It's common in pulp, yes, but I won't stop pointing it out: man! Men sure do seem to hate women. Yes, Cynthia is not so bad as a protagonist, but all women in the book are either victims, idiots, or sex objects. Cynthia's friends don't like each other, care only about fashion and being housewives, and both are implied to have cheated on their husbands with Cynthia's husband Drake. At the CEO's mansion, women lounge around topless, there only to preform sex acts. A few women are salespeople like Drake is, but these ones are thus bold sex objects, who wear sheer, tight dresses and sleep around. Notably, Cynthia's part in the climax is to set herself up to nearly be drugged and raped, so that a man can rescue her.
I happen to know this author also wrote The Devil's Advocate, which judging from the movie, is pretty much exactly this book. The Devil's Advocate is about a lawyer who is invited to join a high-class new york law firm, and is suddenly thrust into a life of hot ladies, luxury living, and power. His poor wife is left confused, and her friends are idiots. The husband cheats on his wife (or at least is temped) several times, while his evil boss man encourages him further into sin. At the end, he realizes his mistakes and leaves.
So I think it's a pattern.
Last note about the ending, as well. The fountain of youth they were using to keep their salespeople immortal dries up, the CEO (ponce de fucking leon) is killed, and the whole mansion ends up exploding. Drake snaps out of his annoying stupor and helps save his wife, and they leave together, happy again.
Now, there's excuses made- Drake was on medication that made him like that, he was mindwashed into being a dickwad, only able to break free there because he'd been off his meds for a few weeks- okay, but. He was STILL the worst, and I don't think high hormones are any excuse for his actions.
Worse yet is this strange, heavy implication that he slept with like, all his sales-clients, including Cynthia's best friends (Who weren't drugged up on medications, so they sure consented). How's that going to resolve? I think the two of them should divorce and move away, honestly. The end frames it as a happy ending, but man, it really isn't. Cynthia needs to get out of there. Her kids deserve better.
Red Herring Mention:
Only cause I'm bothered about this one. The weirdest thing in this book, that I desperately want answers for, is a doll made of human skin that shows up early in the book.
What?!?!
Evil CEO gives it to Drake to give to his daughter. It's a weird, large but doll sized doll. When you squeeze various limbs, it makes different expressions. The mom notes it seems weird to her, as it has fake breasts and what feels like real hair.
The daughter is told to use special face lotion (what the evil company sells, makes people look youthful) on the doll every day to care for it. When the mom takes the lotion away from her, the doll rots the next day, revealing a strange skeleton, and that it was made from real skin.
WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Later, the CEO makes one remark about no one finding his jokes funny, but it's still very unclear what in the goddamn that doll was. It wasn't adult sized, for one, but had a skeleton and skin and hair and fake breasts? What, did he shrink a real woman down and make her into a doll? That's sure out of scope for this book, where the only magic involved is The Fountain of Youth. How did a skin care company even discreetly make a human-skin doll? Who do you hire for that? Why was there a skeleton in it? Why didn't the CEO realize that doll was going to ROT at some point (when the daughter grew tired of it) and reveal its secret?
Why did no one call the police?!? When it rots, the smell is described as being like roadkill.
Hey, what the fuck, book?
April 4, 2016
Yet another example of “never judge a book by its cover”. I had never read a novel by Andrew Neiderman before but this one had been on my shelf for a long time and I sort of picked it up in order to read it and move on. Much to my surprise this one didn’t fall into the expected bucket of “quick read horror novel” but rather turned out to be a fairly well-done psychological horror story (and subtle horror at that).
The premise is that the fountain of youth really was found all those years ago and now has been bottled and put into a facial cream product that is sold by word of mouth. That makes the user look younger and healthier after just a few uses…but they still have normal life spans. However there is also a pill form that is extremely addictive but does grant immortality. The story itself revolves around a young family who gets caught up in the sales game, the addiction, and the ultimate fight against the horrifying consequences of what some people are capable of when pursuing immortality.
The novel surprised me in how well it grabbed me into this family’s life and forced me to watch their slide toward evil and ultimate climb back out. It reminded me a lot of Bentley Little’s novels where he really gets the reader invested in a family’s life before slowly bringing on the horror elements. I will need to look for more of this author’s work…and try to ignore the cover art.
The premise is that the fountain of youth really was found all those years ago and now has been bottled and put into a facial cream product that is sold by word of mouth. That makes the user look younger and healthier after just a few uses…but they still have normal life spans. However there is also a pill form that is extremely addictive but does grant immortality. The story itself revolves around a young family who gets caught up in the sales game, the addiction, and the ultimate fight against the horrifying consequences of what some people are capable of when pursuing immortality.
The novel surprised me in how well it grabbed me into this family’s life and forced me to watch their slide toward evil and ultimate climb back out. It reminded me a lot of Bentley Little’s novels where he really gets the reader invested in a family’s life before slowly bringing on the horror elements. I will need to look for more of this author’s work…and try to ignore the cover art.
March 17, 2023
Was it a mother’s instinct, or the instinct to survive?
How far is too willing for immortality and a lifetime of youth, health and beauty? What counts as too much sacrifice when it comes to the life of your spouse or unborn child? Can one serum simply reverse the effects of aging and leave the users feeling reinvigorated and with a face no longer marred by wrinkles? When Drake Edwards if offered the job of a lifetime for simply going door to door selling Youth Hold, a cream used to remove signs of aging practically overnight with use, he was ecstatic to jump on the opportunity. His wife Cynthia on the other hand was lessed than thrilled and suspicious of the offerings his new boss Leon was willing to hand over. With a salary triple the size of his current one working as an insurance salesman at Burke-Thompson, he wasted no time throwing the twelve years away to begin his new future. Becoming addicted to the cream and the pills that kept him effortlessly upbeat, energetic and healthy, he began feeling much like a teenager again as his entire mindset shifted. Avoiding anything negative, he barely spent time with his wife or two children; Debbie and Stuart. Instead, he spent lavish and expensive evening with fellow employees of Leon Enterprises, dining in expensive restaurants and traveling back to Florida for additional training seminars. Yet everyone who worked there all seemed impossibly young for their ages they claimed to be. However, the price to be paid was in many cases catastrophic. It seemed the common theme was the spouses who meet unfortunate and tragic accidents, or suicides. As Cynthia becomes more suspicious, she entrusts her brother Richard to try and tap into the phone line of Paul Stoddard to catch something incriminating. This lead to his accident where he was left comatose in a hospital bed while Cynthia tried to find the answers. It would be the weekend trip to the compound where she would meet her answers with the help of Leon's most trusted assistant Gerald Dorian who was fed up of the centuries of sadistic cruelty he witnessed and partook in. Creating a disguise that lead to Leon's death, husband and wife chose to flee together while Gerald's greed took him deep into the basement where the fountain stood. Blessed or cursed with the water of immortality, he set off a bomb that demolished the entire mansion along with the staff that was inside. Back to his old self, Drake held onto one of those pills before sneaking it into Richard's mouth. Within twenty four hours he opened his eyes and Drake tried to turn a blind eye to the death of his wife he nearly went through with.
There on the floor of the chest were the remains of what looked like a doll. The hair was still intact, but the face looked like a tiny, rotted human skeleton.Richie slammed down the lid and went out to look for Cynthia. He heard her getting sick in the bathroom.“Cyn, are you all right?”After a moment she stopped gagging. He heard her turn on the water.“I’m okay,” she said. He waited in the hallway. Finally she emerged, looking pale, holding her hands on her stomach.“What was that?”“That,” she said slowly, “was the doll Drake brought home for Debbie."
How far is too willing for immortality and a lifetime of youth, health and beauty? What counts as too much sacrifice when it comes to the life of your spouse or unborn child? Can one serum simply reverse the effects of aging and leave the users feeling reinvigorated and with a face no longer marred by wrinkles? When Drake Edwards if offered the job of a lifetime for simply going door to door selling Youth Hold, a cream used to remove signs of aging practically overnight with use, he was ecstatic to jump on the opportunity. His wife Cynthia on the other hand was lessed than thrilled and suspicious of the offerings his new boss Leon was willing to hand over. With a salary triple the size of his current one working as an insurance salesman at Burke-Thompson, he wasted no time throwing the twelve years away to begin his new future. Becoming addicted to the cream and the pills that kept him effortlessly upbeat, energetic and healthy, he began feeling much like a teenager again as his entire mindset shifted. Avoiding anything negative, he barely spent time with his wife or two children; Debbie and Stuart. Instead, he spent lavish and expensive evening with fellow employees of Leon Enterprises, dining in expensive restaurants and traveling back to Florida for additional training seminars. Yet everyone who worked there all seemed impossibly young for their ages they claimed to be. However, the price to be paid was in many cases catastrophic. It seemed the common theme was the spouses who meet unfortunate and tragic accidents, or suicides. As Cynthia becomes more suspicious, she entrusts her brother Richard to try and tap into the phone line of Paul Stoddard to catch something incriminating. This lead to his accident where he was left comatose in a hospital bed while Cynthia tried to find the answers. It would be the weekend trip to the compound where she would meet her answers with the help of Leon's most trusted assistant Gerald Dorian who was fed up of the centuries of sadistic cruelty he witnessed and partook in. Creating a disguise that lead to Leon's death, husband and wife chose to flee together while Gerald's greed took him deep into the basement where the fountain stood. Blessed or cursed with the water of immortality, he set off a bomb that demolished the entire mansion along with the staff that was inside. Back to his old self, Drake held onto one of those pills before sneaking it into Richard's mouth. Within twenty four hours he opened his eyes and Drake tried to turn a blind eye to the death of his wife he nearly went through with.
There on the floor of the chest were the remains of what looked like a doll. The hair was still intact, but the face looked like a tiny, rotted human skeleton.Richie slammed down the lid and went out to look for Cynthia. He heard her getting sick in the bathroom.“Cyn, are you all right?”After a moment she stopped gagging. He heard her turn on the water.“I’m okay,” she said. He waited in the hallway. Finally she emerged, looking pale, holding her hands on her stomach.“What was that?”“That,” she said slowly, “was the doll Drake brought home for Debbie."
May 17, 2023
Neiderman reminds me a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs: he has terrific imagination and great plot, but his writing is childish and second-rate. Read him for the ideas but not the prose.
January 14, 2026
love this
Good read and I hope they don’t make this into a movie because I imagined the best scenes, wardrobe, setting in every scene as I read through every page.
Good read and I hope they don’t make this into a movie because I imagined the best scenes, wardrobe, setting in every scene as I read through every page.
May 9, 2008
Worth a read if you can find it at a used bookstore.
April 25, 2017
4.5 stars. Very good! Based on the myth, 'The Fountain of Youth' a story I've loved since I first saw an episode of 'Ducktales' do their version of the story. You cant go wrong with Neiderman!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews