“Hayden does not remember when he first realized he is going to die.”

Em X. Liu is a writer and biochemistry graduate who is fascinated by stories of artificial intelligence and Shakespeare in equal measure. Chronically cold-blooded, Em nevertheless resides in Toronto, Canada.

Em X. Liu’s novel The Death I Gave Him, coming in September 2023, is a bludgeoningly emotional read. A Queer Science Fiction novel at heart, Liu knits together some pretty difficult existential concepts, confronting death and mortality, as well as the uncomfortable impact that technology might have in our future. Liu considers humanities ever-changing relationship with technology and science, questioning just how far humans could push that boulder up the hill to try and play God. 

The boulder fable will make sense shortly… don’t worry. 

Liu has constructed a novel out of different fictional sources, from text message data, voice recordings, excerpts from interviews, CCTV footage and novel chapters. Visually, the variety of formats is quite appealing, and has the feel of a true crime documentary or Netflix series… with that speculative spin of Science Fiction. The novel tells the story of a murder, but it is about so much more than that.

It is 2047, August. We follow Hayden through the clean white corridors of Elsinore Labs, heading back into the lab that his father, DR Graham Lichfield, has been working in. It’s late. But Hayden knows that he always has the company of Horatio, the Artificial Intelligence that lives within the Labs and acts as the primary operating system. Hayden has recently made one huge step closer to finding the cure for mortality. His research is finally going somewhere. Then he walks into his father’s Lab to find his father dead on the floor. 

“immortality is cheap these days; the real questions are, for whom and to what end?”

Elsinore Labs goes into lockdown. His father’s research is missing. There are only five people in the building. 

Rasmussen, a technician, and recent graduate. Charles Lichfield, Hayden’s Uncle and Grahams Brother. Felicia Xia, Haydens Ex-lover. Felicia’s father, Paul Xia. And of course, Hayden.

No one else has been in the building, and no one is allowed to leave. Who is the murderer and why?

“He was too broken, too much damaged tissue to fix, something solid and warm but not real. Only close enough to life to be a cruel joke.”

Hayden’s Uncle, Charles, is more concerned about Graham’s research than his death. He is desperate to find the information about The Sisyphus Formula, and he isn’t scared of who he might have to step over to get his hands on it. You may, or may not, remember the story of Sisyphus. For those who recognise the reference, you may ask the same question as Felicia does in the novel, “why would you call a mortality cure Sisyphus??” it does not really seem to fit. For those who don’t know who Sisyphus is, let me remind you.

In Greek Mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and king of Ephyra . He cheated death twice, which enraged Hades (God of the Underworld). To punish Sisyphus, Hades forced him to push an immense boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down every time it neared the top, repeating the same action for eternity. This story has had a huge impact on modern culture, tasks that are both laborious and futile are often described as Sisyphean. Thus, calling the Cure for Mortality The Sisyphus Formula almost admits defeat, an immediate acknowledgement that trying to engender immortality is hopelessly futile. 

“He… he let me pursue my own research. My own goals. The Sisyphus Formula was my idea. I’m … grateful for that.”

Liu does not only nod at Greek Mythology within this novel, they also make several connections to the Shakespeare play Hamlet, including naming Hayden’s close friend and confidant (the AI in Elsinore Labs) Horatio, the same name of Hamlet’s best friend in the play. Horatio watches Hayden struggle with his crippling mental health problems, much like the character of the Shakespearean play.  There are other allusions to the play stitched in too (but I best not say any more about this… I do not want to spoil the story for you!). 

“This is where I say: tell me a tragedy. I have reopened all my stiches. I have let my wounds weep onto the ground.”

Let my next paragraph act as a trigger warning for you about this novel.

Throughout the novel we are offered flickering hints of Hayden’s mental health struggles, with references to suicide, self-harm and other difficult topics. It is clear throughout that Hayden is struggling with depression and his obsessive attitude towards his research only reinforces this, with his constant exclamations that “I am going to live forever,” insisting that he will never die.

Liu plays with our expectations, constructing a Poirot-style who-done-it within a locked lab and no where to go. A brilliant novel that I read in one sitting. I strongly believe many other people will do the same. They make one consider longevity, legacy and that desperate, heart wrenching question:

“Do you want to live because you want to live, or because you are afraid to die?”

The Death I Gave Him is due for release 12th September from Solaris.

You can pre-order your copy on Bookshop.org