Looking for story of people who live for hundreds of years in our midst

[sailinindy]

Plot: male protagonist realizes he isn't aging, leaves wife and kids and moves on because townspeople are getting suspicious, he eventually finds another male long lived who he befrends and travels with as he starts and ends new lives and familes, eventually finds a female long lived person. He takes valuables to a church with a note to keep for someone who will pick it up in something like 200 years with description of who will pick it up (him of course) and valuables are by then worth a fortune. Thanks!

 

[PaulMmn]

Long-lived people has echoes of Heinlein's "Howard Families--" people who have been breeding for longevity for centuries. They live longer because their ancestors lived longer-- no artificial enhancements! Lazarus Long (patriarch of at least some of the Howard Families) does marry a short-lived lady, and, as she ages, he 'ages' his own appearance-- shaving his forehead higher and higher to simulate baldness, and graying his hair. The plot you mention doesn't ring a bell, however.

 

[sailinindy]

Thanks Paul. I appreciate the suggestion. But like you, I don't think it is the same story. I'll keep looking and again, thanks!

 

[K. Riehl]

Perhaps Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson?

It follows 6 immortals from ancient times to the present and on into the future.

Each immortal has different adaptation methods, one blends into the bureaucracy. some become advisors to people in power so that they can see where the next war is going to be and avoid it.

 

[sailinindy]

It sounds similar although I don't recall it having that many immortals, or heading to the stars. However, I am going to read it and appreciate the suggestion.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Two books spring to mind - both classic sci fi. There's "This Immortal" by Zelazny which is sixties era and features a Greek Immortal in hiding who has a club foot and ends up getting a job in a future world government which involves his escorting aliens around earth and might end up revealing his life's secret. I think one of the things he recalls in his travels was the scenario you described.

The other is "The Boat of a Million Years" By Anderson which is not a novel but a series of interlinked stories about a group of immortals surviving down the ages.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[sailinindy]

Thanks very much Greg. I'll check This Immortal out. Happy holidays. tim

 

[Parson]

Ah, The Boat of a Million Years is a true classic. I've thought about it often, but I wouldn't have remembered either the author or the title. Parts of the story(ies) are burned into my memory.

 

[Bick]

The other is "The Boat of a Million Years" By Anderson which is not a novel but a series of interlinked stories about a group of immortals surviving down the ages.

Yes, certainly sounds like this The Boat of a Million Years - I whittle on about this book whenever I'm given half a chance, its terrific. It is a novel though.

 

[PaulMmn]

Yet another immortal, but it's him and his wife-- "Anton York, Immortal," by Eando Binder.

 

[Danny McG]

He takes valuables to a church with a note to keep for someone who will pick it up in something like 200 years with description of who will pick it up (him of course) and valuables are by then worth a fortune.

That is definitely from 'The Boat of a Million Years'

Quote from Wikipedia..
1540 A.D — Hanno leaves a box containing a physical description of himself in a church, with instructions not to open it for a hundred years, to prove his immortality

 

[PaulMmn]

The Immortals, by James Gunn This is a series of stories about a man with 'good blood--' he doesn't get sick, and doesn't age. Transfusions from his blood impart temporary benefits to the recipients. The stories span a long period of time; hundreds of years IIRC.
A TV-movie and a short-lived series based on his stories were broadcast in the early 1970s. Unfortunately, the series did not explore the stories that were set in the future; they concentrated on a rich millionaire who had received a transfusion from Our Hero, and his search for the donor. It degraded into a version of "The Fugitive," as the rich guy spared no expenses to find Our Hero.

 

[PaulMmn]

Goodreads has a search list of novels/stories that involve immortality.

Immortality Books

Books shelved as immortality: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victor...

www.goodreads.com