Reading Recommendations For The Eternals

Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in full swing and, with a couple exceptions, I’ve been having a great time. That love extends to Chloe Zhao’s epic, The Eternals. Yes, I’ve heard the (many) criticisms of this movie. They aren’t wrong. I just don’t care. I, personally, had a great time in the theater. Watching it felt like when I was in college, reading epic sagas during my mythological survey courses, but sprinkled with MCU world building and family feels.

Oh - the family feels. The Avengers (whom I love) are work colleagues. But the Eternals? They were a family with all the requisite bickering and loyalty and resentments and intricate inter-dynamics that I want to just eat up with a spoon. Given that I can’t get this family of characters out of my mind, I eventually came to the following question:

If I were to recommend a novel for each of the Eternals to read, what novels would I choose?

Before we dive in, a bit of housekeeping. First, let’s look at the rules of the game, which are two-fold. One, I have to have personally read the novel in question, and, two, the recommendation has to be a work of fiction. Secondly, I want to state clearly that the following recommendations will include spoilers for both the movie, The Eternals, and all the books mentioned. If you do not want to be spoiled for the movie or any of the novels listed, turn back now. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s begin, shall we.

Ajak - The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull

While she serves as the leader of the Eternals, we don’t get to see Ajak really engage with the question of whether to save humanity or sacrifice it to ostensibly bring billions of more lives into the universe. I’d like to think Ajak had been really wrestling with what to do about us humans, and that’s why she didn’t come to her conclusion until two weeks before D-day after spending multiple millennia on the planet. To help with her serious contemplation, I would recommend Ajak read Turnbull’s novel about an alien invasion that is focused primarily on the US Virgin Islands. The novel, while a sci-fi romp, takes an unflinching look at humanity, both the hopeful and the hideous parts. I think it perfectly distills some of the arguments Ajak must have been having with herself. Also, it’s an underrated gem of a novel, and I will push it into any and all hands.

Ikaris - Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro

Okay, so this recommendation is what prompted the idea for this article. Ishiguro’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel follows a butler ruminating on the events of his life, particularly around the years surrounding WWII. He was trained to believe in honor and duty to a cause, in his case serving the lord of the house. But now near his twilight years, he realizes that maybe the conduct he was told was honorable wasn’t, that maybe the people to whom he gave his complete trust and obedience were undeserving, and that perhaps the sacrifices he had to make weren’t worth it and something to deeply regret. I feel like maybe that’s something Ikaris could relate to. You know, just a little.

Sersi - Mem by Bethany C. Morrow

Mem is a speculative fiction novella set in an alternate 1920s where people are able to extract their memories which then live as a kind of clone of the person from whom they were taken. The novel deals with themes of what it means to be human and the nature of love in all its forms (families, friendships, romances). Sersi comes off as a character that loves humanity deeply but feels that she has to keep them at a certain remove, so I think she’d relate to the heroine’s situation. Also, as an apparent appreciator of beauty (she turned a bus into rose petals - the woman is a romantic) I think Sersi would appreciate the sumptuousness of the art deco setting.

Sprite - Circe by Madeline Miller

Now, you may be wondering why I didn’t recommend the book about Circe to Sersi, ostensibly the inspiration within the MCU for the Homeric heroine. The answer being, I’m sure she’s familiar. But I think her sister, Sprite, may find some compassion for Sersi while reading Madeline Miller’s brilliant novel. Also, Sprite’s journey in the film hews so closely to the journey Miller sets for Circe in the novel where she is a supernatural being who is frequently rejected and ostracized from her otherworldly peers yet remains strangely enticed by humanity despite their many and obvious flaws. Circe’s final choice, whether to persist in her divine power or choose a human existence, is one I think Sprite would find echoes her own.

Gilgamesh & Thena - The Dandelion Saga by Ken Liu

So I lumped Gil and Thena’s recommendation together because are you trying to tell me that Gil didn’t read to Thena every night by the fire in their little cabin in the outback? You’re going to look me in my eyes and tell me that’s not a thing that happened? Because it a hundred percent did, and you can’t tell me differently. And the book I’d give Gil to read to Thena is The Dandelion Saga by Ken Liu, starting with The Grace of Kings. The books are all chunkers, so they’ll last the couple many nights of reading. These epic fantasies have enough bloodshed and battles to keep warrior queen Thena’s interest piqued but aren’t so gratuitously dark or mean-spirited that I’d worry that they’d harm her fragile mental state. They’re expansive and fun and epic, which I think lethal teddy-bear Gil would appreciate. They are also propulsively readable, and I can just imagine both Eternals being excited each night to see what happens next.

Druig - Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Iron and Magic is the first installment in a new spin-off series set in the Kate Daniels Universe which follows fan-favorite character Hugh as he finds himself in a politically-motivated marriage of convenience. It’s a page-turner adventure, like all of the Andrews’ novels, filled with magic and romance, both things that Druig seems to have an appreciation for (my beautiful, beautiful Makkari, indeed). However, the main reason I’m recommending this book to Druig is that the hero spends a good chunk of the book dealing with the fallout of having spent his entire life under the mind-control of a powerful magical person (I don’t know how to explain Roland. He’s kind of a vampire, kind of a god?). I think it would do Druig good to see how heinous it is to remove someone of their free will. Because, I don’t care what your motives are, Druig, you can’t just go around mind-controlling people.

Makkari - The Gentleman Bastards Sequence by Scott Lynch

Makkari is a charming rogue with a serious case of the sticky fingers. I think she’d absolutely get on with Locke Lamora, the hero of The Gentleman Bastards Sequence. The novels, starting with the truly exceptional The Lies of Locke Lamora, involve elaborate cons and double-crosses. They are rip-roaring adventures set in a vibrant and intricately crafted fictional world. There’s plenty to chew on with the extensive cast of characters, expansive countries, and labyrinth political systems. Finally, the page count is nothing to sneeze at, another tally in the pro column for a super speed reader like Makkari.

Phastos - Did You Ever Have a Family? by Bill Clegg

Honestly, I most easily see Phastos as a non-fiction reader, diving into books on engineering or a biography of Tesla or some other brainy topic, but sticking with my fiction only rule, I’m going to go with this bittersweet tearjerker. Bill Clegg’s debut novel is told from the multiple POVs of the people involved with a devastating accident. The night before a wedding only the bride to be is spared when the house where her family and her fiancé were sleeping catches fire, killing all inside. Despite the horror of this event, this novel isn’t interested in sensationalizing or melodramatics. Instead it’s a story intimately told about the resilience of humans in the face of unimaginable grief. I think as Phastos is slowly moving back toward hope after his crushing disillusionment with humanity, this novel would be a balm.

Kingo - Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Okay, so this one was hard. Because I wanted to recommend a sweeping, multi-generational saga, like Pachinko or Homegoing, but populated with South Asians. Problem is, I haven’t read any novels that fit the bill. So instead, I decided to go with Ayesha at Last, Jalaluddin’s Pride and Prejudice inspired romance set amongst a community of devout Pakistani Canadians. I imagine Kingo reading this and deciding to adapt it in a Rogelio de la Vega-like attempt to crossover to a western audience, maybe as his feature directorial debut.