62 pages • 2 hours read
Sue Lynn TanImmortal
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2025A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Greed and the Pursuit of Power
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Greed and the pursuit of power motivate both mortals and immortals in Liyen’s world, leading to many of the political and interpersonal issues featured in the novel. Liyen’s grandfather says, “Greed turns too many honest men into thieves” (4), and this pronouncement becomes the focal point of the theme. For example, though Liyen originally believes Zhangwei to be an honest immortal she can trust, he betrays her by manipulating her feelings and attempting to steal the lotus. The novel later reveals that his motivations for betraying her in this way are complex and rather selfless, proving Zhangwei’s greed is a misdirection. However, the centrality of greed as a motivator applies to other characters, such as Lord Dalian.
Liyen encounters pursuits of power throughout the novel. Her court advisers conspire against her, wishing to gain power by seizing a connection to her throne. Lord Dalian wants to start a war that will lead to his conquest of the Mortal Realm. The immortals, already wielding significant power themselves, wish to continue taking advantage of their power over the mortals. Queen Caihong, in particular, wishes to continue benefiting from the treaty with Tianxia even though the mortals have already met their treaty obligations.
Liyen despises the apathy and selfishness prevalent among leaders in her world, and she takes note of instances of greed throughout the novel. In Chapter 1, for example, she states, “When have the immortals ever weighed our desires more than theirs?” (8). While Liyen believes mortals and immortals are equal but different, she recognizes that immortals view mortals as inferior. Liyen and her actions in the narrative provide an alternative to the greed and power-hungry motivations of those around her. Rather than staying in an opulent palace like the immortals or seeking more than she has like the Wuxin, Liyen “walk[s] among the suffering, to know their pain rather than sitting in the throne room surrounded by privilege, shrouded in ignorance” (50). Where others demand payment and do nothing without personal gain, Liyen does what she can for others without asking anything in return.
Earning Rather than Demanding Devotion
Liyen is determined to earn the devotion of her people rather than demanding or inheriting it without qualification. Unlike the immortals, who rule through fear and entitlement, Liyen believes that authority should be justified through service, not assumed by birthright. This distinction defines her struggle throughout the novel, particularly when she resists Queen Caihong’s demand for absolute obedience in the Palace of Radiant Light, challenging the expectation that mortals must serve their “gods” without question.
The immortals demonstrate the dangers of power that is demanded rather than earned. As Liyen observes, their rule is not based on wisdom or compassion but on their need for worship and control: “For the gods desired to be seen as great and wise, thriving on worship and admiration. And they cannot bear insult or defiance, to be thought of as weak, infallible […] or mortal” (12). Queen Caihong and her court do not reward true loyalty, as evidenced by the queen’s unwillingness to give Tianxia the weapons they need to protect themselves from the immortals’ enemies. Instead, she punishes defiance and instills fear to maintain immortal dominance. Previous rulers of Tianxia feared the immortals’ wrath, keeping them in servitude for so long after they fulfilled their treaty obligations. Liyen refuses to accept the idea that mortals must serve because they always have, breaking the cycle.
From the beginning, Liyen recognizes the hypocrisy of forced devotion, declaring early on that “[d]evotion should be earned, not demanded” (19-20). This conviction fuels her efforts to earn her right to rule Tianxia rather than simply inheriting it. While Queen Caihong insists that loyalty must be claimed rather than offered, Liyen counters that “something forced will never be as strong as that which was earned” (136). The queen’s belief that rule is a matter of inheritance rather than merit reveals the fundamental flaw in immortal governance, which Liyen is determined to rectify. Meanwhile, Liyen’s philosophy of earning rather than demanding respect leads to her victory in securing Tianxia’s freedom.
Liyen’s fear that she did not “earn” her title as Lady of Tianxia inspires her commitment to serve her people rather than rule over them. She confesses, “I didn’t earn the throne, but I want to be worthy of it” (209). By the novel’s conclusion, she fully embodies this ideal, ensuring that future power is not simply passed down but earned by those who deserve it. Through Liyen’s journey, the novel suggests that true leadership is not about demanding obedience but proving oneself worthy of it.
The Cyclical Nature of Vengeance
Seeking vengeance rather than accepting grief is a major theme in the novel, which depicts a continuing cycle of violence and war among peoples and realms. Though Liyen wishes to break free of this cycle, at moments throughout Immortal, she is tempted to seek vengeance for events she blames on the immortals rather than feeling her grief and moving forward. At the start of the novel, Liyen’s hatred for the immortals is raw and immediate: “Hate engulfed me at the gods who demanded our obedience yet did not answer our prayers, who threatened our lives for the slightest offense, lashing our world with misfortune when they were displeased” (10). However, her grandfather’s dying words caution her against this path: “Don’t waste yourself in grief or vengeance” (10). Liyen’s struggle between vengeance and forgiveness shapes her journey, as she repeatedly wrestles with the desire to retaliate while recognizing the futility of endless conflict.
Liyen’s reflections on war highlight the novel’s critique of vengeance as a self-perpetuating cycle. After learning more about Queen Caihong’s history, she acknowledges the queen’s pain at losing her consort, stating: “After losing my own family, I could never wish such anguish upon another […] not even my worst enemy” (40-41). This moment emphasizes Liyen’s standpoint: Though she opposes the immortals’ authority over Tianxia, she does not see pain as a justification for inflicting further suffering.
However, other characters and groups throughout the novel do not embrace this philosophy. The Wuxin, for example, express a desire to keep the Divine Pearl Lotus from the immortals because they murdered the Wuxin people. The Wuxin instead wish death upon all “wicked and false” immortals who wear a “mask of benevolence when they are as greedy, ambitious, and conniving as those they accuse” (308). Similarly, Queen Caihong seeks to keep all Wuxin imprisoned in the Netherworld because the Wuxin tore her family apart. These differing perspectives force Liyen to question what inspires vengeance: “Maybe that was the tragedy—both sides believing unflinchingly in their own rightness, that they’d been wronged by the other” (308). Liyen ultimately rejects vengeance, choosing understanding instead. Observing the Wuxin in the Netherworld, she admits that “[i]t was easier to hate than to understand” (377). This is true of all three factions, as Liyen herself hated the immortals and feared the Wuxin before truly attempting to understand them.
This realization culminates in her final decision to stop the cycle of vengeance and war. She acknowledges that “there was no glory in war, each side paying an unforgivable price” (436). Unlike those before her, she does not let anger dictate her choices, instead protecting both mortals and immortals by choosing peace. This victory is not one of domination, but of breaking free from the past. Though Queen Caihong suggests she would not have made the same choice, she expresses pride in Liyen’s decision afterward, admitting, “Nothing good ever stemmed from hate” (438). Through Liyen’s journey, the novel ultimately asserts that true strength and healing come not from vengeance, but from the courage to end the cycle of violence.
