Infinity Son

Infinity Son
Infinity Cycle Book One
Written by Adam Silvera
Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, LGBT
368 Pages
Published January 2020
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia
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★★☆
Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers, a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures.

Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day.

Then, in a brawl after a protest, Emil manifests a power of his own, one that puts him right at the heart of the conflict and sets him up to be the heroic Spell Walker Brighton always wanted to be.

Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed.
In a borough of New York City, brothers Emilio and Brighton live in a society where bloodlines determine your allegiance. Spell Walkers are assigned to protect the local community, Celestial beings who have inherited abilities, manipulating elements to defend the mundane against malevolent Blood Casters, those with abilities derived from consuming the blood of a Phoenix.

Brighton idolises the Spell Walkers, believing his own ability will manifest upon their eighteenth birthday. Brighton is an online sensation, documenting infamous Spell Walkers on his Celestials of New York channel for subscribers. Brighton and Emil are contrasting characters, Emil abhors confrontation and violence, Brighton is pursuing the limelight and although the brothers are on vastly different journeys, encourage and strengthen one another unconditionally.

The Spell Walkers are engaged in warfare with a syndicate of Blood Casters when Brighton, Emil and friend Prudencia are accosted and pursued through the bustling streets of New York. Confronted on the underground subway, Brighton is seconds away from his demise when Emil conjures Phoenix Fire.

Infinity Son is an interesting read. New York City on the threshold of conflict, Emil becoming the reluctant chosen one in a metropolis segregated by those with abilities, Celestials and the mundane population. Specters illegally consume the blood of mythical creatures and Spell Walkers protect the community from Specters and an organised crime syndicate. The premise is wonderful and although entertaining, I'm left with more questions than answers and at times, confused by the multiple characters and points of view.

I'm not entirely sure how to review Infinity Son and find no pleasure in writing less than favourable reviews but unfortunately, I was disappointed by Adam Silvera's first fantasy novel. In the beginning, I found it difficult to differentiate between the voices of siblings Brighton and Emil and although they are contrasting characters, the multiple narratives didn't allow me to feel a sense of who they were beneath the surface. Emil is the likeable brother of the two, he's selfless and compassionate, supportive of his brother and mother, who barely rates a mention until nearing the end. Brighton is a character that represents the often stereotypical judgement from adults, aggressively obsessed with social media, narcissistic and needing validation. His character seemed like a caricature of an adolescent and becomes increasingly irritating as the narrative progresses.

The diversity of characters is wonderful. Brighton and Emil are Latinx, Emil identifies as gay, Ness is of Dominican heritage, sapphic secondary characters and characters of colour. The sapphic relationship between two secondary characters was lovely and wonderfully gentle and seeing same sex relationships explored in young adult literature is commendable, adolescents finding solace within characters. Emil and Ness share an attraction but their relationship felt dubious, not entirely certain that Ness wasn't manipulating Emil's emotions or because characters were underdeveloped, their connection felt insincere.

The narrative would have been better suited to a middle grade novel, the absence of elementary world building and characterisation created a storyline that lacked conviction and spirit, two elements readers find synonymous with Adam Silvera novels. I'm still confused how a decapitated character came back to life in the next chapter. Infinity Son is better suited for younger young adult readers or Adam Silvera fans and although this one missed the mark for me, I'm looking forward to seeing what he's working on next.

19 comments

  1. I'm sorry you were disappointed by this one. I didn't know Silvera wrote a fantasy novel but the cover is spectacular and it skewing younger might work for me because fantasy is usually a genre that flies over my head lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I was the same until a few years ago too. I'm not a high fantasy reader and prefer the lighter type reads, I liked it but it needed far more world building unfortunately. I'm wondering if this series might have been written before his contemporary novels, his contemporaries are far more mature in writing style.

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  2. Ouch! I really enjoyed They Both Die at the End, and was looking forward to his new fantasy, but now I'm decidedly not... wow. I know they've been promoting it like crazy, but I need my world-building!

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 😷💬

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    1. Do you know the first thing I said, when I finished that last paragraph was "ouch!"

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    2. I've loved his contemporaries and although this was okay, it felt more like a middle grade novel with young adult characters. I just didn't feel anything unfortunately.

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  3. I have to admit, as soon as I saw Adam Silvera's name on a cover that was obviously fantasy I was wary. Any author I know to write in one genre always has me hesitant to read their book if it's a new genre, it's a thing. It sucks this one proved to be a less than stellar fantasy book for you, though. Tbh, as soon as I was struggling to differentiate between the two siblings voices I'd have been ready to DNF. And the fact you say it seemed more suited to a younger audience shows I'd probably not enjoy it.

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    1. Initially I was a little too but I enjoyed They Both Die at the End, which is a science fiction blend so I was more than curious. I think I expected a little too much though. The writing felt incredibly different from his previous books and would have been more suited to a middle grade audience.

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  4. Damn, that is a wonderful blurb -- it's a pity this didn't work out for you!

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    1. I think it'll really appeal to some readers and non fantasy young adult readers but unfortunately I just found it lacking. Really interested to see what other readers think about it though.

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  5. I am sorry to hear you were disappointed, but at least you gave Silvera an opportunity to try and sell you on his fantasy writing.

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    1. He writes contemporary and even science fiction so incredibly well, this was good but not great for me unfortunately but others will really enjoy this one.

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  6. I've read Silvera's first two books and really loved them - I have They Both Die at the End to still read. I was curious about this book because of who wrote it, but it definitely didn't sound like something I'd normally read. Sorry it was a bit of a disappointment for you. I love that it's so diverse, but the characters don't seem like they were written terribly well.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I absolutely loved his contemporaries and even They Both Die at the End but this sadly didn't work as well for me. It would be much more suited to a middle grade audience I feel. What it also lacked was fun, especially for an urban fantasy read. I so desperately wanted to love it.

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  7. Sorry to hear this one didn't quite hit the mark! I love the premise too but it is hard especially when I can't differentiate between POV's- that always trips me up. I haven't read Adam Silvera but i know he got a lot of good buzz for his other books- hopefully if he keep writing fantasy the next one will be tighter and more focused.

    Awesome review!

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    1. I'm hoping so too! Although this didn't quite work for me, I'm interested in seeing what he does with the next book in the series.

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  8. This sounds like an interesting book, so its such a shame that it fell just short of what you were hoping for.

    I have been staying super busy during this quarantine by reading, and find that with every day that goes past, I find another book or two in my house that I add to the top of the pile. How is the quarantine treating you? I hope you are well!

    amy x wandering-everywhere.com

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    1. I am! I took some time to myself over the past few weeks and feel as though I've come back to blogging feeling fresh and really enjoying it again. Books have been such a wonderful escape. I hope you and yours are well Amy and thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Aww, I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy this book more! I haven't read any books from Adam Silvera, but it's good to see him branching out into fantasy at least? So many authors keep writing the same types of novels, so it's nice to see some variety. Thank you for your review!

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    1. I think younger young adult readers and non fantasy readers will probably really enjoy this one. The premise was wonderful and I liked it but it feels very different from his previously contemporaries and his science fiction release. Although it didn't work for me, I hope readers still pick this one up and give it a try.

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