Infinity Son (Infinity Cycle, #1)

by Adam Silvera

Balancing epic and intensely personal stakes, bestselling author Adam Silvera's Infinity Son is a gritty, fast-paced adventure about two brothers caught up in a magical war generations in the making.

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.

Praise for Infinity Son:

'A magnificent addition to the ranks of Young Adult fantasy' Waterstones

• ISBN10: 0062457837
• ISBN13: 9780062457837
• Publish Date: 1 December 2020 (first published 14 January 2020)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog coming soon!


I picked this book up, read a chapter or two put it back down for a couple of weeks, only to repeat it several times until I was finally finished. What was the problem? There were several.
First of all, the world-building. The main problem here is that it's basically non-existent. Author Silvera throws into a world with powers and stuff like "gleamcraft". I still don't know what that's supposed to be. There are so many terms invented just for the book but we never get an explanation of what any of it means. That was both confusing and annoying!

I might have overlooked that, hadn't there been so many other issues.
One of those being the characters. They are mostly walking clichés, have no depth and I can't be bothered to care for a single one of them. The only character that is somewhat fleshed out is annoying as hell and a total prick. I rolled my eyes SO many times while reading Infinity Son!

On top of that, the pacing of the novel was really weird. The book dragged on for a bit and then sped through things that might have been important and explanatory, had they been given more room. The way the story was told felt really off-balance to me.
While at first it took forever and five days to get going, the ending came super abrupt and it felt cut off in the middle.
However, what annoys me most is that I'm still kind of curious about where the story will go now. Maybe we'll finally get some of that desired world-building in the next book?

[tweetybugshouse]

Their are some harsh reviews for this book from author that i never read but seems like he grounded himself very well in the contemporary genre. This is his first fantasy novel and i have to say it reads more like a story with magical elements surrounding teenagers a very modern setting. I think those are usually labeled urban fantasy so the term fantasy works.

For me i gave this a 3 star mostly cause it felt like a very rough draft of what could potentially be a very awesome story. The magic system is complex from what i gather we have people who are their 18 birthday like most super heros get their powers. These are gifted from phoenixes and are called celestial and then you have blood wraiths i think so good vs bad with specters which maybe these are celestial that have aligned with the evil. So the magic system is a bit confusing.

Then this is set in our world which is cool you got a set of twin brothers Emil and Brighton. One wants to be a you tube sensation so he all about filming and suing his channels to rocket it to stardom. The other wants nothing to do with this war. The thing that kept irking me is that the author kept having these characters refer back to what would so and so do. It worked a few times as it was nice to have some pop culture references but it did get annoying.

I not sure i really connected with these characters either I know the author wrote this for a specific fan based. Male gay teenagers, which is not me at all but i do feel even if a book is meant to target a #ownvoices those that are not should still have some connection to the story. I think this was a great start to a story but it really needed some polishing. All my options are based on Advanced Reader copy.

[littleread1]

Going to DNF this for now I think. It really is one of those "It's not you, it's me" DNFs though. I am not in the right brain space to read this. It makes me sad though because I've really enjoyed Silvera's "They Both Die at the End" and I am pretty sure I would love this.

[Kelly]

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.

[writehollydavis]

I guess it was my mistake, but by the book blurb, I expected a high fantasy, instead of urban fantasy. Because it was grounded in the real world, I had trouble connecting with Brighton's motivations for wanting to gain powers- to gain IG followers and YouTube views just seemed too shallow for me. I love the LGBT representation and body image issues Adam brought up, but the confusing worldbuilding and lack of character connection didn't draw me in as much as I'd hoped.

[Inkslinger]

ARC provided by Edelweiss+ and HarperTeen/Harper Collins. All opinions are mine and freely given.

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01-13:

"I didn't grow up with powers, but I've been a brother for eighteen years.
No fire burns brighter than that."

Adam Silvera's first foray into the fantasy arena with 'Infinity Son,' is a gritty thrill ride.. with the fast-paced action of comic book heroes.. in some of the greatest illustrated stories I've ever read. (Infinite Crisis, anyone?)

Now, just because I compared it to (arguably one of the greatest comic storylines of all time), doesn't mean this book is lacking in depth or content. Not all comics are either. There's just something about the rhythm of this story that feels familiar.

The action starts up relatively early in the story and rarely lets up. From the moment we meet the twins, one of whom desperately wants to be a powerful hero, there are situations piling up all around them. Battles erupt all over the city between the Celestials, those born with powers, and the Specters, those who steal them. And guess what. There are people on both sides.. playing for keeps.


"Phoenixes endure endless cycles of life and death, but I'm done being the Infinity Son."


​I swear, my pulse was speeding half the time I was reading this novel.. purely from the sense of urgency in the way Adam conveyed the story. It's intense from the get-go and I was absolutely caught up from beginning to end. I already have my favorite characters-- Ness and Emil. I've already had my first crying jag. I absolutely signed up for the emotional rollercoaster, and the author delivered, unapologetically.

His characters are well developed, they have solid, interesting back stories. There's tons of inner conflict, not just around the brothers, but also within the two warring factions. The powers they wield are not to be trifled with either. Every one of them (well, nearly) is dangerous in their own way.. and there's plenty of corruption and danger to be had from non-magical sources too.

"Everyone I touch burns."

There's clearly going to be a second book. I mean, it's already listed on Adam's Goodreads page, but at the conclusion of 'Infinity Son,' there's just no other option. It's not a cliffhanger, so don't be put off. It's just a new beginning, clear as day. And I can't wait to see what the next title has in store..


---------


01-12: I'm about 30% into this one and so much has happened already! I adore the closeness of the brothers and the defining physical characteristics of the spectres are really cool. Lots of action packed scenes too!

01-10: This looks amazing. I'm absolutely in love with the cover. It seems I'm destined to read about brothers this week. Underdogs and magical wars.. for days!

[Stephanie]

That ENDING.

[dragononabook]

In a world when powers are either genetic or stolen from magical creatures, conflict keeps breaking out between the two groups of magic users. Brothers Brighton and Emil have always lingered at the edge of this world of magic, until they get thrown in head-first after a close encounter with a specter.

This book was a mixed bag at times. There were some really, really good things, and some not so great things.

The good!

-Phoenixes! They're such an underappreciated creature in fantasy novels, and I really liked the way he built on the lore
-Specter vs celestial: this distinction between source of power is super interesting, and seeing the ways that powers manifest, and how this affects society.
-Emil: he spoke to me so much as a character, and I think it's super important to have characters like him in fantasy stories

The not so good...

-Brighton: I have to say, I didn't really like his character. He was fairly ignorant of the problems around him, and I especially didn't like his reaction to Emil's reveal, I felt it was extraordinarily selfish.
-the development: I feel like there's so much crammed into this world that could have been built on, but that took a sideline to focus on side characters. I'd definitely tear through a guide to the types of magical beings, or even just phoenixes, in this world.

The ugly (AKA the stuff I'm not sure about)
-Ness: Ness POV chapters start showing up fairly early in the book, and yet I still don't know what to think of him. I get that he's supposed to be that kind of character, and I did appreciate the twist that was revealed, but I also feel like there's a fair bit of development he needs to undergo in a way that doesn't often happen in this age range.
-Maribelle: I think Maribelle was an interesting character, until her parentage was revealed. It all felt a little surprising, especially since it seems fairly unrealistic for her to be a Spell Walker and yet not have her phoenix powers come out in the heat of battle previously.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to fantasy lovers, however I do wish that there had been more development.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.