Book Description Review “With its raw, complex characters, Silvera’s latest packs his signature high-stakes emotionalism alongside a politically charged premise. A bright spark of a promising series.” (Kirkus Reviews)“Silvera has created an exciting fantasy series opener. Fans of Cassandra Clare…will love this magical book that embodies it all.” (School Library Journal)”With Infinity Son, Adam Silvera has created an immersive, mind-bending world built around a sibling relationship that is both thoughtful and heart-wrenching.” (Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes)”Adam Silvera has crafted an urban fantasy so intricate, so woven into our hyperconnected modern world and everyday issues, you’ll swear the Spell Walkers of New York are real. A magical joyride with a cast full of heart.” (Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Warcross) Read more About the Author Adam Silvera is the New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End, More Happy Than Not, and History Is All You Left Me and—together with Becky Albertalli—coauthor of What If It’s Us. He was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Adam was born and raised in the Bronx. He was a bookseller before shifting to children’s publishing and has worked at a literary development company and a creative writing website for teens and as a book reviewer of children’s and young adult novels. He is tall for no reason and lives in Los Angeles. Visit him online at www.adamsilvera.com. Read more Customers Review: I loved this book! Adam Silvera never fails to devastate my heart (in the best way!!) and Infinity Son lived up to expectation. The setting was ambitious and combined wands/superheroes/mythical creatures/&YouTube in a way that was both unique, epic, and warmly reminiscent of my favorite superhero, fantasy, and supernatural universes. The bond between Emil and Brighton was strong and complicated. The brothers have each other’s backs even if they sometimes want to be at each other’s throats. I can’t wait to learn more about the Spell Walkers and specters as the rest of their journeys and relationships play out. The last line of Infinity Son left me with some emotions and I will be *desperately* waiting for book 2!If you like X-Men, Harry Potter, or plot-twisty stories about siblings and diverse bands of heroes (& villains, & maybe some characters who are in the middle…) then give this a read! It’s a fun world with some sweet and complicated characters.
Adam Silvera has created a new urban fantasy that is both fast paced and emotionally charged, where you may like a character on one page then want to strangle them on the next or in the case of one character for the entire book.I had to give the book 2 of 5 stars because it is extremely fast paced and from numerous perspectives that it was hard to become attached to any of the characters, especially when some were more one dimensional than others. Fast paced stories can be good, but the story flies past so many things that could have added much needed depth and perspective into this world and its magic (gleamcraft) that your left wanting more than a hurried explanation.I was excited for this book and ready to love it but that sadly wasn’t the case. Despite that I am interested to see and have hopes for what will happen in the second book.
It hurts my heart to have to write this review but like so many others before me have said, Infinity Son misses the mark in just about every aspect.There are two positives:1. The idea itself is great. I’m a lifelong lover of every shade of Fantasy and it is clear that Silvera is as well. He had all of the ingredients for greatness here, unfortunately the execution was lackluster.2. QUEER POC LEAD CHARACTER. The majority of our cast of characters are POC and a good number of them are LBGTQIA+. It is unfortunate that the majority of the characters themselves were 2 dimensional carbon-copies of one another personality-wise.The negatives (Or every other part of this book):1. The plot is so insanely cliche that the only thing that could have made it bearable was if it were written brilliantly. It is not written brilliantly. Silvera lost himself in this world and it shows.2. The world building goes from non-existent to info-dump central and never finds a happy medium. Things are either never explained or over-explained to the point of paragraph skippage. There are also huge gaps in logic within the world, the magic system, etc. It’s such a mess that I am shocked this book made it to print without someone saying something about it.3. The characters were AWFUL. My favorite thing about Silvera’s writing is his way of getting you to like his characters–no matter their flaws–without you realizing it’s happening. That was not the case with Infinity Son. Brighton is unlikable out the gate and remains so until the last page. His last act in the book, though I saw it coming from the beginning, is the only thing I found remotely interesting about him. Emil on the other end of the spectrum is wishy-washy AF and Silvera needs to sit down and do some serious character revision moving forward. This is your lead character, give him a personality, please. The supporting cast was the same person over and over again, just given a different name, physical description, and one alternating personality trait.4. The writing is straight up bad. In an attempt to have his teenagers sound like actual teenagers Silvera loses everything about his writing style that makes his books worth reading.5. After reading this book I feel like someone (literally any one of the dozens of published, NYT bestselling authors that Silvera thanks in his acknowledgements) should have sat down with Silvera and told him that this book was not how to start this series. The last chapter of this book was how to start this series. The events of this book are backstory that we can be given in small snippets throughout a story that follows the rising antagonism between these brothers. This book is the origin story of Brighton vs. Emil but I can’t care about the origin story because I don’t care about the characters or the world.I hope Silvera redeems himself and this series with the second installment but I doubt it.
I felt like I was watching a fantasy action movie the whole time.Adam Silvera knows how to write pure chemistry between two people without explicitly pointing it out to the reader. A delightful gift for queer people.This book was written in a language I understand with characters I fell in love with and references I connected with intimately. I am so thankful for and so inspired by this author and this work.Now excuse me while I decorate my room in gray and gold.
Silvera drops the reader into an alternate reality where magical creatures are being exploited so that humans can themselves have magical powers. The story takes flight as Emil and Brighton, hoping to discover powers on their shared eighteenth birthday, find themselves in the middle of the action. Silvera doesn’t disappoint his fans, by once again breathing life into characters that light up the pages with heart and soul. He explores ideas of family, power, and influence. Infinity Son is a great introduction to a world this reader can’t wait to explore further.
What a fantastic story! I loved the characters, Emil being my favorite. This story is immersed in Phoenix lore. The concepts and ideas were fantastic. I enjoyed Adam’s simple yet realistic writing style. I LOVED THIS BOOK! Can’t wait for book 2!
If I lived in a cave the last year, this book would have still been a cover buy for me; it is gorgeous. This book will do well for those who are crazy for Melissa Meyer’s Renegades series. Superheroes, villains and the morally grey, those with powers, powerful and powerless drive the story, along with the legendary mythical creatures. All of this and it ends as expected, with a cliff hanger
To be honest, I love his contemporary novels better. Fantasy isn’t really the genre I love, with a few exceptions. Silvera can pull it off. And with an ending like this, be sure I’m waiting impatiently for the sequel to come out. |
50 reviews