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readundancies's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A lot of this story was just fine for me.
The pacing? Fine.
Characterization? Fine.
The twist at the end? Fine. It wasn't surprising to me at all, and I didn’t think it was that big of a plot twist. Maybe because I wasn’t completely invested in the story?
My biggest issue was with the world building. I just feel like it was not fully fleshed out. Especially because many of the questions that I was asking about said world building we’re brought up and just never addressed. The Courts were giving me a very Seelie and Unseelie court vibe. I’m not really into that or fae in general which may have something to do with why I was not in it to win it 100%.
I was having trouble trying to grasp the size of the world, in terms of the geography of Infinity and the map that we were provided with. Because in theory, every single human that has died should be there but there's no way they were, and it was even mentioned that there were no babies. I think that’s just a very large volume of people that are not accounted for and I wanted to know why. I guess I couldn't grasp the vastness of Infinity when we were not really exposed to said vastness.
I also think I may not be into AI based sci-fi. Not that I've read a lot, but something about Ophelia was rubbing me the wrong way. I also had so unanswered questions like: how does an AI not technically hack into something and just wander into the afterlife? This further begs the question why did humans not also do the same via said technology?
The fact that there was such a focus on these AI‘s obtaining transcendence and gaining quote on quote "life" but this whole story starts with death and what happens **post life** forced this strange dichotomy that was simply not working for me. I understand that they are grappling with the concept of humanity and what it means to be human from an AI perspective, I just think that framing it in the context of death was confusing. Especially because Infinity just made it seem like what happens after death is another form of life which I feel iffy towards.
Also, the Colony in general just seemed off the whole way through. I took issue with the fact that questioning things was not appropriate in their eyes yet their whole schtick is that they question everything about Infinity in the first place and what Ophelia‘s role is. It was just entirely hypocritical and I kind of just wanted Nami to just dip and go her own way since her views were so controversial to them. I was really having trouble trying to connect to the people of the Colony and find any worth in their cause when they seemed very one-sided and highly opinionated about how to go about enacting their plans.
I do think there is a lot more to be explored and that will be explored in the sequel. I think the world itself has a lot of potential and I hope that it reaches said potential. At the moment, I’m not really sold on the world as a whole but I’m willing to see if it improves.
I think the AI as villains or antagonists or whatever you want to call them were probably the best characters in the book. There was a savagery to their characters that I could appreciate. I do think they seem more human than not and I don’t know if that is an intentional choice, barring Ophelia.
Let’s talk about the map: it’s beautiful. But as a map? In terms of telling direction or distance? It could be better. I don’t love the circles indicating the other Courts or the Capital. Not because they’re not wonderfully illustrated. Because they are. But from a cartographical standpoint, they don’t have much use past aesthetics. And they take up so much room for something that doesn’t appear to relay any pertinent or useful info. The design and attention to detail was impeccable however, and I normally wouldn’t be so critical of the map had my issues with the world building not relied so heavily on getting my bearings in Infinity.
Would I suggest this? Yes. I think a lot of people will enjoy this, especially because this novel seems to be setting up the rest of the story. This made it seem so much longer than it actually was, and I was getting a little bored at times, but if the plot intrigues you, you'll probably like this one.
Will I bother with the sequel? I'm leaning towards yes, but don't quote me on that, because it's not high on my priority list.
The pacing? Fine.
Characterization? Fine.
The twist at the end? Fine. It wasn't surprising to me at all, and I didn’t think it was that big of a plot twist. Maybe because I wasn’t completely invested in the story?
My biggest issue was with the world building. I just feel like it was not fully fleshed out. Especially because many of the questions that I was asking about said world building we’re brought up and just never addressed. The Courts were giving me a very Seelie and Unseelie court vibe. I’m not really into that or fae in general which may have something to do with why I was not in it to win it 100%.
I was having trouble trying to grasp the size of the world, in terms of the geography of Infinity and the map that we were provided with. Because in theory, every single human that has died should be there but there's no way they were, and it was even mentioned that there were no babies. I think that’s just a very large volume of people that are not accounted for and I wanted to know why. I guess I couldn't grasp the vastness of Infinity when we were not really exposed to said vastness.
I also think I may not be into AI based sci-fi. Not that I've read a lot, but something about Ophelia was rubbing me the wrong way. I also had so unanswered questions like: how does an AI not technically hack into something and just wander into the afterlife? This further begs the question why did humans not also do the same via said technology?
The fact that there was such a focus on these AI‘s obtaining transcendence and gaining quote on quote "life" but this whole story starts with death and what happens **post life** forced this strange dichotomy that was simply not working for me. I understand that they are grappling with the concept of humanity and what it means to be human from an AI perspective, I just think that framing it in the context of death was confusing. Especially because Infinity just made it seem like what happens after death is another form of life which I feel iffy towards.
Also, the Colony in general just seemed off the whole way through. I took issue with the fact that questioning things was not appropriate in their eyes yet their whole schtick is that they question everything about Infinity in the first place and what Ophelia‘s role is. It was just entirely hypocritical and I kind of just wanted Nami to just dip and go her own way since her views were so controversial to them. I was really having trouble trying to connect to the people of the Colony and find any worth in their cause when they seemed very one-sided and highly opinionated about how to go about enacting their plans.
I do think there is a lot more to be explored and that will be explored in the sequel. I think the world itself has a lot of potential and I hope that it reaches said potential. At the moment, I’m not really sold on the world as a whole but I’m willing to see if it improves.
I think the AI as villains or antagonists or whatever you want to call them were probably the best characters in the book. There was a savagery to their characters that I could appreciate. I do think they seem more human than not and I don’t know if that is an intentional choice, barring Ophelia.
Let’s talk about the map: it’s beautiful. But as a map? In terms of telling direction or distance? It could be better. I don’t love the circles indicating the other Courts or the Capital. Not because they’re not wonderfully illustrated. Because they are. But from a cartographical standpoint, they don’t have much use past aesthetics. And they take up so much room for something that doesn’t appear to relay any pertinent or useful info. The design and attention to detail was impeccable however, and I normally wouldn’t be so critical of the map had my issues with the world building not relied so heavily on getting my bearings in Infinity.
Would I suggest this? Yes. I think a lot of people will enjoy this, especially because this novel seems to be setting up the rest of the story. This made it seem so much longer than it actually was, and I was getting a little bored at times, but if the plot intrigues you, you'll probably like this one.
Will I bother with the sequel? I'm leaning towards yes, but don't quote me on that, because it's not high on my priority list.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
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