DNF @ 62%

The entire process of reading this has been incredibly frustrating, and I just read a sentence that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’m sorry, but I want to close the 2010s by reading something that actually brings me joy, and it’s decidedly not this.

I could go into a long and detailed explanation of all of my problems with this book. But I don’t want to put myself or anyone else through that. Sometimes I have the patience, today I just don’t. It works out that way sometimes.

So I’ll only talk about a couple of points.

The big issue, for me, is the use of the attitude towards superpowers as an allegory for bigotry that exists in reality. In the opening author’s note, Silvera references Harry Potter and X-Men as direct inspirations for this book. X-Men is Not Subtle about the fact that the discrimination that mutants face is supposed to represent racism, or homophobia, or things along those lines. Here’s where the comparison falls apart. When you’re taking a Western perspective, which all of these things are, then in reality the people who are discriminated against haven’t done anything to warrant it. A person’s skin colour and/or culture doesn’t kill people, a person’s sexuality isn’t going to level a city block, and a person’s gender isn’t going to be at the root of a terrorist incident. So using concern about explosive superpowers as an allegory for these things has always been a bit iffy.

But I absolutely cannot get behind there being a specific incident or situation caused by a certain group, that killed a lot of people, and yet we’re still supposed to believe that all the prejudice they face is completely unwarranted. And it’s not like this was an isolated incident caused by a small splinter cell, every time people with superpowers showed up, people got hurt. As a queer person, other people don’t get hurt just by me exisiting in the same general area, and there has never been anything close to an understandable reason for people to be prejudiced against people like me. As a gay man, Silvera really should’ve known better. I’m tired.

Harry Potter is very much not a perfect series by any means, it has a lot of flaws. But understanding this very simple thing is something that it got right. The muggleborns hadn’t done anything wrong, but a lot of purebloods hated them anyway, purely because they were different. That’s the crux of the matter. End of.

I don’t think that Silvera’s writing style is suited to action and fights. Every time, without fail, I’d get a page into what was supposed to be an action scene before my brain realised what was actually going on. Everything felt the same level of sedentary the whole way through, a character having a calm conversation in their room would be written in the same way that someone being thrown into a wall would be. Fight scenes are supposed to be punchier.

I also didn’t like any of the major characters. There were a couple of less important characters that I think that I would’ve liked, had they been given more of the spotlight. But the main character was a bit of a non-entity, and I actively disliked his brother and the celestial girl Maribelle. There was also the brother’s girlfriend(?) who tagged along despite having nothing to really add to the group. Maybe she’s more important later on, but I’m not waiting to find out. It was specifically a line about her that made me put the book down for good. The main character felt like she blamed him for making her leave her normal life behind. When he had done no such thing. She was there entirely of her own free will. And honestly there was no reason for her to keep tagging along to fights anyway, because she had no way to defend herself at all.

I really like the concept of a world where magical creatures exist, and are viewed similarly to how things like lions are elephants are viewed in reality. Magic viewed as mundane in urban fantasy is something that I’d love to see more of, and the glimpses of that were a joy to read about! I also really liked there being many different breeds of phoenix! But these things weren’t enough to keep me reading when my whole reading experience was as frustrating as it was.

I was so excited to read this book, and I’m disappointed that I ended up not liking it. I wish Adam Silvera all the best, but seeing as I found the other books by him that I’ve read to not be anything mind-blowing, I don’t think I’ll be reading anything more by him.

So. What made me want to read this book was the promise of phoenixes, gay fantasy with superpowers, siblings love — and also that incredible cover. But what I read was not what I expected. From not enough worldbuilding which left me confused the entire book, to a main character I just couldn't stand, this was not the story I was hoping for. Sure, I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't really loved it.

I wanted to read way more about phoenixes and magical creatures, not teenagers fighting against each other, good VS bad, for some reasons. I want to know more about this world and the creatures and the magic and basically everything mentioned in this book because I feel like there wasn't a single explanation, like we were supposed to already know everything.

I'm rating this three stars for Emil because I really liked his character (but pleaaaase more backstory about everything) and because sometimes I couldn't stop reading but also at some times I couldn't pick up the book and didn't advance in the story for days.

This was a book of wasted potential for me that felt rushed and disjointed. It tells the story of twin brothers Emil and Brighton, waiting to see if they will gain powers on their 18th birthday. When they witness a battle between different groups, they find themselves embroiled in something much bigger than themselves.

The Positives: There was some great diversity represented here and this is an own voices book for the gay representation. The basic idea of super-powered individuals fighting a war is an interesting one with potential to be fascinating and compelling, but the execution here was poor.

The Negatives: Adam SIlvera is primarily a contemporary author and it shows here because the world building is practically non-existent. As a result, you are thrown into the action with little set up or explanation and consequently, I found it really hard to parse what was going on a lot of the time. The prose felt really under-developed to me, with stilted dialogue and info dumps along the way. The characters were lacklustre and one dimensional with little development and they felt unbelievable to me throughout.

Overall, I found this to be disappointing and poorly constructed and I won't be picking up the sequel I'm afraid.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Emil and Brighton are swept into a magical war on their eighteenth birthday. Struggling to survive, they must figure out which side they're on and who they can trust.

Ok. I've read the whole thing, and here's what I *think* is going on. I'm using X Men as my analogy.

So there are Spell Walkers, Celestials, and Spectres. Also Enforcers and Halo Knights, but we'll get to them. Celestials are like mutants, Spell Walkers are the X Men, and Spectres...have stolen powers somehow? Blood is involved. Enforcers are some kind of police force dedicated to fighting Celestials and Halo Knights are Super Police. Celestials get their powers from star constellations, and they all have things only they can do, but also they can charge wands and grenades that can then injure other Celestials. I think.

You'll notice a lot of 'thinks' and 'maybes' in that description, and that's because it's just so hard to tell. There's no backstory. No explanation. The fight scenes are confused, we don't get to know the (many) characters, and overall this book needs about three more rounds of editing.

Emil and Brighton are caught up in a gang of Spell Walkers, who are fighting a group led by someone called Luna. She wants to live forever using black magic, or something. There's a Senator who's against them, but for all the air he gets I don't know why he's in it, other than for one scene with one character. That character, in turn, is really only there because Emil is gay and there has to be someone for him to lust over. There's even a whole bit dedicated to how this character doesn't work out, no really, he's just naturally so buff and awesome! There are a couple of other background relationships, but this isn't a romance, really.

There is a really good idea buried under here. This could be a fantastic series. But not as it is now, I'm afraid.

I was so excited to receive an advance copy of Infinity Son

This is Adam Silvera’s first fantasy novel and I hope that there are many more to come because I loved it!

His fantasy world balanced superheroes, magic, and a modern setting perfectly, making it very accessible and easy to understand. A lot of backstory of the world was given but without it feeling overwhelming, or like it was given all at once.

I am so glad that Adam’s talent for creating engaging characters is still present in his fantasy writing. I got very invested in the characters in this book and was completely gripped all the way through!

I cannot wait for the next book in this series - the bar has been set incredibly high!

I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a spoiler-free review.

I've never read an Adam Silvera book, as he tends to write contemporary YA, but I’ve heard good things about his stories and writing. Naturally, I snapped up the opportunity to read his first fantasy novel, Infinity Son. I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book, but found Infinity Son to be an incredibly fun and fast-paced page turner with lots of heart.

This is a book that you can tell comes from Silvera’s heart. At the beginning of the ARC, there is an author's note on how he’s always loved fantasy books but never saw any gay characters in his favourite books, films, and TV shows until he picked up Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters books. Infinity Son is definitely a love letter to Silvera's favourite stories like X-Men and Harry Potter, but has a wonderful and inclusive spin. I hope the publisher keeps this letter at the beginning of the final edition because it is absolutely lovely and helped me appreciate this book even more.

Infinity Son is an urban fantasy book set in New York City -- primarily in the Bronx and Brooklyn. It takes place in the modern day, with social media playing an important role in the story. Where Silvera’s world and our world differ is with the inclusion of people with powers, as well as mythical creatures like phoenixes and hydras. I liked the set up of the world, however I do think it was a little clumsy in places. There’s a lot of information that needs to be established, particularly with the celestials (people born with magic that manifests when they turn 18), specters (non-magical people who steal power from the blood of magical creatures), and the various groups associated with them. Then there is the impact of magic on politics and society. I think he did an admirable job, however there was so much information that needed to be conveyed that it got a little murky at times. I had to keep referring back to earlier pages in order to keep everything straight in my head. In my opinion, the world building is definitely the weakest part of the book.

I really loved the characters in this book. Our main characters are Emil and Brighton, twin brothers from the Bronx, and they drive the story. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between the two of them -- I so often love reading about sisters and haven’t read many books that feature brothers. I think Emil will be an obvious favourite for readers of this book. He is a sweet cinnamon roll who wants nothing to do with powers or the celestials, but is fascinated by phoenixes. I love that he is openly gay and his sexuality isn’t part of the conflict of the story. He is out, he is accepted, and he doesn’t not struggle because of his sexuality. It was so wonderfully refreshing to see this!

It took me a long time to come around to Brighton -- he’s kind of a pain who is selfishly obsessed with his YouTube channel and celestials. He desperately wants power for himself and his brother or social media fame (or both). He’s not particularly likable, however because of his relationship with his brother I really grew to love him. I really enjoyed his story arc in the book and he’s the perfect unlikable protagonist.

I really enjoyed Infinity Son! It was like the book equivalent of a blockbuster film -- fast paced, visual, and so incredibly fun. If you’re a fan of YA urban fantasy books or are looking for an LGBTQ+ fantasy read, you should absolutely pick it up in January. You're going to need the second book as soon as you reach the end!

Brimming with action, magic and excitement, Adam Silvera has sculpted the Harry Potter of the new generation, beautifully merging the world of celebrity and technology into the world of the surreal.
Although difficult to get into at first with the introduction of celestials, specters, Blood Casters, Spell Walkers with no real explanation as to who, what or why they are but as the story unfolds, each group gets a little bit clearer and the action soon takes over. After overcoming the beginning, the book was a joy to read.

This was my first Adam Silvera, and I enjoyed it massively. It was surprisingly fast paced with lots of action going on. I loved the plot setting and character development.
I really hope he writes more fantasy, and I recommend this to everyone. Great fun!
Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This had some really good moments and some moments thats were just missing the mark. I felt like some of the characters blended together and were quite forgettable meaning that if anything happened to them i was not super bothered. The two brothers were the strongest characters and the story should have been told just from their point of view as it would have made the story clearer. This was an enjoyable science fiction/fantasy book but it was not anything mind blowing or special.

I read 20% of this before calling quits on it.

I didn't care at all for the writing or the characters. I found it hard to believe that the MCs were 18 because they spoke and acted like 14 year olds. The magic system was confusing and words/phrases/magical items were dropped into the middle of sentences like we were meant to know what they were and never explained. The world was bland and uninspiring and not what I would class as 'fantasy.'

Nice cover, but that's the only positive for this book.

Every time Adam Silvera announces another book, I am so thrilled and excited. I absolutely adored They both Die at The End (seriously, go and read it). So When I found out that this book was fantasy based, I was even more thrilled, as that is my favourite genre. The introduction of this book blows you away, the world building and the characters are great. I was thrown into this book in the deep end and loved every minute of it. I really would pick this up if you are a fan of light fantasy novels.

Infinity Son would have worked wonderfully as a comic book, and I think that it would also make a solid movie, because the bones of the story are there and there’s a lot of potential (urban fantasy novel in which the gay Puerto Rican main character gets to be the chosen one!), plenty of which would also lie in the visuals (It’s about modern-day Phoenixes, which as a concept is inherently cool.)

However, in the state it is currently? I read an ARC, but I think this needed at least another serious round of editing dedicated to structure, which I don’t think will happen before it gets released. As a multi-PoV novel with a neverending cast of side characters we’re supposed to care about (but can’t because what we know about most of them could be summed up in two words), it just doesn’t work. I’m not surprised by the many bad reviews, even though I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the story itself.

While Adam Silvera can clearly write emotional slice-of-life stories, as he has done multiple times, when it comes to action scenes, we’re really not there.
There was something seriously off with… the pacing? I’m not sure what’s the right word to use when a scene in itself doesn’t flow well because the book keeps summarizing things that shouldn’t be summarized or stating them in a really emotionless way. For the way sentences were written, I felt as if the narrators were telling me what they bought at the grocery store. It’s emotionless and it made everything in the story feel fake.

Infinity Son is the story of two brothers, power wars and phoenixes as a vigilante group rises up against those who seek to steal magic from endangered creatures.

Although I liked the premise for this, I unfortunately think it was poorly executed. For one, there are too many perspectives, making the story unnecessarily confusing and convoluted. The world building is also none existent, with the magical system hardly explained at all leaving too many unexplained elements and unanswered questions. On finishing, I still couldn’t tell you exactly what Spell Walkers can really do, or why. It feels almost as thought the author tried to ground the fantasy world within our own and then add bits of magic to it as an afterthought, and it just all felt a bit messy as a result.

I also found the main characters unlikeable, or boring. Brighton is single minded, self centred and condescending - especially to his brother, who he’s suppose to love unconditionally. That love didn’t really come across to me, and felt forced. However, at least he was memorable. Emil by comparison is just a bit weak willed, and boring. He wants a quiet life, and it shows. He’s rather lack lustre, one dimensional and completely forgettable. I will say that I liked his diversity, and felt that this aspect of his personality was a breath of fresh air to the genre. I just wish he was a better, full rounded character to represent the LGBTQ community more positively within the fantasy genre. All the other characters are also forgettable and bland. I feel like the author should have concentrated on building the personality of the brothers more, instead of diluting their personalities by adding in all these different (uninteresting) perspectives.

I also found the plot predictable, full of tropes and cliches and slow paced. There was nothing exciting about it, and when combined with my dislike for the characters I ended up not caring at all about the story. Full of promise, but this one failed to deliver.

2.5 stars

Infinity Son is a book with a great concept, but unfortunately the execution wasn't up to par.

Infinity Son is, mainly, about two brothers: Emil and Brighton who live in New York. Emil is a studious boy who prefers quietude, and is obsessed with phoenixes; Brighton, on the other hand, loves the spotlight and is consistently in it with his vlogging and ultimate goal to become a Celestial.

I love books with strong relationships with siblings but I just couldn't enjoy the relationship between the two brothers! Brighton was quite selfish and cared only for fame -- he frustrated me quite a bit and his only redeeming quality was his affection for Emil. Emil, on the other hand, was a sweetheart who cared so much for his brother. For a book that had a lot to do with sibling relationships, I just couldn't get into their affection because of Brighton. Perhaps he was supposed to be an unlikeable character, but it just effected my enjoyment of the book.

I really enjoyed the idea of the celestials and their powers being connected to a specific constellation. But I felt like the world wasn't explored nearly as much as it should have been! Hopefully in the next books there will be more worldbuilding. Although it was a pretty good book for an author who has only ever written contemporary novels before.

I think many people will enjoy this book, but if you're a diehard fantasy fan like me you might not enjoy it as much.

This book is a hot mess. Dropped into the middle of some kind of alternate reality New York, I, as a reader struggled to find my bearings as several main characters with interchangeably whiny internal voices threw new vocabulary around with the expectation that I would somehow... figure this out? Celestials, Specters, Spell Walkers, all of these new words are given no explanation, and I was left reeling with no idea what was going on. Magic wands, magic powers, villains, phoenixes... Brighton, the main character, has a fascination with phoenixes and a scene in a museum gave us some context - plus I figured out over the course of the book that specters are formed by consuming the blood of magical creatures - but generally there was just a LOT going on here which wasn't at all explained. I still don't understand how, in a world which is so different to ours, YouTube still exists. Is this an alternate timeline, where magical creatures appeared at some point in the past? Or have they always existed? I am entirely unclear. The worldbuilding is, frankly, nil. Information is dribbled out, long past when it's necessary, and even having finished the book I honestly don't have a clue what happened. What, exactly, was the Blackout? And why did it make people hate Celestials? Who are... I think, akin to mutants in X-Men? I am so confused.

But. Setting aside the difficulties (very real and disappointing difficulties) that this book has with worldbuilding, how was the plot? Well. Have I said hot mess? Because it was. Packed with tropes and disappointingly clichéd 'reveals', the plot stumbled along and ended with a horrendously predictable 'twist'.

So maybe the characters were enough to save this? Nope. Brighton is a whiny, self-obsessed baby and Emil is dull and unbelievable. A little bit of angst, yes, I could get on board with. Some believably horrible people, sure. But Emil and Brighton, the two main characters, are dull, dull, dull, and yet also annoying. How do they manage to be so terrible at all times? Don't know. But they managed it.

This book isn't utterly, abjectly terrible. It's nice to see a gay boy be the chosen one, and have untold magical powers. It's nice to see some body image issues which don't belong to a teenage girl. It's nice to have side characters who are queer, non-binary, and use singular they pronouns. It's nice also to have a main character whose defining character trait isn't that he's Latinx or gay. Intersectional representation ftw. But it's not enough to save what could have been something great, but is really just underdeveloped and confusing.

Now I'm not the biggest Adam Silvera fan, I really enjoyed We Both Die at the End and What If It's Us but not Silvera's two other books. I decided Silvera's contemporary novels just weren't for me, so when I found out his next novel was a fantasy I was excited to give it a go! As you might be able to tell from the rating I've given it, I quite enjoyed Infinity Son!

I am fully aware of all the issues this book has, it is in no way a perfect fantasy novel and will probably earn a low rating from many people including Silvera's own fans. I would describe this book as a debut fantasy clearly written by a contemporary author. Infinity Son is set in modern day New York with some major differences, unfortunately this novel completely lacks any world building, you're left to figure out the details of this New York yourself.

Celestials, Specters, and Spell Walkers all sound like really cool hero/villain names but within the story they mixed up so often it was hard to tell the difference. The clearest explanation I saw for these titles was in the synopsis!

You might be wondering with all these flaws, why a four star rating? And the honest answer is, I loved this book and I couldn't stop reading from the first page to the last. I loved the references to Harry Potter, the 'waiting for my Hogwarts letter' feeling actually becoming a reality! I liked the inclusion of phoenixes and other creatures but they weren't in any detailed scenes to really appreciate their inclusion. Also Adam Silvera is brilliant at LGBTQ+ rep and I'm sure a gay superhero is hugely appreciated.

The magic system is definitely something I hope is explored more in the second novel. To be honest, I hope a great deal of things are explained and explored in the sequel to clear up any confusion and flesh out the story. Just by looking at the very short length of Infinity Son I think it was obvious that it wasn't going to be a very detailed fantasy, but the many flaws will definitely disappoint a lot of readers unfortunately. Hopefully the author will take the critique on board when writing the sequel.

I don't think I've ever read a book about phoenix's and people having their powers, so this was such a unique plot for me. I was worried about reading this, as I don't tend to read many books set in the current day, but I quickly got pulled in, and the ending had me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait for the next book to see just what happens.

I was really excited to dive into this one, because Adam Silvera has such a knack for creating great characters who we can believe and root for. Unfortunately I wasn't in love with this story. Here's why:

Firstly as someone who reads an awful lot of fantasy I can honestly say this didn't feel like fantasy at all. There were of course supernatural elements to this story there is no denying it but the 'feel' of it? There was very little world building, and what we did get felt like there were too many gaps in my opinion. This book felt chatty, and very contemporary to me, which put me off a lot unfortunately.

As for the characters we follow two twins and one of them was someone I really struggled to read. He was someone obsessed with internet fame and whilst I appreciate that viewpoint it felt out of place in a 'fantasy' book.

There were parts in the book were I felt completely lost. Feeling like there was no explanation or resolve, and perhaps I wouldn't mind that much if this had been the third or fourth book in a series but for the first it just left me unsatisfied.



Overall this book didn't

This is a wonderful mix of Silvera's trademark emotional fare mixed with thrilling fantasy elements. The story of the two brothers is immersive on a personal character based level, but also connects subtly to a cool alternate version of contemporary society, building a mythology of phoenix and fantasy creatures, as well as essentially modern superheroes.

A very exciting and upsetting denouement sets up an even more expansive sequel...

I absolutely loved this, it was amazing, my first read by Adam Silvera, now I’m not sure why I’ve never read his work before. An action packed fantasy, great twists and suspense, wonderful well developed characters with good representation present. I am going to look for more books now and make up for lost time.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion