I am a huge fan of multi-verses. Of trying to figure out how those decisions and worlds would change. So I was very excited for Infinity Gate from an author I recognized as well! Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
The Pandominion is a political and trading alliance consisting of roughly a million worlds.
But they’re really all the same world – Earth – in many different dimensions. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they’ll eradicate it by whatever means necessary—no matter the cost to human life.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
While I adored the premise of Infinity Gate, there were a few factors which made my reading experience drag a bit. In general, there were a few times that I felt like the pacing of the book slowed down which made me struggle to get through those sections. It isn’t that there isn’t action per say, but there’s a bit of a build up to figure out Infinity Gate. With these multiple characters, for a while, I wasn’t sure who was who and how their stories would interact.
From the premise, I loved the idea of the multiverse and specifically how it could be used to create order and also disorder. Because when you have these scientific possibilities, spaces for exploitation and also power dynamics will never be a non-issue. But it was difficult for me to get a handle on the Panadmonium system and these larger world building ideas. It was like being told about these struggles and then given just a smidge less information than I needed for it to click together.
With plenty of concepts and science fiction ideas, Infinity Gate shows promise. It left me feeling a bit ‘on the hook’. I’d be intrigued and then the pacing would drag a bit or we’d get a huge influx of information and I wasn’t sure if I would continue. But then something would happen to reel me back in. All in all, if you just love the idea of right and wrong in an ethical nightmare of a multiverse, this is one of the few examples I can think of. It’s something you have to build up to and also carve out time for.
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However, it is the beginning of a series and I distinctly felt that some of my confusion or slowness of pace could be contributing to this ‘first book feeling’. Ultimately, if you like the ideas, this is something you might want to pick up and see if you have a different experience. Find Infinity Gate on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon (US) (UK), Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.