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derbit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mnyberg's review
1.0
Don't waste your time. The writing was so mechanical and the dialog so unconvincing it made for a difficult and long read. I held out hope because I was intrigued with the plot premise, but it was really poorly executed and I needed to finally start skimming to get to the end.
ebonyutley's review against another edition
3.0
Infinite was a perfectly fine way to pass a Sunday. I’ve read thrillers, but I can’t say they’re my jam. This Amazon First Reads was definitely a page turner. While I thought the concept behind the plot was pretty loosely conceptualized, I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen next. There are no OMG moments where you have to put the book down and recenter yourself, but I certainly wanted to know how the author was going to write his character out of some sticky situations.
The concept of parallel lives was first presented as when Dylan (the main character) makes a choice, another Dylan in another life makes the opposite choice. Clearly this perspective becomes too difficult to maintain when there are infinite lives. So, without explanation, the characters just make different (not opposite choices). The Dylans of the many worlds collide and at the end, its kinda unclear (unless you suspend disbelief) which one ends up where. I attribute this again to the loose writing, but I mean, I was reading for fun not for the quantum mechanics.
Freeman’s descriptions of Chicago are spot on. It’s the kind of book where you want to walk through the city with the novel open on your phone’s Kindle app and point out all the landmarks. In general, he’s good at setting a scene and bringing the characters to life within it. I’m not mad that I read the book, but I don’t feel inspired to read anything else of his.
The concept of parallel lives was first presented as when Dylan (the main character) makes a choice, another Dylan in another life makes the opposite choice. Clearly this perspective becomes too difficult to maintain when there are infinite lives. So, without explanation, the characters just make different (not opposite choices). The Dylans of the many worlds collide and at the end, its kinda unclear (unless you suspend disbelief) which one ends up where. I attribute this again to the loose writing, but I mean, I was reading for fun not for the quantum mechanics.
Freeman’s descriptions of Chicago are spot on. It’s the kind of book where you want to walk through the city with the novel open on your phone’s Kindle app and point out all the landmarks. In general, he’s good at setting a scene and bringing the characters to life within it. I’m not mad that I read the book, but I don’t feel inspired to read anything else of his.
book_em_wendy's review against another edition
3.0
***3.5 stars***
There were a couple of slow spots but overall I liked the concept of the book and enjoyed the story.
Favorite quote:
“You see, there are moments in your life you are desperate to take back as soon as they happen, but the clock ticks, and they’re gone. You make your choice, and an instant later, nothing is the same.”
There were a couple of slow spots but overall I liked the concept of the book and enjoyed the story.
Favorite quote:
“You see, there are moments in your life you are desperate to take back as soon as they happen, but the clock ticks, and they’re gone. You make your choice, and an instant later, nothing is the same.”
booklover180's review against another edition
4.0
WOW. Talk about a mind-bending, psychological thriller.
This book had me saying 'wait, what?!' (but in the best way possible). Infinite is a super fast-paced book that oftentimes had me wondering could parallel universes be possible?
That twist ending really took me for a loop. Thoroughly enjoyed this!
This book had me saying 'wait, what?!' (but in the best way possible). Infinite is a super fast-paced book that oftentimes had me wondering could parallel universes be possible?
That twist ending really took me for a loop. Thoroughly enjoyed this!
stephreadsal0t's review against another edition
3.0
Wow, this was a really fun book from Kindle First. I’ve read other novels by Brian Freeman and enjoyed them all.
Have I ever mentioned I love parallel universe theories? I do, and Freeman does a pretty good job creating multiple universes and characters you care about throughout them all. I would have liked it to be twice as long so we could have more development with each character, but I love long books.
Quick summary: Dylan’s life is falling apart. His parents died in a murder suicide when he was 13. His best friend died when he was in his 20s after picking him up from a bar fight, something Dylan blames himself for. His wife just died when their car went into a flooding river. Grieving, he meets a psychiatrist who claims he’s been her patient and they’ve been experimenting with drugs that allow him to visit and actually travel within the very parallel universes that are created with every decision we make. There he discovers a version of himself who turned the gun on his dad when he was 13 — who has been visiting various parallel universes and murdering people, letting the Dylan of that universe take the fall. The police are after him because of actions that Dylan did. He discovers worlds where he never married his wife at all, and others where she is still alive.
This was on track to being a 4 or 5 star book for me. Getting to know, care about, and sometimes mourn characters across multiple universes reminded me of 11/22/63 by Stephen King (this is high praise from me).
The ending dropped it to 3 stars. SPOILERS AHEAD...
I don’t know what to make of the ending. It feels dangerously close to It Was All A Dream. I’ve been thinking about it all night since finishing and I don’t really know how I would have ended it. I’m also not sure if I’m misreading/misinterpreting what happened. But the Wizard of Oz like cast of characters returning in new roles was the biggest problem for me that made it feel like “this was all a dream”. The psychiatrist he visited is now a doctor in the hospital, as is the cop who was after him. I wish we saw the psychiatrist doing a reading at a bookstore or something afterwards, perhaps not recognizing Dylan at all, the cop still looking for someone who looks like Dylan (but Dylan would now have an alibi of being in a coma). Then at least everything we read before would feel like it was cemented in some version of reality. But instead I was left feeling like, oh, so this was just in his head as he recovered in a coma from almost drowning?
I recommend this one and would love to hear thoughts form others on how the ending worked or didn’t work for them!
Have I ever mentioned I love parallel universe theories? I do, and Freeman does a pretty good job creating multiple universes and characters you care about throughout them all. I would have liked it to be twice as long so we could have more development with each character, but I love long books.
Quick summary: Dylan’s life is falling apart. His parents died in a murder suicide when he was 13. His best friend died when he was in his 20s after picking him up from a bar fight, something Dylan blames himself for. His wife just died when their car went into a flooding river. Grieving, he meets a psychiatrist who claims he’s been her patient and they’ve been experimenting with drugs that allow him to visit and actually travel within the very parallel universes that are created with every decision we make. There he discovers a version of himself who turned the gun on his dad when he was 13 — who has been visiting various parallel universes and murdering people, letting the Dylan of that universe take the fall. The police are after him because of actions that Dylan did. He discovers worlds where he never married his wife at all, and others where she is still alive.
This was on track to being a 4 or 5 star book for me. Getting to know, care about, and sometimes mourn characters across multiple universes reminded me of 11/22/63 by Stephen King (this is high praise from me).
The ending dropped it to 3 stars. SPOILERS AHEAD...
I don’t know what to make of the ending. It feels dangerously close to It Was All A Dream. I’ve been thinking about it all night since finishing and I don’t really know how I would have ended it. I’m also not sure if I’m misreading/misinterpreting what happened. But the Wizard of Oz like cast of characters returning in new roles was the biggest problem for me that made it feel like “this was all a dream”. The psychiatrist he visited is now a doctor in the hospital, as is the cop who was after him. I wish we saw the psychiatrist doing a reading at a bookstore or something afterwards, perhaps not recognizing Dylan at all, the cop still looking for someone who looks like Dylan (but Dylan would now have an alibi of being in a coma). Then at least everything we read before would feel like it was cemented in some version of reality. But instead I was left feeling like, oh, so this was just in his head as he recovered in a coma from almost drowning?
I recommend this one and would love to hear thoughts form others on how the ending worked or didn’t work for them!
lee_ann_a's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Listen, I'm obsessed with the multiverse and have read mind blowing fiction on the topic (think Dark Matter by Blake Crouch!) but this was just ok. The story was rather elementary, the writing was not captivating, I was not blown away. If you're going to travel to an alternate reality, a little explanation of the science behind how you accomplished that feat is appreciated. Injecting psychotropic medications does not satisfy me. Granted, you get the whole story at the end, but still it felt unresearched and just tossed together, hoping the reader would buy it. I didn't buy it.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
“It’s about how we’re all part of an infinite number of parallel worlds. Every time we make a choice, a carbon copy of ourselves makes the opposite choice in a different universe.”
This was a great mystery type story. As the MC is running around trying to understand what's going on, it was easy to ride right along with him. As the world jumping begins, it's a bit more confusing. But it's a fast paced story, so it's easy to just race through and keep reading.
Good story and I liked the ending.
This was a great mystery type story. As the MC is running around trying to understand what's going on, it was easy to ride right along with him. As the world jumping begins, it's a bit more confusing. But it's a fast paced story, so it's easy to just race through and keep reading.
Good story and I liked the ending.
winglady's review against another edition
5.0
Although others have written about parallel universes before, never have I found such a gripping, compelling novel. What is real and what is an illusion? What are the many consequences of the decisions we make? Can we choose a different path for ourselves? I loved the ending, leaving the reader to wonder, what if...?
afox98's review against another edition
3.0
Dylan Moran lives after a car accident in which his wife dies. Shortly after, he sees a man on the riverbank that looks just like him. He soon realizes he was a patient with a psychiatrist who tells him he's been exploring the idea of parallel universes. Once he hears this, he realizes he can go through these other worlds and see if there's a way he can get his wife back. The premise of the book is fascinating, and I loved that. What I didn't care for was the writing style - it was pretty simplistic and didn't capture my attention well. However, the story sucked me in and kept my attention. I wanted to know how things ended up as Dylan went from world to world, meeting his alter egos and learning about the different paths he took or could have taken. I didn't expect the twist at the end and I was overall happy with the way it turned out. Interesting concept.