Unfortunately, while I adored The Girl With All the Gifts and normally love multiverse stories, I ended up DNF'ing this one. M.R. Carey is obviously a talented author but the overarching way the story is presented made me feel disconnected from the characters. Once I realized that I didn't care about any of the characters, I realized I just didn't care about the story period, and gave up before finishing.

Infinity Gate is the newest science fiction novel by M.R. Carey. With the world on the brink of an end due to its own negligence, Hadiz Tambuwal, is looking for a solution. Out of time, she finds one - multiple dimensions. Other worlds without ever having to leave planet Earth. The worlds are infinite, but so are the dangers.

I love books with multiple realities, and this is a shining addition to the collection. Then add in artificial intelligence, and you have the combo of science fiction novels. The story takes place in Lagos - yeah, for non-European-centric science fiction - and stays in one location across multiple worlds. It was fascinating how Carey took the reader on an exploration without ever leaving the same geographic area.

The story follows multiple points of views that were brought together to create an intertwined tale. If something was mentioned earlier in the book, you can believe that it was brought back up later in the novel. Such masterful world-building. The interconnectedness of multiple realities and artificial intelligence could have been too much, but instead, the were a juxtaposition of each other.

I didn’t love all the characters, at least not at first, but I did always appreciate their complexities. They were always real in their imperfections. Mostly I appreciate how they grew through the novel.

While the ending was expected, it was not in a way that made me feel let down. It was just the natural conclusion and the perfect start to the next book in the series. I will be standing first in line to read it.

I decided to soft DNF this one for now at 30%. It starts out very science heavy then gets quirky? The dry writing style wasn't really working for me. The characters were dry and odd at the same time and I wasn't connecting with them at all. I loved the idea so I might come back to it later.

Quick Review:
Hate, Like or Obsessed? Like
Library or Buy-worthy: Buy-worthy
Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Development ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Smart, Cartoonish, Science Heavy
Similar vibe: Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

***Caution Spoilers Follow***
"A universe is a very large mechanism, with a great many interacting parts. Its degrees of freedom are arguably finite, but they are so vastly many that they might as well be infinite. From moment to moment, more coins are tossed than any mind, organic or digital, can easily fathom.”

"Nobody had ever attempted before to perform surgery on entire universes. For such a task, you need a knife of immense, all but incalculable size. Me. I am that knife."

The Setup: After the world reaches a flash point from resource deterioration, polution, war, famine and finally evacuation one lone antisocial, eccentric scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is unknowingly abandoned in Nigeria. While studying dark matter she discovers demensional travel, accidentally coming to the notice of a regulatory empire called the Pandominion, it's military branch called the Cielo and it's AI known as the Registry that polices and organizes such things across the multiverse. Fortunately for Hadiz however, an overworked administrative employee called a Watchmaster fails to properly recognize the significance of this Step on our Earth instead chosing simply to check back on it later. Hadiz is left frantically trying to communicate her findings to her apocalyptic world before the internet crashes. All that is left are her attempts to catalog her research with an experimental AI named Rupshe who has become her only research assistant and friend. Before leaping to another Earth she removes Rupshe's coding restrictions in an emotional attempt to say goodbye. We learn the rest of this tale through two more narrators Essien and Paz. Both of whom are relatable and believable. This is the most original multiverse based plotline I've ever read. It's science heavy, as I said before but the reader becomes so attached to the characters and the political fallout of war that you can't stop reading. The book ends on a cliffhanger but I liked the overall flow between characters and points of view. Is the book a little overly wordy? Yes. Is the plotline slow to unfold? Yes but stick with it, don't stop. In short, if you enjoy watching 'Through the Wormhole' with Morgan Freeman you should be alright reading this. I enjoyed it so much and I'll definitely buy book 2. My egalley copy of Infinity Gate was gifted to me by Orbit Books through Netgalley. Thank you so much for offering me this. I also purchased a signed hardcopy from Inkstone Books as part of their new subscription service.

"What can be said about the Pandominion that hasn’t been said already? It was an empire that governed trillions of selves on hundreds of thousands of worlds, and yet all of them were the same world – your world as well as mine, the Earth, on different lines of causality and in different continua."

DNF'ed at 24%. I switched to another book for a while, and felt no interest at all in returning. So I came back for a chapter to give it one more chance. No thrill.

It is just all backstory. We aren't even caught up to the teaser revelations in the prologue. I don't have time for this in my life. I don't need multiple chapters about the underworld in Lagos, especially a fake Lagos that doesn't even exist. It is all well-written, it just isn't interesting.

“If the Registry had been allowed to learn from its experience or its environment, if it had been allowed any meaningful contact with the world outside its shell, it would very quickly have outstripped any organic mind in the known multiverse. But the Pandominion’s master technicians had no intention of letting that happen. For the purpose of maintaining system stability, they had given the AI a personality – incurious, content, eager to please. Then they had frozen its understanding at the level of a three year old child by means of end-stopped programming pathways and brute force overwrites. Keeping the Registry as stupid as a post was a large part of their work on a day-to-day basis.”

Well, obviously that plan isn’t going to work, or you couldn’t have a book about a war between humans and AI. This book is a very long set up for the next book, in which we will get to the war. Or maybe that will be punted to the third book.

In this book we follow several groups of characters who eventually converge. Hadiz Tambuwal is a scientist who discovers a way to travel in the multiverse. Reluctantly, she enlists the help of the AI called Rupshe (who will probably have an expanded role in the next book). Essien Nkanika is a poor laborer/hooker who winds up in the military arm of the Pandominion (described as “a political and trading alliance consisting of roughly a million worlds”). Orso Vemmet is a gymnure with hedgehog ancestry. He is a bureaucrat also working for the Pandominion and his storyline is the only one with any lightness or humor. Paz is a rabbit-girl who goes on the run.

This book was very dense. Frankly, a lot of the explanations sounded like gobbledygook to me. The author seemed to come up with new rules/abilities to fit the plot, and they didn’t seem totally consistent. Each character faces serious danger, but I did not get a real sense of danger to the planet (or at least its human inhabitants). Hopefully that will be amped up in the next book. Also, there was not much world building in any of the visited worlds. Despite my quibbles I did enjoy this book and I want to read the next one.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

A fantastic dystopian multi-verse book which is unfortunately the first in a series. I say unfortunately because we are left on a cliff hanger which is not satisfying after enjoying a read and racing through it to solve a mystery running through the entire plot. I am excited for the next in this series, well written, great concept, well drawn characters. Maybe not as much world building as I'm used to seeing but it didn't detract at all from the story as a whole.

Unfortunately this did not work for me. I was very intrigued by the premise but the execution was not done in a style that I tend to enjoy. It's not the type of sci-fi that I look for and while I appreciate what the author did with the subject, the amount of action compared to scientific analysis left me unable to connect to any of the characters.

I think this will work well for a lot of other people. If you gravitate more towards action/scifi that doesn't waste time pondering the meaning of life or what it means to be human then I'd urge you to give this a shot!

4.5 stars

I love a good multiverse story, and this book does it so well! A lot of the worlds are very similar to ours, but most of them aren’t. It examines what would happen if the environment were just a little bit different – how would flora and fauna evolve with different base materials? When new worlds are discovered they are “welcomed“ into the Pandominion, i.e. they better get in line, or else. And then a new player comes in, and we all find out what “or else“ means.

The book follows a few main characters, and the chapters skip back-and-forth between each of their stories. Authors, if you want to know the way to my heart, it’s to switch POV‘s between chapters. This method of storytelling just keeps me hooked and on the edge of my seat.

This book ends on a massive cliffhanger. And when I say cliffhanger I actually mean you are chucked right off that cliff. It was a bit jarring, and I really need the next book to be published ASAP because it’s driving me crazy 😬

Thank you to NetGalley & Orbit for this advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

M. R. Carey provides a novel take on the multiverse, AI, and selfhood. Thought-provoking and entertaining at once, the book kept me guessing, made me care about the characters, and will keep me thinking about possibilities for a long time to come.

The introduction of Paz helped a lot. Sure, she’s a rabbit, but she’s a normal and likable teenager who just happens to get caught up in extraordinary events. The structure here reminds me a lot of The Book of Koli; there I also had a problem with the slow start in the first half but got absorbed in the second half.

That last half of the book contained a lot of action, and characters converging in satisfying ways. Also like books one and two of The Rampart Trilogy, Infinity Gate ends on a cliffhanger, and I know some readers don’t like that. Personally, I didn’t resent it; rather it left me sad that the book was over and looking forward to the next book in the series. Because of the rocky start, my grade for Infinity Gate is a straight B.

Full review here: https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/review-infinity-gate-by-m-r-carey/

M. R. Carey starts a fun tale of multiverse empires at war. The tale starts with Hadiz Tambuwal who discovers the Infinity Gate (paper from Orbit) on a dying Earth. Unfortunately she knows nothing about the Pandominion, an empire of a thousand or so worlds, that doesn’t like intruders. So they send agents to kill her and Essien Nkanika, a rogue who had somehow become entangled with her. Eventually Topaz Tourmaline Fivehills, an intelligent rabbit from the Pandominion gets involved because her best friend has been involved with an empire of machines that the Pandemonium calls Ansurrection that also controls a thousand or so Earths. Their war threatens the whole universe. Getting the characters together while barely surviving kill teams from Pandemonium is what this first exciting book comprises. Impossible-to-put-down, I was very disappointed to have to wait for what happened next. I’m holding my breath.

I'm sorry, but this book left me underwhelmed and overburdened by the sheer scope. I think I should have known that something regarding the multiverse wouldn't pull me in the way I want it to. I might try and pick this up again to give another shot later on but for now, it's not exciting me or engaging me in the ways I should and I've lost interest or desire to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for the arc!

The beginning of a sci-fi series, I had a lot of fun reading this book. Closely following a small cast of characters connected by a single plot spanning multiple dimensions, this story gave solid worldbuilding for an enormous universe, relevant character backstories, and plenty of action and adventure.

The story opens with Hadiz, unintentionally discovering inter-dimensional travel and laying the groundwork for the journey we are about to embark on. We learn about AI and the many dimensions and versions of Earth alongside her. She eventually passes the story on to a new main character, Essien, who leads us further into this universe and story until we meet our third main character, Topaz. I liked how we begin with one character at a time, then as their separate lives eventually become more and more intertwined, the point-of-view switches more frequently to reflect that.

The world is infinitely large, with many versions of Earth. I liked how rather than all being close copies of one another, each Earth has developed in its own way, featuring different resources, creatures, and even dominant species. Although we really only spend time in a few of these dimensions, it’s still made clear that there are endless possibilities out there. Paired with the inexplicable AI race posing a threat to the Pandominion there are plenty of opportunities for dangerous and unique situations to arise.

I do wish the ending were a bit more conclusive as I’m not a huge fan of cliffhangers. It is a complete story in showing how the main characters come together, but it did leave me wanting more. However, as an introduction to this impossibly large world and the core cast of characters, this was both a compelling and enjoyable read. I had a lot of fun reading this and seeing everything unfold. I’m looking forward to where it all goes in the next one.

Definitely recommend checking this one out if you’re looking for a big sci-fi adventure delivered in a way that isn’t overwhelming.

When Infinity Gate first came on my radar, the multiverse concept piqued my interest, but not enough that I was convinced to want to pick it up immediately. But then, it kept coming to my attention, with a comp to one of my favorite books The Space Between Worlds, people I follow praising M.R. Carey's past books, and what seemed to be an interesting narrative framework. Gradually, I was more and more intrigued, until I finally decided I did want to get my hands on it as soon as possible. Thankfully, Orbit very kindly provided me an eARC, and here we are.

To start off, the framework that really sells Infinity Gate is I believe one of its strongest points, and perhaps it goes without saying, but if you aren't one for the multiverse concept and the bit of mind-bending it entails, this probably isn't the book for you. It really takes the idea of "what would people do if we discovered infinite alternate realities" and runs with it. The answer, in part, being an empire that spreads across thousands of realities and supposedly provides utopia to those within its colossal borders. The Pandominion is a concept I haven't really seen done before, though I was soon wondering why not - for what else are defining sentient traits but the the attempted consolidation of control and endless bureaucracy.

We begin our story with Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal, on an Earth that could easily be a not-too-far-future version of our own. Her Earth is doomed, but in the scrambling for possible solutions, Tambuwal stumbles upon the wonder of "stepping" through realities. I'm sorry to say that this first quarter or so of the book was my favorite. Not that the rest wasn't enjoyable, but once we moved on from Tambuwal's storyline, I had a harder time forming a connection with the other characters.

Infinity Gate is written by a narrator, who, though unknown, does not hesitate to insert snippets of insight and foreboding of what's to come. I tend to appreciate a narrator with a sense of personality and found the same to be the case here, especially since it was well-executed to not interrupt the momentum of important scenes. Rather than switching back and forth between POVs consistently, we spend the majority of our time with one primary character's storyline before moving on to another's, and towards the end wrapping them together more firmly. Despite my favoritism towards our time with Tambuwal, I do think this was a good choice for a story of this scale, and I'm interested to see whether a similar type of construct will be used in the rest of the series.

None of the characters in this tale are incredibly sympathetic - they're all assholes in their own way - but then again, they're not exactly handed the best things in life. And anyway, their decisions rapidly spiral out of their own control. I sort of got the feeling that the characters more or less exist for the exploration of ideas - specifically self-hood - but surprisingly I didn't mind my meta-awareness of that fact, perhaps because the book itself is fairly meta and the concepts were at least being explored in an interesting way. Sometimes I get sick of AI as a hot-topic idea, but Carey managed to keep it charming, absorbing, and just-enough removed from our own world to not knock me out of the story.

So, I think that's enough that you know by now if any of it sounds of interest to you. I really don't want to give away much more, as that's part of the fun of this type of narrative, but I would encourage you to give Infinity Gate a try if epic multi-verse scifi is your thing. Just be aware that there's still plenty leftover for us to look forward to discovering in the sequel.

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the early read.

This is a fairly long book that starts off kind of slow due to the world building. I requested this book due to the Rampart Trilogy and The Girl With all the Gifts. Carey has excelled once again at building a world that messes with your imagination.  I am looking forward to the next in the series. If you enjoy a good sci fi....definitely check this out.

Carey's writing is both accessible and complex, as he seamlessly weaves together threads of science, politics, and philosophy to create a thought-provoking and entertaining tale. The book's pacing is brisk and suspenseful, with plenty of action and intrigue to keep readers engaged. Overall, "Infinity Gate" is a must-read for fans of multiverse stories and science fiction in general. Carey's bold vision and skilled storytelling make this a standout entry in the genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

Unique, scary, realistic, improbable, and possible look into the future. The characters grabbed me, the jumping around storylines came together well, and I look forward to continuing the story in the next book.

Carey offers up a deeply thought-provoking novel dystopia wrapped in thrilling adventure, science, and suspense. Advances in quantum mechanics lead to the discovery of multiple parallel universes, all centered around Earth. In each universe different intelligent life forms have risen to dominance, from humans to felines to rabbits, with vastly differing societies. The more tech sophisticated civilizations figure out how move between them.

In a mutual pact, hundreds of these societies have come together to form an empire they call Pandominion. They co-exist under the ever-watchful eye of a human-regulated AI who oversees the perfected timing of movement of people and trading of resources between universes. Nothing like refugees having a new world to escape a dying Earth or the ability to trade for depleted resources with the Earth next door. In addition to the AI assist, all worlds contribute soldiers and resources to a uber, tech-augmented military group who enforce the ruling Council’s mandates.

An anonymous narrator, who hints at maybe ending the multiverse, tells three stories that lead to this cataclysmic change. The first features Hadiz Tambuwal, a dark-matter scientist in Nigeria living on an environmentally destroyed Earth, who with help of her lab’s AI, Rupshe, stumbles upon the ability to send drones, and then herself, between the multiverses. Hadiz starts exploring those closest universes in development to her current Earth. Her unsanctioned travel from what Pandemonium dismisses as under-advanced “unvisited” worlds grabs the attention of Pandominion who send in military troops to deal with her.

The second story focuses on Essien Nkanika, an always down-on-his-luck Nigerian who Hadiz befriends on her world, and who Hadiz takes on a trip to an empty paradise type world. Essien, who sets out to betray Hadiz to capture her device for himself and sell it to the highest bidder. He Instead gets caught by the troops who come to dispatch Hadiz, and shot her in the chest. The troops bring Essien back to the Pandominion for questioning as a co-conspirator, only to ultimate dismiss him as clueless and allow him to live by joining the militia.

Lastly, there’s Topaz Tourmaline FiveHills, a smart teenager living in a rabbit-like-species dominant culture, who inadvertently befriends an AI who has taken been imbedded in a human form. This AI has been sent out as a spy by sentient machines who have risen to dominance in yet other parallel universes and have come under unexpected attack from Pandominion who cannot tolerate un-regulated AI. This sparks an epic war between machines and biological species, into which all the characters get swept up.

It’s easy to lose yourself in these three compelling parallel stories that converge in a huge heart-slamming finale. And a sudden cliff-hanger leaves you urgently awaiting the next offering in this compelling series.

Thanks to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey is a science fiction novel, looking into AI technology, and the first in the Pandominion series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Orbit Books and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Information:    (from the publishing blurb)
The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds – except that they’re really just the one world, Earth, in many different realities. 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.



My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is in Lagos, and has been looking into dark energy, which may save Earth's environmental collapse.  The air is becoming unbreathable, the food supply diminishing, the governments of different nations are at war. She is assisted by Rupshe, an AI computer.  Hadiz inadvertantly travels to another dimension, where the earth and air is perfect for life.  Blinded by her desire to save all the worlds, she doesn't realize that The Pandominion and the Cielo army is tracking her.

Essien Nkanika is in his own version of Lagos, where he has had the life of a poor immigrant, although his family is surviving.  Essien wants to do more than survive, and he has taken many short-cuts, none of which have worked well for him.  Then he meets Hadiz, and she shares her discovery with him.  He only thinks of what he can take for himself, and plans to steal her technology.  Once more, his plans go awry.

Topaz Tourmaline FiveHills is from Canoplex City in UT, a world that is her version of Lagos. She is a rabbit.  She loves school, and excels in most subjects.  Her goal is to apply for a position in the engineering area of the Cielo army.  But Paz meets someone whose outlook on life is different than hers.

Others play important roles in these lives, including: Orso Vemmet, Moon Sostenti, and Dulcimer Standfast Coronal.  Some choose different sides, some change their minds.

Meanwhile, the Ansurrection war between The Pandominion and The Machines is escalating.  The machine worlds seem to be much more abundant than originally thought, and they seem to be winning.  Different worlds, different species, but all may be in trouble.


My Opinions:
A few pages in, and I was thinking...OMG, what have I got myself in to?  A science fiction novel that I won't understand every second word?  But then, It is M.R. Carey....He explains really well to people like me...who wouldn't know a sub-atomic particle if it hit me (if they do that).

Basically, it is a story of multiple universes, some with human-like creatures, some not so much.  Not all universes are created equal.  Some have already died, some are on the brink.  Some make use of Intelligent systems, some have not evolved that far.  But something is coming that may affect every universe.  The book is also about political gain, good vs evil, and friendships, and the struggles between different species, the struggles between ourselves, loyalty and doing what's right, not always what is easy.

I guess my favorite characters were Paz, and Hadiz.  Then there were Rupshe and Dulcie.  The rest were interesting, but some never grew on me, although I think a couple more may have some redeeming qualities to be discovered in the next book.

Again, it is a long book, and parts of it moved very slowly.  It always does when a new world  is being built, new characters/creatures being created, and new problems to solve.  Once again, Carey has excelled at these things.  I am looking forward to the next in the series, but I admit I'm going to read something a little lighter next!