Was not expecting this to be a duology vs a trilogy, but honestly, Carey wraps this really well. We get the movements of our group, who have now all come together, played out against the larger bureaucracy of horrors that are happening, and a route that I wasn't expecting for the ending. I ended up taking this in pretty big chunks, but this was still a hell of a read. Definitely worth your time if you read the first one.

Excellent! I had such a blast with the first book, and my only caveat was the infuriating cliffhanger of an ending. Echo of Worlds concludes the story and suffers from no such issue. This book kept the elements I loved, the adventure and sharp insights and witty lines (especially from Moon Sostenti), and kept me guessing. I did not see the twists and reveals coming, mostly, and was pleasantly surprised. I should add the disclaimer that despite loving Infinity Gate, what I remembered were broad strokes and I had to do quite a bit of rereading to bring me back up to speed on finer plot points--but I really didn't mind and enjoyed it as well the second time through.

I was given an ARC by the publisher and Netgalley, but I was absolut determined to read this after Infinity Gate, whether or not I got access to an advance copy, and I assure you that is has no bearing on my review. Plenty of fun and heist-y high stakes as our very oddball team tries to stop a war that will destroy life across hundreds, maybe thousands, of multiverse worlds inhabited by intelligent life. Recommended, strong four stars. .

The conclusion in the Pandominion duology, the first installment was Infinity Gate and it takes place directly after the ending. Humanity is at risk of extinction in a war with an AI civilization and the empire is desperately searching for a weapon that can help destroy them. M.R. Carey has done a terrific job taking readers on a crazy action packed scifi adventure where every character is expendable, no one has plot armor. Scifi nerds rejoice because this could be the series for you.

Wow, what an end to the duology! I have to say, the sequel for me actually outshines the first installment a bit. Carey has really done a lot here: really effective multi-POV storytelling, lots of excitement, meaningful diversity, and thoughtful treatment of ethical and philosophical questions. In the first book I found some POVs more compelling than others, but in this one each finds its place and they all work together well. I feel like everything about this duology feels very deliberate: nothing is filler, nothing is extra, everything works together toward the conclusion and what a conclusion it is. This duology is the first of Carey's work I've read and on this basis, I'll definitely be checking out more.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Content warnings: violence, war, murder, death, gun violence, blood, injury detail, discussion of genocide

A fantastic finish to a fantastic duology. We leave author M.R. Carey's Pandominion and our main characters greatly changed.

Rupshe informs the group she's pulled into their's and Hadiz' Tambuwal's world that the Pandominion and the Ansurrection have stepped up their attacks, with the entire multiverse is at peril. Rupshe has a plan that will send them all over the multiverse to locate the Mother Mass, a mysterious and immensely powerful, who could stop both empires from annihilating everything.

The reluctant team consists of:
-Essien Nkanika, a former con artist then Cielo private trying to atone for his mistakes,
-Moon Sostenti, a Cielo corporal furious that a young lagomorph bested her, and Rusphe yanked her into a plan where Moon feels it best to eradicate the machine intelligences, and failing that, get blisteringly drunk
-Topaz Tourmaline Fivehills, an idealistic girl on the run from the Cielo
-Dulcie Coronal, a former spy for the Ansurrection, now firmly on Paz's side, and confined to a damaged anima, and
-Hadiz Tasmbuwal, a digital copy of the deceased physicist, confined to a box.

They must make multiple, extremely dangerous forays to other worlds, picking up much needed supplies and information, each Step taking them a little closer to their goal. Every trip heightens their danger, as Moon knows that it's just a matter of time before the Cielo track the team back to their base.

Carey doesn't miss a beat in this tense narrative, easily blending worldbuilding, action, humour and weighty philosophical questions without them feeling weighty into a narrative that picks up just after the end of book one of this series and leads nonstop to an unexpected and welcome conclusion.

Along the way, I fell even more in love with all the characters, though, the standout was the magnificent Paz, who comes up with important ideas, finds ways to connect with strangers, improvises well, and shows a level of unexpected toughness that I had not expected when I first met the formerly naïve, soft hearted girl. She retains her compassion and kindness throughout, while Essien and Moon find theirs, and Paz and Dulcie make some incredibly difficult decisions, which lead to the surprising and well-earned resolution to this terrific story.

Thank you to Netgally and to Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I love that Carey jumps around genre and tries new things. The Book of Koli vs the Pandominion vs Girl with All the Gifts are so wildly different, but the one thing they have in common is excellent and creative writing. I liked his attempt at a space opera lot and await his next adventure.

I thoroughly enjoyed this follow up book in the Pandominion series. An interesting play on what it means to be sentient and the perils of rigid thought. A hopeful inspiration for the future.

Brilliant conclusion to the mammoth story started in book one. I'm in full agreement with the blurb on the cover, this series is an absolute treat for sci-fi readers, just ensure you pick this when you have the time, since it might be a great ride, not an easy one.

This picks up basically right where Infinity Gate left off, and as such, jumps into the action almost right away. The first book had a lot to do in terms of world-building and character introductions, making it the build-up and Echo of Worlds the payoff, which made me enjoy the latter a bit more.. I loved seeing even more action in the plot this time around (which, though I did like Infinity Gate, makes me appreciate it more now). I also appreciated the characters’ continued development, despite the relatively short period of time the book seemingly takes place in. Even with the myriad of threads the story is keeping ahold of, none of that is sacrificed for the plot.

While the plot and characters are great, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the themes, which are just as grand in scope as the story they inhabit, while also recognizable on the individual level. Selfhood (seen both in oneself and in others), choice, and which means are justified in achieving a greater end become throughlines seamlessly woven into the story’s structure.

All told, this was an excellent end to the Pandominion duology. With as broad of a scope as this story took, I definitely wouldn’t mind if M.R. Carey returned to and explored more of this universe (or multiverse, in this case) in the future. There is such great potential for that.

Much as I loved the first book in this duology, Echo of Worlds surpassed it both in reader engagement and in story development. There is a mounting sense of urgency here that compelled me to keep reading well beyond my usual sleep time, because I felt the burning need to *know* what happened next. The characters offer a diverse, intriguing mix of personalities and I loved how they morphed from the initial bunch of strangers thrown together by circumistances into a cohesive group ready to sacrifice anything to avoid total disaster. A story that will remain with me for a very long time. Highly recommended.

Last year, I described the opening book in M.R. Carey’s Pandominion duology as being exactly what you want in an epic series-opener. It set up the world, introduced the key players, and put them in position for a thrilling, high-stakes finish. And that finish comes good in the final installment, Echo of Worlds. 

[Note: while this is officially a review of the second book of the duology, it is truly the second half of one larger story, and as such, I have tried to write the review in a way that avoids major spoilers and is comprehensible to a reader who has not read the first book—more succinctly, this is a duology review in disguise as a book review]

Infinity Gate introduces readers to the Pandominion, a multiverse-spanning empire whose constituent worlds feature intelligent creatures with ancestry from various corners of the animal kingdom, albeit largely anthropomorphic. It introduces the three main characters from three versions of Lagos—a scientist from our world, a human soldier from a far-flung alternate universe, and a teenager with leporine ancestry who grew up steeped in Pandominion culture. It also introduces the Pandominion to another multiverse-spanning empire, one made entirely of machines. It is no spoiler to say that conflict is inevitable, but the bulk of book one is spent on fascinating dives into the backgrounds of those three key figures and developing their connection to the conflict. In book two, all that’s left is saving the world(s). 

I am a reader who tends to enjoy character-driven setup much more than action-heavy payoff, and as such, Infinity Gate was very much my speed. For all that it sets up a conflict of staggering scale and introduces a multiverse, it is much heavier on the character development and relatively light on worldbuilding and politics. And with the quality of characterization on display, that was absolutely fine by me. 

In Echo of Worlds, however, the focus shifts significantly away from characterization and onto the plan to save the world. And as Carey remains an excellent writer, the book stays interesting throughout. It’s well-paced, with plenty of unforeseen difficulties preventing easy solutions, it stays true to the characters as established in the first book, and it pays off some of the mysteries of book one—like the identity of the narrator who uses first-person in the prologue before shifting to third for the remainder of the book.  

But apart from the identity of the narrator, there aren’t many more mysteries to pay off, and while the characters are all well-drawn, they haven’t reached the “I’d read about their grocery shopping” level that longer series sometimes unlock. Of course, saving the world is more interesting than grocery shopping, and there are enough unexpected obstacles and gut-wrenching choices that it doesn’t quite feel like a mere jump from action sequence to action sequence. But the fact remains that it is a book almost entirely dedicated to executing an intricate and dangerous plan. Engaging? Absolutely. But for a reader like me, not quite at the level of the first book. 

On the whole, it’s still a series I’d recommend, and given the minimal time gap between the first and second books, I imagine readers picking up the duology today will have an easier time than those who waited 15 months between installments. But for me, Echo of Worlds was good, whereas Infinity Gate was where the magic happened. 

Recommended if you like: epics. 

Overall rating: 15 of Tar Vol’s 20 for the second book alone, 16 for the duology as a whole.

The second half of M. R. Carey’s Pandominion series, Echo of Worlds (paper from Orbit) has a very satisfying ending Infinity Gate (paper) introduced the two multiverse empires ready for a war that will purge both sets of alternate Earths. Pandominion is biologically based and the Ansurrection is built on machine intelligence and the two cannot communicate. Hadiz Tambuwal, a scientist who discovered the multiverse from her own world destroyed by a nuclear war, and who has had her mind copied into a box. Together with her supercomputer Rupshe and two soldiers . an ex-agent from the mechanical world, and Topaz, a school girl from a rabbit run world, they have decided to try to stop that war. There is a super-intelligent plant that covers its Earth called Mother Mass, that may have the ability to broker peace between both sides, but the Pandominion has hidden its location. So they have the impossible task of locating Mother Mass and then going to its Earth. I really enjoyed this ending, which was not what I expected. Highly recommended.

Echo of Worlds is the follow up to M.R. Carey’s excellent Infinity Gate, which returns us to the battle of the multiverse. And it doesn’t disappoint. The series features rich world building (umm I guess world(s) building is more accurate), a wonderful collection of unique characters, some excellent action scenes, an interesting, thought-provoking storyline, and is a satisfying conclusion to the Pandominion duology. I know multiverse stories have been quite popular as of late, both in books and movies, but this one is truly unique and quite the enjoyable adventure. I’d like to thank Orbit Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Echo of Worlds.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1FRHDWK4MBCEA/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Around the 25% mark, I really thought I would negatively review this book because of a plot device. I should have had more faith in Carey; not only did everything turn out okay, but the book, which falls solidly into the hard Scifi genre, turned out amazingly and dazzlingly fantastic. All the characters we met in Infinity Gate team up in this concluding second half, and though the first installment had a rough beginning, Echo of Worlds boasts all action and storyline. No info dump. No lag. All pure rocket propulsion from one end of the book to the other.

The beautiful ragtag group we meet in Infinity Gate gets friendly and familiar in this one. The found family trope holds a solid place in the top 5 of my favorite tropes list, and Carey does the trope here with a massive amount of style. None of the folks in this group should form a cohesive unit. Moon hates everyone. Nkanika feels a sense of loyalty toward Tambuwal because of past circumstances. Paz and Dulcie make a completely odd pair: one is a machine spy and the other is quite a young and innocent self. And Rupshe—can Rupshe really be trusted?

I honestly thought this one would have a deus ex machine solution for the conflict in the book—early on, I really did think it would go that way, and I lost a bit of interest in anticipation. I stuck with the book, though, and ended up rewarded for my efforts because the ending was brilliant—though I felt I could have had a bit more details in the “epilogues,” but I can’t help that; I just love the characters so much.

Overall, 5 beautiful stars/5. The solid pacing and fantastic characters really made the book so enjoyable for me. Though it was particularly hard on the science, I find I don’t mind that so much in my Scifi as long as there’s a compelling story as the carrier, and Echo of Worlds really brought the story. Infinity Gate was a bit of a slog for me, as the whole first half of the book dumped a lot of info and didn’t really get anywhere. Even so, I bought a copy of the book because loads of people tout Carey as amazing, and a bunch of Scifi nerds can’t be all wrong at the same time.

My thanks to Orbit and Hachette via NetGalley for the eARC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

Echo of Worlds was a far more cohesive book than the first one of this series. Much of the worldbuilding and set up from the first starts to pay off. This is an instance where the sequel is better than first book! I’m just sad that now I have to wait for more.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid conclusion to the duology, I will definitely be recommending this to my fellow reader friends! Reminded me a bit of Tchaikovsky, one of my favorite authors.
Things I liked:
-I enjoyed the characters and their arcs throughout this book and the series. They were well rounded and each had their own voice so that they felt distinct from the others
-I always enjoy non-human POVs and I thought that the author did a good job conveying the ways that the non-humans think in an interesting and cohesive way.
-The worldbuilding and the scientific elements were done well. I enjoyed the expansion of the ideas presented in the first book
Things I didn't like:
-Pacing felt a bit off. Thought the beginning was slow and the end was fast. I wish we had spent more time focusing on the events that happened at the end of the book and less on the events at the beginning.
-I was kind of annoyed at a few of the characters decisions. I felt like a lot of things could've been avoided if certain decisions were different. I understood the reasons behind the choices and they made sense with who the characters are but I feel like there may have been better ways to go about the decisions.

Echo of Worlds by M.R. Carey is a science fiction novel, looking into AI technology, and the second (and final) 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 Background:    
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. The Registry has created "step plates" to move between universes.  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.  Human vs machine consciousness.



My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
They are at war.  Coordinator Melusa Baxemides is called in to develop a plan to end all machines.  She is looking at various experimental weapons and programs (collectively called Robust Rebuke).  She is not having a lot of luck.

Enter Professor Kavak Dromishel.  He is an organic chemist with a background in cybernetic research.  He is now largely concentrating his work on weapons research, and he feels he has the solution (although it has been somewhat tried before).  Baxemides lets him run with it.

Meanwhile, on another world, physicist Hadiz Tambuwal finds herself a remnant of the woman she was before she was shot at very close range.  Having lost her body, her memories are in a "Second Thoughts" box, and she now sees and interacts with the world through the eyes of a drone.  Along with Moon Sostenti (a cat-like enhanced soldier of the Cielo that doesn't really want to be here), Essien Nkanika (a human ex-soldier who is trying to atone), Topaz  (Paz) Tourmaline FiveHills (a child, and descendent of a rabbit), and Dulcimer Coronal (a robot spy that looks like a toy Paz once held), they are travelling through the much-changed world of Lagos.  Hadiz is in communication with Rupshe, a powerful AI housed in the university campus.

Rupshe believes in the Scour.  that all the planets are doomed, and they may all end at one time.  That's why the group has been brought together.  To prevent complete destruction of both Pandominion and AI.  Rupshe believes that perhaps Mother Mass (a neutral world) may be able to help them.  They just have to find her.

Both Pandominon and the Machine World both have a plan....but those plans will be the end everything.  Rupshe's group is determined to stop that end.


My Opinions:
Again, I realized this was going to be a long book, and I admit that every now and then -  I skimmed.  Not that it wasn't interesting, because it really was.   Carey's work is awe-inspiring.  Thankfully for those of us that don't always "get" science fiction, he simplifies things, and he did so again in this second book.

So, as a continuation of the first book, this one looked at two "species" at war.  Machine vs human.  It also looked at a small group of individuals (a mixture of human, AI, robots, and others  who fear for the lives of all.  It also looked at friendship and loyalty.  And it tackled some hard truths....will generations learn from the past?

I continued to love Paz and Hadiz (my favorites from the first book).  I grew to love Dulcie and Essien.   Although Rupshe, Moon and Vemmet had some redeeming qualities, I still struggled to like or trust them.

Again, another long, slow-moving book, but Carey brought the series to a rather satisfying conclusion.

The Pandominion duology, I am happy to report, wraps up well.

Everything I liked about the first book, *Infinity Gate*, carries through here. Good characters, interesting world building, and thorough consideration of the implications of all the science-fiction at work. All good, and all familiar to those who read book 1.

I don’t honestly know how I was expecting the conflict between the Pandominion and the Machine Hegemony to be resolved - if I had any ideas when I read book 1 I’ve forgotten them. But I know I didn’t expect the end that happened. Obviously I’ll say no more because of spoilers.

The identity of the narrator was another unknown from book 1. The mystery around it reminded me strongly of the Broken Earth trilogy. The reveal here wasn’t quite as good as what Jemisin was able to pull off, but it still was very good. Didn’t see that one coming until very late in the book.

What struck me from a writing perspective is just how well and how thoroughly Carey used the Chekov’s Gun principle. He planned this duology out very thoroughly; nothing done in the first book was wasted. Everything I expected to matter from book 1 mattered in book 2. Many things I did *not* expect to matter from book 1 mattered in book 2. The sheer economy of it was extremely impressive. And I suspect a result of Carey’s extensive history writing comics, if I had to guess.

I’ve been a Carey fanboy for a long time now, and nothing in this book changed that.

A thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying close to the story that began in Infinity Gate, with all the science fiction action and adventure you could possibly ask for and further exploration of the fascinating setting that the previous book established. As a fan of The Long Earth and Children of Time, this was pretty much everything I could ask for when it comes to this particular corner of the science fiction world, and I'll be handing the series to anyone who is looking for a good sci-fi story.

This is very spectaculer from Carey's work. I really interest with multiverse genre and want to explore more novels with this genre. Apocalypse, the end of humanity, is really get me thrilled.