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120 of 122 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nick surprised and highly entertained me..., May 26, 2010
This review is from: Infinity: Chronicles of Nick (Hardcover)
While I feel INFINITY loses no value as a YA novel if you haven't read the Dark-Hunter novels, I am already entangled in the adult life of Nick as I'm an avid reader of said DH series. This is why perhaps my review probably will make more sense to those who are also familiar to this series.
When I heard Nick's back-story would be told in a Young Adult series I promised myself I would buy INFINITY and my reading experience would decide whether or not I would continue buying and reading this series. I'm not an avid reader of the YA genre and the only reason I bought INFINITY was because it was connected to the Dark-Hunter series and the fact that Nick is still one of my favorite characters. This was my mind-set before I understood that the Chronicles of Nick would also reveal secrets regarding characters such as Cherise and especially Jaden and Jared. It makes reading this chronicle more of a necessity if I want to understand the whole Dark-Hunter arc of Jaden.
When I received my copy of INFINITY my everlasting curiosity spurred me on to crack the spine and I began to read immediately. I met Nick as we got to know him in the early days of the Dark-Hunter series, only a bit younger. His mother, Cherise, is a stripper trying to make a living for herself and her son in New Orleans. She teaches him to be honorable, but when your peers know what your mother does for a living, and you have a shirt on your back with fishes in neon colors, it is hard to get by in high school. It is why Nick cloaks himself in a devil may care attitude and give lip the moment someone makes a snarky comment. However, the fairer sex also has his undivided attention and his desire to charm them is present at the core. Then one night he is invited to join a few friends for some delinquent activities and he almost crosses a barrier. It is also the night he got beat up by his so called friends and the night he is saved by Kyrian Hunter. From this moment on there is no normal anymore in Nick's life and it all begins with the choice he made that night. The first day he goes back to school zombies create havoc on the grounds...
Nick's vivid personality, his cunning ways and his acerbic sarcasm pulled me in and I was surprised at how the story development kept my unwavering attention. Nick is a teenager who knows the rough side of life, he has a chip on his shoulder, an attitude to match, he loves his mother above all and has a penchant for trouble. If that isn't all, he enters the world of Dark-Hunters, Were-Hunters and all things that go bump in the night. Even though Nick is a teenager in this series all the things I like and love about his persona are already present in this Chronicle starter.
The story begins from an uncomplicated angle where the focus lies on Nick's school life and his relationship with his mother. It is largely due to Sherrilyn Kenyon's way of writing and letting me be a part of Nick's inner thoughts that instantly grabbed my attention. Nevertheless, as the story progressed, as more characters got introduced and the plot thickens it loses some of that easy going charm and bantering dialogues. There were a few characters who I already met in the Dark-Hunter series like; Kyrian Hunter and Acheron but also the younger cast of characters is not without its familiar faces like Tad and Tabitha Deveraux. It really feels like traveling back in time and meeting all these characters only that much younger but with the same attitudes. Still, there is one new character who really got to me and that is Nekoda Kennedy, a.k.a Kody. She has an interest in Nick that is not all teenage lovey-dovey and it involves so much more than meets the eye. Kenyon also ups the ante with a few plot twists that really infuses this series with major possibilities for Nick's character development. It gives a new perspective for the future of Nick and one that really excites me. It was an element in this book that caught me by surprise, next to the well-paced flow of the story it was something that held my undivided attention. The dialogues between Acheron and Nick are some of the best in this book but I must admit, I got lots of snappy bantering and humorous dialogues between a multitude of characters like only Sherrilyn Kenyon can deliver.
Next to meeting all the characters, getting all sorts of titillating information about Nick, the great interaction and humor, it is the zombie plotline that was probably the least thing that interested me. It is the origin of how teenager's got turned in to zombies that was just lost to me and I just couldn't surrender myself to that fact, which was probably a glitch of the adult me. What it did do is provide a turn of events which introduced Nick to a whole new world, he finds out all sorts of background info on some of the golden boys at his school and even some of his friends. Bubba and Mark are probably some of the most prominent supportive characters whose view on life and fighting zombies will make you grin.
If young adult readers find themselves introduced to Kenyon's characters and world in INFINITY then I think they will have a blast. Nothing is present to really make the reader think they're missing something, everything is present; from a main character who alternates his humor, sarcasm and charm with also his teenage fears, confusions and hopes for the future. A plot arc that fascinates and many characters who add their own personality flavor. A huge entertainment factor for me was to meet characters like Nick, Acheron, Tabitha and Kyrian again but I was caught off guard by how the story kept me in its grip. I couldn't stop reading and while I started at night, you can bet by the next evening I was finished, already contemplating how things would advance in future installments.
INFINITY was the kind of story where I expected nothing but turned out to be a surprising and highly entertaining read. Some YA elements might not catch on with me but I feel that Sherrilyn Kenyon set-up a dynamic and intriguing angle to one of the most beloved characters in the Dark-Hunter series. I'm confident Nick will find its way to many readers, both in the YA genre as for the fans of the DH series.
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44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blows Twilight Away, May 27, 2010
This review is from: Infinity: Chronicles of Nick (Hardcover)
As a die-hard DH fan, I had SERIOUS trepidation about this book. I have to say the last few books that followed after Acheron up to now were painful reads. Painful and frustrating. So, when Kenyon decided to jump on the Twilight bandwagon with teen paranormal fiction/romance, I'd pretty much thrown in the towel. I honestly didn't think we could get a good story without hot Dark Hunters traversing the streets of Anytown, USA and I was furious with Kenyon for MONTHS over what I was sure was going to be a literary debacle.
Okay, I was wrong and I take it all back.
Firstly, for those of you moaning about "eww, it's YA", read the dang cover! Sherri has said for MONTHS this was teen fiction, so man up and deal with it. Blame yourself for not keeping up with the DH Universe.
Secondly, the book was flipping awesome. It was PURE Sherri from cover to cover. It has everyone in the DH Universe we all know and love plus some really new and interesting characters, too. THIS is what teen fiction should be, a nonstop roller-coaster ride with unexpected curves, dips and twists that keeps you turning pages. Though it's toned down for the teen audience, don't think that Sherri compromised on wit, humor, or action. It's all there. It's the old Sherri we know from before Acheron. (Not sure what happened to the books after that, but I'll forgive her anything because Infinity flippin' rocks!)
Thirdly, the CD set is narrated by Holter Graham. HOW MUCH BETTER CAN IT GET? I haven't been this happy over a DH book SINCE Acheron. Finally, some teen fiction that has soul, character development, humor. It doesn't take itself seriously like Twilight (die already!) or Vampire Academy. Infinity blows them ALL out of the water and I feel the DH fever again.
You proved me wrong, Sherri. I'm sorry I lost faith in you, but you came through, babe. You nailed it with Infinity!
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29 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Up To Par, May 31, 2010
This review is from: Infinity: Chronicles of Nick (Hardcover)
I am an avid fan of the DH series, and I am 17, so I thought a YA series from DH would not be out of my range. However, the writing of this particular book could be described as flawed at best.
I cannot stress enough that I love the writings of Sherrilyn Kenyon, but Infinity was murky. Ananchronisms popped out in several places. The year had to have been 1995 or before due to the age of Nick mentioned in the DH series. Kyrian gives young Nick a cell phone, and then tells him not to text too much. No one had even heard of texting $10,000 worth of cell phone bills in 1995.
Neither Acheron's nor Cherise' characters were kept consistent. Ash literally confided in a fourteen year old boy who had an unpenetrable mind, and he did so within minutes of meeting him. Cherise was constatnly screeching at Nick, and that got old quickly. In the DH series she was much more three-dimensional.
There were also a few Twilight-worthy uncomfortable moments for the reader. Nick kisses a girl and it feels so awkward when it is being described as something so wonderful. If the point of the series is to attract male readers, the quasi-romantic scenes may drive them away.
The most unforgivable thing to me is that she bascially voids part of the DH series. Nick is trying to change his past, and in one particular spot he succeeds very, very well. I do not want to mention more so I don't spoil the book, but, after reading Infinity, it seems like everything after Seize the Night needs to be re-written. I am certain the Writer Goddess has a plan, but I don't think it is a good thing when a spinoff destroys the last half of the original series.
There were good things too! She added several new characters who I adored -Bubba and Mark-, the plotline is actually pretty good -unless you've read the DH series, in which case some things will be clearer to you and others will be very, very, confusing-, and each successive hundred pages gets better and better! Also, the book was as humorous as her previous ones, albeit in a censored kind of way.
For Infinity, buy the book, but keep your receipt handy in case you want to return it. My loyalty to SK and certainty that the issues will be cleared up -at least not repeated as blatantly- keeps me from returning my copy.
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