Infinity Gate
The Pandominion, book 1
by M.R. Carey
INFINITY IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds. Except that they’re really just one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an A.I. threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they’ll eradicate it by whatever means necessary.
Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a solution to her own Earth’s environmental collapse when she stumbles across the secret of inter-dimensional travel, a secret that could save everyone on her dying planet. It leads her into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of. And she needs to choose a side before every reality pays the price.
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.
Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book
LessthanThreeD 