#BlogTour - Infinity Gate by M. R. Carey

From the international bestselling M. R. Carey comes a thrilling novel set in the multiverse – the tale of humanity’s expansion across millions of dimensions, and the AI technology that might see it all come to an end . . .

INFINITY IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

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.

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. It could save everyone on her dying planet, but now she’s walked into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of.

And she needs to choose a side before it kills her.

Discover the spectacular first novel in The Pandominion – an exhilarating new science fiction duology from the author of the million-copy bestseller The Girl With All the Gifts. Perfect for fans of The Space Between Worlds, The Long Earth and Children of Time.

________________

M. R. Carey’s THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS was one of my favourite novels of the last several years, a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse theme, and his recent KOLI trilogy was an equally original variation on post-apocalyptic society, so it comes as no surprise that INFINITY GATE is an equally thrilling twist on a familiar trope. In his new novel we get Carey’s version of the multiverse.

Hadiz Tambuwal is a scientist striving for a solution to her world’s impending ecological disaster who accidentally stumbles upon Step technology, a way of travelling to an alternate earth. With the, initially unwelcome, help of an opinionated AI, Hadiz begins to use drones to collect data from other Earths, at least in the vicinity of her base in Lagos and, when she ultimately fails in her quest to prevent her planet’s environmental implosion, she makes a home on the reality most resembling her own.

Essien Nkanika lives by his wits on the streets of Lagos and does whatever it takes to live - working jobs others would avoid, stealing, working cons, prostitution. Initially using Essien for sex, possibly for company, Hadiz eventually takes him into her confidence, sharing with him her discovery of the multiverse. And, of course, even though he has no idea how it works, Essien decides to steal the technology for his own profit. And the Pandominion is watching.

The Pandominion controls commerce and facilitates movement across a federation of multiverse worlds. They force order through the Cielo, the largest military organisation in history. And they do not take kindly to unauthorised Step Technology…

INFINITY GATE is a fantastically exciting Sci-Fi novel which pays homage to Carey’s influences but does not imitate them. There are echoes of THE FOREVER WAR and STARSHIP TROOPERS in the depiction of the Cielo but, at least to me, Carey’s characters are more relatable, more human (even, maybe especially, in the case of Paz), than Haldeman’s or, particularly, Heinlein’s, and I love those novels. INFINITY GATE can stand alongside them.

Carey keeps the reader guessing, as to where the story will go next, but also in how we feel about the characters. The idea of infinite realities could be overwhelming but Carey writes in deceptively simple prose which draws the reader into an immersive narrative so that we always understand what is going on, even when we don’t know what’s going on. I loved it and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

________________

About the author:

M. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts was a word-of-mouth bestseller and is now a major motion picture based on his own screenplay. Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on Lucifer, Hellblazer and X-Men. His creator-owned series The Unwritten appeared regularly in the New York Times graphic fiction bestseller list. He also has several previous novels, games, radio plays, and TV and movie screenplays to his credit.