Infinity (The Chronicles of Nick) - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Infinity (The Chronicles of Nick) is Sherrilyn Kenyon’s first YA novel that will tie in with her adult, Dark-Hunter series. This is the first book that I have read by this author but I have been told that this series will be prequels for the Dark-Hunter series, where Nick is a main character. The Chronicles of Nick will run until the timeline mixes with the Dark-Hunter novels. Because of this, I will be reading this series first and then going into Dark-Hunters, although you don’t really have to in order to follow what’s going on.

Plot
Nick Gautier is 14 and although he comes from a bad neighbourhood with barely any money, he thinks he knows everything. Unfortunately, his mother has other ideas and is determined to dress him and teach him the difference between right and wrong. She doesn’t want Nick to grow up being anything like his father who is now in prison. Everyone at school picks on him and makes fun of the clothes he wears, causing Nick to get into trouble and the blame always falling on him.

After being suspended from school for a fight that he didn’t start, Nick runs into some friends needing some help. When Nick realises what they really want help with, he refuses which results in his so called friends nearly killing him. Luckily for Nick, a dark and mysterious warrior saves him. When the hospital bills are too much for Nick and his mother to pay, Kyrian offers to let Nick work off the bills. What Nick doesn’t realise is that he is about to be working for Immortals who will risk everything to save humanity. Nick knew that there were some bad people in the world but nothing compares to what he is about to deal with.

What I thought of…

The story
I bought this book thinking that it was going to be 100% serious, especially after reading the synopsis/ looking at the cover. The story began by giving me time to get to know and like Nick, which I did and then delving into what was really going on. It doesn’t take Nick long to get in trouble and have his so called friends turn on him so there is quite a bit of action in the beginning. After this, I thought that the story was going to be about Nick and what he is/ what Acheron and Kyrian are and what everyone’s part in the story was. I was so wrong.

I didn’t mention it in the synopsis as I didn’t want to give too much away but after the beginning, it is revealed that students are turning into zombies are eating the other students. You’re probably thinking WTH now, just as I was when I got to this part. Don’t get me wrong, I really did enjoy this part of the story but it came completely out of no where. I think I would have been happier if something about this had been mentioned on the back of the book as I think the synopsis is quite misleading. This part of the book was like something out of a zombie apocalypse film but a 12 rated one. The middle of this book is a lot of fun and everyone acts like you would expect 14 year olds to act…with the addition of some serious weapons.

The ending does get back to being quite serious which I was glad about. Towards the end of the book, more about what Nick is and what he can really do is revealed, giving hints at what we have to come in future books in the series. Instead of being left with a huge cliff-hanger, the ending was nicely rounded up and left me feeling very satisfied after everything that had happened.

The characters
Nick is cocky, full of himself at times but really funny with it. I think this was mainly a cover a lot of the time. Nick has had to deal with some pretty hard times in his 14 years but tries to cover his pain and anger by showing extreme confidence when things aren’t going well. There were many times throughout this book that I just couldn’t believe that Nick was only 14. I think that if he had been made to be 16, I would have believed some of it a bit more but I guess being 14 was used to fit with the Dark-Hunter series.

Something that I loved about Nick was how family orientated his is. His mother is a stripper (yes, a stripper) and doesn’t earn much money so Nick does everything he can to help her out, even though he usually ends up getting in her way and annoying her. All his mother wants is for him to grow up and be successful in something and keep himself out of trouble, which is something that she’s beginning to realise might not happen due to his answering back. The conversations between Nick and his mother were really funny and very realistic for a teenage boy to have. Between the back chat and minor arguments, you can easily tell how much they love one another, making it a special relationship to read about.

Bubba and Mark were two of my favourite characters because they were just so unbelievable but hilarious at the same time. Bubba owns a shop where he will attempt to fix any problem. He might fix a computer that wont work with a chainsaw for instance. Who knows what kind of crazy ideas are in his head. Mark is Bubba’s co-worked but just as crazy. When Nick and his friends realise what is causing the Zombie attacks, Bubba and Mark are the first port of call to figure out what to do. No one else in town is going to have any idea how to stop them or have the most insane weapons to do it with. These two characters provided so much humour that I was literally laughing out loud when they were around.

Here is Bubba’s sales pitch for his shop:
‘Computer Problems?
Dial 1-888-Ca-Bubba
If I can’t take care of your problems one way…
I’ll take care of them anotha’

We tend to all manner of ills for you. Zombies, rodents, and vampires. If you got a pest, we got a cure. Just call us now. We will believe you’.

The supernatural beings were also great characters. Acheron and Kyrian can really kick some ass and come across as people you really wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley at any time. From what I understand, Acheron is a big part of the Dark-Hunter series so I know there will be more of him to come in this series. I really liked the fact that they weren’t totally lovely to Nick all of the time. Although they are being shown as saviours at the moment, I think that is something that will change in future books due to how they act and some of the things they say.

The Simi was another character that I loved from the supernatural side. I’m not completely sure what she is but I do know that she likes blood and killing things. Oh, and BBQ sauce. Simi acts really childish with things like “You threaten him and you make the Simi really unhappy and want to eat your head”, but at the same time, she is just too funny with it. She was my favourite character overall and now, I want one of my own (so long as she wouldn’t want to eat me though).

The only real problem I had with the characters in the book was that there were so many. I had a problem following who was who and which side they were on for a little while. I guess that if you have read the Dark-Hunter series then you will be familiar with some of the characters but if not, it might end getting a little confusing.

Overall
Infinity was not what I was expecting to read at all but I enjoyed it in an extremely strange way. I didn't completely love it though because of how the story evolved. If it had been more straight forward then I think I would have liked it a lot more. I think if you read the back of the book, then pretty much forget it all and keep an open mind about what you are about to read, then you might like this one. Infinity is a interesting mixture of comedy, teen rebellion and a deep and mysterious back-story that entertained me throughout.

Book 2 in the Chronicles of Nick is being released in 2011 and will be called Invincible.