Infinity Alchemist (Infinity Alchemist, #1)
Kacen Callender
Infinity Alchemist is a spellbinding novel about a quest that leads three young alchemists toward unexpected love and unimaginable power. For Ash Woods, practicing alchemy is a crime. Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic―so when Ash is rejected by the Lancaster Mage’s College, he takes a job as the school’s groundskeeper instead, forced to learn alchemy in secret. When he’s discovered by the condescending and brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he's about to be arrested―but instead of calling the reds, Ramsay surprises Ash by making him an offer: Ramsay will keep Ash's secret if he helps her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power. As Ash and Ramsay work together and their feelings for each other grow, Ash discovers their mission is more dangerous than he imagined, pitting them against influential and powerful alchemists―Ash’s estranged father included. Ash’s journey takes him through the cities and wilds across New Anglia, forcing him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he and other alchemists will go to seize it. Featuring trans, queer, and polyamorous characters of color, Infinity Alchemist is the hugely anticipated young adult fantasy debut from the extraordinary author of Felix Ever After, King and the Dragonflies, Queen of the Conquered and more.
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0**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**
Kacen Callendar has their young adult fantasy debut with Infinity Alchemist. Readers follow Ash as he navigates a world where unlicensed alchemy, the only kind available to him, is illegal. As Ash stumbles into an opportunity to be formally taught alchemy, he also begins to see the webs of secrets and corruption on which his society is built. It doesn't take long for Ash to realize that these secrets could easily cost the lives of Ash, his friends, and whole cities worth of people.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I wanted to DNF around 35%, but powered through. Things did get better, but overall I found this reading experience to be a bit cluttered.
First, I recognize I am not the target age demographic for this book. But also, I'm not sure if that would make much difference given the issues I had. I found the pacing to be incredibly uneven. The start was slow and full of dense info-dumping, then falling into an action-filled zealous middle space, and a tidy little wrap up within the last 30ish pages. There was certainly room left for a sequel, but the combined effect of this pacing was unsatisfying. Ash was a frustrating, hot-headed character, but he is young and stupid, as so many are at his age. Ramsay was equally this sort of character, to me, which compounded the issue. Conceptually, the book should have been amazing, but the execution seemed to fall a bit short for me.
What I liked was the representation of queerness. Ash is transmasc and Ramsay is gender fluid, often shifting gender identity day by day. Both characters were handled with the appropriate respect both by the author and, for the most part, by other characters as well. I also liked the introduction of potential for a polyamorous triad with Callum and the way the three characters were open to each other.
I do hope this book finds its audience, but I think that readers who frequent the fantasy genre may share my frustrations. I look forward to exploring Callendar's backlist as I have heard wonderful things about their other works.
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