Review: disjointed and confused (WARNING: Book 1 spoilers)
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 11 2, 2010
The first book in the Infinion series established a good and original premise which had me anticipating the release of this sequel.  Book two begins 26 years in the future from the previous book just a few weeks from the approach of the series' all-important date Nov. 11, 2011.  It rapidly becomes clear that the Three Eleven Corporation has had an even more profound impact on the world in the last two and a half decades.  The beginning of the book offers some answers and builds good anticipation of what is going to happen between several of the central characters.  Unfortunately, many of these interactions fall flat.  Much was made in the first book of Adya's (Dawn's) call to motherhood and her extremely high IQ.  Although she has the education and experience of a master parent she is portrayed as a terrible mother in this second installment.  She seems very distant from her children, especially with the most important one who she neglects throughout the book.  I also got an overall impression that fatherhood is treated as inconsequential.  Dawn spends a good deal of the book pushing her lover completely out of her life while lamenting his distance.  Strange biases creep into the narrative.  At one point a character applauds himself thinking of himself as: "leaving behind typical Caucasian ignorance."  Not too subtle there.  And this guy is supposed to be a good guy, who happens to be Caucasian!Although the world's fateful day is approaching, it is hard to determine the passage of time here.  People are flying all over the world from this location to that location, often with little purpose or some obscure purpose.  It gives a very disjointed feel to the flow of the narrative when the reader is not sure why the characters are heading somewhere or what their next move should be.  At one point something happens that it would seem pretty important that the central characters react to but it seems not to be pursued to its natural conclusion at all.  During these tumultuous times for the planet, Dawn, the leader of Three Eleven essentially goes AWOL a couple of times during the book simply because she's upset about things going on.  She completely withdraws and provides no confidence to the rest of the Executive.  Three Eleven was ominous enough in the first book, but now has become terrifyingly powerful.  The corporation has effectively become a world government in the form of global nanny state controlling people's entertainment, food, money, technology, et cetera.  They are still presented as the good guys but they seem to have no redeeming qualities.  They keep people from having much junk food, or the latest technology.  The average person doesn't need the good stuff, right?  They may be trying to save the world but it is no longer a world people are free in.  Despite this the vast majority of the populace seems to be enthralled with the unrestricted intrusion of the corporation into most facets of their lives, to the point that many still express a desire to work for them!  The major exceptions to this are a man who blows things up and a crack pot conspiracy theorist.I am disappointed in the plot here.  We do learn much more about the plasmid and the threat to Earth and these things have some cool ideas thrown in there.  The concept has so much potential and even some new elements with much potential continue to be introduced here to Bell's credit.  But these are not able to overcome the fractured storytelling, deeply flawed characterizations, and scattered plot.  The train really flies off the tracks when Dawn goes and visits the buffalo spirits.  No, that's not a joke.  I'm a bit of a completist, so I'll still read the final installment for closure but it won't be with nearly the anticipation of this one.