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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Book Review:Infinity Bell (House Immortal #2) by Devon Monk

Infinity Bell (House Immortal #2)
by Devon Monk
Paperback, 368 pages
Published March 3rd 2015 by Roc

Return to national bestselling author Devon Monk's heartpounding House Immortal series, where eleven powerful Houses control the world and all its resources. But now, the treaty between them has been broken, and no one—not even the immortal galvanized—is safe....

Matilda Case isn’t normal. Normal people aren’t stitched together, inhumanly strong, and ageless, as she and the other galvanized are. Normal people’s bodies don’t hold the secret to immortality—something the powerful Houses will kill to possess. And normal people don’t know that they’re going to die in a few days.

Matilda’s fight to protect the people she loves triggered a chaotic war between the Houses and shattered the world’s peace. On the run, she must find a way to stop the repeat of the ancient time experiment that gifted her and the other galvanized with immortality. Because this time, it will destroy her and everything she holds dear.

Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of lies, betrayal, and unseen foes, Matilda must fight to save the world from utter destruction. But time itself is her enemy, and every second brings her one step closer to disaster.


"Back to The Future" and the "Dark Tower" rolled into one harrowing science fiction paranormal episode! A race to find the glitch in time and save millions (and perhaps kill hundreds) of people at the same time. I believe this is the main premise of the story but the author made it a little difficult to find and follow a direct path to the conclusion. Whew...I really had a workout making sure I had my facts ( or her facts to be exact) straight and find a common thread to the story.

Matilda is a product of her genius brother's creation. A "galvanized." Dying of an incurable disease as a human, he makes her into a "patched" up humanoid made of her mind but a different body...(Frankenstein has nothing on her!). And there are 12 more of her kind. But where they came from I don't have a clue!

Imagine a world whose ruling heads are divided into factions, or "Houses" in this case, that are decidedly responsible for: defense, medical, technical, air, water, money, faith and—Hmmmm...starting to sound a little like having too many branches of government? All with their own agendas? The "heads" of these "Houses" convene to conspire about what must be done to control or contain the uprising of the "galvanized" population that they have been using as service labor and protection for many years. Even the futuristic ruling houses are not above sabotage and "golf course" politics.

Due to the deaths of two rulers of the Houses, they are hunting for Matilda, her brother and a couple accomplices who are on a mission to right a mistake that their grandfather made in calculating a "time warp" situation. Trying time travel is not a new idea in books and movies so making it interesting is the key to success. I am not sure the author hit that at 100%.

You really must pay attention in this story. It took me quite a few chapters to understand everyone's role and history (would probably have helped if I had read the first book in this series or the last few chapters first where the threads were more precisely explained). Even as a stand alone episode, the plot and storyline is filled with innuendos that would be easier understood with a little more background information in the beginning. A lot of exhausting running, hiding, near death injuries and experiences make up 90% of the reading. A dangerous chase across time and country ensue for the characters who are from a "House" that wants to remain apart from the otherwise ruling "Houses". Rather like wanting to withdraw from the Union and declaring a "civil war" on the rest of the world in a futuristic setting.

Video cameras and microphones are everywhere and all business, transportation and technology are controlled by the Ruling Houses. With no where to hide, Matilda and her Merry Band of Brothers seek help and solace anywhere they can. Can you really blame them? Who really wants to live "on the grid" where everyone and everything is controlled by a few department heads!

The danger and race to "fix time" is occasionally interrupted by some romantic passages and gives a new prospective about how to live for the moment and not "waste" opportunities when they present themselves but truthfully these parts felt a little awkward and unimportant to the story. To save her family and love interest, Matilda has to travel back in time and convince her (great, great, great) grandfather to fix a problem he unknowingly created! Oh...and all in about 5 hours...Geeze!

About half way through I found my footing and became engaged in the story of the "dissidents" and their fight to derail a possible catastrophic event and to pursue a life of autonomy for those who desire such. I just wasn't sold on the "Frankenstein" type characters as to their value in the story (unless it was to depict immortality). I felt there was some contradiction in initial descriptions of the characters and their ongoing displayed characteristics. Without giving anything away, the ending left me a little exhausted and I said to myself..."what the heck?!" That being said, I am still a "sucker" for "futuristic" stories and guess I might be interested enough to go back and read the first book hoping for a little clarification.

5 Sheep Review: House Immortal (House Immortal #1)

I give this book 3 sheep




Jeanie G

About the Author:
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Devon Monk has one husband, two sons, and a dog named Mojo. She writes the Allie Beckstrom urban fantasy series and the Age of Steam steampunk series, knits silly things, and lives in Oregon.

3 comments:

  1. FYI your Triberr posts are showing no content. Please check it out ~A

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    1. I don't know what you mean by that. I checked, but not sure what I'm looking for...

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