Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender
Book Review by Kristine Madera
The Infinity Alchemist is fundamentally about love—romantic, interpersonal, universal, and love for humanity. Like all good books, this thread is woven through characters and story, focusing on a young aspiring and as-yet unlicensed alchemist Ash Woods. Ash gets caught practicing alchemy by the pariah Ramsay Thorne, a gifted young alchemist whose parents killed scores of people to harness alchemical power. Instead of turning Ash in, the gender-shifting Ramsay offers to keep Ash’s secret if he helps Ramsay find the legendary Book of Source that gives the holder unfathomable power.
As Ash and Ramsay grow closer alchemically and romantically, they release immense alchemical power, which leads to disaster. Enter Ramsay’s ex, Callum, a guard who is also a secret alchemist. Through adventures, danger, and seeming betrayals, Ash, Callum and eventually Ramsay search for the Book of Source before power-hungry others can get their hands on it. As they travel, the three grow closer, each twosome with a unique emotional intimacy, and the three together try to figure out how to expand their relationship and emotional intimacy as a polyamorous threesome.
Infinity Alchemist is the latest by acclaimed author Kacen Callender, author of Felix Ever After, King and the Dragonflies, Queen of the Conquered, and others. Infinity Alchemist is Callender’s first YA fantasy, and is a very worthwhile read!
NOTE: I try to find author interviews about the book I reviewed to post with the review, but Infinity Alchemist is so new I haven’t seen one yet. When I do, I’ll post it. Stay tuned!
About Kristine
Kristine Madera is an Amazon #1 bestselling author who writes fiction and nonfiction shaped by travel, culture, and lived cross-cultural experience.
Inspired while volunteering at Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta, her novel God in Drag examines what happens when spiritual faith fractures in the sacred city of Varanasi. Read the first chapter of God in Drag HERE
She birthed her upcoming novel, The Snakeman’s Wife, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Papua New Guinea.
Be on the lookout for her Etiquette Express Guides, a series of short, practical travel guides that help readers understand the customs, social expectations, and everyday dos and don’ts that make travel smoother and more connected.
Her travels have taken her across India, Asia, Europe, Australia, and Papua New Guinea as both a backpacker and Peace Corps Volunteer. A portion of her book proceeds supports cross-cultural education scholarships.