Celadon Books
400 Pages
There is an old adage: “Never judge a book by its cover.” With Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor I did exactly that. Sometimes it ends up being a welcome surprise, while other times they’re disappointing. This time, the book fits neither. In fact, I’m not sure where I would put this book. While I didn’t love it, I wasn’t disappointed by it, either. I will admit that I was expecting something a bit more on the sci-fi side when I picked up this book from the Lockport Public Library. My expectations were not even close to reality.
Ultimately, this book seems like a love story set against a story about modern, technology startups. Once I started reading, I thought maybe the technology that the characters were developing would, or could, lead into the science-fiction realm that I had been hoping for. Instead, this was about character development and a burgeoning love story that had many bumps, bruises, and tragedy. This novel is a slow burn, taking a long time to build. There were points where I started to lose interest, waiting for something to happen. That’s never a good sign for a book. However, in the end, the human element won me over.
Zoe is the daughter of an MIT professor, who obviously sees women in science as inferior to men like himself and his son. Zoe is relegated throughout most of the book to trying to gain her father’s approval while attempting to pursue her dreams successfully. Meanwhile, Jack has caught her attention. With several detours, it seems like they are meant to be with each other. In real life, there are often events and people who distract you from your destiny. Such is the case with this book.
The biggest detraction for this book was the lack of action in the narrative. Just when it seemed like something was going to happen, we get stuck in neutral. Sure, it's on the hill so we get momentum, but it’s minimal. At the same time, Zoe’s development is greater than Jack’s. Jack remains mostly one-dimensional. This book had a lot of potential, and it only made it part of the way. I did like Zoe’s development, especially her relationship between her parents and her brother. I wish there was a bit more speculative fiction to it, but that was probably a holdover from my initial mistake of believing that this novel would border on science-fiction.
I wanted to like Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor. I did enjoy it, despite the struggles to stay focused during the early parts of the book. In casual conversation, this book would not make it into the talk, but if someone asked me directly, I would say that it was a good start to the book. If she decides to write more, I hope that she builds off the solid foundation that she’s constructed with this novel. It could be incredible.
Craig Bacon loves science-fiction stories that explore the human element -- actually almost any story that explores the human element.