Two weeks ago I posted a review on the first book in The Infinity Ring series and it just so happens that when that review was posted the second book, Divide and Conquer was mere days away from release. Of course that meant that I was going to grab it as soon as it was available and use it for my next review here on The Mad Reviewer.

I was excited to read this book because I am in love with the entire concept behind the series as it currently stands. However, I was a little concerned about how things would go switching to a new author for this installment. I really shouldn’t have worried though, Carrie Ryan takes the characters, personality traits, and little things that James Dashner put forth in the first book and carries them seamlessly into this one as well. As a matter of fact, it was so incredibly seamless that I don’t know if I would be able to pick out which book was written by which author if I was to do a blind test on them while reading. I think that bodes incredibly well for the series moving forward.

Dak and Sera fixed a break involving Christopher Columbus in the first book, and now they are tasked with fixing a break surrounding the viking invasion of Paris in the year 885. Talk about a different type of situation in all regards. For most of the book Dak is separated from Sera and Riq in some fashion because of his innate ability to not think before he does something. This flaw in Dak did wear my patience a little thin at times because it became predictable. They children would solve one problem, get things back on track with their plan, and then you knew a mile away that Dak was going to simply leave the group unannounced and mess everything up again. It must have happened at least half a dozen times in this book. If there is one thing I hope the next author improves upon with the series it is finding a new flaw for Dak because this one has been beat to death.

I was pleased overall with how the characters grew up just a little bit in this installment. They had to make some tougher decisions this time around in deciding how to go about fixing the break in time. They also had to deal with some unintended consequences as they jump from one time period to the next to re-fix a break they broke again on accident. Crazy, eh?

The next book in The Infinity Ring series will arrive this coming February and I must say, I’m rather excited for when it does. It appears as though after dealing with Christopher Columbus and Paris-invading vikings, Dak and Sera will be jumping into the fray with the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. That should be quite interesting.

Grade: B
Length: 192 pages

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