Full Disclosure: I received an ARC of Infinite2 in return for a fair, honest review. I was in no way, shape, or from, coerced into any preconceived appraisal and/or critique(s) of this book
I have been a fan of Robinson for quite some time. I say it in every review of each new novel, but I do want it to be made clear that I'm not a newb or novice when it comes to picking up and reading his books. And I preface each review this way so it doesn't sound like I'm a hater or a complainer.
Anyways, I, like the vast majority or Robinson's fans (known as "The Tribe") was super excited when it was announced that Infinite was going to be getting a sequel. It's no secret that Infinite was/is Robinson's best selling novel of all time, and easily one of my favorites in all of his standalone work. You can read plenty of reviews that state the same thing, but basically, at the time, it was his most heartfelt, deep, and well written of his novels and I loved every minute of it
Infinite2 however, doesn't feel even close to the same author or story. Unlike the first Infinite, this second iteration is confusing and lacks the heart we saw originally. While Infinite was a story about a man learning about reality and what it means to be human, 2 is more of a typical techno-thriller where it's man vs. sentient AI. Personally, in doing this, I feel like Robinson cheated readers of the emotion we felt for Will the first time around.
It's also super confusing. Obviously Robinson has never been a straightfoward storyteller and generally I enjoy how he melds multiple genres and doesn't stick to convention when penning a novel. Here, though, it just makes for a muddled mess. I think I get what he was going for, though merging multiple realities and trying to explain how that was even possible didn't really sit well with me. Throwing in a bunch of techno-babble and jumping from scene to scene, instead of using the same kind of depth and feeling from other works left this entire novel feeling more like a cash grab than anything else. And no, I seriously doubt that was Robinson's intention...just saying that the entire novel didn't have the originality I thought should have carried over from the first one.
And that is the other issue I had with Infinite2. Robinson's books always used to feel new and exciting and full of cool concepts that he could somehow make a reality. He found ways to keep readers engaged and feel for his characters and make us want to root for them. I didn't feel like that once while reading 2. And I fear that this has been a bit of a trend with Robinson's new novels. Gone are the deep characters with real flaws. Gone are the compelling storylines. Instead it's more violence and bloodshed and an exceptional increase in the use of "fuck". None of these things are bad in and of themselves, (hell, look at King and how he has changed his style the last decade or so), but with Robinson, its a change I don't particularly care for. I saw this trend start back with The Others (yet another Robinson novel that had promise but had the same issues as we see here), and it's continued throughout many of his new books.
I still want to enjoy Robinson's work (and teases of this future stuff show some promise), but I feel i've been reading an entirely different author lately than the same one who wrote SecondWorld and the entire Nemesis books. I get that authors change and want to try new forms of writing. And I'm all for it. It's just that this time, I don't think it's working for Robinson.