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Loading... The Circus Infinite (original 2022; edition 2022)by Khan Wong (Author)
Work InformationThe Circus Infinite by Khan Wong (2022)
![]() Top Five Books of 2023 (200) Pride Wishlist (47) No current Talk conversations about this book. In The Circus Infinite, Jes has escaped a scientific institute studying his psychic powers and ends up on the run on a pleasure moon. Joining a circus, he befriends a circle of unusual and intriguing people and creatures, including someone he bond with as an asexual queer person. But as Jes uses his powers and discovers new aspects of it, he becomes embroiled in the criminal underworld and must call upon all his resources and friends to take down the kingpin. Great atmospheric world building, engaging plot, some violence and gore, and a lovely found family. Originally posted on Just Geeking by. Content warnings: Throughout the book there are ongoing themes of close-mindedness, and prejudice, especially towards asexuality and mixed race people (in this universe mixed race refers to mixed species i.e. half human, half alien race). Scenes of drug and alcohol use are frequent throughout the book. The Circus Infinite was one of those books that I have mixed feelings about. Fleeing from The Paragenetic Institute of the 9-Stars, Jes heads to the one place he figures they will never look for him; the infamous pleasure moon of Persephone-9. The universe Wong has created is magnificent, an open world sandbox that has taken present day issues and ideas and run forward thousands of years. Earth is long gone, humans spread across space and migrated to two different planets; Indra and Loran. Both of them vastly different from the other. Despite their differences they have kept the human need to colonise, with humans retaining their perceived superiority over alien species despite mating with them. As one character refers to humans being responsible for the most cross-species breeding in the universe. Of course, they also remain among the first to show their disdain for the mixed race offspring of such unions. Thousands of years has not removed prejudice from the universe and Wong deftly shows it at play in society throughout the novel. One of the main ways is the sexuality of the protagonist, Jes and that is what makes The Circus Infinite is an interesting and important read regardless of its flaws. Jes is asexual and also an emphath. Wong uses Jesâ empath abilities to help describe asexuality to the reader. In a book with a romantic relationship most readers will be familiar with the language the author uses to describe romantic feelings. In The Circus Infinite Wong has to walk the reader through how emotions feel to Jes, how they appear as physical manifestations. For example, during a house party Jes refers to all the feelings of need as a type of monster trying to batter down the walls. Drawing on these vivid descriptions Wong develops a sense of how it feels to be asexual in situations where romance, and sexual desire are rampant or expected. While Jes obviously feels these in a heightened way as an empath, it still enables the reader to draw a parallel to uncomfortable experiences that they have had. While the house party was a good example, as were other moments in the novel, one scene struck me as feeling unnecessary. It felt out of place and felt almost like the author was torturing the main character. The pleasure moon is described multiple times throughout the novel, it is no secret that there are pleasure houses and the like on it. But apparently it was completely necessarily to include a scene in one, and since the book is only from Jesâ perspective, you can see where this is going. It was an extremely painful scene to read as someone who is not asexual, and it felt completely unneeded in terms of saying âsee this is how asexuals feelâ. Instead, it just felt like it was playing to the crowd a bit too much for my liking. The bookâs set on a pleasure moon so by golly we will have a scene in a sex club! It was just over kill. Sadly, that was a bit of a theme in The Circus Infinite. The world building was solid, however, there was too much crammed into the plot and the book was trying to be too many things at once. Was it trying to be a space opera or science fiction pulp novel? Or a crime caper about found family and becoming your true self? Maybe itâs a superpower book set in a circus? On top of all this there are numerous side plots with the theme of changing perceptions, and while they were solid plots involving interesting characters, they were again, they just felt like too much being pressed into one book. Thereâs no information regarding whether this is a standalone or part of a series, the book ends in a way that either is plausible. I think this would have been better suited as a duology or a trilogy. Despite having so many moving parts the plot is actually quite simplistic; a fugitive runs away from an evil scientific organisation, hides where he doesnât think anyone will look but, surprise, gets found out anyway and then gets blackmailed. Simple doesnât always mean a bad thing if there are twists and turns, and the way the synopsis is written I was expecting those. Unfortunately, The Circus Infinite wasnât quite the thriller or the mystery that I expected. Instead, itâs more a novel about parties and raves. âPleasureâ moon is a bit of a misnomer, and at least to me, means something entirely different to the atmosphere of Persephone-9. While there are pleasure houses, as mentioned, the emphasis is on hedonism and more specifically, the consumption of copious amounts of drugs and alcohol. Iâm not a fan of either of these, and in real life intoxicated people are a source of great anxiety to me (re: previous trauma), so reading a book that is frequently filled with scenes of people doing just that is not a fun read for me 1. The authorâs biography refers to becoming involved in the Burning Man culture and underground circusâ so this may very well be from his own experiences, which is fair enough. That being said, if the synopsis had said âparty moonâ I would have not picked this book up because I would have identified it as not being my type of read. There is a chilling contrast between the party scenes and those of found family and the stark reality of what happened to Jes at the Institute. While this is a novel about a party lifestyle, it would be remiss to say that is all it is. These scenes are explicit, they are cold, scientific and terrifying. Wong does an excellent job of separating them completely from the joy of finding a home, of finding family. These moments will have you holding your breath, feeling your heart beat in your chest and only then will you remember they are flashbacks, that Jes has already escaped. Another of Wongâs strengths is his world-building. The universe he has created is wonderful and interesting, the cultures of the alien races incredibly thought out especially the asuna. Their physical description is stunning, and Iâm not going to say any more because itâs something you need to enjoy for yourself. I did feel that compared to the other alien races the asuna and the Mantodean were more developed compared to some of the others. Likewise, some physical descriptions were a bit confusing. Mantodean culture was described well, however, their physical appearance was confusing to me, and it was only after I noted the mantis on the book cover that I realised that what I had imagined was completely different to what had apparently been described. I also have no idea what a Bezan looks like. The Circus Infinite is a fun novel about found family with a caper twist and more importantly, it has an asexual protagonist and all round diversity. The problem for me was that despite these good qualities it was a bit too hit-and-miss in other areas, and overall it just didnât make a huge impression on me. I felt that the emphasis on a hedonistic lifestyle overwhelmed everything else that was taking place in the novel, and it was hard to take things seriously when everyone was more interested in partying than anything else. For more of my reviews please visit my blog! This came up in my ARC list recently. First off, itâs published by Angry Robot. If you donât know Angry Robot, they describe themselves as seeking to âfind and give a platform to new voices and new stories that push the boundaries of genre fiction, mess them about, and put them back together again in all kinds of awesome ways â we like to think of ourselves as âgenrefluidâ.â When it comes to traditionally published novels, if Iâm reading it, thereâs a good chance itâs an Angry Robot book. The Circus Infinite offers up one of the finest found family stories Iâve read in a while â and I love me some found family. Itâs an epic tale filled with flawed and adorable characters set in an exquisitely imagined universe. Jes is a fugitive who hasnât known love â or even kindness â since his grandparents died when he was a child. He escapes from a mysterious institution, where heâd been studied, tortured, and experimented on and makes his way to the one place he assumes his captors wonât think to look for a sex-repulsed asexual: a seedy pleasure moon in the furthest reaches of the known galaxy. I suspect the author wonât mind when I say this is an eleganza extravaganza of an adventure that is, by turn, chilling, heartwarming, infuriating, and affirming. This science fantasy novel explores the nuances of consent and acceptance through the medium of a compelling and unconventional story. The plot does meander a bit in the middle. But I can forgive that when the characters are as wonderful as Jes, Bo, Esmee, Essa, Quint, and the gang. Think A Closed and Common Orbit crashes headlong into Space Unicorn Blues with a little sprinkling of The Androidâs Dream for good measure. I received an advance review copy via Queer Sci-Fi for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. no reviews | add a review
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Hunted by those who want to study his gravity powers, Jes makes his way to the best place for a mixed-species fugitive to blend in: the pleasure moon where everyone just wants to be lost in the party. It doesnâ??t take long for him to catch the attention of the crime boss who owns the resort-casino where he lands a circus job, and when the boss gets wind of the bounty on Jesâ?? head, he makes an offer: do anything and everything asked of him or face vivisection. With no other options, Jes fulfills the requests: espionage, torture, demolition. But when the boss sets the circus up to take the fall for his about-to-get-busted narcotics operation, Jes and his friends decide to bring the mobster down. And if Jes can also avoid going back to being the prize subject of a scientist who canâ??t wait to dissect him? Eve No library descriptions found. |
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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Space opera where our protagonist has psychic powers over the forces of gravity. Some nice ideas and good treatment of gender, but not startling. (