Search - Infinity (Chronicles of Nick, Bk 1) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Paranormal is not my usual genre of book to read. If given a choice, I’d pick up a romance, comedy, or contemporary fiction. But when the audiobook arrived on my doorstep for review, I vowed to give it a chance. I have found that many books that would normally hold no interest for me in written form have taken on a greater appreciation upon listening to them. INFINITY definitely falls into that category. First of all, I humbly admit I had never heard of Sherrilyn Kenyon (remember, I admitted I don’t normally read this genre!!) and secondly, I didn’t realize that ININITY was a precursor to the adult DARK HUNTER series. I think overall, my ignorance is what allowed me to enjoy the story as much as I did.

The audiobook is read by Holter Graham. Mr. Graham is a voice I was quite familiar with, having listened to him read novels by Nicholas Sparks in the past. Mr. Graham’s deep voice was able to capture the sarcasm and disbelief that the main character, Nick Gautier, dealt with on an almost constant basis. His tone is almost hypnotic as he tells the tale of the crazy situation that Nick finds himself in.

Nick is a fourteen-year-old boy who seems to have the worst luck. Nick’s mom is a stripper and buys him horrible Hawaiian print shirts and secondhand shoes that get him beat up at school. Nick loves his mother and doesn’t fault her that they are poor. But he’s tired of being bullied by the jocks at his school. One night, some of his so-called friends ask him to help out on a simple job. The job turns out to be a mugging. Nick has a change of heart and his friends beat him up over the failed robbery. A dark stranger comes to Nick’s aid and gets him to the hospital. It’s at this point in the story that everything really picks up.

Though Mr. Graham told Nick’s background beautifully, there was little action until Nick gets roughed up and shot by his friends. The dark stranger, Kyrian Hunter, takes Nick under his wing and all the weird stuff starts to happen. Mr. Graham changes his voice to cover all the interesting characters that Nick starts to encounter. He gives Kyrian an educated, faintly accented voice. The ancient Ash gets a more snarky voice, still with a hint of an unknown accent. And the crazy Bubba and Mark are voiced in over-the-top New Orleans’ drawls. These are just some of the characters that Nick encounters in this first part of the CHRONICLES OF NICK.

I have to admit that at the conclusion of the epilogue, I was already anticipating the next installment of the series. Nick is sarcastic, street wise, but also vulnerable in his own way. Mr. Graham was able to portray Nick beautifully and catch all of the eccentricities that abound in INFINITY.