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Lifespan of Starlight #2
Split Infinity
A split-second decision, a single time-skip. The world that you know, gone in a blink.
Now a sharp and adept time-skipper, Scout jumps years ahead to find the world transformed. Technology has accelerated and the people she knows have grown up, or disappeared. Most pressing, the government that she was trying to escape has used the time to prepare for the return of the time skippers.
Caught between finding the mother she left behind and time-skipping ahead with Mason, a series of events lead Scout deeper into the tunnel than ever before.
The only way out is by the strength of her love and the power of her mind. The illusion of time has one more surprise, one with the power to change everything.
Now a sharp and adept time-skipper, Scout jumps years ahead to find the world transformed. Technology has accelerated and the people she knows have grown up, or disappeared. Most pressing, the government that she was trying to escape has used the time to prepare for the return of the time skippers.
Caught between finding the mother she left behind and time-skipping ahead with Mason, a series of events lead Scout deeper into the tunnel than ever before.
The only way out is by the strength of her love and the power of her mind. The illusion of time has one more surprise, one with the power to change everything.
275 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2016
7 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Thalia Kalkipsakis
33 books62 followersThalia grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Melbourne with a mum who tried to save battery hens by on-selling them as backyard chickens. Her dad worked as an industrial chemist while also growing strawberries, carrots and Christmas trees on the farm. It was not unusual to find plant shoots in the freezer, or the hair dryer missing because it was needed to heat one of her dad’s experiments. Thalia's childhood showed her the magic that can happen when science and nature combine with human creativity.
In 2012, Thalia released her first standalone young adult novel, Silhouette, which follows a talented and determined young dancer as she navigates her way into the adult world of commercial dance.
These days, Thalia lives in regional Victoria with her husband, their two children and two black cats.
In 2012, Thalia released her first standalone young adult novel, Silhouette, which follows a talented and determined young dancer as she navigates her way into the adult world of commercial dance.
These days, Thalia lives in regional Victoria with her husband, their two children and two black cats.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 31, 2018
Re-reading in preparation of the launch of book 3 (Edge of Time), and panel with Thalia in June at Continuum in Melbourne.
Again, not sure if/when there will be a new review, due to my backlog of reviews to write and so much going on... but I think I enjoyed this more the second time around, with the first book being clearer in my mind while reading, and on I go to book 3!
Actual rating 3.75
A split-second decision, a single time-skip. The world that you know, gone in a blink.
Caught between finding the mother she left behind and time-skipping ahead with Mason, a series of events lead Scout deeper into the tunnel than ever before.
Split Infinity is a hard one to talk about without giving certain major plot points away, but suffice it to say that we get to see more of Scout’s world, witness some further side-effects and exploration of time travel, and are presented with a mystery that is sure to come back into play in book three.
The rest of this review can be found HERE!
Again, not sure if/when there will be a new review, due to my backlog of reviews to write and so much going on... but I think I enjoyed this more the second time around, with the first book being clearer in my mind while reading, and on I go to book 3!
Actual rating 3.75
A split-second decision, a single time-skip. The world that you know, gone in a blink.
These backstreets are familiar territory. At least, they used to be, because when I bolt down the next alley I’m met with another of those smooth walls. A smaller block of flats has been built in the middle of the lane as if some kid playing Urbancraft just dumped a 3-D model house in any old gap.Now a sharp and adept time-skipper, Scout jumps years ahead to find the world transformed. Technology has accelerated and the people she knows have grown up, or disappeared. Most pressing, the government that she was trying to escape has used the time to prepare for the return of the time skippers.
Caught between finding the mother she left behind and time-skipping ahead with Mason, a series of events lead Scout deeper into the tunnel than ever before.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been here. No idea who I am. More is out there somewhere, I think, beyond the horizon of no time, but I don’t know the way.The only way out is by the strength of her love and the power of her mind. The illusion of time has one more surprise, one with the power to change everything.
Here, there is no future and no past. Every moment exists at once. But every now and then I catch a glimmer of time, a spark of memory. Staring into a sky that never ends. Arms around me, holding me tight. Sharing pancakes.
Home.
Split Infinity is a hard one to talk about without giving certain major plot points away, but suffice it to say that we get to see more of Scout’s world, witness some further side-effects and exploration of time travel, and are presented with a mystery that is sure to come back into play in book three.
The rest of this review can be found HERE!
May 22, 2016
Wow! That ending!!!
May 10, 2024
THANKYOU TO THALIA KALKIPSAKIS!! - for sending me a signed version of the second in this series, I couldn't find it anywhere. Forever one of my favourite authors, did an all nighter for this book!!
June 7, 2016
Split Infinity by Thalia Kalkipsakis is the second book in the Lifespan of Starlight trilogy, following on from book 1, Lifespan of Starlight, which I read and reviewed recently. I really enjoyed this sequel, and it made me realise that the only reason I didn't give Lifespan of Starlight 5 stars (I gave it 4.5) is because reading bad goodreads reviews before reading the book had me anticipating it taking a turn for the crappy, which it didn't. Split Infinity continued on in the same trope-avoiding way as the first book. Oh, also, the blurb and this review contain MAJOR SPOILERS for the first book.
As you probably gathered from my preamble, I enjoyed this book a lot. One of my favourite things about it is that Scout, the main character, is pretty smart and doesn't make stupid decisions for no better reason than to further the plot (a YA pet peeve of mine). In fact, whenever I thought "she should do blah" to solve whatever problem she was facing, she generally did or did something even more clever. That's not to say that the book was predictable, just that obvious smart courses of action weren't conveniently ignored by the protagonist.
I mentioned in my review of the first book that I didn't think the government quite counted as dystopian because almost everyone (who wasn't in Scout's position) was basically doing OK. In this book, which is mostly set a bit further in the future than we see in the first book, the repressiveness of the government took a turn for the worse and definitely feels more dystopian. Whether or not Scout (and friends) will be directly addressing that beyond just trying to keep themselves safe is unclear. Although it's more dystopian than the first book, it's not following the obvious beats of a YA dystopia (yet — I suppose the third book could change that).
On the topic of not following obvious beats, there were a few time travel beats that I thought this second book might end on and to be honest, until the very end I kind of wanted it to end that way. But once the end game was playing out, it became clear that the book wasn't going to end quite the way I expected. There is another cliff hanger, though (that bit I did expect).
In my review of the first book I didn't talk much about time travel because I didn't want to give that aspect of the story away. This second volume is very much more of a time travel narrative, so I think it should be mentioned. One of the things that I think makes this series so successfully compelling is that it took two unrelated, solid ideas — everyone being chipped and time travel — and combined them to make a story greater than the sum of its parts. It helps that the portrayal of being chipped is done in a relatively fresh way (like when Scout has trouble crossing the road without a chip), and that the method of time travel is novel and both constrained (jumping forward, not moving from where you were and arriving naked) and liberal (anyone can learn to do it).
Finally, Scout has a very close relationship with her mother, which doesn't change when the whole time travel thing starts. Scout's mother isn't conveniently out of the way or kidnapped, does worry about her, and is a motivator for Scout to do various things. Her mother's strong presence is balanced by the fact that Scout has a lot of freedom, especially for a 14 or 15 year old, but I appreciate her not being orphaned or neglected from the outset.
To reiterate, I enjoyed Split Infinity a lot and would whole-heartedly recommend it and the first book to fans of character-driven YA and science fiction. Although there is a romantic element in the books, it was actually stronger in the first book than the second, and isn't very prominent overall (and wow did I appreciate the fact that Scout didn't do anything to stupid for cute boys). I am eagerly awaiting the last book in the series, alas I think I'll be waiting about a year to read it.
5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
As you probably gathered from my preamble, I enjoyed this book a lot. One of my favourite things about it is that Scout, the main character, is pretty smart and doesn't make stupid decisions for no better reason than to further the plot (a YA pet peeve of mine). In fact, whenever I thought "she should do blah" to solve whatever problem she was facing, she generally did or did something even more clever. That's not to say that the book was predictable, just that obvious smart courses of action weren't conveniently ignored by the protagonist.
I mentioned in my review of the first book that I didn't think the government quite counted as dystopian because almost everyone (who wasn't in Scout's position) was basically doing OK. In this book, which is mostly set a bit further in the future than we see in the first book, the repressiveness of the government took a turn for the worse and definitely feels more dystopian. Whether or not Scout (and friends) will be directly addressing that beyond just trying to keep themselves safe is unclear. Although it's more dystopian than the first book, it's not following the obvious beats of a YA dystopia (yet — I suppose the third book could change that).
On the topic of not following obvious beats, there were a few time travel beats that I thought this second book might end on and to be honest, until the very end I kind of wanted it to end that way. But once the end game was playing out, it became clear that the book wasn't going to end quite the way I expected. There is another cliff hanger, though (that bit I did expect).
In my review of the first book I didn't talk much about time travel because I didn't want to give that aspect of the story away. This second volume is very much more of a time travel narrative, so I think it should be mentioned. One of the things that I think makes this series so successfully compelling is that it took two unrelated, solid ideas — everyone being chipped and time travel — and combined them to make a story greater than the sum of its parts. It helps that the portrayal of being chipped is done in a relatively fresh way (like when Scout has trouble crossing the road without a chip), and that the method of time travel is novel and both constrained (jumping forward, not moving from where you were and arriving naked) and liberal (anyone can learn to do it).
Finally, Scout has a very close relationship with her mother, which doesn't change when the whole time travel thing starts. Scout's mother isn't conveniently out of the way or kidnapped, does worry about her, and is a motivator for Scout to do various things. Her mother's strong presence is balanced by the fact that Scout has a lot of freedom, especially for a 14 or 15 year old, but I appreciate her not being orphaned or neglected from the outset.
To reiterate, I enjoyed Split Infinity a lot and would whole-heartedly recommend it and the first book to fans of character-driven YA and science fiction. Although there is a romantic element in the books, it was actually stronger in the first book than the second, and isn't very prominent overall (and wow did I appreciate the fact that Scout didn't do anything to stupid for cute boys). I am eagerly awaiting the last book in the series, alas I think I'll be waiting about a year to read it.
5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
March 10, 2020
Caveat #1: I won this book in a recent Goodreads giveaway contest.
Caveat #2: I have not read the first book in the series, so I had to make a lot of educated guesses to the intricacies within the book.
Scout, an illegal (what makes her illegal was probably expounded upon in the first book), who can time skip (again, first book) jumps into the future to find out her mother has died AND the authorities are out to get her. So she does what anyone would do - skips back in time to try and save her mum.
Meeting up with her friends from the first book, she teaches them to skip as well, thus changing some major happenings from the first book, but ends up revealing herself once more.
Anything beyond that will truly spoil the book, so that's all the plot you get.
I found the book to be a fairly breezy, quick moving (sometimes at expense of true cohesion of flow) read; with most of the needed gaps between first and second book being filled enough that I *could* make those educated guesses and be reasonably satisfied that I am correct, without having to go back and read book 1.
Overall, I'd call this a sold 3 3/4 - nothing mind blowing, but nothing that I regret reading either. I would certainly not say no to seeing where the author takes book 3.
Caveat #2: I have not read the first book in the series, so I had to make a lot of educated guesses to the intricacies within the book.
Scout, an illegal (what makes her illegal was probably expounded upon in the first book), who can time skip (again, first book) jumps into the future to find out her mother has died AND the authorities are out to get her. So she does what anyone would do - skips back in time to try and save her mum.
Meeting up with her friends from the first book, she teaches them to skip as well, thus changing some major happenings from the first book, but ends up revealing herself once more.
Anything beyond that will truly spoil the book, so that's all the plot you get.
I found the book to be a fairly breezy, quick moving (sometimes at expense of true cohesion of flow) read; with most of the needed gaps between first and second book being filled enough that I *could* make those educated guesses and be reasonably satisfied that I am correct, without having to go back and read book 1.
Overall, I'd call this a sold 3 3/4 - nothing mind blowing, but nothing that I regret reading either. I would certainly not say no to seeing where the author takes book 3.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2016
I loved this book can't wait for the next book!
August 8, 2016
Wow, I really enjoyed this one! More shortly..
October 3, 2016
Wow. Please give me book 3, quick. What a cliffhanger. I loved this book. Great heroine, great action and an amazing future world. Don't stop writing and please give us no 3, Thalia Kalkipsakis.
October 26, 2016
Brilliant concept and thrilling plot. Seriously, this book is so underrated.
August 6, 2018
Alright, now we're talking. I much preferred this second installment in Lifespan of Starlight than the first book, but it's because of all the set-up in that first book that Split Infinity is able to shine. After the cliffhanger of the first book, Coutlyn finds herself years into the future expecting to have avoided the heat from the government and be able to regroup with her friends. She ends up warping into what's as close to a worst case scenario as can be, and will be forced to utilise her time-jumping abilities in new ways in order to outrun pursuing law enforcement.
Split Infinity boasts the same strengths as the first book, while having a more defined and eventful plot. The very end of the book is a bit messy and again leads into a cliffhanger, but overall I found the narrative satisfying. The fallout from Coutlyn and her friends' time-jumping makes for some emotional scenarios that had me engrossed and burning through the book to see what happens.
The dystopian Melbourne setting is explored in more interesting detail this time around. The Australian-ness of the setting shone through more, for starters; I think due to landmarks being featured more and one of the big threats in the book being a raging natural firestorm that key plot points are tied to. The dystopian nature of the futuristic society drives the plot again, and the commentary on how the privileged members of society put more trust in the government than they deserve is more explicit and makes the plot play out in some very dramatic ways.
Super excited to see how the story comes to and end, but I only bought the first two books so I'll need to rush down to the store and buy the last one ASAP 😅
Split Infinity boasts the same strengths as the first book, while having a more defined and eventful plot. The very end of the book is a bit messy and again leads into a cliffhanger, but overall I found the narrative satisfying. The fallout from Coutlyn and her friends' time-jumping makes for some emotional scenarios that had me engrossed and burning through the book to see what happens.
The dystopian Melbourne setting is explored in more interesting detail this time around. The Australian-ness of the setting shone through more, for starters; I think due to landmarks being featured more and one of the big threats in the book being a raging natural firestorm that key plot points are tied to. The dystopian nature of the futuristic society drives the plot again, and the commentary on how the privileged members of society put more trust in the government than they deserve is more explicit and makes the plot play out in some very dramatic ways.
Super excited to see how the story comes to and end, but I only bought the first two books so I'll need to rush down to the store and buy the last one ASAP 😅
August 15, 2020
I enjoyed this book more than the first. The set up in that novel allowed this one to move more quickly and for a lot more action sequences, which were gripping and absorbing. Right from the start, Scout is in trouble and has to pull some clever (and painful) moves to regain anonymity and freedom, but that is just the start. In this world, much has changed and not in ways Scout would have chosen. Things rush toward a grim conclusion, only there is a second chance. Scout grabs it with both hands, but in this novel the true nature of the government of this dystopian future becomes more pronounced as resources are threatened and the government seeks to control time skipping as thoroughly as everything else. Events happen quickly and Scout is thrown into split second decisions, leading to the final drastic action.
Clever, resourceful Scout and cool, brilliant Mason keep the reader running through the pages. Once more, the plot points are clever and well thought out and the writing style smooth and clear. I really enjoyed this novel.
Clever, resourceful Scout and cool, brilliant Mason keep the reader running through the pages. Once more, the plot points are clever and well thought out and the writing style smooth and clear. I really enjoyed this novel.
December 31, 2020
Now a sharp and adept time-skipper, Scout jumps years ahead to find the world transformed. Technology has accelerated and the people she knows have grown up, or disappeared. Most pressing, the government that she was trying to escape has used the time to prepare for the return of the time skippers.
Caught between finding the mother she left behind and time-skipping ahead with Mason, a series of events lead Scout deeper into the tunnel than ever before.
Straight onto book 3!
Caught between finding the mother she left behind and time-skipping ahead with Mason, a series of events lead Scout deeper into the tunnel than ever before.
Straight onto book 3!
May 4, 2018
So exciting. Set in dystopian Melbourne. I love the writing style, a really unique voice. I loved this book. Can't wait for the third installment.
May 10, 2023
Prefered the less romantic version of events - didn't realise what I was getting into and it's more impressive than the initial book. It's a long game, and I love a long game. Bring on #3
August 19, 2023
I just finished this book and... it's so good. a 4.25. this book is an amazing sequel to Lifespan of Starlight (read it now).
August 11, 2018
This was an incredible book from start to finish and I found that for a second book in a sequel that it had new and interesting parts to the story and it didn’t feel like repetition.
Now that Scout has jumped years into the future she has left her life behind her and has to start all over again with now no access to food, except for boxes of old ration bars. Her friends have grown up and she is still searching for her missing mother. Is her mother safe? Will Scout survive without help?
This book kept me on edge and the mystery of time skipping just kept on unravelling, and I can’t wait to find out more about the amazing bliss of every return from the last book of the sequel.
Now that the government is waiting for her to return she has no escape. Once she lands in the place she used to call home she must do everything and anything to escape danger.
The detail in every scenario was brilliant and let me have a clear vision of what Scout was experiencing, sometimes it was gruesome, horrific or creepy, but mostly the detail was used for Scout’s surroundings and her appearance. This descriptive language helped me feel many different emotions, such as excitement and nervousness for the characters.
I would definitely recommend this to people who have already read the first book as this definitely worth reading as the tension in the story is still strong and I think anyone could love this book.
This is a great thriller so thriller readers I encourage you to read the sequel!
Now that Scout has jumped years into the future she has left her life behind her and has to start all over again with now no access to food, except for boxes of old ration bars. Her friends have grown up and she is still searching for her missing mother. Is her mother safe? Will Scout survive without help?
This book kept me on edge and the mystery of time skipping just kept on unravelling, and I can’t wait to find out more about the amazing bliss of every return from the last book of the sequel.
Now that the government is waiting for her to return she has no escape. Once she lands in the place she used to call home she must do everything and anything to escape danger.
The detail in every scenario was brilliant and let me have a clear vision of what Scout was experiencing, sometimes it was gruesome, horrific or creepy, but mostly the detail was used for Scout’s surroundings and her appearance. This descriptive language helped me feel many different emotions, such as excitement and nervousness for the characters.
I would definitely recommend this to people who have already read the first book as this definitely worth reading as the tension in the story is still strong and I think anyone could love this book.
This is a great thriller so thriller readers I encourage you to read the sequel!
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May 29, 2016Review will appear in Magpies
October 31, 2016
read again. MUST!!!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews