The King of Infinite Space

By: Lyndsay Faye

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Raj Ghatak, Imani Jade Powers

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

In this lush, magical, queer, and feminist take on Hamlet in modern-day New York City, a neuro-atypical philosopher, along with his best friend, Horatio, and artist ex-fiancé, Lia, are caught up in the otherworldly events surrounding the death of his father.

Meet Ben Dane: brilliant, devastating, devoted, honest to a fault (truly, a fault). His Broadway theater baron father is dead - but by purpose or accident? The question rips him apart. 

Unable to face alone his mother's ghastly remarriage to his uncle, Ben turns to his dearest friend, Horatio Patel, whom he hasn't seen since their relationship changed forever from platonic to something...other. Loyal to a fault (truly, a fault), Horatio is on the first flight to NYC when he finds himself next to a sly tailor who portends inevitable disaster. And who seems ominously like an architect of mayhem himself. 

Meanwhile, Ben's ex-fiancé, Lia, sundered her from her loved ones thanks to her addiction recovery and torn from her art, has been drawn into the fold of three florists from New Orleans - seemingly ageless sisters who teach her the language of flowers, and whose magical bouquets hold both curses and cures. For a price. 

On one explosive night these kinetic forces will collide, and the only possible outcome is death. But in the masterful hands of Lyndsay Faye, the story we all know has abundant surprises in store. Impish, captivating, and achingly romantic, this is Hamlet as you've never seen it before. 

©2021 Lyndsay Faye (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Shakespeare devotees will be impressed at the variations Faye introduces to the play’s plotline, and Faye’s considerable descriptive gifts are on ample display.... Fans and newcomers alike will delight in Faye’s remarkable achievement." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“Faye’s latest is not only a richly realized mash-up of mystery and fantasy, it’s also a clever pastiche of Hamlet.... [Ben and Horatio’s] evolving relationship is brilliantly realized, as, for that matter, is the entire book, which is, alas, ever faithful to the original, which is, remember, a tragedy. The curtain falls.” (Booklist, starred review)
 

"Wildly imaginative...Faye perfectly juxtaposes corrosive ambition, jealousy, and madness against the ineffable strength of love over distance, time, and space.... [Faye’s] exciting new work should be especially appealing to readers who were intrigued by the reimaginings of Anne Tyler, Margaret Atwood, or Jeanette Winterson for the Hogarth Press Shakespeare project." (Library Journal)

click click tick tock tick tick tick...SHUT UP.

I enjoyed this better than I thought I would, skeptical of a "modern-day retelling of Hamlet." But it was well-written for the most part. But good lord, the audiobook was difficult. I can't blame Benjamin's narrator for reading his chapters as written, but when that includes RANDOM SHIFTS i n s p e e d a n d V O L L L L L L L U U U U U M E E E E E, not to mention passages that include sections like "clickclick tick click click clock ticktock click clock clickclick click clock ticktick tock clickclickclick clock click click click clickclick click clickclick click tockclick click click click click clock clickclick tock click click click tick click tock tick tock click" which the narrator dutifully reads in their entirety, it combines to make one of the most annoying friggin' characters I've ever listened to. By the end of the book I absolutely hated the sulky brat. But the Lia chapters were really great, and Horatio was fine, so overall it was a fine read. Just... maybe stick to the ebook.

cannot recommend enough!

The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye is...breathtaking. The way that my mind is reeling after finishing this book is just...wow.

The character development was done so well for our three main leads. The love felt between Ben, Lia, and Horatio just sits in my chest in all the good, schmoopy ways. Ben is our chaotic golden boy who is enfolded into a mystery revolving his father's death and his mother's remarriage to his uncle (his dead father's half-brother). Lia is our lost girl who has found refuge with three women that take her in and give her the kindness she needs. Horatio is our angsty, honorable prince who is so kind and caring that it makes me want reach into the book and protect him from every bad thing ever!

The way the story unfolds is just *chef's kiss*. As a nerd, I enjoyed all of the philosophical quandaries put forth by Ben and the way that Horatio and Lia would just let him go off, appreciating the way his brain works. (I am definitely checking out all of the books the author recommended and that some of Ben's asides were based off.)

I cannot recommend this book enough!! It's definitely one of my favorite books, and I look forward to instantly rereading it to just soak it all in.