Book Review: The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

A few years ago I won an instagram giveaway hosted by my then local bookstore (still the store I order a lot of my books from) for a book called Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye, an author I had never heard of. I loved the idea for a retelling of Jane Eyre but with more murder and mystery and I really loved the idea of a free book so I entered the giveaway. After reading and loving Jane Steele I purchased her next book, The Paragon Hotel, immediately upon its release. I was instantly enchanted and I loved the  way Lyndsay Faye seamlessly weaved a thrilling plot with a diverse and engaging cast of characters. So when I learned she was releasing a new book and that Penguin Group Putnam was offering me the chance to read The King of Infinite Space early via NetGalley I was thrilled. 

I had pretty high expectations for this book and I was definitely not disappointed! This is a modern retelling of Hamlet where we follow Benjamin Dane, physicist and son of the recently deceased owner of a renowned Broadway Theater. Ben is struggling with his father’s death and he believes there is something sinister at play but nobody else shares his concerns. Frustrated and overwhelmed he calls out for help and his estranged best friend Horatio hops the first flight from London to be there. Ben and Horatio have a complicated past and some unresolved issues made more complicated by the fact that Ben has started seeing and speaking with his ex-fiancee Lia in his dreams. Lia is also a prevalent character in the story as she working with a group of mystical florists and trying to get back on her feet after succumbing to addiction for a number of years. 

This book is part (potential) murder mystery, part romance, and part journey to self exploration and acceptance. I found the characters in this story to be particularly compelling. They are all flawed people battling some major demons, but throughout my experience reading the book I found myself rooting for them anyway. They’re not perfect people by any means, but they love each other deeply and unconditionally in a way that was rather endearing. 

I’m not the biggest fan of Shakespeare’s plays and I don’t often seek out retellings of his work, but I’m glad I gave this one a try. I’m immediately intrigued by a “queer, and feminist take” on any classic work of literature, and while I predicted a lot of the twists and turns of the plot just by knowing what happens in the original work it didn’t make it any less fun to be on the ride. I loved the modern day, New York setting, but even more so I loved the richness with which Lyndsay Faye wrote the world surrounding the novel. There were so many lines that I highlighted or found myself simply re-reading just to take in the beauty of the phrasing which is one of my favorite things about all of her books that I’ve read. However; I don’t know that this is a book that will appeal to every reader. Some of the writing could be pretty dense and I felt there was a slight disconnect between the mystery Ben and Horatio were trying to solve and Lia’s floral fantasies that some may find off-putting. Overall; I would certainly recommend this to fans of Shakespeare retellings, mysteries, and queer academia novels and I’m certainly very glad to have read it. 

The King of Infinite Space is out August 10th and you can pre-order it here if you’re interested!