Infinity: I am the power they can't tear down by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Chronicles of Nick, 1. Atom, 2010. ISBN 978-1907410215.
(Age 14+) Sherrilyn Kenyon, better known for her romance and vampire genre books, has joined other adult authors like James Patterson in a bid for the adolescent market. Infinity is a prequel to the Dark-Hunters series, which I haven't read. It stands alone and would probably get readers who enjoyed it trying her adult books, which apparently have explicit adult content. Nick Gautier is a poverty stricken teen, whose mother a stripper, is determined that he will have a better life, especially as his father is in prison for murder. He has won a scholarship to a prestigious school, where he is the brunt of bullying and put downs. In order to cope, he develops a wise-cracking attitude, laced with sarcasm. He is sucked into the world of the Dark-Hunters when his best friends try to kill him after a mugging goes wrong and from then on it's all adventure as the members of the football team turn into flesh eating zombies and the undead rise from the cemetery in New Orleans.
It was a change to have a vampire book with the story told from a boy's point of view. So many vampire stories follow Meyer's formula of girl and two love interests. Nick is an interesting character, whose acerbic wit provides much of the humour in the book. His personality and attitude kept my interest in the story alive. He is a typical teenage boy who loves his mother, but because of circumstances he is streetwise and wary. There are some interesting characters, particularly Cherise his mother, the stripper with a heart of gold, and Bubba and Mark who run a store and get rid of zombies, vampires and rodents. The mystery surrounding Nekoda Kennedy, the girl who attracts his attention, is not resolved at the end of the book and serves as a tantalising lure for the next in the series.
The bullying that occurs because Nick is poor and forced to wear hand-me down clothes provides a background to the dilemma that Nick faces about whether to enact horrible revenge on the bullies or allow good to win over evil. He has been raised to be honourable, protect women and to look after himself, and the book raises questions about whether he can remain that way.
Teens who enjoy the zombie scene and who like playing computer games will enjoy this action packed story.
Pat Pledger