Key Details
- Read by: Dion Graham delivers a commanding, energetic performance that shifts convincingly between the panicked interior of medieval Paris and the rougher edges of a Viking encampment, he keeps the pacing urgent without losing clarity for younger listeners.
- At its heart: Time travel consequences, split loyalties, courage under pressure
- Vibe: Fast-moving and tense, with just enough humor to keep it fun
- Short version: A confident middle installment that deepens the Infinity Ring stakes without slowing the momentum.
Viking longships and a fractured trio of time-travelers make this audiobook one of the more propulsive entries in the Infinity Ring series - and Carrie Ryan earns that momentum on almost every page. I came to Divide and Conquer already fond of Book 1, and Ryan makes sure you feel the weight of that series history right away, dropping Dak, Sera, and Riq into the siege of medieval Paris with almost no runway to breathe. As a middle-grade adventure story, it executes its premise with admirable economy and genuine menace.
One nine-year-old reviewer captured it precisely: "excitement, danger, and time-traveling." That simplicity is the point. Ryan knows her audience, and she never pads the tension with unnecessary interiority. The situation is genuinely dire - Dak has been captured and is working alongside the Vikings, while Sera and Riq defend the city from within. No matter how the siege resolves, the kids lose. That structural irony, where both sides of a historical conflict contain someone the reader cares about, is genuinely clever writing for its age group.
A Closer Look at Divide and Conquer (Infinity Ring, Book 2)
Carrie Ryan built her reputation on dystopian fiction for older readers, but she adapts cleanly to the demands of younger adventure writing here. The medieval Paris setting is rendered with enough specific detail to feel real - the Parisians holding a stalemate against hundreds of ships, the food shortages, the sense that the city is on borrowed time - without ever becoming a dry history lesson. Ryan threads educational content naturally into the action, which is exactly what the Scholastic Multiplatform series set out to do.
What impresses me most about this installment is the structural decision to split the trio. Dak, Sera, and Riq spend most of this book separated, which forces each character to carry scenes individually. Dak's chapters among the Vikings give him a moral complexity that the first book only hinted at. Sera's chapters inside Paris demand a kind of resilience from her that feels earned rather than asserted. It is a smart narrative move, and it pays off in the final act when the group reunites under pressure.
Dion Graham's narration is a significant asset here. Graham has a deep, authoritative voice that might seem counterintuitive for a children's book, but it works because he brings genuine warmth to the child characters while giving the Viking warriors an appropriate weight and menace. He does not condescend to the material or oversimplify the emotional beats. The audiobook runtime of four hours and twenty-six minutes sits in exactly the right zone for a younger listener - long enough to feel like a full story, short enough to finish over a weekend.
What Makes Divide and Conquer (Infinity Ring, Book 2) Worth Hearing
The Infinity Ring series was designed from its inception as a multimedia reading experience, but the audio format holds up exceptionally well as a standalone mode of engagement. Graham's performance carries the historical atmosphere in a way that print cannot quite replicate - the urgency of siege warfare, the cold and dark of the Paris winter, the alien cadences of ninth-century Norse culture all land more vividly when voiced. Parents who have been looking for history-adjacent adventure audio for the eight-to-twelve age range will find this genuinely educational without being pedagogical.
The series order matters here. This is Book 2, and Ryan does not spend time recapping Book 1 in any detail. Listeners who jump in here will follow the action but will miss the emotional setup that makes the stakes feel personal. The relationship between Dak and Sera, in particular, carries accumulated weight from the first installment. Starting from Book 1 is the strongly recommended path.
That said, Ryan's plotting is efficient enough that a newcomer could orient themselves within a chapter or two. The mystery of Dak's parents, hinted at in this installment and dangled as a thread for the series to follow, is introduced clearly enough to function as a standalone hook. It gives the book its emotional through-line in a way that pure plot mechanics cannot.
Things to Know Before Starting Divide and Conquer (Infinity Ring, Book 2)
The Time Wardens serve as the series' antagonist faction, and Ryan uses them here more as a looming presence than an active force. For readers who want constant villain confrontation, this installment may feel like it withholds the payoff. The threat they represent is clearly escalating, but the real antagonism in this book comes from the siege itself and from the impossible position the trio finds themselves in. If your young listener expects a tidy resolution with the Wardens, they will need to keep reading.
The split-party narrative also means that Riq gets somewhat less page time than the other two, which may frustrate listeners who connected with him specifically in Book 1. He remains a compelling presence when on-page, but Ryan clearly uses this installment to develop Dak's character most deeply. That is not a flaw so much as a series-level pacing choice, but it is worth flagging for anyone who came for Riq's perspective specifically.
The historical accuracy is handled responsibly. Ryan does not romanticize the Vikings or demonize them - they are shown as a complex and formidable culture with their own logic and internal hierarchy. That nuance is age-appropriate and adds educational texture without derailing the adventure momentum.
Who Carrie Ryan Is Writing For
This audiobook is best suited for readers aged eight to twelve who have already started the Infinity Ring series from Book 1. It works especially well for kids who enjoy history but need the entry point of adventure and stakes to engage with it. Dion Graham's narration makes it a strong car trip or bedtime choice - his voice is engaging without being overstimulating.
Adults reading alongside younger children will find enough craft here to stay genuinely interested. Parents interested in using the book as a jumping-off point for discussing ninth-century European history will find plenty of specific detail to work with. Those who prefer self-contained stories without series dependencies should look elsewhere in the catalog.
Do I need to listen to Book 1 of Infinity Ring before this audiobook?
Yes, strongly. Ryan does not recap the series setup in any meaningful detail, and the emotional investment in Dak, Sera, and Riq, especially the subplot around Dak's parents, depends on the foundation built in Book 1. Jumping in here will not ruin the story, but it will feel significantly thinner.
Is Dion Graham's narration a good fit for a younger audience?
Surprisingly yes. Graham has a deep, authoritative voice that gives the material genuine weight without talking down to younger listeners. He differentiates the Viking characters from the Parisian ones and keeps Dak's and Sera's voices emotionally distinct. His performance is one of the audiobook's strongest assets.
How historically accurate is this audiobook's portrayal of the Viking siege of Paris?
Ryan grounds the story in real events, the 885-886 siege of Paris by Norse forces is a documented historical episode, and uses accurate details about the stalemate, the food pressures on Parisians, and the scale of the Viking fleet. The time-travel fiction layer sits on top of a reasonably accurate framework.
At four and a half hours, is this audiobook long enough to feel complete?
For its target audience of eight-to-twelve-year-olds, the runtime feels right. The story has a full arc with genuine stakes and a satisfying enough resolution to feel like a complete installment, while leaving enough open to motivate moving on to Book 3. Younger listeners who are still building their audiobook attention span will find the length very manageable.
