Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on October 20th 2015
Genres: SciFi, Young Adult
Pages: 602
Format: Audiobook, Hardcover
Source: Purchased
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This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
My Thoughts
This might be my shortest review ever.
READ.THIS.BOOK.
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LISTEN.TO
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THIS.BOOK.
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A Blockbuster Film in Book Form
Seriously. Illuminae is in a league of its own. Visually, the book is stunning and completely unique. The narrative is presented as a series of documents that create an engaging and fast paced adventure. Paired with the audio, you might as well be watching a movie. The audio book has a full cast and is so well done I could not stop listening. I finished the entire book in under a day.
I really don’t want to give too much away for those who were like me and are just now discovering this series, but here are some highlights:
- Smart and snarky heroine
- Touch of romance
- Chase through space
- Crazy (and a touch poetic) AI
- Zombie like disease
Does it get much better? I think not!
If you have not read this book, do yourself a favor and go buy it now! To my friends – I am sorry that I will be talking about and forcing this book on you for the foreseeable future. Well, not really that sorry. You will thank me later.
I highly recommend Illuminae, including the audiobook. I also have the ebook but a couple things to note – it does not sync with the audio book (necessary evil for how amazing the audio is but no content is lost) and some of the content is hard to see (you can zoom) due to the format of the book. Just a heads up.
If you liked The Themis Files you will enjoy Illuminae (and visa versa).
Do I have any Illuminae fans/readers? What did you think of this book?
On my TBR list after this review ?
Woohoo! It is so good. Especially the audio book. Plus the trilogy is complete so there is no waiting for the next book. 🙂 Come back and let me know what you think!
I have the ebook version and for some weird reason it will not display Kady’s diary entries on my paperwhite but it will on my Galaxy Tab with the Kindle app. Does yours do this as well? At first I thought it was a feature of the book (I started reading it on my Kindle) but when I switched over I realized I missed a lot and had to go back.
I know they do show on my kindle app on my phone but I will have to charge and check on my Kindle! That sucks its not showing. I found that the ebook is the biggest short coming with the design of the book. Some of AIDANs pages are really hard to read. I didn’t even get the ebook for the last books which is generally how I read with a toddler running around.