Publisher – Knopf Books
Genre – Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy
Blurb –
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 mega-corporation
s are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra — who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit
But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.
Review
Illuminae has been on my tbr list for ages and though this is my first time reading anything by the authors, I will absolutely be picking up their other works because of what an incredible rollercoaster Illuminae was.
The story is told through a dossier of information containing only chats, emails, journal entries surveillance reports, and transcribed recordings. One would think that the epistolary format for the book would hinder its readability but Illuminae does a brilliant job of setting the premise and has solid character and world-building, even through the documents.
Because of the format, you don’t have a peek inside the characters’ internal monologue so there’s that extra layer of depth missing in the characters. But the book still has you rooting for Kady and Ezra till the very end. As for the perilous artificial intelligence AIDAN of the ship, I am still not sure how I feel about the AI. The grey character of the AI was more thought-provoking than I would have expected.
“The universe owes you nothing…It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is if you do something worthy of remembrance.”
The book is aptly categorized as YA because especially while talking to each other, the main characters were teenagers being teenagers, albeit with super high IQ, and an interspace conspiracy with a deadly virus spreading in the background. Safe to say, there is no lack of death and destruction in this Sci-Fi story.
“Miracles are statistical improbabilities. And fate is an illusion humanity uses to comfort itself in the dark. There are no absolutes in life, save death.”
The start of the story was a little slow but the rest of the book is action-packed and the second half particularly had me on the edge of my seat. I did not see those twists and turns coming. And that ending! Definitely worth getting through the slow start.
What I liked about the story was that while the characters were driven by romance, the plot itself was not, if that makes sense. And that is why to me, the romance did not feel overbearing and the main theme was still intergalactic space war.
This is one book that rightfully deserves all the hype it gets. I am immensely looking forward to reading the second part- Geminae.
I would recommend reading the book as a hard copy instead of on reading devices because the screen will not do justice to the visual treat that is the unique structure and format of the book.
If Illuminae has been on your tbr forever like it was on mine, this is your sign to go and give yourself an amazing reading experience today.
The book is not without flaws but since I enjoyed reading it so much, I am absolutely willing to overlook them and round my rating of 4.5 stars up to 5.
My Rating-
Cheers,
knittedpages.com 
Leave a comment