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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I listened to the audiobook and followed along in a physical copy, which is the way i recommend reading these books.
Kaufman and Kristoff are back at it again - somehow they topped the first installment of this series. Gemina was as involved, sciencey, and most importantly, as cathartic, if not more, than Illuminae.
It's extremely refreshing to go into 2017 reading a YA book I loved, especially considering my track record last year.
Kaufman and Kristoff are back at it again - somehow they topped the first installment of this series. Gemina was as involved, sciencey, and most importantly, as cathartic, if not more, than Illuminae.
It's extremely refreshing to go into 2017 reading a YA book I loved, especially considering my track record last year.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
My spoiler-free thoughts on the series as a whole can be found here.
The Illuminae Files are the literary equivalent of found footage movies. All three books are supposed to be dossiers compiled to recount what lead to and occurred during a specific incident. This means that we’re told our tale through a series of emails, chat-logs, video-footage-transcripts, and computer logs instead of traditional dialogue and scenes.
If that sounds interesting to you and you like sci-fi, then I recommend the entire series with Gemina being my personal favorite.
While Obsidio and Illuminae are the more thought-provoking tales, Gemina has the best characters. Most of the series is composed of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. There's a lot to be said for those kind of stories, but I've always loved big personalities in fiction. I also tend to like people on the extreme ends of society. With that in mind, meet Hanna, Nik, and Ella. Hanna is the pampered only child of a space-station commander. All of her father's favored bonding methods involve military training of some kind. Nik and Ella are members of what is basically the space mafia. They're both involved in the interstellar drug market.
Have I mentioned that I also love stories where people from drastically different walks of life get thrown together? Because I do, making this the easy winner for my favorite entry for the series.
It didn't earn that based on the characters' backstories, though. It's also my favorite from a plot perspective. All three novels involve people fighting for their lives, but this book is the smallest-scale conflict of the three. Yes, there are thousands of lives on the line based on how the conflict plays out, but there are less than 30 people directly involved in what's going on. Of those 30-odd individuals, only a handful make up the "good guys".
That's what sets this book apart from the others for me. All of the others involve far more characters on both sides of the battle. That doesn't make them bad, but remember that everything is being told based on files. The more characters involved, the less those files can focus on one-on-one encounters. Gemina's smaller team of central characters allows them development that the other books simply couldn't accommodate. It also helps that the "journal" style entries included in this one were doodles. There's something about a character doodling to get their emotions out that feels more real to me than diary entries (Illuminae) or vlogs (Obsidio). Those other two file styles just feel forced for some reason.
That's a wrap for this one. I know I didn't go into depth about the plot, but it ties in with the plot of the series' first book (Illuminae), so the vagueness is on purpose. Just know that, if you like space adventures and action, then this is a good choice for you.
The Illuminae Files are the literary equivalent of found footage movies. All three books are supposed to be dossiers compiled to recount what lead to and occurred during a specific incident. This means that we’re told our tale through a series of emails, chat-logs, video-footage-transcripts, and computer logs instead of traditional dialogue and scenes.
If that sounds interesting to you and you like sci-fi, then I recommend the entire series with Gemina being my personal favorite.
While Obsidio and Illuminae are the more thought-provoking tales, Gemina has the best characters. Most of the series is composed of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. There's a lot to be said for those kind of stories, but I've always loved big personalities in fiction. I also tend to like people on the extreme ends of society. With that in mind, meet Hanna, Nik, and Ella. Hanna is the pampered only child of a space-station commander. All of her father's favored bonding methods involve military training of some kind. Nik and Ella are members of what is basically the space mafia. They're both involved in the interstellar drug market.
Have I mentioned that I also love stories where people from drastically different walks of life get thrown together? Because I do, making this the easy winner for my favorite entry for the series.
It didn't earn that based on the characters' backstories, though. It's also my favorite from a plot perspective. All three novels involve people fighting for their lives, but this book is the smallest-scale conflict of the three. Yes, there are thousands of lives on the line based on how the conflict plays out, but there are less than 30 people directly involved in what's going on. Of those 30-odd individuals, only a handful make up the "good guys".
That's what sets this book apart from the others for me. All of the others involve far more characters on both sides of the battle. That doesn't make them bad, but remember that everything is being told based on files. The more characters involved, the less those files can focus on one-on-one encounters. Gemina's smaller team of central characters allows them development that the other books simply couldn't accommodate. It also helps that the "journal" style entries included in this one were doodles. There's something about a character doodling to get their emotions out that feels more real to me than diary entries (Illuminae) or vlogs (Obsidio). Those other two file styles just feel forced for some reason.
That's a wrap for this one. I know I didn't go into depth about the plot, but it ties in with the plot of the series' first book (Illuminae), so the vagueness is on purpose. Just know that, if you like space adventures and action, then this is a good choice for you.
I’d like to medically diagnose myself with extreme shock.
(courtesy of Nik Malikov’s escapades) (See also: Nik Malikov = everything)
The Illuminae Files series, so far, has put me through just about the longest roller coaster ride to ever exist. Each twist of the plot leaves me expecting a bigger and bigger drop, which is always delivered. Over six hundred pages, and every single one had me at the edge of my seat. That’s a pretty damn impressive feat for any book to accomplish.
“Now, children, watch closely. Hold your breath. Listen. And I will show you the components of calamity.”
(If you’re looking for my review of the first book in The Illuminae Files, click here )
It’s almost unfathomable to me- how the plot of this series continually progresses into something bigger and better. Every time my emotions are attacked, I’m left knowing there’s another three disasters waiting to throw themselves at me.
Gemina takes place not on the Hypatia, but inside jump station Heimdall, where two new characters will face the disastrous attacks led by BeiTech industries. We follow Hanna Donnely, the spoiled daughter of Heimdall’s captain, and Nik Malikov, born to a family of convicts and criminals. With the Hypatia on schedule to arrive at jump station Heimdall, (with news of the Kerenza invasion) everything is going fine. Until a crew of BeiTech operatives infiltrate the jump station.
That’s when things are compromised.
I learned after reading book one that Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff are always waiting to salt my wounds. Example: the audacity of introducing Nik Malikov as a character. *sigh* It was pretty much set in stone that I was going to fall in love with him.
If you’re reluctant to pick up book two, I won’t even bother yelling at you. This was an adventure to say the least, and it’s more than worth the time it’ll take you to read. Gemina is extraordinary.
Spoilers ahead.
I'm obligated to state the obvious here. Loving Nik Malikov is a whole commitment in itself. Those that have read Gemina know that I was
D R A G G E D
by the tail end of my attachment to him. His “death” reduced my mind to a cavernous pit of yelled comforts, such as ‘mAybE niK’S nOt rEaLLy dEaD, BeCAuSe sOmeTHinG’s uP WitH tHe WoRMhoLe!’ (Which, thank god for intuition amiright?) The moral of the story is that my heart is now patched up with a big bandaid made out of a jasmine corsage ;)
How do I begin to explain the rush of adrenaline induced emotions I felt while reading this book? Who am I kidding, if you’re still here, you’ve read the book. You know. You’re a survivor.
I mean, the worms?? The BeiTech squad?? Kady. Ezra. Ella. Hanna. NIK. I’m absolutely in love with this series, and lucky to have picked it up. I’m eager to read Obsidio, which will have to be my number one priority after the way this ended.
(courtesy of Nik Malikov’s escapades) (See also: Nik Malikov = everything)
The Illuminae Files series, so far, has put me through just about the longest roller coaster ride to ever exist. Each twist of the plot leaves me expecting a bigger and bigger drop, which is always delivered. Over six hundred pages, and every single one had me at the edge of my seat. That’s a pretty damn impressive feat for any book to accomplish.
“Now, children, watch closely. Hold your breath. Listen. And I will show you the components of calamity.”
(If you’re looking for my review of the first book in The Illuminae Files, click here )
It’s almost unfathomable to me- how the plot of this series continually progresses into something bigger and better. Every time my emotions are attacked, I’m left knowing there’s another three disasters waiting to throw themselves at me.
Gemina takes place not on the Hypatia, but inside jump station Heimdall, where two new characters will face the disastrous attacks led by BeiTech industries. We follow Hanna Donnely, the spoiled daughter of Heimdall’s captain, and Nik Malikov, born to a family of convicts and criminals. With the Hypatia on schedule to arrive at jump station Heimdall, (with news of the Kerenza invasion) everything is going fine. Until a crew of BeiTech operatives infiltrate the jump station.
That’s when things are compromised.
I learned after reading book one that Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff are always waiting to salt my wounds. Example: the audacity of introducing Nik Malikov as a character. *sigh* It was pretty much set in stone that I was going to fall in love with him.
If you’re reluctant to pick up book two, I won’t even bother yelling at you. This was an adventure to say the least, and it’s more than worth the time it’ll take you to read. Gemina is extraordinary.
Spoilers ahead.
I'm obligated to state the obvious here. Loving Nik Malikov is a whole commitment in itself. Those that have read Gemina know that I was
D R A G G E D
by the tail end of my attachment to him. His “death” reduced my mind to a cavernous pit of yelled comforts, such as ‘mAybE niK’S nOt rEaLLy dEaD, BeCAuSe sOmeTHinG’s uP WitH tHe WoRMhoLe!’ (Which, thank god for intuition amiright?) The moral of the story is that my heart is now patched up with a big bandaid made out of a jasmine corsage ;)
How do I begin to explain the rush of adrenaline induced emotions I felt while reading this book? Who am I kidding, if you’re still here, you’ve read the book. You know. You’re a survivor.
I mean, the worms?? The BeiTech squad?? Kady. Ezra. Ella. Hanna. NIK. I’m absolutely in love with this series, and lucky to have picked it up. I’m eager to read Obsidio, which will have to be my number one priority after the way this ended.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Achei os personagens (que são outros) um pouco menos legais que do primeiro livro, mas ainda assim, adorei! Melhor diagramação de livros ever! Muito gostoso de ler!
I honestly liked the first book better. I feel that there was more action in this book then the first though. I think adding parts of the court proceedings into the book was genius. I wish there was more Kady/AIDEN love-action going on. I have more of a preference to the characters in the first book then in this one. I like how the book took place on Heimdall and confirmed Kady suspicions about someone from Beitech infiltrating the space station, to prevent further assistance to the Kerenza Colony and the Hypatia/Alexander fleet. It made the story more well-rounded and filled in holes for us while adding on to the story. The plot twist at the end had me all fucked up (multi-universes...).