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exorcismemily's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off really slow and with a bunch of information that I didn't feel was necessary. By the end of it, I was totally into the story and dying to know how it would end. I wish parts of it would have been done differently, but I liked it overall. I'll be reading the second one when it comes out.
zaratanna's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
medium-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
5.0
badamsadamson's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.25
tealattes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Space battles meet airborne diseases and a loopy AI in this action packed opening to the Illuminae Files series. 10/10 recommend for fans of laid back sci fi who wouldn’t mind a little bit of interstitial romance and girl-against-all-odds type things. (check TWS)
With the unconventional formatting there was so much depth and detail. It is told in the form of a dossier compiling all relevant documents relating to the events after they have already completed, so it’s a mystery for the reader to understand how the world got to that point. Some of these documents include transcripts of interviews, online chatting, emails, scientific reports, military after action reports, public service announcements, description of the security camera footage, personal entries, even the AI’s core data- it’s evident that there are many characters and perspectives supplied. It was a fast paced read that still didn’t sacrifice plot structure and development. It’s slightly confusing at times, but that makes it all the more fun to be able to piece together the documents.
The authors executed the science portions well- they said they had an astrophysicist, white hat hacker and medical professional look over their drafts to make the book as accurate as possible!
However it’s not too dense either and provides humorous bits and even (what I would say) philosophical and emotional themes. With the context of life or death situations, the story tackles the definition of humanity as the authorities, civilians, and even the AI make decisions weighing logic and morality.
With the unconventional formatting there was so much depth and detail. It is told in the form of a dossier compiling all relevant documents relating to the events after they have already completed, so it’s a mystery for the reader to understand how the world got to that point. Some of these documents include transcripts of interviews, online chatting, emails, scientific reports, military after action reports, public service announcements, description of the security camera footage, personal entries, even the AI’s core data- it’s evident that there are many characters and perspectives supplied. It was a fast paced read that still didn’t sacrifice plot structure and development. It’s slightly confusing at times, but that makes it all the more fun to be able to piece together the documents.
The authors executed the science portions well- they said they had an astrophysicist, white hat hacker and medical professional look over their drafts to make the book as accurate as possible!
However it’s not too dense either and provides humorous bits and even (what I would say) philosophical and emotional themes. With the context of life or death situations, the story tackles the definition of humanity as the authorities, civilians, and even the AI make decisions weighing logic and morality.
Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity wraps around its collective madness.
It is astonishing to watch the differing ways the madness shapes them. Fractures them into splinters and rearranges what remains.
It moves quickly and never is there a dull moment. I could picture the story the whole way through as if it were a movie. And the ending!!! THE ENDING!!! This book does not suffer from book one syndrome, it’s a beautiful story on its own AND it is such a promising setup for Gemina.
(Yeah, so it has some teenage romance. It’s part of the description and I can’t criticize it for executing what it promised to. It appeared rushed but under their circumstances, I just had to root for them, and it wasn’t bad. But what I did have an issue with was the frequency of swearing. It was all censored in black but context still exists and I couldn’t prevent reading it in my head. While sometimes I can get why a character would say them, other times they were overused and called too much attention to themselves. I’d prefer to dial it back so I could better focus on the actual content.)
My largest critique is that there would often be very poetic and emotional scenes ruined by sarcasm and humor. Basically, poor timing; the switches in format and characters caused a bit of mood whiplash. It would be a like a blinking light reminder that this is a YA book when without it, nothing else would indicate that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Cursing, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Self harm
vaddia99's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I honest really did not know how to rate this book at first because it was such a roller coaster to me. In the end the cons out-weighted the pros, but I think I could have really liked this book if it wasn't for a few issues that killed the whole thing for me.
1. The Romance. I don't like romance subplots usually, but this one was one of the worst I had ever read. It just felt like it was killing the tone so aggressively.
So: The couple hates each other in the beginning and then a horrible toxic mix of survivor's guilt and trauma bonding lead them to get back together without ever discussing or talking through any of their issuesexcept for minor hints to it until they do it OFF SCREEN in the last 10 pages. Situations like this make me do the exact opposite of rooting for the couple. I wanted them to break-up again or for one of them to die because they did not deserve to be trapped in a relationship where neither actually liked each other, but instead felt an obligation to be together since they were the last two people they each knew.
On top of this the novel will be in the thick of the plot, very intense tone only to cut to these two teenagers awkwardly flirting and then yelling at each other minutes later. Completely killing any suspense or momentum that the novel built up.
However, the romance continues to get so much worse.Towards the end when the AI pretends to be the male lead and FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE FEMALE LEAD? God that was so obnoxious. I can't even begin to describe how disappointing and annoying that was to me.
2. The Formatting. Listen, I love odd formatted books. House of Leaves was some of the most fun I've ever had reading. Don't get me wrong, this formatting was in SO GOOD and SO FUN at some points , but when it was bad it was bad.
The text drawn pictures? Childish and annoying. Even worse that they usually appeared during the romance scenes which already grated on me to begin with. The worst, however, was when the logic bomb went off and the next page was a text picture of ... The Scream? That ripped me straight out of the story and was so stupid.
Beyond that the most annoying bit to me was that there was a large amount of cussing in this novel, which would not be a problem except all of the cussing was blacked out. Yeah, that would be a fun bit if it was just at the interviews in the beginning or once or twice throughout the novel but every other page being just dotted with black from constant vulgarity was so annoying.
Otherwise I think I could have really like the book! The plot was really interesting and if the romance was removed, and the cussing either uncensored or reduced I think it could have been incredible. As it stands though the novel annoyed me more than entertained me.
1. The Romance. I don't like romance subplots usually, but this one was one of the worst I had ever read. It just felt like it was killing the tone so aggressively.
So: The couple hates each other in the beginning and then a horrible toxic mix of survivor's guilt and trauma bonding lead them to get back together without ever discussing or talking through any of their issues
On top of this the novel will be in the thick of the plot, very intense tone only to cut to these two teenagers awkwardly flirting and then yelling at each other minutes later. Completely killing any suspense or momentum that the novel built up.
However, the romance continues to get so much worse.
2. The Formatting. Listen, I love odd formatted books. House of Leaves was some of the most fun I've ever had reading. Don't get me wrong, this formatting was in SO GOOD and SO FUN at some points , but when it was bad it was bad.
The text drawn pictures? Childish and annoying. Even worse that they usually appeared during the romance scenes which already grated on me to begin with.
Beyond that the most annoying bit to me was that there was a large amount of cussing in this novel, which would not be a problem except all of the cussing was blacked out. Yeah, that would be a fun bit if it was just at the interviews in the beginning or once or twice throughout the novel but every other page being just dotted with black from constant vulgarity was so annoying.
Otherwise I think I could have really like the book! The plot was really interesting and if the romance was removed, and the cussing either uncensored or reduced I think it could have been incredible. As it stands though the novel annoyed me more than entertained me.
renaranja's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
books_with_kaumudi's review against another edition
3.0
Rating - 3.5/5
I really liked the formatting of the book. The story is told in the form of reports and chats and this makes it an interesting and quick read. I liked the story, but there wasn't much that blew my mind away. Yes, there were a couple of twists that I wasn't expecting but I think I would not have finished this book this quick if it wasn't for the formatting.
I really liked the formatting of the book. The story is told in the form of reports and chats and this makes it an interesting and quick read. I liked the story, but there wasn't much that blew my mind away. Yes, there were a couple of twists that I wasn't expecting but I think I would not have finished this book this quick if it wasn't for the formatting.
bookishrona's review against another edition
4.0
Illuminae by @misterkristoff and @amiekaufmanauthor was something out of this world! I have never read anything like this!
The time, detail and energy put into this book is beyond impressive! Also all I could think about is the amount of ink needed to print this book!
I was enraptured from the very beginning! I liked that you never really had the story from one persons perspective it was all second hand accounts although you still felt connected and envolved in the story even more as you followed reports, emails, radio transcripts and so much more!
Kady was incredible I wish I would be able to use technology as she does! So smart and resourceful, so brave and courageous!!
This book shows the length some people will go to discover the truth and how far other will go to hide that truth!
I cannot wait to read the rest of this series truely an increadible and unique read!
The time, detail and energy put into this book is beyond impressive! Also all I could think about is the amount of ink needed to print this book!
I was enraptured from the very beginning! I liked that you never really had the story from one persons perspective it was all second hand accounts although you still felt connected and envolved in the story even more as you followed reports, emails, radio transcripts and so much more!
Kady was incredible I wish I would be able to use technology as she does! So smart and resourceful, so brave and courageous!!
This book shows the length some people will go to discover the truth and how far other will go to hide that truth!
I cannot wait to read the rest of this series truely an increadible and unique read!
bookountant's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0