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tealattes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
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.
Graphic: Gore, Death, Cursing, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Self harm
tabea1409's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, War, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Blood, Genocide, Cursing, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, and Death
davidvlopz's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Self harm
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
First of all, the format is ingenious. An entire story told just through different files and documents? Count me in.
Second, the complexity required by those files. If you take the time to actually delve into the pages (even the ones that don't look too important to the story, like the list of confirmed deceased), you'll be blown away by what you find.
Third, any author who has the ability to make me care about a mass-murdering robot will forever have my loyalty.
If you haven't read the Illuminae Files, I recommend that you drop everything and start now. Even if sci-fi isn't necessarily your cup of tea, I promise you won't be disappointed.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, and War
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Genocide
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
itsbumley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Murder, Violence, Blood, Gore, Suicide, Child death, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mothreadsbookssometimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Illuminae is a very YA-friendly sci-fi mystery/thriller (I know it’s not tagged as a thriller, but it is) with minimal swearing (“censored on reports”), and only vague references to sex (jokes about “your sister” and references to acts done prior to the events of the story).
Take it from someone who normally hates thrillers, this book is good. Admittedly, there’s a lot of death and blood (only a few disturbingly gory parts, though), so do keep that in mind, but I didn’t find it too uncomfortable and I’m normally a very squeamish person.
Can’t wait for the next book!
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm
I know it’s a lot of content warnings, so do proceed with caution. I’m not very good with blood/gore, but I only had a couple small parts (see below) that made me uncomfortable. There’s a lot of death, but it’s not vividly gory until about 45% (I think) into the bookmapplethenerd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Body horror, Murder, Self harm, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
alexfrommars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death
Minor: Self harm
ashleereadsbooks692's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: War, Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Terminal illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
ne0n_ange1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm and Suicide
The formatting is incredible! This is more of a work of art than a book.