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maregred'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
kathrynleereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I read this book in a little under 48 (stressful) hours.
Not only are you introduced to a third cast of lovable characters led by Asha, Rhys, Katya, and Oshiro, but you also have to worry about the original squad from the Alexander/Hypatia/Heimdall/Mao.
This book (as well as the two preceding it) had me laughing, crying, cursing, and just about everything else you can imagine.
The plot raced by, the parallel storylines on Kerenza and on the Mao fitting together seamlessly. There were plenty of twists, some of which were surprising, others that weren't (but that usually covered for bigger twists).
The characters, both old and new, kicked-ass like never before.
Isaac Grant became an unexpected favorite of mine. I love the found family trope, and I think this is the first book where that found family included an actual parent.
I loved how effortlessly he swished them all under his parental wing, while still making sure each of them knew that he recognized and was proud of their specific strengths.
My ultimate favorite character, not just in Obsidio, but throughout the entire Illuminae Files trilogy, is still AIDAN.
There's morally grey, and then there's logically evil. Each and every time he commits genocide (because, yes, there are multiple times), he lays out the logic behind it, plain and simple.
And he's not wrong. Does that justify killing thousands of people? Of course not. But watching him learn and grow from "it" to "him" was amazingly interesting to read.
Plus, evil or not, without AIDAN's actions, this series would have ended a loooong time ago.
If you haven't read the Illuminae Files, do yourself a favor and go get them now. You won't be sorry.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
Minor: Ableism, Cursing, Mental illness, and Alcohol
itsbumley'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
jessi_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying and Terminal illness
camoo3032'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Torture
cait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War
anticapitalist_2000's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Colonisation
Minor: Toxic relationship
second chance romancenuin_giliath's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Looking back, I can't help but compare my experiences with each of the three books. Although they share many similarities in their compositions (and even plots), they achieved different levels of success. Unfortunately, I found Obsidio to be the weakest due to a couple of issues:
1) Even though I highly enjoyed Illuminae and then absolutely loved Gemina, I found it hard to become as excited about Obsidio. I struggled to care about these new characters and situations throughout much of the first half. It didn't help that the overall tone was more somber and the main threat didn't seem as present or dangerous as the past ones had been. While it was nice having the characters from the previous books join forces, there really wasn't much for them to do until the last 25% or so. The lack of connection to the new characters and a less thrilling plot resulted in the pacing feeling much slower in comparison to the previous books.
2) From the very start, I noticed that this last book had less of a sci-fi feel when comparing it to its predecessors. Whereas Illuminae and Gemina involved threats such as spaceship chases, a deadly airborne virus, space parasites, a malfunctioning wormhole, and collapsing parallel universes, Obsidio had genocide, starvation, curfew, suicide, detention centers, Nazi-esque brutes, and a small resistance force. None of these aspects felt unique to this genre and they comprised the main focus for the first 60% or so before the final space battle began. Even though the first two books featured tragic moments and huge losses, they didn't feel as depressing due to the sci-fi elements which caused them. Here, I had to stop reading a few times because things became too emotionally heavy for me to handle. I realize this might not be the case for everyone, but after two books which focused on sci-fi action, I didn't expect to see such realistic misfortunes depicted.
A final (and more minor) complaint… I wish the characters that we had come to know and love from the previous book(s) weren't so frequently sidelined in favor of the newcomers. I would have preferred to have a greater awareness of all of them from the start. Then we could have learned a little more about them and their experiences from book to book instead of dedicating one novel to them and neglecting further development beyond that.
Even with its occasional clunkiness, this finale was satisfying and the entire series was quite entertaining. If you don't mind some sci-fi and haven't checked this out yet, you should -- if for no other reason than to admire the originality behind its design. If Obsidio had been told using only traditional prose, I'd probably rate it a 3.5. However, the sheer creativity and effort it must have taken to tell a cohesive three-book story through unconventional methods is astonishing and impressive. So 4-stars it is.
Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, Violence, and Police brutality