Reviews with content warning for War - Gemina

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Gemina by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman

15 reviews

lawbooks600's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Representation: Black and Asian characters
Score: Eight out of ten.

Wow. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff deliver. Again.

After reading and enjoying The Aurora Cycle and Illuminae I wanted to read Gemina, and headed in with high expectations that I'll enjoy it as much as the previous four works from these authors. I saw Gemina in a library, picked it up and glanced at the blurb, making it seem intriguing. When I closed the final page, it was enjoyable.

It starts with Hanna and Nik living on a space station in the middle of nowhere named the Heimdall, while Kady is headed to the Hypatia to warn them of the upcoming BeiTech invasion in the opening pages. Again, I'm not sure where to begin with Gemina, but I'll try, it's similar to Illuminae in terms of almost everything. The pacing is fast even though it's above 600 pages, but it doesn't feel like it, and the plot is even more engaging as the stakes increased again, I'll tell you why later. The characters are likable and they're people I can root for, but they're not the most relatable, still, the worldbuilding is on point for a narrative set hundreds of years in the future. I can imagine humanity developing advanced technologies like wormholes and huge spaceships when they reach that time. Sometimes Gemina can slow down, but that can allow for characters to start relationships like when Hanna started hers with Nik, and the dialogue is entertaining as always. Oh, and AIDAN the AI is back, but doesn't play a critical role unlike in Illuminae. Gemina is like Illuminae since it too is not a book--it's another collection of files, including surveillance footage, DMs, group chats, diagrams, computer screens (sort of) and text art, which looks even better and made me enjoy the narrative more. The conclusion is enthralling as Hanna and Nik save two universes from destroying themselves, escape the BeiTech assault and now all I must do is read Obsidio to discover what happens next.

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modernathos's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

The universe may not have imploded, but my brain most certainly did.

I thought it couldn't get more chaotic than the first book. Well, buckle up, buckaroo, because it did. I loved every second of this almost 700 page long book and do not regret all the brain cells I lost to it. I can't wait for both groups to come together in the third book and probably get more chaotic.

February 22nd, 2024 - February 26th, 2024.

“Patience and Silence had one beautiful daughter. And her name was Vengeance.”

“Your kind have perfected the clockwork of murder long ago.”

“You might get only one shot. So shoot. You know who said that?"
The rifle clatters to the bloody floor.
"Hanna FUCKING Donnelly. That's who.”

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maregred's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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kathrynleereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

No matter how many times I read it, Gemina never ceases to amaze me. Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's abilities to foreshadow, create lovable characters, create truly hatable characters, delve into science as well as science fiction, and keep every single detail straight while doing it are completely unmatched.

It's always a gamble when you're talking about a second book in a series with completely different characters. For many readers, including myself, the characters are one of the driving factors that get me to pick up a book.

Having fallen in love with Kady, Ezra, and AIDAN, I was shocked to find that I was immediately as drawn into Gemina as I had been to Illuminae, despite the completely new cast of characters.

The Illuminae Files will forever be one of my favorite series.

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eloise__'s review against another edition

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4.0

Ella and Mr Biggles II are so great.

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laurenevlyn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

These books somehow manage to be innovative in an area that is thousands of years old. The Illuminae series is groundbreaking, funny, emotional, dark, imaginative, and incredibly well made. My only issue in reading this book was the transcription sections. I fully understand and see the value of their inclusion (and I adore how they’ve managed to make a lovable character just from the way the transcriber describes the videos), but it threw off the rapid pace that I had grown accustomed to from the chat logs and AIDAN. Other than that, this was absolutely incredible.

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