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mengzhenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A really satisfying conclusion to this trilogy; I liked the tension and action as usual and overall was just a lot of fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Genocide and Violence
Minor: Body horror and Sexual assault
ktrecs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-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? Yes
2.0
Holy shit I finished a book!!!!
This was the dynamic finale I expected from this series, but it just didn't *hit* like the others. I think part of the problem is that the irreverent humour and liveliness with which the narrative parts are presented seem particularly incongruous in this section, mixed up as they were with detailed descriptions of straight up genocide so like. There was that.
I did like the themes of conscience, consciousness and humanity (a staple theme in scifi) but I'm a little disappointed too that we didn't get to see the larger ramifications of the Kerenza IV conviction. The whole series harps on about how complex and redeemable humanity is, so making the Big Bad just..... a woman..... and to suggest on top of that that she is somehow less redeemable than the soldiers who actually committed the heinous war crimes she ordered them to seems to be a little bit abortive. Where is the systemic analysis here? The logical conclusion of the arguments the whole series makes seems to be that capitalism is the real evil - through this lens, slapping some corporate head honchos with a guilty verdict hardly seems to qualify as the justice owed to the Kerenzan refugees.
Maybe that's a lot to ask of a series like this, but it just didn't sit right with me.
Despite all these complaints (and a lamentable dearth of queer characters, like wtf was with that??? Three central couples and all of them hetero????), I really loved this series. Kaufman and Kristoff really do The Most with form, and I think it's brilliantly executed. Found footage is an absolute FAVE of mine, conceptually speaking, but I often find the actual works hard to digest (lookin @ you, shaky cam footage), but the frame narrative drew everything together neatly here. AIDAN was a particular favourite of mine, because it added a really excellent element of exisistential dread all the way through the series (and because I am a SUCKER for a what-makes-us-human AI plotline). Most impressively, I my opinion, is that the threads of emotional anguish stayed taut throughout even the most clusterfucky action sequences and I think that's a really hard line to walk without becoming heavy-handed. I found this particularly incisive because of the way that aligned with the goals of the Illuminae Group - I'm thinking specifically of the choice, both by the authors and by Kady & co., to include the notes from Dr. Grant - seemingly irrelevant to the narrative itself but serving a particular persuasive purpose in the context of the court case.
Anyway this is the longest review I've written in approximately 1 million years so I guess it deserves recognition for causing a stir in my cold, dead heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Confinement and Sexual harassment
journeythroughthechapters's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
*Please don't read unless you've read Gemina
Thoughts
An epic conclusion to an epic series.
If you like action, found family, questioning of good vs evil, strong female characters you may enjoy this series.
Things I Loved
- The Characters: I feel like I've said this for all the books. I love sassy characters. And since the characters from the first two books come back we get a whole lot of sass. We have the introduction of Asha who has experienced A LOT but has big heart. Issac Grant is underrated and in the background in this story. There are a lot of teenagers in these books and having him as an adult figure was such a joy to read. I just love the cast of characters and I liked the dynamics between them.
- The Plot: Honestly I loved how it all came together. I love that Illuminae and Gemina have story arcs of their own but this final books brings it all together and I thought it was done in a really clever way. I also never felt bored. So this kept me engaged.
- The Dilemma: Illuminae touched on this also but this book delves into what is good, what is evil, what is a monster and while there is no straight forward answer to this it just makes you think. And I like that.
Things I Didn't Like
- If I'm being very very picky the are aspects of the writing I don't like but it was nothing detrimental to the story. Yes this book does use the same tropes as the first two books there are some people who will enjoy that and some who won't. I did. But I can see why people wouldn't be a fan of this 3rd book. I am but I thought I'd include it as a "con".
So overall. Loved this series. Loved this finally. So glad I gave this series a try.
Representation
Lesbian (side characters), POC (side characters)
Content Warning
Death, Suicide, Blood, Pedophilia (not on page), Genocide, Grief
Thoughts
An epic conclusion to an epic series.
If you like action, found family, questioning of good vs evil, strong female characters you may enjoy this series.
Things I Loved
- The Characters: I feel like I've said this for all the books. I love sassy characters. And since the characters from the first two books come back we get a whole lot of sass. We have the introduction of Asha who has experienced A LOT but has big heart. Issac Grant is underrated and in the background in this story. There are a lot of teenagers in these books and having him as an adult figure was such a joy to read. I just love the cast of characters and I liked the dynamics between them.
- The Plot: Honestly I loved how it all came together. I love that Illuminae and Gemina have story arcs of their own but this final books brings it all together and I thought it was done in a really clever way. I also never felt bored. So this kept me engaged.
- The Dilemma: Illuminae touched on this also but this book delves into what is good, what is evil, what is a monster and while there is no straight forward answer to this it just makes you think. And I like that.
Things I Didn't Like
- If I'm being very very picky the are aspects of the writing I don't like but it was nothing detrimental to the story. Yes this book does use the same tropes as the first two books there are some people who will enjoy that and some who won't. I did. But I can see why people wouldn't be a fan of this 3rd book. I am but I thought I'd include it as a "con".
So overall. Loved this series. Loved this finally. So glad I gave this series a try.
Representation
Lesbian (side characters), POC (side characters)
Content Warning
Death, Suicide, Blood, Pedophilia (not on page), Genocide, Grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, Suicide, and Blood
Minor: Pedophilia
ellianderjoy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, War, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Medical content
trips's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Honestly, this is a great conclusion to the trilogy, overall.
I think its a shame we're not given as much of Rhys and Asha interaction to feel for them the same way we feel for the rest of the kids. I would have loved to see more of just them, but for the sake of the plot, I get why we didn't get that.
The entire book feels SUPER fast compared to the other 2, but they had a lot of ground to cover, and I think it was overall a successful finale!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Genocide
anticapitalist_2000's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Violence
Minor: Toxic relationship
second chance romancenomora's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I like this book far better than the previous one, but not as much as the first. It wasn't a blatant copy of Illuminae like Gemina was, and we got more of the "global" happenings which is something that I'm really happy about. The action sequences were great and the terror of warfare is probably the area in which this book shines the most. The romance I didn't really care about. It is obvious the characters were introduced solely for the purpose of being our eyes into what was happening on Kerenza IV and had just the right skill set for things to turn out okay. Out of all the cast couples they were the least fleshed out. A thing that especially grated on me was the amount of offhand remarks about queer relationships when all three of the main couples were straight. I realize that this is probably due to writers who each took a portion, Amie the main girl characters and Jay the main guy characters but it was still a pain to read. It also would have helped not to have three same relationship dynamics. They could have at least gone for something drastically different in the middle book where the two mains weren't separated due to circumstances. I loved the format, and I loved the conflict, and I loved AIDAN, but the teenage posturing at the trials I could have done without.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Violence, Death, and Gun violence
Minor: Body horror, Grief, Torture, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
Additional content warnings: Minor Body Horror:booksteaandchocolate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I will be honest.. This review and rating is a completely biased review due to triggers.
I loooooved the first two books. Like loved loved. I was so excited to read Obsidio and for a good portion of the book I was pretty happy trucking along and then bam.... I had to stop reading. I know that all the books are pretty harrowing and I expected lots of rough topics in this one and maybe the writing was on the wall for where this book might go. In any case, I spent a lot of time trying to skim the next few pages to try to just get through to different conflict scenarios in the book.
I will say this though the book/series has a lot at stake, but not. The authors have real attachment to their main cast of characters and nothing ever really puts them at risk. Yes there are a few fake out moments but all the risk and horror mainly lays outside of the main casting group. There is a security from the end of the first book knowing who is the Illuminae Group lets you know that even though everything is terrible in the books the cast you like make it through it all.
With that said. The book is still impeccably written. It's fun and engaging and reading it to the end was still so great. The only reason I have to rate it a 3.5 is because of my reading experience. I struggled to get through to the end because of everything the Kerenza colony had/has to go through. It physically hurt me. I would still highly recommend this book to just about anyone since its such a good series, the only reason I struggled was due to my own triggers.
I loooooved the first two books. Like loved loved. I was so excited to read Obsidio and for a good portion of the book I was pretty happy trucking along and then bam.... I had to stop reading. I know that all the books are pretty harrowing and I expected lots of rough topics in this one and maybe the writing was on the wall for where this book might go. In any case, I spent a lot of time trying to skim the next few pages to try to just get through to different conflict scenarios in the book.
I will say this though the book/series has a lot at stake, but not. The authors have real attachment to their main cast of characters and nothing ever really puts them at risk. Yes there are a few fake out moments but all the risk and horror mainly lays outside of the main casting group. There is a security from the end of the first book knowing who is the Illuminae Group lets you know that even though everything is terrible in the books the cast you like make it through it all.
With that said. The book is still impeccably written. It's fun and engaging and reading it to the end was still so great. The only reason I have to rate it a 3.5 is because of my reading experience. I struggled to get through to the end because of everything the Kerenza colony had/has to go through. It physically hurt me. I would still highly recommend this book to just about anyone since its such a good series, the only reason I struggled was due to my own triggers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, and Suicide
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
the ending may have made me cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault
nuin_giliath's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I thought I understood the hype after reading Illuminae, but I really, really get it now. When I started this series, I had no idea just how much of a ride it would be. Overall, it was an incredible story with endearing characters, well-developed plots, and crazy twists that made my jaw drop and head spin. I may not have always been a fan of every character at first, but I ultimately found them to be both engaging and admirable over the course of the story. They had unique personalities, backstories, and manners of demonstrating their individual strengths. I truly enjoyed following them on their journeys. The various plots, while convoluted at times, were often captivating and the writing tended to keep me on the edge of my seat. The audio recording is also fantastic - although I would still recommend flipping through a physical copy at some point due to the designs and artwork featured.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, Violence, and Police brutality
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