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sarahsbooklife's review
- 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
5.0
This was another absolute emotional roller coaster of a book. It was an epic journey.
I loved the characters (expect Ben Garver, he was an asshole 90% of the time), the story, simply everything about this book and this series. It was so well crafted.
Simply put: this was amazing and I loved it.
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, War, Death, Murder, Genocide, and Gore
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Chronic illness
Minor: Torture, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Death of parent
nightowlreader46's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Blood, Violence, War, Slavery, Torture, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Chronic illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Medical content
kathrynleereads'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
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: War, Gun violence, Slavery, Child death, Gore, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death, Torture, and Genocide
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Mental illness, and Ableism
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review
- 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
One thing that really bothered me was the argument that kept getting used by the soldiers to justify their actions. Various soldiers and even characters who weren't planet side were basically saying that the citizens of Kerenza IV deserved what was happening to them (they were being starved, murdered, and sexually harassed by the soldiers) because they were there on the planet holding an illegal mining operation in the first place. That' is a BS argument and justification and I wanted to scratch my eyes out every time I heard someone say "but the citizens were here illegally anyways."
The book is long ending at 615 pages and there were some parts that seemed to drag on and on. I honestly don't think the story could have been any shorter because we would have ended up not getting certain information that was vital to the story. I understand why it was as long as it was, I just needed the boring parts to not be so boring.
Overall this book did not disappoint. This was an action packed sci fi and I'm happy I read the series. I give this 5 out of 5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I listened to this audiobook for free on Libbyapp.com
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Injury/Injury detail
stardust_heidi'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Gore, War, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Genocide, and Gun violence
cait'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
4.75
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Drug use, War, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Gore, Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, and Torture
escapelifeinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Violence
lucilaroife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
ktrecs'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? Yes
2.0
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.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Confinement and Sexual harassment
ellianderjoy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, War, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Medical content