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whatsounddoesagunmake'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
4.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse and War
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
louisallama's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Grief, Slavery, Violence, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
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: Death, Death of parent, Child death, War, Violence, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Torture
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
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
booksteaandchocolate's review against another edition
- 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 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.
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, and Suicide