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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
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
delvie's review
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This last book of the trilogy was such a let down. I checked out 9 out of 12 hours through, and I put my reading speed up to 1.4x to get through it. I'm not a betting woman, but I'd put money that they got a ghost writer for this one. It feels lifeless in comparison to it's predecessors.
If Katie and Hannah were Blossom and Bubbles, Asha was Buttercup's understudy they grabbed last minute from the preschool next door. I don't even remember the love interest's full name if I'm being honest.
If Katie and Hannah were Blossom and Bubbles, Asha was Buttercup's understudy they grabbed last minute from the preschool next door. I don't even remember the love interest's full name if I'm being honest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Blood
samvanz12's review against another edition
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
ravensandlace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
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So I adored the first two books of this series. I was so intrigued by the way it was written. It wasn’t a typical novel. It had chat logs, texts, video surveillance, etc. This book series got me interested in science fiction. But this book in particular was a bit of a disappointment to me.
So normally the first two books are about a couple. We had Kady and Ezra in Illuminae. There was Nik and Hanna for Gemina. This one promised the same thing with Asha and Rhys but it didn’t happen as much as it did in the first two books. Asha and Rhys took a back seat to the drama that was happening with Kady and the ship she was on. I honestly can’t remember what the ship was called, I’m so sorry. I was confused about what was going on with the ship and what they were trying to do, to be honest. There was just so much science and war terms.
The characters were okay. Like I mentioned above, Asha and Rhys were the “it couple” for this book. But they took a back seat so I didn’t get to know them as well. I don’t really have much of an opinion on them. I did like Asha pretty well for the brief times we did get to read about her. Her determination and her love for a child that wasn’t even hers warmed my heart.
Basically I spent my time being confused while reading this book. This book and the series in general, has a problem with having a lot of scientific terms and theories. I got a C in science for my entire high school and college career. I only know about the human body and brain and I barely know that much. There were also parts of the book that were about war and strategy. My only knowledge in that is playing Stratego and I won that game by getting Russia early on and slowly taking over Europe. So you all can imagine how confused I was.
Overall, this was okay. It was a nice ending to the series. I just have a small side book to read and I’ll have completed this series fully. I think this series changed the game with how it was written. I hope we see more books written like this because it truly makes reading a lot more fun!
Ps. I still dislike ADIAN. Sorry not sorry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Violence
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