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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
I AM WEEPING... Pretty sure I am no longer human... I have too many emotions.
************************* Proper review now I am feeling better ************************
You know, I think if you read enough Jay Kristoff books (and Amie escapes from this basket because of her speech at the book launch), you learn to expect the worst and hope for the best... so I actually didn't have a moment where I threw this book at all. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some tears and some "oh-no!"'s, but no actual throwing of the book. Which I think means that they either didn't do enough damage or I am sufficiently indoctrinated of Kristoff's "I want to watch the world burn" attitude to keeping his characters alive and well. Amie definitely brings out his 'warm and fluffy' side. She should co-write Darkdawn with him.
So, the briefest of brief highlights about the plot, you know, in case you haven't started this series... So, we come in following the events of Gemina (yes, this is the point where we cry and hug in support groups when we talk about the second book). Things are not going well for the survivors of that book, and they are headed back to Kerenza because of reasons (spoiler-free is hard, chums). They face a bunch of obstacles that I was like "OMFG, NO!" about. The on the other side we have Asha Grant (previously expected perished in the initial assault) and her buddies barely surviving the initial attack, let alone seven months of planet inhabitation by the BeiTech pounders. In case you aren't aware, this is the end of the trilogy, so suffice to say, a LOT of shit goes down.
While we actually keep tabs on the remaining characters from the other two books more so in this story, we still get a couple of newbies, namely Asha (Kady's cousin), Rhys (Asha's ex boyf), Garver (minor role in Gemina), and Oshiro (Rhys' supervisor). There are a few others, but these four are the mains (in my opinion).
You know how in the other two, Kady and Hanna were ELITE? Well, Asha Grant is just normal. Which, while it made the story far less exciting, was actually really nice in terms of her being relatable (because I am not extra in terms of bad-assery, hacking or looks). In fact, she's just doing the best that she can and keeping her head down so as to gain as little attention as possible. That is, until Rhys walks in and nearly blows everything up (literally). These Grant girls are not having much luck with their exes during the invasion.
OK, then we have Rhys I'm-a-communications-technical-expert-who-happens-to-have-been-sent-planetside-despite-not-realising-there-was-a-war-on Lindstrom. I mean, has he been living with his head in a bucket of f***ing sand?? Rhys reminds me of a slightly more likeable version of Jacin from The Lunar Chronicles. And that's because I genuinely liked him more than Jacin, but a) he's on the wrong side, b) he's blonde with some hair thing going on, c) he's a good liar and d) baes in space (yes, I know I stole that from Ashley Poston). However, I like how he plays all the BeiTech guys at cards, and I like his nickname. And that the thing with Asha was never really over. And that's waaaaay too much talking about new characters...
The world is amazing. In fact, I learnt so much about space from these books. Probably more than I ever learnt in two years of physics in high school. Also living on an ice-planet-colony or a hypothetical jump-station or spaceship. In fact, Amie and Jay should just have spaceships designed forever.
I will say this though, I was expecting FAR more deaths. Not that the 3,500+ deaths weren't enough, but we all know how I feel about main characters dying (and if you've read Gemina you'd know why), and knowing Jay (as I said earlier) I was just expecting ... more. Like, maybe no one to make it out alive. However, I'm still happy with the ending, so take all of my whining with a grain of salt.
Anyway, I F***ING LOVED IT. Thanks to Amie and Jay for my fave space series to date (let's be honest though, I still haven't even finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so I don't have a great deal to go on here).
************************* Proper review now I am feeling better ************************
You know, I think if you read enough Jay Kristoff books (and Amie escapes from this basket because of her speech at the book launch), you learn to expect the worst and hope for the best... so I actually didn't have a moment where I threw this book at all. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some tears and some "oh-no!"'s, but no actual throwing of the book. Which I think means that they either didn't do enough damage or I am sufficiently indoctrinated of Kristoff's "I want to watch the world burn" attitude to keeping his characters alive and well. Amie definitely brings out his 'warm and fluffy' side. She should co-write Darkdawn with him.
So, the briefest of brief highlights about the plot, you know, in case you haven't started this series... So, we come in following the events of Gemina (yes, this is the point where we cry and hug in support groups when we talk about the second book). Things are not going well for the survivors of that book, and they are headed back to Kerenza because of reasons (spoiler-free is hard, chums). They face a bunch of obstacles that I was like "OMFG, NO!" about. The on the other side we have Asha Grant (previously expected perished in the initial assault) and her buddies barely surviving the initial attack, let alone seven months of planet inhabitation by the BeiTech pounders. In case you aren't aware, this is the end of the trilogy, so suffice to say, a LOT of shit goes down.
While we actually keep tabs on the remaining characters from the other two books more so in this story, we still get a couple of newbies, namely Asha (Kady's cousin), Rhys (Asha's ex boyf), Garver (minor role in Gemina), and Oshiro (Rhys' supervisor). There are a few others, but these four are the mains (in my opinion).
You know how in the other two, Kady and Hanna were ELITE? Well, Asha Grant is just normal. Which, while it made the story far less exciting, was actually really nice in terms of her being relatable (because I am not extra in terms of bad-assery, hacking or looks). In fact, she's just doing the best that she can and keeping her head down so as to gain as little attention as possible. That is, until Rhys walks in and nearly blows everything up (literally). These Grant girls are not having much luck with their exes during the invasion.
OK, then we have Rhys I'm-a-communications-technical-expert-who-happens-to-have-been-sent-planetside-despite-not-realising-there-was-a-war-on Lindstrom. I mean, has he been living with his head in a bucket of f***ing sand?? Rhys reminds me of a slightly more likeable version of Jacin from The Lunar Chronicles. And that's because I genuinely liked him more than Jacin, but a) he's on the wrong side, b) he's blonde with some hair thing going on, c) he's a good liar and d) baes in space (yes, I know I stole that from Ashley Poston). However, I like how he plays all the BeiTech guys at cards, and I like his nickname. And that the thing with Asha was never really over. And that's waaaaay too much talking about new characters...
The world is amazing. In fact, I learnt so much about space from these books. Probably more than I ever learnt in two years of physics in high school. Also living on an ice-planet-colony or a hypothetical jump-station or spaceship. In fact, Amie and Jay should just have spaceships designed forever.
I will say this though, I was expecting FAR more deaths. Not that the 3,500+ deaths weren't enough, but we all know how I feel about main characters dying (and if you've read Gemina you'd know why), and knowing Jay (as I said earlier) I was just expecting ... more. Like, maybe no one to make it out alive. However, I'm still happy with the ending, so take all of my whining with a grain of salt.
Anyway, I F***ING LOVED IT. Thanks to Amie and Jay for my fave space series to date (let's be honest though, I still haven't even finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so I don't have a great deal to go on here).
A conclusion worthy of this game-changing series, and a stay-up-til-2am-to-finish-it read.
Cannot wait for Jay and Amie’s next series.
Cannot wait for Jay and Amie’s next series.
I think I might have inhaled this book after reading the first 2. I figuratively couldn't stop and I'm not sorry in the slightest. While by this time I had figured out the formula and the twists weren't as... twisty, I still very much so enjoyed the conclusion to this epic space suspense and found myself closing my eyes and catching my breath in between moments in order to continue on to see how it was going to all go down.
“Tu credi in Dio, Katya?”
“Non lo so. Devo? Esiste?”
“Appunto, è il motivo per cui diciamo che ci si crede. Non lo sappiamo. Qualcuno però ci crede, e ci spera. Ed è convinto che dopo la morte si continua a vivere, ma in maniera diversa.”
“Sempre meglio che non vivere. Secondo te com’è?”
“Secondo me si continua a vivere. Lo spero. Ma non ne sono certa, quindi devo credere. A volte è facile, a volte è difficile. A volte vorrei che mi riuscisse meglio.”
“Quindi… se uno che conosci è morto, magari quando muori lo rivedi.”
“È quello che credo, bimba mia. Ma non penso che vogliano che smettiamo di vivere. Secondo me chi è morto vuole che facciamo del nostro meglio per restare vivi, quindi facciamolo, okay?”
“Non lo so. Devo? Esiste?”
“Appunto, è il motivo per cui diciamo che ci si crede. Non lo sappiamo. Qualcuno però ci crede, e ci spera. Ed è convinto che dopo la morte si continua a vivere, ma in maniera diversa.”
“Sempre meglio che non vivere. Secondo te com’è?”
“Secondo me si continua a vivere. Lo spero. Ma non ne sono certa, quindi devo credere. A volte è facile, a volte è difficile. A volte vorrei che mi riuscisse meglio.”
“Quindi… se uno che conosci è morto, magari quando muori lo rivedi.”
“È quello che credo, bimba mia. Ma non penso che vogliano che smettiamo di vivere. Secondo me chi è morto vuole che facciamo del nostro meglio per restare vivi, quindi facciamolo, okay?”
rating: 5/5
reading challenge: 20/75
THIS SERIES IS AMAZING! I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT AND I ALREADY WANT TO RE-READ IT LMAO.
anyway here’s a partially structured review about just why i’m obsessed with the illuminae files, as well as why this was the absolute best ending to it.
THE INTERTWINING STORIES OF ALL THE BOOKS THAT COME TOGETHER:
there is little in this world that i love more than different povs that eventually come together and make one big story, just think of love actually. it’s amazing. and that’s what this trilogy did. extremely well. i can’t tell you how happy i was when the captain of the mao realised kady was isaac grant’s daughter. and the fact that asha was kady’s cousin. and just katya’s whole identity. THE INTERCONNECTIONS.
ALSO, THE CHARACTERS. i’ve already said how much i love their connections, but like, their actual friendships are unparalleled. getting to see the dynamics between kady and hanna, and ezra and nick was one of my favourite parts of this book. not to mention kady and asha’s correspondence.
THE FILES VEBGSVSFC
i don’t think it would be right for me to do a review of this series without talking about the incredible form of it. it’s such a nice way to tell a story, and works very well with this particular one.
THE LAST SCENE I-
i could probably rant about every aspect of this book, and the series as a whole, but right now let me just finish with my favourite part of obsidio. the very last scene. it made me cry. happy tears though, VERY happy tears. it was the perfect ending to the series and was just an absolute gift.
i recommend wholeheartedly, even if just for the ending lol <3
reading challenge: 20/75
THIS SERIES IS AMAZING! I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT AND I ALREADY WANT TO RE-READ IT LMAO.
anyway here’s a partially structured review about just why i’m obsessed with the illuminae files, as well as why this was the absolute best ending to it.
THE INTERTWINING STORIES OF ALL THE BOOKS THAT COME TOGETHER:
there is little in this world that i love more than different povs that eventually come together and make one big story, just think of love actually. it’s amazing. and that’s what this trilogy did. extremely well. i can’t tell you how happy i was when the captain of the mao realised kady was isaac grant’s daughter. and the fact that asha was kady’s cousin. and just katya’s whole identity. THE INTERCONNECTIONS.
ALSO, THE CHARACTERS. i’ve already said how much i love their connections, but like, their actual friendships are unparalleled. getting to see the dynamics between kady and hanna, and ezra and nick was one of my favourite parts of this book. not to mention kady and asha’s correspondence.
THE FILES VEBGSVSFC
i don’t think it would be right for me to do a review of this series without talking about the incredible form of it. it’s such a nice way to tell a story, and works very well with this particular one.
THE LAST SCENE I-
i could probably rant about every aspect of this book, and the series as a whole, but right now let me just finish with my favourite part of obsidio. the very last scene. it made me cry. happy tears though, VERY happy tears. it was the perfect ending to the series and was just an absolute gift.
i recommend wholeheartedly, even if just for the ending lol <3
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'M CEASING TO EXIST LITERALLY NOW. This book killed me. This is a ghost writing this review. Like wow. I loved it. I LOVED IT. What a fantastic conclusion. I remain fully on board with Kady and Ezra and they are my faves of this squad, at least in terms of a ship. Nik and Hanna I still think would've been better as bros for life but I'll accept their love. As for Rhys and Asha, we may not have gotten to know them too well but if you give me a guy named Rhys and then give him a QUIFF... sorry not sorry, my heart is yours buddy. The MVPs of this remain Ella and AIDEN, who deserve all the love in the world and more. Do you think we could find AIDEN a nice little AI to fall in love with too? No? Ok. Well.
Anyway my only (minor) (very minor) gripe is that they made 195209342 of these side characters gay/people of color but we didnt really get any main leads with that diversity. Was Asha some kind of brown? I wasn't 100% sure. But anyway, even then, then most of them die. Lmao. But that's something poc get used to lmao. 500 years and it seems discrimination is fiiiinally done but we still don't got any poc main leads. Hm.
OK ANY WAY. This book really had me in my damn feels. Between #dadgoals Isaac Grant (lmao him and his LANGUAGE! warnings fucking KILLED me) and that fucking CAT (if you don't remember the cat you have forgotten the true survivor of this series) and also Asha's relationship with KATYA!!!, and that motherfucking PARACHUTE!! I was really attacked by this book and there are plenty of witnesses who saw me lowkey crying in a starbucks because of how attacked I was.
Anyway there's a lot I loved about this but most of all I loved how much it emphasized that the most ordinary of people, given the right circumstances, can become extraordinary. That everyone has the potential to be a hero. That's a really beautiful message.
I'M CEASING TO EXIST LITERALLY NOW. This book killed me. This is a ghost writing this review. Like wow. I loved it. I LOVED IT. What a fantastic conclusion. I remain fully on board with Kady and Ezra and they are my faves of this squad, at least in terms of a ship. Nik and Hanna I still think would've been better as bros for life but I'll accept their love. As for Rhys and Asha, we may not have gotten to know them too well but if you give me a guy named Rhys and then give him a QUIFF... sorry not sorry, my heart is yours buddy. The MVPs of this remain Ella and AIDEN, who deserve all the love in the world and more. Do you think we could find AIDEN a nice little AI to fall in love with too? No? Ok. Well.
Anyway my only (minor) (very minor) gripe is that they made 195209342 of these side characters gay/people of color but we didnt really get any main leads with that diversity. Was Asha some kind of brown? I wasn't 100% sure. But anyway, even then, then most of them die. Lmao. But that's something poc get used to lmao. 500 years and it seems discrimination is fiiiinally done but we still don't got any poc main leads. Hm.
OK ANY WAY. This book really had me in my damn feels. Between #dadgoals Isaac Grant (lmao him and his LANGUAGE! warnings fucking KILLED me) and that fucking CAT (if you don't remember the cat you have forgotten the true survivor of this series) and also Asha's relationship with KATYA!!!, and that motherfucking PARACHUTE!! I was really attacked by this book and there are plenty of witnesses who saw me lowkey crying in a starbucks because of how attacked I was.
Anyway there's a lot I loved about this but most of all I loved how much it emphasized that the most ordinary of people, given the right circumstances, can become extraordinary. That everyone has the potential to be a hero. That's a really beautiful message.