You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)
This is a very buzzy book, at the intersection of YA and SciFi, right up my alley, so I jumped at the chance to read it as soon as I saw it. Another quick read, I finished it in about one day, and it kept my attention the whole time. The natural comparison for this type of book would be The Fifth Wave and I don’t think this is better than that, but it is still an enjoyable read. A couple of points I think are worth discussing in this review.
The Preposterously Proficient Protagonist
I liked the plot even though it was a little fantastical. I’ll forgive a lot of Young Adult fiction their ability for young people to do the impossible and be ‘the best” at whatever they’re doing, as that “incredibly capable young protagonist” (cough, Katniss and Tris, cough) appeals to their key demographic more than old fart literature’s audience. Kady is the best computer person ever, even though no-one on her own ship (except perhaps her friend and mentor Byron) realizes it. Once you can swallow that as something necessary in this universe, the rest is pretty easy to go with the flow, as it is an enjoyable ride.
Epistolary Format
Rather than having a character narrator (or an omniscient narrator) lay out the action in this novel, it is told in a series of emails, interviews, videoclip narratives, computer database logs, etc. A traditional epistolary novel is a series of letters between characters (see Jane Austen’s Lady Susan), the use of these additional third party source materials are keeping in character for modern novels using this concept. The most recent example I read in this format is The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger, which used court documents as well as correspondence and email to forward its story. Illuminae was much more smoothly done and takes the best advantage of this format – hiding the narrator and not giving away the fate of the main characters.
A/V Format Differences
I listened to this book in Audiobook, which had very definite advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantage – you miss out on the graphics and visual features of the hardcover book. I understand that the e-reader version also doesn’t have these graphics, so that would be the worst format, as you also don’t get the audiobook advantages. Advantage – very cool cast reading the audiobook with different perspectives and audio effects, including voice disguising effects, actual sounds effects, which was interesting and made it go very quickly. It did remind me a little bit of the original Star Trek tv series (Shatner and Nimoy) with the silly current global accents for characters (including a little Scotty knockoff), which makes very little sense for a book set 500 years in the future with a characters who have most likely never set foot on Earth (or Terra, as I think they’re referring to Earth). Really, these accents are going to be the prevailing vocal styles more than 500 years in the future for people living on distant planets in outer space? That seems loony. I’m wondering just how these accents were written in the hardcover version and whether it was equally distracting. Right now I’m trying to decide whether to push for my book club to read this book, and if so, would I steer people away from the e-reader (and possibly the audiobook) so they don’t miss the features of the paper book format.
In Sum, the characters are a little annoying, with their over-perfection and not quite as cute as they think repartee (which is probably realistic for young people talking and flirting with each other). The plot is good. We have HAL, oops, AIDEN the supercomputer who has its own agenda (and is itself a compelling character). We have a rage zombie type plague infesting people at an alarming rate. We have separation and limited communication between star-crossed lovers. While I didn’t love it as much as The Fifth Wave, I think this will be a big hit and am looking forward to the sequels.
This is a very buzzy book, at the intersection of YA and SciFi, right up my alley, so I jumped at the chance to read it as soon as I saw it. Another quick read, I finished it in about one day, and it kept my attention the whole time. The natural comparison for this type of book would be The Fifth Wave and I don’t think this is better than that, but it is still an enjoyable read. A couple of points I think are worth discussing in this review.
The Preposterously Proficient Protagonist
I liked the plot even though it was a little fantastical. I’ll forgive a lot of Young Adult fiction their ability for young people to do the impossible and be ‘the best” at whatever they’re doing, as that “incredibly capable young protagonist” (cough, Katniss and Tris, cough) appeals to their key demographic more than old fart literature’s audience. Kady is the best computer person ever, even though no-one on her own ship (except perhaps her friend and mentor Byron) realizes it. Once you can swallow that as something necessary in this universe, the rest is pretty easy to go with the flow, as it is an enjoyable ride.
Epistolary Format
Rather than having a character narrator (or an omniscient narrator) lay out the action in this novel, it is told in a series of emails, interviews, videoclip narratives, computer database logs, etc. A traditional epistolary novel is a series of letters between characters (see Jane Austen’s Lady Susan), the use of these additional third party source materials are keeping in character for modern novels using this concept. The most recent example I read in this format is The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger, which used court documents as well as correspondence and email to forward its story. Illuminae was much more smoothly done and takes the best advantage of this format – hiding the narrator and not giving away the fate of the main characters.
A/V Format Differences
I listened to this book in Audiobook, which had very definite advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantage – you miss out on the graphics and visual features of the hardcover book. I understand that the e-reader version also doesn’t have these graphics, so that would be the worst format, as you also don’t get the audiobook advantages. Advantage – very cool cast reading the audiobook with different perspectives and audio effects, including voice disguising effects, actual sounds effects, which was interesting and made it go very quickly. It did remind me a little bit of the original Star Trek tv series (Shatner and Nimoy) with the silly current global accents for characters (including a little Scotty knockoff), which makes very little sense for a book set 500 years in the future with a characters who have most likely never set foot on Earth (or Terra, as I think they’re referring to Earth). Really, these accents are going to be the prevailing vocal styles more than 500 years in the future for people living on distant planets in outer space? That seems loony. I’m wondering just how these accents were written in the hardcover version and whether it was equally distracting. Right now I’m trying to decide whether to push for my book club to read this book, and if so, would I steer people away from the e-reader (and possibly the audiobook) so they don’t miss the features of the paper book format.
In Sum, the characters are a little annoying, with their over-perfection and not quite as cute as they think repartee (which is probably realistic for young people talking and flirting with each other). The plot is good. We have HAL, oops, AIDEN the supercomputer who has its own agenda (and is itself a compelling character). We have a rage zombie type plague infesting people at an alarming rate. We have separation and limited communication between star-crossed lovers. While I didn’t love it as much as The Fifth Wave, I think this will be a big hit and am looking forward to the sequels.
The most satisfying thing about this book was the format: files and excerpts for diaries and verbal explanations of video files and- There are so many different formats that are all (almost) atypical to how books are written, which is what drew me in to this book to begin with. Some pages are just statistics, some are just repeated words, some are black with images made of words... It's like art throughout a book, and I admire the creativity.
I will say, the story was pretty predictable throughout, and the characters (for the most part) are what you would expect for teen fiction, with underlying angst and romance. I did abandon this book for a solid month or two because of a certain thing that happened that annoyed me and upset me, but I eventually returned because I wanted to finish this huge book.
Overall, I enjoyed it (despite its predictability) and would like to read the next book.
I will say, the story was pretty predictable throughout, and the characters (for the most part) are what you would expect for teen fiction, with underlying angst and romance. I did abandon this book for a solid month or two because of a certain thing that happened that annoyed me and upset me, but I eventually returned because I wanted to finish this huge book.
Overall, I enjoyed it (despite its predictability) and would like to read the next book.
Alright I've got to say that I LOVE this book! At first, around the first 100 pages or so, I was a little confused. The book sort of drops you right into the story. No explanation. Nada. The format also screwed with me. It was hard to get into the story. I felt like I wasn't getting as much as I wanted. But as I continued reading along everything started to fall into place and starts to make sense. I originally despised the formatting of this book but then I realized that I liked it and it fit with the genre and story. What I really liked about this book is the fact that it doesn't serve everything to you on a platter. The authors wrote it to actually make you think. Yea you might be a little confused in the beginning, but as you collect information as you continue reading the confusion goes away. The story starts to flow when you get used to the format and writing style.
adventurous
mysterious
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oh boy, oh boy.
I don't know if I am going to be able to be as enthusiastically devoted to this series as some others, but I did find this book quite enjoyable. I love me a good space story.
I think the greatest thing about this book is the format.
Its greatest downfall is also the format.
This book is put together like a dossier of chat logs, security video analyses... basically anything that might be recorded on a futuristic spaceship. It's genius, really. It makes the read quick and snappy, and it made the end that much better.
On the downside, I feel like we missed something. Since all we see of the characters is dialogue (well, mostly, anyway), we don't get to learn their actions. Their mannerisms, the way they look, the way they stand. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the writing, either. Because, you know, chatlogs.
Great story. Interesting formatting. Left some bits to be desired, but overall enjoyable.
I don't know if I am going to be able to be as enthusiastically devoted to this series as some others, but I did find this book quite enjoyable. I love me a good space story.
I think the greatest thing about this book is the format.
Its greatest downfall is also the format.
This book is put together like a dossier of chat logs, security video analyses... basically anything that might be recorded on a futuristic spaceship. It's genius, really. It makes the read quick and snappy, and it made the end that much better.
On the downside, I feel like we missed something. Since all we see of the characters is dialogue (well, mostly, anyway), we don't get to learn their actions. Their mannerisms, the way they look, the way they stand. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the writing, either. Because, you know, chatlogs.
Great story. Interesting formatting. Left some bits to be desired, but overall enjoyable.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3 1/2 stars. I liked the world building and characters. I appreciated the formatting but occasionally found it difficult to read or would skip over some things, like ship diagrams. Good plot twists. Solid sci fi that would appeal to adults as much as ya.