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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
It was okay. It was really slow in the first half so I was 80% close to not finishing this; but I pulled through and the story picked up on the second half.
I decided to read Illuminae on hype alone. Everyone was talking about it. The cover looked amazing. I never once read the back blurb, and I purposefully stayed away from any and all reviews. I’m not sure how much that enhanced my reading of it, just that it did.
I had no idea what was going on, where the book was heading, who the characters were… just nothing. That could’ve been dangerous. It might have led to me putting the book down, but it didn’t.
Instead, I had 599 pages of riding a rollercoaster through the dark. And it was awe-inspiring.
I could see the format worrying some people. There’s no true narrative as we all classically know it. The idea is that the book is a collection of digital files. Emails, interview transcripts, chat histories, personal diaries, etc.
You might think this leads to a cold, emotionless read, but you’d be dead wrong. This thing is teeming with all twists, turns, and of the feels that go with them.
The last thing I’ll say is that the book looks daunting. It’s thick. It’s 600 pages. By no means the biggest book out there, but definitely above average. Contrary to that, you’ll find yourself burning through pages. Not just because the story is so good (and it is) but the format just allows for it. No matter how matter pages you normally read in a sitting, Illuminae will make you double or triple that.
Trust me. Just read it.
I had no idea what was going on, where the book was heading, who the characters were… just nothing. That could’ve been dangerous. It might have led to me putting the book down, but it didn’t.
Instead, I had 599 pages of riding a rollercoaster through the dark. And it was awe-inspiring.
I could see the format worrying some people. There’s no true narrative as we all classically know it. The idea is that the book is a collection of digital files. Emails, interview transcripts, chat histories, personal diaries, etc.
You might think this leads to a cold, emotionless read, but you’d be dead wrong. This thing is teeming with all twists, turns, and of the feels that go with them.
The last thing I’ll say is that the book looks daunting. It’s thick. It’s 600 pages. By no means the biggest book out there, but definitely above average. Contrary to that, you’ll find yourself burning through pages. Not just because the story is so good (and it is) but the format just allows for it. No matter how matter pages you normally read in a sitting, Illuminae will make you double or triple that.
Trust me. Just read it.
GUYS THIS BOOKS IS ALL THE AMAZINGS IN ONE AND DESERVES ALL THE STARS IN THE ENTIRE ****ING ‘VERSE
You know that book that you sacrifice sleep for getting 4 hours sleep even though you know you have to be awake at 8 am for? You know the one that just sucks you in and you can’t stop until you know whats going on? The one that is perfectly paced, The one you start developing bi polar over! Laughing, on the edge of tears, finding perfect lines in every chapter and wanting to buy a t-shirt filled with quotes so you can broadcast your love? WELL that was Illuminae for me.
A cyclonic mess of adventures, A whirlwind of problems, A stunning cast of characters, A unbelievable and incredible ending. A fantastic book.
Illuminae is a unique story set on 2 battleships running from the Lincoln a ship commanded by Biotech that has just invaded Kady and Ezra’s planet and are blowing it to smithereens.
The Alexander and Hypatia have heard the distress call and are coming to the rescue. Now full of Kerenza refugees and more importantly our shining main characters Kady and Ezra, they must get away from BioTech or be wiped out as well.
Kady and Ezra broke up this morning, perhaps not the smartest timing but hey they didn’t know there planet was going to get ****ed up by BioTech.
“Ezra: And then I said it.
Interviewer: What did he say?
Kady Grant: He said, You picked a hell of a day to dump me, Kades.”
Kady and Ezra are refugees on different ships and both are months away from the nearest jump station that allows the ship to travel through a wormhole to another part of the universe.
Now 6 months with an extra couple 1000 refugees on a ship that has depleting Air and Food supplies isn’t the worst of their concerns. They are being chased by the remaining Biotech ship AND the Alexanders AI AIDEN who protects them and runs their defense and attack grid has gone haywire.
“Um, because you’re loopier than Flacky McPsycho, Mayor of Crazytown?”
“My databases show no record of this Crazytown of which you speak. A brain the size of an entire city burns inside me. My intelligence quotient is beyond the human scale. I would prefer if you did not refer to me in such a fashion.”
“Oh, poor baby. Did I hurt the mass-murdering psychopathic artificial intelligence’s feelings?”
Oh an did I mention there is a plague on board that is turning everyone into crazy Jack from the Shining? Because yeah there’s that to.
Told through data logs, IM’s, and camera feed transcripts this story just ****ing rocks and I suggest anyone and EVERYONE that loves sci fy read this.
Characters: All of the characters are absolutely perfect, have a distinct voice and personality and so much chemistry and banter.
Ezra: My little darling goof
“Interviewer: So. Tell me about your mother.
Ezra: You’re taping this, right?
Interviewer: Audio only. Camera is faulty.
Ezra: Okay, well for the benefit of the sight-impaired, I am now raising my… oh, dear… yes, it’s my MIDDLE finger at Mr. Postgrad here.
Interviewer: Mr. Mason…
Ezra: Now I’m wiggling it.
Interviewer: Terminating interview at 13:58 on 03/19/75.
Ezra: Look at it wiggl-
-audio ends-”
Kady: My kickarse computer whiz
“Some people, when they lose it, they scream, they fight. I hope that would be me”
AIDEN: You crazy arse artificial intelligence that scares the crap out of me even though I kind of love you?
“Numbers do not feel. Do not bleed or weep or hope. They do not know bravery or sacrifice. Love and allegiance. At the very apex of callousness, you will find only ones and zeros.”
Even if you don’t read Sci-Fy I’d still recommend it.
If anyone needs me I’ll be over here yelling about Illuminae until I have my hands on Gemina and I can yell about that instead *sobs quietly and lays in wait until 18/10/2016*
ORIGINAL REVIEW POSTED ON MY BLOG:
ILLUMINAE REVIEW
You know that book that you sacrifice sleep for getting 4 hours sleep even though you know you have to be awake at 8 am for? You know the one that just sucks you in and you can’t stop until you know whats going on? The one that is perfectly paced, The one you start developing bi polar over! Laughing, on the edge of tears, finding perfect lines in every chapter and wanting to buy a t-shirt filled with quotes so you can broadcast your love? WELL that was Illuminae for me.
A cyclonic mess of adventures, A whirlwind of problems, A stunning cast of characters, A unbelievable and incredible ending. A fantastic book.
Illuminae is a unique story set on 2 battleships running from the Lincoln a ship commanded by Biotech that has just invaded Kady and Ezra’s planet and are blowing it to smithereens.
The Alexander and Hypatia have heard the distress call and are coming to the rescue. Now full of Kerenza refugees and more importantly our shining main characters Kady and Ezra, they must get away from BioTech or be wiped out as well.
Kady and Ezra broke up this morning, perhaps not the smartest timing but hey they didn’t know there planet was going to get ****ed up by BioTech.
“Ezra: And then I said it.
Interviewer: What did he say?
Kady Grant: He said, You picked a hell of a day to dump me, Kades.”
Kady and Ezra are refugees on different ships and both are months away from the nearest jump station that allows the ship to travel through a wormhole to another part of the universe.
Now 6 months with an extra couple 1000 refugees on a ship that has depleting Air and Food supplies isn’t the worst of their concerns. They are being chased by the remaining Biotech ship AND the Alexanders AI AIDEN who protects them and runs their defense and attack grid has gone haywire.
“Um, because you’re loopier than Flacky McPsycho, Mayor of Crazytown?”
“My databases show no record of this Crazytown of which you speak. A brain the size of an entire city burns inside me. My intelligence quotient is beyond the human scale. I would prefer if you did not refer to me in such a fashion.”
“Oh, poor baby. Did I hurt the mass-murdering psychopathic artificial intelligence’s feelings?”
Oh an did I mention there is a plague on board that is turning everyone into crazy Jack from the Shining? Because yeah there’s that to.
Told through data logs, IM’s, and camera feed transcripts this story just ****ing rocks and I suggest anyone and EVERYONE that loves sci fy read this.
Characters: All of the characters are absolutely perfect, have a distinct voice and personality and so much chemistry and banter.
Ezra: My little darling goof
“Interviewer: So. Tell me about your mother.
Ezra: You’re taping this, right?
Interviewer: Audio only. Camera is faulty.
Ezra: Okay, well for the benefit of the sight-impaired, I am now raising my… oh, dear… yes, it’s my MIDDLE finger at Mr. Postgrad here.
Interviewer: Mr. Mason…
Ezra: Now I’m wiggling it.
Interviewer: Terminating interview at 13:58 on 03/19/75.
Ezra: Look at it wiggl-
-audio ends-”
Kady: My kickarse computer whiz
“Some people, when they lose it, they scream, they fight. I hope that would be me”
AIDEN: You crazy arse artificial intelligence that scares the crap out of me even though I kind of love you?
“Numbers do not feel. Do not bleed or weep or hope. They do not know bravery or sacrifice. Love and allegiance. At the very apex of callousness, you will find only ones and zeros.”
Even if you don’t read Sci-Fy I’d still recommend it.
If anyone needs me I’ll be over here yelling about Illuminae until I have my hands on Gemina and I can yell about that instead *sobs quietly and lays in wait until 18/10/2016*
ORIGINAL REVIEW POSTED ON MY BLOG:
ILLUMINAE REVIEW
re-read on Audio was amazing, I love this book so so much and it will always be a favourite. Onto the epicness that is Gemina.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
J'ai absolument adoré ce zombie!Black Mirror dans l'espace. Je ne m'y attendais pas du tout et ce fut une bonne surprise ! Ca m'a donné envie de m'aventurer un peu plus dans la science fiction. Un peu déçue de la fin par contre. J'imagine que c'est pour faire une suite mais c'est un peu tiré par les cheveux.
adventurous
emotional
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
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh. My. God.
How had I never heard of this book until now?!?!?! This was absolutely phenomenal. I haven’t had so many strong emotions to a book in such a long time. I was physically gasping, clutching my face like the frickin kid in Home Alone, or laughing out loud, or sobbing. The tension ramped up to 100 by 50% in and then it just didn’t let up. The entire last half of the book was peak fear, suspense, horror, with just a tiny thread of hope that somehow they could pull through this to keep you going through it all. I am wrecked. I am exhausted. I want to reread this immediately, but I have to move on to its sequel first. Which I will be doing, right now. I’m so mad this one somehow flew under my radar for the last ten years, but thank my every lucky star that LitJoy is doing a special edition set of these soon so that I finally learned of their existence. This shit is top tier.
How had I never heard of this book until now?!?!?! This was absolutely phenomenal. I haven’t had so many strong emotions to a book in such a long time. I was physically gasping, clutching my face like the frickin kid in Home Alone, or laughing out loud, or sobbing. The tension ramped up to 100 by 50% in and then it just didn’t let up. The entire last half of the book was peak fear, suspense, horror, with just a tiny thread of hope that somehow they could pull through this to keep you going through it all. I am wrecked. I am exhausted. I want to reread this immediately, but I have to move on to its sequel first. Which I will be doing, right now. I’m so mad this one somehow flew under my radar for the last ten years, but thank my every lucky star that LitJoy is doing a special edition set of these soon so that I finally learned of their existence. This shit is top tier.