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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
For me, Illuminae was not an overwhelming read, partly because of technical problems, partly because of the novel itself. I do not see me reading the other two novels in this series in the future.
The book is designed as a compilation of documents. Chat messages, emails, surveillance reports, diary entries, log files and some more experimental approaches to visualize text are the core of the novel and most certainly its most unique feature. I have not seen the printed version but the kindle version is flawed. While it is possible for the most parts to change the font size (with effect), there are also several graphical pages which have a fixed design and are more a picture with text. In this pictures, the font size is too small for the little screen of a kindle. Due to a different ratio, there is also a big white border around the images, which further reduces the size of the pictures. Yes, it is possible to tap these pages, then zoom in and then move the picture from left to right, from up to down, but that killed for me the reading flow and so I jumped this parts mostly. I think that it would have been possible to redesign this pages for the not so little market of the Kindle ebooks for more reading comfort.
The other big flaw of the novel is, that it is too long for the plot and that I felt very bored on the last 200 (of 599) pages. The story starts very strong and I really was invested in what was going on, but more and more I knew exactly where the story was heading, the little traces of character development were finished and the turns of events did not even feel surprising but more like random decisions of the author. The female protagonist is not likable and her motivations are not convincing but still, she becomes the big superhero of the story, which does not fit in my opinion to her character or to her relationship to other characters. The motivations of the most important antagonist stay also obscure.
Reading it is not a waste of time, especially if you avoid the e-reader edition of the book and stick to the printed version, but I have difficulties understanding why this book has its perfect ratings. I hope that other readers see more in the story than I do and that the ratings are not just the result of the different way of storytelling.
The book is designed as a compilation of documents. Chat messages, emails, surveillance reports, diary entries, log files and some more experimental approaches to visualize text are the core of the novel and most certainly its most unique feature. I have not seen the printed version but the kindle version is flawed. While it is possible for the most parts to change the font size (with effect), there are also several graphical pages which have a fixed design and are more a picture with text. In this pictures, the font size is too small for the little screen of a kindle. Due to a different ratio, there is also a big white border around the images, which further reduces the size of the pictures. Yes, it is possible to tap these pages, then zoom in and then move the picture from left to right, from up to down, but that killed for me the reading flow and so I jumped this parts mostly. I think that it would have been possible to redesign this pages for the not so little market of the Kindle ebooks for more reading comfort.
The other big flaw of the novel is, that it is too long for the plot and that I felt very bored on the last 200 (of 599) pages. The story starts very strong and I really was invested in what was going on, but more and more I knew exactly where the story was heading, the little traces of character development were finished and the turns of events did not even feel surprising but more like random decisions of the author. The female protagonist is not likable and her motivations are not convincing but still, she becomes the big superhero of the story, which does not fit in my opinion to her character or to her relationship to other characters. The motivations of the most important antagonist stay also obscure.
Reading it is not a waste of time, especially if you avoid the e-reader edition of the book and stick to the printed version, but I have difficulties understanding why this book has its perfect ratings. I hope that other readers see more in the story than I do and that the ratings are not just the result of the different way of storytelling.
HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME! If I could give it more than five stars, I would. This book deserves all of the stars. I cannot wait for the next one!
Ohhh my god this book was AMAZING!!! And they used different narrators for different characters which was fantastic! I cant wait to read the next book in this series :D
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
...I...liked it? Didn't think I would. But damn. I did.
*Second time reading: still liked it.
*Second time reading: still liked it.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What a wild ride!
I love the unique format. The entire story is told from memos and "classified reports" that were discovered later on. Basically, a futuristic space colony is attacked and the residents scramble to escape. Add some politics, a crazed semi-aware AI and a lot of drama. Read the hard copy for the full effect.
I love the unique format. The entire story is told from memos and "classified reports" that were discovered later on. Basically, a futuristic space colony is attacked and the residents scramble to escape. Add some politics, a crazed semi-aware AI and a lot of drama. Read the hard copy for the full effect.
adventurous
dark
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
I have to admit I found myself pleasantly surprised when I finished reading this book. I love reading science fiction but I was a little unsure with the format that this book followed - transcripts from reports, emails and online chats between characters. I thought that I would quickly find myself confused and trying to work out what was happening. Boy, was I wrong! I quickly found myself immersed in this book and stayed awake until the early hours of the morning finishing off the last 200 pages because I couldn't put it down.
This is a tale about computers and about people. It is how something goes terribly wrong for our hero Kady and how she deals with the aftermath. It is about making connections and coping when those connections are just suddenly gone. It is about taking control of your life (or the small parts you can). What would you do if you had nothing left?
For a Trekkie who loves thinking of Space as the 'Final Frontier' this is a story that reminds you how big the universe is and how we only play a small part in it.
Most of all, this is a story about a girl and a boy and how they try to get through life the only way they know how.
This is a tale about computers and about people. It is how something goes terribly wrong for our hero Kady and how she deals with the aftermath. It is about making connections and coping when those connections are just suddenly gone. It is about taking control of your life (or the small parts you can). What would you do if you had nothing left?
For a Trekkie who loves thinking of Space as the 'Final Frontier' this is a story that reminds you how big the universe is and how we only play a small part in it.
Most of all, this is a story about a girl and a boy and how they try to get through life the only way they know how.