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pforpedrox23 's review for:
Illuminae
by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman
First thought: HOW CAN THERE BE SO MANY MIND-BLOWING BOOKS THIS YEAR?
This is such an ambitious book. Ultimately, it succeeds in its ambition. I have read books that have tried this multiple-genre, dossier of found documents/artifacts approach before. I am by far more impressed with this attempt than the others. There are some world-ending type scenarios in here that make it so compelling not just for their epic scale, but their execution. There's some gorgeous quotable writing, concrete poetry, faked artifacts-- everything but the kitchen sink.
However, what plays a more important factor in my review is that even though this story involves an extensive cast of minor characters destined for suffering and death, it seems like they try to infuse as much humanity into them as possible so that you don't just see humans dying left and right because "it's a disaster story." You don't get extensive background on each and every minor character, but you get a clear idea of them as people, and it makes an injury or loss *felt*. That's very important in a book with a high death count. You just didn't get that sometimes in books like The Hunger Games Trilogy or Divergent unless those people were main characters.
This isn't a spoiler, but a recommendation: pay very close attention to the details. Be prepared to flip back and scrutinize what you read 100 pages ago. You will start to wonder... to doubt... and when you do, the real fun is just beginning.
This is such an ambitious book. Ultimately, it succeeds in its ambition. I have read books that have tried this multiple-genre, dossier of found documents/artifacts approach before. I am by far more impressed with this attempt than the others. There are some world-ending type scenarios in here that make it so compelling not just for their epic scale, but their execution. There's some gorgeous quotable writing, concrete poetry, faked artifacts-- everything but the kitchen sink.
However, what plays a more important factor in my review is that even though this story involves an extensive cast of minor characters destined for suffering and death, it seems like they try to infuse as much humanity into them as possible so that you don't just see humans dying left and right because "it's a disaster story." You don't get extensive background on each and every minor character, but you get a clear idea of them as people, and it makes an injury or loss *felt*. That's very important in a book with a high death count. You just didn't get that sometimes in books like The Hunger Games Trilogy or Divergent unless those people were main characters.
This isn't a spoiler, but a recommendation: pay very close attention to the details. Be prepared to flip back and scrutinize what you read 100 pages ago. You will start to wonder... to doubt... and when you do, the real fun is just beginning.