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A review by quadrille
Obsidio by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman
2.0
Hrrrrm.
So. I loooved [b:Illuminae|23395680|Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)|Amie Kaufman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443433956s/23395680.jpg|26653661], and inhaled it within a single day. I liked the cast of [b:Gemina|29236299|Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)|Amie Kaufman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480097137s/29236299.jpg|44560442] even more than the first book, and read that in 4 days. I was annoyed by both books' complete lack of consequences, but I entertained hopes that the wheels would finally come off in the last book, being the last of the trilogy and thus the right time to stop pulling your punches.
But this? Took me 2 whole weeks to read, dragging my heels a bit; instead of the adrenaline-fuelled race to the death of the first two books, the countdowns here started to feel like they were just arbitrarily rehashing the format of the previous books, just... because it had to, because that's what was expected of it. And then, too, because it combined the casts of the first two books and added even more new characters, it was juggling a helluva lot of characters without any of them really getting any development or much close personal focus, since they're just running on from emergency to emergency.
Mostly, I now found myself super-annoyed that it's been three whole books of "yet another heterosexual pairing with a plucky, rebellious girl and her handsome (ex/drug dealer/guy she squabbles and banters with)". Sigh. Hanna and Nik from Gemina were a bit different personality-wise (hence why I liked them more, probably), but I could barely tell you the difference between Kady Grant, Asha Grant, and Ezra Mason or Rhys Lindstrom -- even more emphasised by the fact that in the drawn portrait at the end of the book, I actually couldn't tell you who was who, and found the latest additions extremely bland and unmemorable. You couldn't have added just a little bit of romantic diversity to shake up the formula a bit? You've had three whole books!!
And yet Rhys' whole arc should have been my everything, because it was all about the military camaraderie and unwiring the toxic poison you've drunk, and footsoldiers being held at a remove from the horrors they've been pulled into, and I loved getting a glimpse into humanising the BeiTech corps (see also: [b:The Light Brigade|40523931|The Light Brigade|Kameron Hurley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1537977912s/40523931.jpg|62896440], the last book I read and which had me itching for more military SF to begin with). Oshiro was my favourite character, actually, and I could've done with so much more from her: one of her scenes was the only one to make me tear up and get Emotional.
Some mild spoilers here: The little child, Katya/Mouse, was thrown in there and you're supposed to empathise with Asha's obsessive dedication to her, to the extent of screaming her name to the heavens (EYEROLL!!!), but you only see Katya in like two scenes and so her very existence is just a patent attempt at emotional manipulation of the reader. It was like an attempt at the Ripley/Newt relationship in Aliens, but completely unearned. And then the book didn't even have the guts to stick to its guns about it, either!!!
It didn't stick to its guns about AIDAN (twice), or Ezra or Nik, or Katya. There are literally no consequences to anything here. I'm actually furious about this because it's constantly teasing an emotional investment and then just yanking it away from you. /mild spoilers end
Honestly, I would recommend skipping this one. Just read the first book or two in this trilogy, then stop. You don't really need to know how it all turns out, because the last beats are p. predictable: they get the bad guys, the end.
Sigh. I'm bummed that the immense promise of this series couldn't have been carried through to the finale. But I'd read more from these authors, I guess.
So. I loooved [b:Illuminae|23395680|Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)|Amie Kaufman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443433956s/23395680.jpg|26653661], and inhaled it within a single day. I liked the cast of [b:Gemina|29236299|Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)|Amie Kaufman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480097137s/29236299.jpg|44560442] even more than the first book, and read that in 4 days. I was annoyed by both books' complete lack of consequences, but I entertained hopes that the wheels would finally come off in the last book, being the last of the trilogy and thus the right time to stop pulling your punches.
But this? Took me 2 whole weeks to read, dragging my heels a bit; instead of the adrenaline-fuelled race to the death of the first two books, the countdowns here started to feel like they were just arbitrarily rehashing the format of the previous books, just... because it had to, because that's what was expected of it. And then, too, because it combined the casts of the first two books and added even more new characters, it was juggling a helluva lot of characters without any of them really getting any development or much close personal focus, since they're just running on from emergency to emergency.
Mostly, I now found myself super-annoyed that it's been three whole books of "yet another heterosexual pairing with a plucky, rebellious girl and her handsome (ex/drug dealer/guy she squabbles and banters with)". Sigh. Hanna and Nik from Gemina were a bit different personality-wise (hence why I liked them more, probably), but I could barely tell you the difference between Kady Grant, Asha Grant, and Ezra Mason or Rhys Lindstrom -- even more emphasised by the fact that in the drawn portrait at the end of the book, I actually couldn't tell you who was who, and found the latest additions extremely bland and unmemorable. You couldn't have added just a little bit of romantic diversity to shake up the formula a bit? You've had three whole books!!
And yet Rhys' whole arc should have been my everything, because it was all about the military camaraderie and unwiring the toxic poison you've drunk, and footsoldiers being held at a remove from the horrors they've been pulled into, and I loved getting a glimpse into humanising the BeiTech corps (see also: [b:The Light Brigade|40523931|The Light Brigade|Kameron Hurley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1537977912s/40523931.jpg|62896440], the last book I read and which had me itching for more military SF to begin with). Oshiro was my favourite character, actually, and I could've done with so much more from her: one of her scenes was the only one to make me tear up and get Emotional.
Some mild spoilers here: The little child, Katya/Mouse, was thrown in there and you're supposed to empathise with Asha's obsessive dedication to her, to the extent of screaming her name to the heavens (EYEROLL!!!), but you only see Katya in like two scenes and so her very existence is just a patent attempt at emotional manipulation of the reader. It was like an attempt at the Ripley/Newt relationship in Aliens, but completely unearned. And then the book didn't even have the guts to stick to its guns about it, either!!!
It didn't stick to its guns about AIDAN (twice), or Ezra or Nik, or Katya. There are literally no consequences to anything here. I'm actually furious about this because it's constantly teasing an emotional investment and then just yanking it away from you. /mild spoilers end
Honestly, I would recommend skipping this one. Just read the first book or two in this trilogy, then stop. You don't really need to know how it all turns out, because the last beats are p. predictable: they get the bad guys, the end.
Sigh. I'm bummed that the immense promise of this series couldn't have been carried through to the finale. But I'd read more from these authors, I guess.