My story with Illuminae kind of started like everyone else’s on the blogosphere: because of the hype. This is one of these crazy books that I feel like everyone but me has read, and if I’m being very honest here, I didn’t until just now because I was scared. If you are a reader of my blog posts (thank you!), you probably remember me talking about how I ended up reading this book anyway. So, thank you, sister, for pushing me to get this mind-blowing book.
NEW FORMAT, A BIT OF CONFUSION
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A book with so much hype surrounding it can either be very scary, or very tempting, and both of these feelings gripped me as I first started this book. Because it’s nothing like what I’m used to read. I’m not a massive sci-fi reader, I don’t read a lot of books about spaceships and this star wars vibe, mainly because I am a bit scared of the whole big universe and (green aliens) and stuff. Because I was VERY nervous about the formatting of this book, even more when I finally got it in my hands. Transcripts, pictures, vessels schematics of sorts, chats, a bunch of letters and numbers, black pages, white pages…well it just all seemed very confusing to me. To sum it up in a couple words, I just wondered “how the hell are you supposed to read this book?!” Since this formatting is so unusual, it did take me some time to get into the story, to grasp the rhythm, the setting, the characters and everything that’s happening thanks to the little information we have. Once I managed to do that, which took me a little bit of time, well… I just couldn’t stop reading.
CHARACTERS (AND A COMPUTER??) TO ROOT FOR
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Despite all odds, I managed to FEEL everything while reading this book, which is, when you think about it, completely insane and impossible. We don’t know these characters more than from what we read, obviously, but we don’t even know their feelings: not once are we inside the characters’ minds. And I NEED my characters, I love them, hence why I love contemporaries so much: they’re character-driven and we get to follow their actions and course of thoughts, see them evolve and grow up as we read the story. There, without even being able to get into their minds, I managed to grow attached to them, to feel for them and to want the best for them. I don’t know what kind of trick they pulled here, but it was fantastic. Kady was a fierce, determined, independent character, I absolutely loved her. She’s this strong hacker, yet she feels like someone with feelings and so much more deep inside than she shows it. Ezra was my favorite of the lot, (spoilers) and to be honest I cried here for a second when we didn’t know what had happened to him.(end of spoilers), he grew on me so, so fast. Also, obviously I shipped them together, even if their conversations were kind of on the marshmallow side…Well, I’m a marshmallow, so no complains here for me.
Obviously I have to talk about AIDEN here, as well. And I have just one question: how do you manage to fall in love with artificial intelligence? Even if he’s not human, and no ordinary character for sure, even if his way of thinking and talking is completely rational and unable of making a joke, getting irony or anything, well… I felt something here. Which was plain weird. But no complains here for me either.
DARK, GRIPPING, UNSTOPPABLE.
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Despite all odds, Illuminae was a gripping read, and where I was confused at first, I ended up being obsessed, looking for the next formatting I loved, the next time I’ll hear about the characters I want, the next time there’ll be footage description or chat or just, anything. The world-building here is not made of many descriptions: images are here to help you think about the surroundings, and some footage description helps you set the action in your mind, but…there is a lot that’s left to the imagination, and this surprisingly did wonders for my brain. I thought I wouldn’t be able to picture it, and if, at times I was a bit confused, I still fell like I was inside of the story, I felt the tension, I felt the darkness surrounding the characters, I felt time and air leaving them. I did not get bored while reading this for sure: there was no time to. It was unpredictable, and I loved that about it, even if it turned my knuckles white while I was holding onto the book.
OVERALL
To keep up with my trail of thoughts, well…despite all odds, I ended up loving Illuminae. It was confusing at first, which is why, to be honest, I took a star off my rating because of that, but don’t let that mean too much to you. That book is dark, it made me laugh and cry, it made me feel SO stressed while reading it, a bit confused, sure, but I couldn’t stop reading. And if that’s not the sign of a great book, then I don’t know what is. Also, I can’t WAIT to get Gemina.
Final rating: 4 drops!
Did you read Illuminae? Did you enjoy it? Do you want to read it?
How’s Gemina, if you read it? Share your thoughts in comments!
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff, Illuminae, Published by Knopf Books For Young Readers, October 20th 2015.
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.
This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
I tried reading it, but I couldn’t keep up with the formatting after a while. Even by giving up at page 100, though, I totally got that Kady and Ezra were characters lots of readers will love. And my oldest son (13) loves this series. He finished Gemina recently, and already is champing at the bit for another instalment.
Oh I understand, the formatting took me a bit of getting used to, just as well. Well I’m glad to hear he enjoyed it, I can’t wait to read the sequel 🙂
Yes, he has definitely joined the fandom for this series – and trust me, he’s picky. 🙂
I AM SCARED OF THIS BOOK!!!! I’m the last one I guess, hahaha! Your review tells me I still have a chance to like it despite the hype and my tendency to go against the general opinion. Okay, I’ll muster the courage to get to it in 2017! Fab review from a fab Sweechie!
Haha oh no don’t worry, I’m sure you’re not! 🙂 Thank you so, SO much! I hope you’ll enjoy it when you get to read it. Hype CAN be very scary ahah, and this is a very unusual book, but I hope you’ll be surprised by it as much as I was 🙂 thank you!! <3
I have not read it. But I certainly want to read Illuminae and Gemina together.
Oh I get it, I wish I had waited to have the two books to read them together ahah 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy it when you get to it! Thank you so much <3
I was so scared that I would be confused by the formatting of Illuminae, but once I’d read a couple of pages I actually found it okay – my main worry was that I’d miss out on some of the plot details and not understand what was going on, but this just didn’t happen. I absolutely loved AIDAN! He’s such a brilliant character and I particularly liked how his narrative was displayed.
Can’t wait to hear what you think about Gemina!
Thank you SO much Zoe! I felt like I wouldn’t be able to fully get into the story because of the formatting, I’m glad it wasn’t the case 🙂 Also, YES for AIDAN, what an incredible character! I can’t wait to read Gemina 🙂 Thank you! <3
See I think that might be a big reason why I haven’t picked this one up, I’m scared I won’t like it. I love the idea of how it’s formatted but the one time I even glanced at it in the store it seemed so confusing. But every single review I’ve read has been a rave rather than negative. I definitely need to give it a chance soon so I can see if I’ll end up liking it. Great review, Marie! ?
OH I get your feeling so much. When I first glanced at it I thought: “how am I going to read that?”, but once I was into it, I was surprised that it really felt like reading a story, a novel. Even despite the weird formatting 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy it, and thank you!! <3
That’s good to hear! I bet it’s even a bit of a faster read given the formatting as well. I hope I do too and you’re welcome! ??
Oh yes, it is! I read it very quickly thanks to this formatting, and the action was fast-paced just as well 🙂
I’ve heard nothing but good things for this book! It’s on my TBR list, so one day I will have it in my hands! Great review 🙂
Thank you so, so much! Oh I hope you’ll read and enjoy it 🙂
Yay, I am so glad you enjoyed this book Marie. I remember seeing the hype surrounding this when it first came out and it took me a good few months to get around to it myself because I just wasn’t sure about it. I love sci-fi but for some reason this book intimidated me a little at the beginning. I loved the formatting through, from the first page, just because it was such a unique way to tell the story.
AIDAN was my absolute favourite character in this book, honestly every scene he was in was amazing, and I loved Kady and Ezra together as well. I definitely shipped them from the beginning.
Gemina is amazing, it focuses on a different couple but everything I loved about Illuminae was there in Gemina so I’m sure you’ll love it as well Marie.
Great review! <3
Thank you so, so much! OH I agree about AIDAN, I was SO confused about him at first, but then I ended up loving every single scene with him <3
Oh well I'm glad to hear you loved Gemina! I was a bit disappointed to hear it wasn't about Ezra and Kady anymore, but…I trust your opinion so I think I'll love it just as well 🙂
He was a very dark character in this book but at the same time you could kind of understand his motivations as well and why he did what he did.
I was a little disappointed as well when it wasn’t continuing Kady and Ezra’s story but you’ll love these new characters just as much! 😀
Oh well I’m glad to hear that! It makes me want to order the book right now ahah 🙂
Yes, do it, order the second book and then pre-order the third! 😀
I NEED to ?
I am SO HAPPY to see that you enjoyed this book my forever crazy! It was a hard one for me to get into at first but then I ended up loving it SO HARD and I’m so happy to see that you do too! I agree with this review SO MUCH because I too am SO SURPRISED at just how much character development and other aspects of the book just WORKED in the setting? I’m still in complete awe and shock and reading Gemina now, its still just as amazing! Lovely review as always my forever crazy! <3 🙂
Thank you so, so much my forever crazy <3 <3 Also, I'm glad you felt the same way, I was amazed at just how much character development there was, given the formatting. It was crazy!
Ohhh I can't wait to hear your thoughts once you finished reading Gemina! <3
I have never been happier to see that you loved a book 😀 I definitely get how the formatting could be off putting for some people, but I loved it so much. I think it helps that my attention span is all over the place so I was able to follow it pretty easily haha. I loved Ezra and Kady soo much. AIDAN was brilliant too 😀 So happy you enjoyed this Marie, great review!!
Awww thank you Lauren! <3 I can't wait to read Gemina and I hope I'll love it as much as I loved this one 😀
I’ve had this on my TBR for a very long time now, and as time passed, the book grew MEGAAA popular. I couldn’t go a day without seeing someone read this. To this day, I still haven’t finished it, but I’ve decided to read it now and get on the bandwagon. You did an excellent review that should pretty much sum it up for anyone who’s never been a HUGEEE sci-fi fan and someone who isn’t used to this kind of abnormal story-telling. Can’t wait to finish this book and see if I’m a fan or not of this series. 😀 😀
– Lashaan
Ohh thank you Lashaan, I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did 🙂
So glad to see you enjoyed this Marie! 😀 I was wary of the formatting too but the first scene on the book was the interview between Kady, Ezra, and the interviewer and it was hilarious I was instantly hooked! I’m marveled to see how this kind of formatting actually works well <3 I loved Kady and Ezra and I shipped them SO HARD too, their IM conversations are my favorite parts of the book, so dorky hahaha and yes it was dark and brutal, especially that phobos virus </3 I have read Gemina but while enjoyed it, I still prefer Illuminae hehe the plot is more complicated but I'm still kind of hung up on Kady and Ezra 😛
Thank you so, so much! I was surprised but in a great way at how the formatting made this book even more unique, and still managed to pull me into the story. Hahaha yes their IM conversations were SO cheesy but I loved them so much haha I couldn’t help it.
Ohh well that’s what I’m a bit afraid of with Gemina, I’m scared not to fall in love as much as I did with Illuminae, since it’s not the same characters :/ Thank you so much! <3
You’re welcome! 😀 Ezra is so dorky and their relationship seems super fun hahaha uhuh I’m always scared of sequels :’) but there are A LOT of people who really love Gemina so I hope you enjoy it too <3
Oh yes, me too. I’m just scared the sequel will ruin everything. I hope that won’t happen ahah 🙂
I read this at the beginning of the year and to be honest I didn’t love it. I felt like the files were a really good idea, but also meant (for me at least) that the characters felts a bit detached, and less full. I don’t know… but I’m glad you liked it, and wasn’t it just so unique?
I completely understand, I had the same fear and feelings at the beginning of the book. I love to REALLY get to know the characters on a deeper level, I guess, but here I still felt like rooting for them, thankfully. I understand though that you couldn’t fully get into their minds and that it was a bit of a turn off. Thank you so much Shar! <3
I am glad you enjoyed Illuminae! I absolutely freaking LOVED this book and AIDAN is one of the very best creepiest villain I have ever read so it was a bonus! Great review!
Oh thank you so much! <3 Haha I agree, what a crazy, crazy AIDAN. I kind of loved him haha. 🙂
Me too! These kinds of villains are the best! You looove to hate them!
YES exactly 😀
Ahh I’m so glad you liked this!! I *still* haven’t read this yet- like you I’m so worried cos of all the hype- but maybe I shouldn’t be!
OH I get it, I was way too worried about the hype, and the formatting as well. But who knows, you might end up loving it as much as I did 🙂
Absolutely! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this … this is also one of those books for me where I’m like uuuuuurrrrrrr when it comes to reading it
Oh you couldn’t get into it, or are you a bit scared because of the formatting? This is kind of a scary book I think ahah because it’s just SO different, but it was a good different 😀
I haven’t tried to read it yet… but it is one of those books that is so well loved I’m too scared to read it ??
Hahaha oh I get the feeling SO much. I was so scared as well, but if you don’t love it, no one’s going to throw tomatoes at you. I know I won’t 🙂 and if you don’t feel like reading it, well nothing wrong with it either. I haven’t read some really hyped series such as TOG, and…well no one screamed at me yet haha 🙂
??? you should read ToG, it’s a series that gets better with each book … and I probably will read it at some point 🙂
Oh well that’s good to know, maybe I’ll finally read it…someday ?
You already know that AIDAN is my favourite … apparently I have a really soft spot for twisted AIs. (I just watch too much Westworld, Humans and what not) This was a great review! It took me a bit to get into it as well, but I ended up giving it 4 stars too 😀 I hope we get to read Gemina together.
Hahaha, well…nothing wrong with that 😛 Thank you so much! And YES I hope so too, I have erm, one book left to read -and I’m currently reading it- so I’m probably going to have a panic attack soon if I don’t order more books haha.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I have 11, so I am more in the “don’t order more, they will eat you in your sleep because you still haven’t read them”-phase.
??? They won’t eat you. Maybe if you continue down this road, you’ll probably sleep ON a pile of books, though ?
Not sure how comfortable that really is … BUT who knows?
So glad you enjoyed this book! Now I’m one of the only people who hasn’t read it yet… 😉 I’m definitely also a bit worried about the hype, but most people seem to really enjoy it so I definitely have to give it a try. I’m glad you mentioned that you were scared of not getting attached to the characters because of the format but that you still did feel all their emotions, because I was worried about that too. Definitely bumping this one up on my TBR list – thanks for the review!
Haha oh don’t worry, you’re not the only one left! And I’m glad if I could convince you that it’s worth a try. It’s always a bit scary to try hyped books like that one, and especially with such a different formatting. I hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
I want to read this book. I have it on my list so someday I will get to it.
Ohh, I hope you’ll read it soon, Jessica. It’s such a good book ? Thank you so much!
I must admit, I’ve been intimidated by this one as well. EVERYONE and their Mom recommends this book.
Oh well I understand, I was SO scared of reading that book. So scared of hating it ? If I’m glad it wasn’t the case, I also get that it’s not a book for everyone. If you’re a bit into sci-fi and are curious about it, I think you should try reading it 🙂
I’ve been umming and ahhing about this one as I wasn’t sure if it’d be my cup of tea (and the hype also made me a bit nervous too) but you’re positive review has inspired me to just go ahead and give it a go!
Ohh well I’m happy to hear that! I hope you’ll enjoy it when you get to it. It’s such a original book 🙂
Wow! Really need to read this!!
YES YES, you should! I would LOVE to know your thoughts about this book!
You got it! I really am glad it was on sale for $1.99 then! Or I wouldn’t have it bc it’s never available at my library! ?
Ohhh wow, well that’s so great! I hope you’ll enjoy it when you get to it 🙂
I finished Illuminae a few days ago and I totally agree with you. I was confused as well in the beginning, but once I was pulled into the story, it didn’t let me go until I finished it. I read the last 200 pages in one sitting. I loved it!
Oh yay I am so glad you feel the same way about it! It was such a great book once you get into the story, and so unique. Did you read Gemina? 🙂
Not yet. I hope to read it soon, so that I can read the last one when it comes out. Have you read Gemina?
I have, it was really good and, in my opinion, even more intense than Illuminae :). If you feel like reading it, I published a full, spoiler-free review : https://drizzleandhurricanebooks.com/2017/01/13/review-gemina-amie-kaufman-jay-kristoff/ 🙂
Now I am even more excited to read it. And I will check out your review 🙂
So happy to hear it! 😀
I really liked Illuminae! Honestly AIDAN was creepy but like I love his character so much. And Ezra and Kady are my babies. I was scared too for Ezra but the ending was epic! I really need to get to Gemina!
Haha yes, he really was creepy, but… I also really liked him, in a way? haha 🙂 I hope you’ll get to read Gemina soon and that you will enjoy it 😀 Thank you! <3