Illuminae

I would like to give it 5 stars - really - the first 2 thirds were great! The Ezra and Astro-Princess part was a bit teen-romancy I guess, which is not really my thing but the interesting other interviews, reports etc were making up for it so I was really excited to finish it. Then there's a great plot twist:
EZRA'S ACTUALLY DEAD AND IT WAS THE A.I. ALL ALONG OMG!! But wait - if he's dead, then how the **** did he die? Doesn't a main character deserve a bit more than that? (Especially one I'm routing for??) Soooo either, this book is just really bad and undervalueing its own main characters oooor, and here's the more likely turn of events: he is actually not dead but on the other ship. Since the book didn't look like the worst book ever, I went with the second option - and waited. And waited. And waited.... Damn you you stupid AI quit talking already!!! The book went from showing so many different mediums to deliver content to basically almost only the AI talking to itself (and me doubting wether an AI could even have these kind of thoughts) so yeah. AI: blablablabla, Kady almost dead, oh not, oh almost dead, oh not yet, oh almost dead - ok she's gonna survive this is not gonna be a tragedy. And then one page (!) to reunite her with Ezra. Done....REALLY?? I think the book would have been better off just making it into a tragedy and letting them both die a heroic death. But oh well, they had to let them live for the second book... I guess...

What I did like was the side characters actually. Really loveable characters which makes it oh so sadder that none of my favourites survived. The whole Phobos virus thing was a REALLY cool idea because it gives us 3 things to fear - the frealing ship approaching us wanting to kill us, those maniacs wanting to do - eeeeh whatever they wanna do to us, and the AI going crazy potentially also murdering us. Cool. All in all a good read, interesting format and something I would recommend.

██ ██ OF A ███ MASTERPIECE.

Spaceships and zombies and Computer AI, oh my! It's an epistolary space opera! My favorite read of 2017 (so far!). Loved the story - took me teeny bit to get into the characters, but once those were ‘set' for me, I was hooked. I listened to this on in the car on vacation. Enjoyed it so much, I made excuses to get back in the car so I could listen to more of it. When it was finished, I shunted aside the three other audiobooks I'd downloaded for the trip and immediately ordered the second in the series (and wasn't disappointed).

I'll probably come back to this one and read it again in book form as the book format offers a fun visual experience as well. The audiobook format is done with a full cast and sound effects - it plays more like a radio production than audiobook, and it's very well done. I'll note with the audiobook (as with any book in that format) you are pulled through the story and don't really have a option of skipping over bits of the story - in this case that would be the illustrations and unusual formatting the printed book offers: I would suggest if reading the printed version - don't skip over these things - you'll miss out on key chunks of the story!

There are several film references within the book - if you want a richer reading experience you may want to watch The Princess Bride and 2001 before diving in (if you haven't seen them already).

“They are beyond me. These humans. With their brief lives and their tiny dreams and their hopes that seem fragile as glass. Until you see them by starlight, that is.”

key words: AIs with feelings, pretty decently chatting teenagers, mega-corporations battle in space, references gallore

The amount of regular prose in this novel is basically non-existent and to be completely honest, I wasn't sure how that was going to work (or how it was going to work for me). Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. The file-format really added to the feeling of figuring out what was going at the same time as the characters.

You'd think it'd be difficult to get to know characters if you're given relatively little space to really delve into their heads, but the amount of conversations between characters, the diary entries and their actions speak for themselves. I'd never expected to get so emotionally attached to an AI (though I probably should've known better after reading The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet). Damn you AIDAN.

I really liked the fact that we started the romantic relationship (which was definitely not as dramatic or central to the book as the cover made it seem) in the middle, instead of going through a will-they-won't-they-of-course-they-will phase. It made room for a whole different kind relationship development which was a really nice breather.

My only complaints would be that at times, the pacing felt a little off, and while the format worked really well for the most part, that combined with a slightly too fast-paced part would at times come off as a little strange. That, and the fact that the very last bit of the ending was just a tiny bit “eh”.

In the end though, this book was interesting and fast-paced and thrilling until the very end. It felt meaningful.

“The universe owes you nothing. It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is if you do something worthy of remembrance.”

This is by far one of the most unique books I have ever read. The style and formatting is unlike anything I've ever even seen before. At first, this made it EXTREMELY confusing. However, once I figured everything out, it was exciting and thrilling.

I was on the edge of my seat- literally- for a good portion of this book. There is suspense and it is a real nail biter.

The one drawback of this style of book is that it makes it difficult to really feel anything for the characters. I didn't give a crap about what happened to Kady. She was extremely flat and two dimensional to me, which was ironic since she was the main character. Ezra had some depth, but he definitely could have used the most. AIDAN though... I freaking loved the freaky AI in this novel. It was fascinating and had so much depth. I could go back and read this book through this perspective so many times because of how interesting it is.

Perhaps that is because the parts referring to AIDAN were actually in AIDAN's POV?

Regardless, it was an exciting book. It was fast to get through too, so don't be scared off by the high page count.

I think it's important to mention upfront that sci-fi novels are absolutely not my thing. I am all about romance, people's stories and relationships. These are the things that drive me through a book and engage me. It was therefore with some surprise that I found myself absolutely desperate to delve into Illuminae, a book that falls very firmly into the sci-fi category and not only that but I absolutely loved it. It lived up to every single amazing review I'd seen of it.

This book is such departure from any other book I've ever read. Instead of being written as a straighforward narrative, filled with chapters we have a book full of email conversations, surveillance reports, interviews and printouts from the memory of an enormous Artificial Intelligence computer called AIDAN. and despite it's very hefty size (it is a BIG book) I flew through it in 4 days. I could not put it down, when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it. I was lucky enough to not only have the e-book to digest but also the audiobook and I'd switch between them both and sometimes listen to both in conjunction as the audiobook is done with a whole cast of different narrators playing the different roles in the book and it brought it to life so beautifully. I used this method at the beginning of the book and it really helped to draw me in.

The story is set in the year 2575 where a small outlying ‘settlement' in space is attacked by a major company called Bei-Tech who are apparently doing this because their is illegal mining going on. Huge numbers of the residents of Kerenza perish in the attack but some surivors flee into space aboard 3 spacecrafts, the Copernicus, the Hypatia and the Alexander but they are pursued by an enemy ship, the Lincoln who seem intent on their destruction. They must travel across space to a ‘jump station' where they will be able to escape but their ship is damaged and the AI, AIDAN, is developing a mind of it's own and they have a journey of almost a year ahead of them and with each day the enemy ships get closer. To add to all their dilemas there is a virus spreading onboard the Copernicus which is rendering it's victims mindlessly violent to the point of murder and there is no way of stopping it's mutation.

The story focuses upon 2 surviving teens, Kady and Ezra, from Kerenza who are travelling on board two separate spaceships, the Hypatia and the Alexander. Boyfriend and girlfriend until the day of the attack they begin communicating with each other via the ships comms and they begin to realise that things are being hidden from them by the crew about the attack on Kerenza and about how dire their position really is. Ezra is recruited as a pilot on board the Alexander whilst Kady, a computer genius, begins hacking into the ships on board computers to locate information about what is being hidden from them.

The book was non-stop action the whole way through. I initially worried about how much detail we could really gain from the writing style and would it almost be emotionless but instead it is rich with emotion and full of wonderful detail about life on board the spacecrafts. There are so many twists and turns that for the first time in a long time this book actually had me shouting out loud “NO WAY did that just happen.” Just when you thought it was settling down and you could catch your breath then another twist would come and you'd be right off again on that journey with Ezra and Kady and thinking “this book is amazing”

This books forms part of a trilogy of novels known as The Illuminae Files and I am absolutely going to read the second novel Gemina which is already available and will be in the queue for book 3, Obsidio, when it is released in 2018. As we moved towards the end of Illuminae I began to wonder how on earth we were going to have a second book as the serious peril people were in would mean a whole new cast of characters. I am really keen to see where the author's are going to take the remainder of the series.

I couldn't recommend this book highly enough, if like me sci-fi really isn't your bag then please do not let that put you off. This was one of the most engaging and unique books I have ever read and I imagine it will remain with for a long time to come.

Herlezen 2022: Herlezen zodat ik eindelijk eens de vervolgdelen kan tackelen.
Ik blijf achter mijn eerdere beoordeling staan. De vormgeving is wat dit boek speciaal maakt. Het verhaal zelf is niet bijster origineel, maar vermakelijk genoeg. Bijkomend moet het gezegd worden dat ik dit boek mij 5 jaar na eerste lezing alsnog gunstig voor de geest staat om nu nog de vervolgdelen te willen lezen.

4.25/5 stars I listen to his heartbeat. Hear him breathe. As though becomes motion and motion becomes all that lies between him and his end. As the black is burning blue with the light of tiny funeral pyres. As his missiles and bullets take away his enemy. All they were and will ever be. I can taste it in his whispers. See it in the tiny photograph he has taped to his console. All he thinks of amid this loveless dance. All he cares about here on the edge of forever, is her. He does not want to die. Not because he is afraid. Simply because of he cannot bear the thought of leaving her behind. And there, in that tiny moment, I envy him. I'm going to be completely honest here. Sci-fi scares me. If it isn't cutesy or fun, it takes a lot of time for me to summon enough courage to read it. Add in the thickness and formatting of Illuminae, well I've never been so intimidated by a book. Yet, after months of sitting idle on my shelves, I picked it up out of curiosity around 6pm that night. I ended up reading all 600 pages in one sitting, finishing around midnight. And just, holy cow. I kept on telling myself, “I'll just read 50 more pages” over and over again until the entire book was complete and I was left empty inside. Once you get used to the formatting and start truly understanding the stakes the characters are in, it is impossible to put down. I loved this book. I loved it so much. In fact, it was the first book I have ever read in one sitting, without the intention of reading it in one sitting. I've already forced my friend to buy her own copy of it. Okay. So plot. The plot. In 2575 a large, powerful company called Bitch Industries (okay, so it is actually BeiTech Industries, but if you take the e's away...) destroys this planet, sending the inhabitants the survive to flee onto three spaceships: the Alexander, the Hypatia, and the Copernicus. The two main characters, Kady and Ezra, escape onto three different spacecrafts: the Hypatia and the Alexander respectively. Kady and Ezra used to be dating, but they had just broken up the morning of the attack. Now, separated on the spaceships, they communicate together via IM and slowly begin to realize that there is more threat to the spaceships then they realize... Characters....CHARACTERS... Kady “I am frequently underestimated. I think it's because I'm short.” I didn't really like Kady at first. I'm not sure why, but I just didn't. However, around the 200-page mark, something clicked and I suddenly loved her. Her snarkiness, her attitude, her kick-buttness. She was such a strong, smart, independent women and I loved her for that. Ezra “I should have told you I loved you every day. I should have given you the stars.” Ezra. Ezra, Ezra, Ezra... He was kind of the exact opposite of Kady for me. I loved him at first, but slowly I started to care less for him. Towards the end, it was almost as if he was in the way. For me, at least. He was a sweet, loyal guy, and very romantic. He did say and do a lot of very cheesy, romantic things. But in the end, he didn't really do anything to move the plot along. This may just be my opinion, however, and I could be totally and completely wrong. AIDAN “Am I Not Merciful?” AIDAN isn't human. He's the AI on the Alexander and though he was beyond creepy and disturbing, he is my absolute favorite. He was the reason why I couldn't put this book down.I enjoy weird, gray characters and AIDAN was definitely that. He wasn't even gray, but more of a dark, dark gray, or perhaps a light black. I understand that if it wasn't for Aidan, then half the crap they went through wouldn't have happened. Yet, I feel like he truly added something incredibly important to the story. Despite the fact that he is an AI, I believed he truly showed how important it is to be human, and how being human is something even machines would strive for. The Romance Yes, the book starts of with stating that Kady and Ezra have a thing together, however complicated that thing may be. Yes, in the first two hundred pages or so the romance is more of an issue. But when things start kicking off, the romance is the last thing I was worried about. In the end, I didn't really care for the romance too much. I was more focused on if they were gonna survive as opposed to if their relationship was gonna survive. This book is much, much more than the romance aspect. It may be there, and I was rooting for it to stay alive, but there is still so many other things that add to this book. The FREAKIGN FORMATTING If you know anything about this book, you know about the formatting. Never in my life have I ever seen another book that could even compare to this one. It's IMs, it's pictures, it's medical files of [a:Laini Taylor 324620 Laini Taylor https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1224474224p2/324620.jpg], it's pages and pages and pages of the names of people who died. It's just. Woah. It's just. I can't even describe how unique it is. In Conclusion...I haven't seen a negative review of this book, which should be a major clue that if you haven't read it, then you need to pick it up right now. Reading this book is such a crazy experience. It is the closest thing you can get to being on a rollercoaster, without actually being on a rollercoaster. Don't get me wrong, though, just because I loved this book, doesn't mean it didn't scare the crap out of me. It did. Which is the reason why it didn't get a full five stars. I had a very hard time sleeping that night I finished it and is probably the main reason I haven't picked [b:Gemina 29236299 Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2) Amie Kaufman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469408557s/29236299.jpg 44560442] up yet. I'm not ready to be scared again just yet.

3.5 stars. Lost points for being infuriatingly difficult to read, literally, the text is all over the place. The main character was painfully “YA” but the supporting characters were enjoyable. I enjoyed the premise more than the writing.

4.5 stars
I loved everything about this book: from the unique format to the gripping story and the amazing characters!
This book is very addicting- at times I couldn't stop reading.
The only problem I personally have with it & why I won't give it full five stars : As English is not my mother tongue I often found myself struggling with some tech words and being a bit confused.
But all in all I really enjoyed this book because it keeps you on the edge of your seat and you always want to know what happens next!

???They are beyond me.
These humans.
With their brief lives and their tiny dreams and their hopes that seem as fragile as glass.
Until you see them by starlight, that is.???

Wow, wow, wow!

Let me get my issue out of the way. Several characters, particularly early on, had the same glib, sarcastic voice, and it became annoying. Not because they weren't funny – very funny – but they were the same.

Apparently there is never not a good time to do a “I'm nailing your sister” joke.

I also have to warn that the style of the book is entirely reports, records, surveillance tapes, and similar, and they're formatted accordingly. Reading on a Kindle was a bit challenging, and I spent a lot of time with my nose almost touching the screen to make out some pages. But it felt worth it, somehow, to see all the creative uses and to marvel at how well the authors did this.

Now the good stuff:

The book was always entertaining, and when it really got going – the second half! – the story was exciting, suspenseful, and surprising. “You've got to be kidding me,” I muttered more than once. “This book!”

Kady was complex. Not unafraid, but willing to do whatever needed doing anyhow. Ezra was sweet, but the lead sister-nailing jokester, so that good old. But on so many occasions I found myself caring about the lives of minor characters because the authors did their work well.

Perhaps the best character was Aiden, the ship AI. Crazy, but strangely noble, and poetic, and compelling. Not evil so much as damaged. Reminded me sometimes of Morpheus in the Sandman graphic novels.

Highly recommended!

One of the best books I've ever read. Mostly thanks to the different style of writing and graphic design. I can't wait for the second book. The story wasn't blend at all, I liked the idea behind the book. The romance was in the background from my point of view and also the AI and its craziness is alarming for us in the future...

I'm definitely not alone when I say this is the most unique book I've ever read! I thought the mixed media format might be hard to get into but it wasn't, I loved the format and it leant itself so well to the feel of the story. What surprised me was how vividly I could picture everything even without much description and detail, it's told so well that it let's your imagination do the work. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend anyone who is unsure about it to just give it a go!

《The universe owes you nothing, Kady. It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is if you do something worthy of remembrance.》

First read 24~28/11/2o16 (ebook):

Should I rate it four or five stars? MMMMMH. IDEK, my brain doesn't work anymore. I need some time, duh.
(but at least I should say this book is a precious pearl tbh)


Purchased the paperback edition 14/o4/2o17:

Ok, when last week I bought Gemina I found out how good was to hold it and how crappy the ebook was compared to it, so I HAD TO buy Illuminae too. I felt that kind of urge of re-reading it so I couldn't keep myself from ordering it from Amazon ♥
SO, you guessed it: tomorrow I will be starting it right away and I can't wait!!! ♡
(Yeah, I don't even know why I was struggling so much deciding how to rate this omg IT'S A FIVE STARS BOOK, SHAME ON ME!!)


Second read 15~17/o4/2o17:

I'm still unable to write a decent review even if the surprise of the plot twists is gone, bear with me.
Tomorrow I'll try to take a grip on myself trying to write something that would look coherent or interesting, at least (I hope so) :P


Third read o3/o2/2o18:
* Buddy read with Raspberry 💜
I'm trying to combine the book and the audiobook, by the way 🤔
* Finished the book (from page 360) during my 24 Hour Readathon ✌🏻

2.5 - 2.75 stars.

Here's the black sheep!

I read it in one sitting. Loved it.

A slow start, but exciting and fairly touching towards the end. I may have to read the sequel after all.

What a strange tale...

To think that in more than 500 years, humans will still remember HAL as a dangerously sentient AI and still quote Whitman and still use the same txtslang as kids today...

As a book created from a collection of datum - transcripts, chatlogs, security reports, AI monologue - it has its failings (voice, occasionally, which I won't discuss because I think my concerns are a massive spoiler) and its shining moments of mundane, beautiful humanity.

Some pages are quite stunning. Some moments are quite wrenching. Some insights are quite arresting.

Quite an interesting experience. Do not be daunted by 600 pages. They fly past like so much stardust and space detritus: grab onto that which intrigues you, and let the rest wander out into the universe.

Despite the ridiculous title, my initial reaction to this was- alright! It reminded me of early BSG. Then, about 300 pages in, I stopped caring. Space battles, imho, are way more fun to watch onscreen than to read. I felt the book began to repeat itself (AIDEN especially). I also have to remove a star because EVERYONE is in love with Kady. Why is it never enough in YA novels for the main love interest to be in love with the female protag? Why does everyone and everyTHING have to be in love with her too. Is that to prove to the reader how lovable she is? Is that how young girls should measure their own worth? Hell no, so why do we see this in fiction all of the time?
Sorry, rant over, but seriously that was one of the plot drags.

Overall, as far as YA Scifi it's not that bad. I really enjoyed the amount of effort that went into the creation of the documents and schematics. Again, I enjoyed it for about 300 pages. With a sharper editing knife, this book would have been a four star read. Here's hoping book two is shorter and more point.

This is cool, and I think teen sci-fi fans will really be into it. It had the feel of the first season of new Battlestar Galactica to me. I didn't love the chat transcript format of it–I felt like it made the action kinda drag and I ended up skimming a lot of it–but I think a lot of teens will like that.

Also the ~mission report~ format or whatever was a cute way to bleep all the swears without it seeming too gimmicky, I'd feel comfortable booktalking this to 7th/8th graders. (I will be sure to show off the unique page format so they understand that this book isn't really as long as it looks.)

I'm sure there are already lots of rave reviews for this book on GR, so I will just say this: I'm 54 years old and I thought Illuminae was brilliant. So obviously it's not just for teen readers. I think this novel has the capacity to become a phenomenon like The Book Thief. I just hope nobody ruins it by trying to to turn it into a movie.

This book BLEW MY MIND. Can I give it six stars? Seven?

FULL REVIEW:

Sometimes, when a book gets a ton of hype, I get a little skeptical but I also feel more inclined to at least take a look during a stroll at a bookstore. And I'm so glad I did because Illuminae more than lives up to every ounce of the hype.

I started reading Illuminae on New Years Eve, thinking that I'd just read maybe twenty pages or so and continue reading the rest the next day. So I read twenty pages. Then I read two hundred more the same evening. Because I legitimately could not stop reading.

Teens on two space ships, a mutating, dangerous virus, an unforgettable AI, and an enemy space ship ready to destroy them looming ever closer come together to make this book unputdownable.

I haven't read a found materials book in a long time (maybe ever?) but I have to say, I loved the format. The book is written in e-mails, IMs, interviews, etc. and has intense action and conflict right from the start that kept me ripping through the pages. There are loads of twists (some of which had me cursing out loud while I read), lots of people die, so many scenes broke my heart, and it was just an incredibly good read.

Finally, a note on format: this book is beautiful with some truly creative formatting that had me literally flipping the book around to read certain two-page spreads. I've confirmed with some people who have read the e-book version that the formatting does not work nearly as well in the e-version, so if you get it, I highly recommend getting the print version. It's a brick (nearly 600 pages), but the formatting actually makes it a surprisingly quick read, and I promise you, it is so worth it.

Diversity note: All the major characters, as far as I can tell, were cishet and white with exception to one Chinese character. There's more diversity with minor characters both with race and sexual orientation (mostly really minor characters, to be honest), but representation was lacking in the major cast, aside from PTSD and other mental health issues common amongst trauma victims.

This book is a freight train. It might take a little while to get up to speed, but chum, when it does you're going for one hell of a ride!

Make sure you've got a few hours of uninterrupted time for the last 2/3 of the book. If you're like me you won't want to put it down because you HAVE to know what happens. And um I wish someone had warned me to have a tissue handy. I was so into the story and characters that I wasn't trying to analyze anything so it sort of socked me a little hard.

The formatting was superb. I don't think I've ever seen a book done quite like this. Very curious to see if they keep the same style. I don't want to rush the authors for the 2nd book but... no, I'm rushing them. I NEED IT!

This was an amazing book. While it started off fairly slow and I was not sure where it was going, once it really got to the plot and what was happening, everything clicked and I loved every aspect of the story. This book is highly unique in how it tells the story of Kady and Ezra. I loved how every page was filled with something different, whether it was a chat log, video transcript, email transmissions, or readouts from an AI. This was a great reading experience unlike anything else I have ever read.

That being said, the first 150 pages or so of this book were a struggle for me. I felt that we were place in this world with little background and immediately were thrust into this story about this evil corporation attacking a hidden colony. It took me a while to come to love the characters and understand them and what their goals were. But let me tell you, once that happened I did not want to put this book down.

I have no idea where the rest of this series is going to go moving forward, but I'm excited to see what happens next with this characters and this unique storytelling. This book is also massive which may scare you when you see it, but just remember it is not your typical book with words covering every page completely. Since it is chat logs and other documents, it is a quicker read than most books. The size of the book should not at all factor into your choosing to read this.

Finally, I just want to comment on the plot and the story itself. I have no idea how you would classify this book other than saying it is an epic space adventure. There are so many aspects to this book, whether it is the survival aspect, the science fiction space aspect, or the technical computer aspect. There were so many layers to this story and how it was told. I'm not the most technical person, but I had no problem following some of the more technical aspects of this book. I think this was mostly accomplished through the dossier style of the book and the idea that the documents would need to be simplified for that.

hát én csak annyit szeretnék mondani, hogy “look at it wiggle-“. :D
na jó, nem csak ennyit, de ez volt az első jelenet, amin rendesen hahotáztam, aztán később még volt pár, amin potyogtak a könnyeim. baromira imádtam a stílust, még ha idővel komolyabbá is vált.
bejött a könyv külleme is, ami a történetvezetéssel együtt igazán különlegesen lett megszerkesztve (csak kár, hogy a kobón borzasztó nehézkes volt az olvasás sokszor ((kindle-ön nem néztem meg; ipaden normálisabb volt, de nem szeretek olvasni rajta)). az arc verzióval kezdtem, aztán félúton váltottam a véglegesre, de így sem lett könnyebb).

szóval bírtam a sztorit is meg minden egyebet, és csak sűrűn ajánlani tudom, még úgy is, hogy kifolyt a szemem a föntebb említettek okán. tökre megérte énszerintem.