Review: Illuminae

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 599
Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads is illuminating): 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.

My Thoughts: It took me a long time to read this novel. I'm not sure why. Kristen kept ranting about how great it was. They are like...crazy though, so I try not to listen to anything they say ever. In this case, they were...I can't say right but I will say they weren't exactly wrong. This book was fantastic! Okay, actually this book was terrifying. It was the scariest thing I've ever read. I can't even tell you. I'm trying, I swear. Basically, this AI and the disease...it's all the scariest thing ever. It's the worst. By worst, I mean the best. 

I thought that the format of the book would make me hate it. The typography was pretty weird. Yet, it was also perfect. With any other book it wouldn't have worked but it worked. The images gave it a personality, which is ironic in this case because of the crazy computer. 

The only problem I really had with this novel was that you get so little description of setting and the characters. You really get thrown into the action and don't get the time or place described to you so you are left wondering what the hell is happening. I wish I would have gotten a little bit more information. I'm not sure how it would have been written into the story as it was but it might have helped a little bit. Luckily, after a little while it didn't matter. I caught up enough. Some more description might have also made me care about the characters earlier in the story.

I'm sorry this review is poopy. I tried, I swear. It's just good. That's all I can say. You have to give it a chance.

Basically, this novel is fantastic and beautiful and written in such a cool way that you should run to pick it up right this moment. Do it before the crazy computer makes you. 

This review took me forever to write and that makes me very sad because this novel really is fantastic and you should check it out but don't read it before bed because it's actually scary.