Review #4: The Illuminae Files (4.8/5)
So by this point, you should be familiar to my taste in movies and books. I mean with the lack of romance and teen fiction you see and the excessive amount of fantasy and sci-fi reviews Iāve written, you might realise that I have a thing for dystopian, sci-fi, and apocalyptic stuff.
If youāre alsoĀ a dystopian geek like me, then you must have heard of Illuminae, the novel written by Amie Faufman and Jay Kristoff, which then got illustrated by Marie Lu, author of Warcross and LegendĀ for the second book, Gemina. You mightāve heard of itās great story, or maybe, like me, you were first introduced to its uniqueĀ writing format
and i mean very uniqueĀ format. (Every part I just showed belongs completely to Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, of course Iām just out here throwing these pages to you so you know what Iām talking about)
Most books get very famous quickly because the themes they offer in the books, how great the storyline is. Some are popular only because the author that wrote it has a reputation for writing superĀ famous and the readers just want to read more of their works.
But a book famous for its writing format is unheard of for me. Illuminae was the first what, novel (?) that succeeded in telling the readers a story about the destruction of a colony, and a galactic adventure just from files they retrieved from the computers used by the characters for data processing, storage, communication, and everything else you can do with a computer by the year 2575.
The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet thatās a little more than an ice-covered speck. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, exes Kady and Ezraāwho are barely even talking to each otherāare forced to escape on the evacuating fleet.
But their problems are just the beginning. The fleetās AI has gone crazy, a deadly plague has broken out on one of the ships, and nobody in charge will say whatās really going on.
As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, itās clear only one person can help her: the ex boyfriend she swore sheād never speak to again.
First, let me start with a short recap of my own.
29th of January, 2575, Kady Grant had broken up with her boyfriend, Ezra Mason. But later that day, her planetās mining companyās rival company decided that it was a great day to attack the planet (Kerenza IV) and its inhabitants. Kady and Ezra managed to escape to two of the three ships used to transport and evacuate the Kerenza refugees. Ezra was taken to the Alexander, as he was badly injured, and Kady was taken to the Hypatia, a science vessel that happened to be orbiting Kerenza during the attack. The last ship was the Copernicus.
Everyone on board were tested to see their potential, since the fleet were understaffed. Ezra passed as a pilot, and Kady, bless her genius mind, decided that it was best to not show he full potential during the test. Not receiving the role of anything, she befriended a CommTech from the Hypatia, and became a hacker, determined to just find out whatās going on. Nobody who knew the truth would tell anyone the truth and Kady was only eager to find out.
The story was told by emails, chat boxes, documents, security camera footage, even information from the Alexanderās AI, which was pretty much messed up due to the attack at Kerenza, but was still functioning enough to tell a story, nevertheless. The second book got an illustrator, Marie Lu, the same person who wrote Warcross and Legend, and the content source didnāt just come from computers anymore. By Gemina, the information that led readers through the story was also gained from Hanna Donnellyāthe storyās female leadās personal journal, hand drawn, not soft copy from a computer.Ā
Personally, Illuminae was the first story that brought me to loving sci-fi slash dystopian slash apocalyptic novels. I was always a fantasy geek, thanks to Harry Potter and Wildwood. Kingdoms, princesses in pretty dresses, or magic, they were always closer to me than spaceships, AI, and intergalactic war, but Illuminae completely changed my mind. I was even surprised when I found myself buying a handful of dystopian novels during a book fair the other day. They were just really fun to read.
Oh but you know what else is fun? Guessing which cuss word the characters in the books used. Sure, the story was told through files, which means some were formal documents like reports and formal emails, but remember that there are also chat boxes and the informal emails sent from one refugee to the other as a form of communication to ask how they were doing and whatnot. Cussing and slang were used constantly in the book, but because they were compiled and as I quote, āsentā as a formal file, the cursing had to be censored and blocked. It was still fun to guess the words they used anyway.
Writing this review, I had already read Gemina, and Obsidio was being shipped to my house, so yes, I reallyĀ love this trilogy.
Iād love to get into more depth about the two books, but since nearly every page is filled with action, I canāt really write a spoiler-free review with it so letās get to the positive points and negative points of the book,
The book, as we all know and as I have mentioned for the fifth time now is formatted like emails, chat boxes, documents, and literally every other thing you can extract from a computer by the year 2575. Despite all three books being thicker than 500 pages, some of the pages arenāt even full pages, and you can read them in under one minute, even for a slow reader. Some examples:
Those pages when something dramatic happens, like the description of missiles travelling through the space between two ships
In Gemina (and possibly Obsidio), some pages from Hanna Donnellyās personal journal were incorporated in the files, the second Illuminae Files. But unlike Kady who prefers writing (or typing) her thoughts and securing them with a handful of layers of security and passwords, Hanna draws hers, and they didnāt take that long to read either.
āThe pattern is always the sameā
I know Illuminae was my first ever sci-fi dystopian novel, but Iāve consulted a few people on the matter, and I found out that the story the series offered isĀ a good one on its own, even without the dramatic effect. So yes, one of the pros is that it actually offers a good story. You never know whatās going to happen next. Itās like say, you just got over a dramatic point in one of the books, and suddenly the document in the next page is a bloody medical report that tells you something is up.
Another plus point would be how the events in the books are so well described, despite there being no actual description done in the books except for those surveillance camera transcripts. We donāt even know Kady and Ezraās specific physical appearances, just the fact that Kady has pink hair and Ezra is a pretty much a teen fiction novel average golden boy, unlike Hanna and Nik whoās illustrations we see from again, Hannaās journal in Gemina.
We should all put this fact in consideration, that the book is not meant to tell a story from a formal standpoint. Like I said, cussing is used in nearly every page of the book, though itās censored. Mildly explicit jokes and references were also used in the book, though no actual harm is done. Then again, Iām not against this or anything, in fact, it brings an essence to the story, but some people (*cough* boomers*cough*) might not be comfortable with it.
Personally, Iām not fond of thick books. Four hundred pages is a workload for me. I was suffering throughout the Order of the Phoenix. Donāt like thick books? Illuminae isnāt for you. All three books had like, five hundred or so pages. I know I said it was told through a less boring format for a novel, and the story is good, but you still have to read. Itās a relief I made it through both Illuminae and Gemina, thereās a possibility I might drop Obsidio and leave it to rot before reaching the three-hundredth page. Though, there isĀ a solution to this. You can buy the audiobook instead. I heard they did a good job with it, with great casts too.
Aaand, I think thatās about it. Thereās really not much I can say about the story without giving away spoilers, and since Iām dedicated to make this a spoiler-free blog, I think itās best you buy the book if youāre interested in the story of Kady, Ezra, Hanna, Nik, and two more characters Iām not supposed to tell you about because itās technically a spoiler (?) from Obsidio.
Iām open for any discussion too! Just, donāt tell me anything about Obsidio just yet, Iām expecting the copy this week.Ā
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