For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension. “A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form.” —Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of Red Queen 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 … The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
“Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.” —EW.com
“[Y]ou’re not in for an ordinary novel experience. . . .” —Bustle.com
“A truly interactive experience. . . . A fantastically fun ride.” —MTV.com
★ “[O]ut-of-this-world awesome.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred
★ “…stylistically mesmerizing.” —Publishers Weekly, starred
★ “[A]n arresting visual experience.”—Booklist, starred
★ “[A] game-changer.” —Shelf Awareness, starred
“Brace yourself. You’re about to be immersed in a mindscape that you’ll never want to leave.” —Marie Lu, bestselling author of the Legend trilogy
“Genre: Undefinable. Novel: Unforgettable.” —Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures & author of Unbreakable
“An exuberant mix of space opera, romance, zombies, hackers, and political thrills.” —Scott Westerfeld, bestselling author of Zeroes and Uglies
“Stunningly creative. Smart, funny, and romantic.” —Veronica Rossi, bestselling author of Under the Never Sky
“This is one of those rare books that will truly keep your heart pounding.” —Beth Revis, bestselling author of Across the Universe
“This book is xxxxing awesome.”
—Laini Taylor, bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone
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This book is written like a dossier file which was a huge part of the pull for me to give it a read. I was a little worried that the pieces would make the story hard to understand and put together, but that wasn’t the case. This story was a wild ride. If you love scfi, danger, and reading on the edge of your seat, you will love this book.
This is a tricky book to describe…best read in hard copy despite the fact it’s a weighty beast. Part space opera epistolatory novel, part graphic novel, part…well, not sure but all good!
WOW! I couldn’t put this down.
This. Book. Is. AFUCKINGMAZING.
It’s so hard to talk about a book like this for fear of giving anything away so kindly just there as I get this Asksksksksksaaaahhhh out. Trust me, with this it’s best to go in blind.
The whole book reads like a dossier/ transcript which is fantastic because it is well done. It just adds more to the sci fi effect. It’s also EMOTIONAL AF. My anxiety and tears were all over the place.
I can get why someone wouldn’t like this. The formatting takes some getting used to if you’re not expecting it when you first open the book. I found it to be unique and exciting and just plain FUN…even though I cried. CRYING CAN BE FUN TOO.
You’ll never know how happy I am that I already have Gemina…
NOW SOMEONE COME TALK TO ME ABOUT ALL MY FEELINGS.
ILLUMINAE (The Illuminae Files, _01) is the first in a trilogy by authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. The set up of this novel is one of the most original I have encountered: screen-shots of “computer data”, memos between people aboard spaceships, surveillance footage, and the commentary of main characters.
The story unfolds with details of a biological strike against the small planet of Kerenza. Our main characters are Kady Grant and Ezra Mason–two teenagers that had broken up the day of the attack. Although they end up on different fleeing ships, their correspondence and determination to get to the bottom of the mystery encompasses this entire first book.
“. . . I had no idea how safe I was, because I’d never been unsafe . . . ”
Add to the mix a computer operating system with faulty circuiting, AIDAN, and we have some intense drama and the potential for mass destruction on multiple fronts.
Luckily, the story is also laced with sarcasm and dark humor all throughout. I honestly found myself laughing at comments/thoughts in the middle of some of the many life threatening situations.
“. . . at that point the southeaster anti-missile battery got vaporized by what I assume was a missile . . . you might wanna note in your report that those things don’t, you know, stop misses.”
Kristoff and Kaufman do an excellent job of giving the reader all the details they need in a unique and compulsive fashion. This story was one I struggled to put down even once. Everything about it–the characters, rogue computer, unknown assailants, and constant action veiled in secrecy–made this anunforgettable story that I will be re-reading in the future.
“. . . you’ve REALLY gotta think up a better pet name for me than ‘”idiot”‘.
Overall, a “perfect” start to a trilogy with an ending that satisfies, yet also leaves you begging for more.
What more could you ask for?
“< ERROR >”
Highly recommend.
I never would have expected a book compiled of IMs, emails and transcripts to be so utterly captivating. This book was AUH-MAZING. Completely and painfully stressful, but incredible.
My hat’s off to Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff for putting together a completely unorthodox and very different sci-fi novel. I doubt we’ll ever see such a fun and new format ever again. I loved this book more than I can even put into words.
If I could have given it more than 5 stars, I would have.
And, where can I find an Ezra Mason? I need an Ezra Mason.
I did a reread with the audiobook and I can’t even explain how exceptional it is. It’s like listening to old radio plays from way back before TV. Full cast, sound effects, it was a whole lot of wow.
Absolutely stunning story. I’ve read it four times now and still am amazed by it.
I love the unconventional way this story is told, the fun sci-fi vibe, and the loveable, warts-n-all characters. An excellent read for lovers of young adult, science fiction, and adventure novels.
This is truly one of the most original and creative books that I have ever read. After reading the synopsis for this book, I was greatly excited. I can honestly say that I did not know what to expect going into this book. I didn’t really have any expectations, other than I knew that the book would be good because of the familiarity with the authors. They write extraordinary books, and so I knew this one would fit the bill. What I didn’t expect was for this book to leave such an imprint on me.
The first thing that you will notice about this book is the format. This book is told in an unorthodox, yet fascinating way. Coming directly from the synopsis of the book, this story is “told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more.” You may be wondering how you can possibly comprehend a story that it told in such a manner, but Kaufman and Kristoff pull it off effortlessly. They tell a story that is so effective, that I wouldn’t be surprised if books in this format start popping up like mad. Not only do you comprehend the story, but you fall right into it. This story will devour you whole. It is truly a visionary piece of art.
After the initial shock of not reading a traditionally structured novel, you will start to connect with the characters. These characters are going through so much trauma that you can really feel what they are feeling. While reading you come to love them and root for them.
The mystery and suspense in this book are freaking amazing! Just when you think you have things figured out, BOOM! Things get shaken up and you are left with your mouth hanging open while you race through the pages to find out what happens next. I just love the way that things played out. I was certainly not expecting all the twists and turns.
Kaufman and Kristoff tell a story so magical that you will be swept up and carried away. I guarantee that once you start reading this you will not be able to put it down. Even if you are skeptic about reading this because it is outside of your comfort zone, READ IT ANYWAY! Seriously, I cannot stress enough the AWESOME that is this book. I am highly (and agonizingly) anticipating the second part of this story in Gemina!
Hands down, the best Sci-Fi I’ve read in a very long time. I prefer my ereader and rarely buy physical books, but this one is definitely on my shelf. The artistry they used to place the words on the page to convey the action and feeling in each scene is incredible. Can’t recommend it enough!
Guess who’s kicking themselves for waiting so long to read this?? That’s right. This girl.
Okay, OBVIOUSLY the biggest pro for this book is the way it’s put together. I’ve heard amazing things about the audiobook too, but I forced myself to read a physical copy because I wanted to experience it all myself. And I’m so happy I did!! There’s just something so special that you wouldn’t get with the audio. All the snarky little notes, the cool doodles, the maps—it’s like reading a work of art. I was pretty much in awe the entire time. It was the perfect compliment to the story, balancing it out super well without being too distracting. Plus, it makes for a surprisingly quick read. Don’t let the size fool you, I got through this pretty fast and I’m a super slow reader.
And speaking of story, I really liked this! We’re thrown right into the action and I was invested almost immediately. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Kaufman and Kristoff throw some major twists in there that had me reeling. This story didn’t go in the direction I thought it would AT ALL (there are basically zombies in this book. ZOMBIES) and I was living for it.
I was also very fond of all the characters. Kady is basically my hero now because she’s so badass and all her friends were so fun to read. Kaufman and Kristoff didn’t shy away from killing off their characters, which I love despite the heartache it caused. At this point, I’m pretty used to Young-adult books washing things out or using the fade-to-black method, but Illuminae didn’t really do that. It was so nice! I mean, this is supposed to be a crisis. People are being attacked. A deadly disease is being spread. People are bound to end up getting hurt and I’m so glad the authors didn’t shy away from that.
↬ FINAL WORD
This was such a fun read!! I loved every second and can’t wait for the next one. Zombies in space people!
This book is written in the style of old military style memos, audio recordings and security footage, interspersed with the characters thoughts and feelings. At first it seems like a weird, confusing read, but it us SO not. This book was page after page of “oh man what’s gonna happen next?!” Or “how are they gonna get out of that?!” Moments. The whole series is absolutely phenomenal as you unravel this intergalactic mystery!
such an amazing book! it had me at the edge of my seat the majority of the time and I couldnt help but have a love hate relationship with the stories villain aiden. this involves a war up in space and an AI one of the ship members created that went crazy on them when it was meant to protect them. I liked listening to all the different interviews from different characters and i loves kady and ezras story and that little romance between them. this books involves, romance, suspense, space and action packed with a little bit of humor, what’s not to like?
This science fiction book is written as a collection of articles and transcripts and computer logs. The writing is original and the whole book is a mystery that is very entertaining.
This book was amazing, I enjoyed every word, every page.
In this story the heroine is a young woman that had many skills with the computers, while her ex boyfriend is a pilot, they both are trying to survive after the place where they used to live is attacked.
There is action, romance, tragedy and a lot of bravery. This is definitely a must read.
Enjoy the format and story.
I don’t know whether this will be a review or a gush because this book was perfection I literally have no faults with this, so it’s going to be a very short review but I need to get this out my system because if not it will send me into a hangover and that is the worse.
If you don’t know about Illuminae, where the hell has you been?! Since 2015 this book has been doing the rounds and is so hyped up and well loved by people that I hear nothing but good things about it. Oh, my god, this did not disappoint everything about that book is amazing. How it was formatted just added to the reading experience and made me enjoy it even more, I was 50 pages in and I pre-ordered the prequel that’s how much I fell in love with this book and how fast I fell in love with this story. The images and some of the way it was written it was just amazing (Can you tell I’m in love)
I loved the characters I did think it would be a problem not getting to know them in a normal format but oh my god it was so much better the sarcasm that came across and you could just feel how much it meant to the characters and I didn’t feel like I missed anything due to the fact it was in a mixed media format it worked.
I have nothing bad to say… Like it’s been a few days since reading it and I still have nothing bad to say other than I NEED THE SEQUEL. I know this wasn’t much of a book review but hopefully, you take my mess of thoughts and pick the book up because it was awesome. If you couldn’t tell…
You MUST read the print version of this. The format is completely original and unlike any other book on the market.
This book reminded me somewhat of The Sky Chasers series by Amy Kathleen Ryan. The similarities are that they are on a spaceship, there is a couple but maybe-not-a-couple-anymore, there are evil plots being covered up by those in charge, loss of parents and loved ones, smart teenage girl who figures it all out and saves the universe (kinda).
This book however was written in a very different format. It is all emails, text messages, video surveillance explained, typed out audio recordings, and some fun graphic pages. At first I thought it was strange and was going to be confusing, but it actually ended up fun and original. There are a few surprising (and some predictable) plot twist as well to make it more interesting.
I did start to lose interest 2/3 into the book though and thought the end really dragged on.
I didn’t love the language (medium to heavy level). There were also crude and sexual remarks, sexual innuendos, talk of sex (for teenagers), underage drinking, violence (including child abuse) and murder.
This is one of my favorite books (and one of my favorite series). It is so creative and sometimes suspenseful. Not only is the plot creative, so is the way it is written; the way it was written through text-like messages, security cameras, and other methods was very interesting. The characters were interesting and original. I couldn’t put the book down!