Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The Illuminae Files #1

Book synopsis

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. Illuminae

 

My opinion

 

5/5 stars. A MUST READ!

Illuminae is not your regular type of book. It is basically a case file full of documents and recordings from the spaceships. Yes, the whole story is told through files and reports. I know it sounds crazy. I know some people might be skeptical about this. Trust me. It works. Some people might complain that there is no character development and character depth due to the lack of description. Personally, I was not bothered. I saw the character development even without description and long narrations. The way I read this book was by listening the audiobook while following along with the physical book in front of me. By doing this, I had the sensation I was watching a Si-Fi movie unfolding in my head. The visuals in the book were awesome. It had blueprints of the spaceships, drawings, lists, imagines… It was amazing. Oh! Let’s not forget about the audiobook. IT HAD AN ENTIRE CAST!!! Different voices for different characters. Sound effects. All you want! It was…I do not have words to describe it. That awesome it was. So, I highly recommend listening the audiobook while reading the actual physical book. Each, character becomes unique and it is much easier to remember who is who and what he/she/it does. The story is action packed. When you think you solved one problem a million, more problems appear out of the blue. At some point, the book gets some freaky horror vibes. You know, Walking Dead (TV show) horror type of vibes. It is just sooo rich in the feels. Oh-Oh! Let’s not forget about the Terminator (movie) vibes too!

Small spoiler section

Is it wrong to say that my favorite character was AIDAN, the artificial intelligence software gone rogue? For a computer program, AIDAN was the most complex character in this whole story. I am so glad AIDAN appears in the next book too.

End spoiler

This is a survival story in space. How cool and tariffing is that! You do not need more information! Just go read it!

This is my sole opinion!

 

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance
Language:  none because censured, mild innuendoes
Sexual content: mild
Violence: heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: mild