Illuminae Book Talk

Illuminae 
by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Release Date: October 20th 2015

Spoilers

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.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. It was almost a 4 star book, but the last 20 pages or so were just to good for me to give it just 4 stars. It earned that fifth star. It was amazing. The character development was better than I expected considering the way it was written. I had low expectations coming in since it didn't exactly seem like something I would enjoy, but the authors proved me wrong. I loved this book.

What I really loved about the book was that it was about two exs. I don't think I've ever read a book, besides contemporary probably, that dealt with two exs and them getting back together. I loved the angst between them. Kady was so mad at Ezra, she wanted to end him and this was just so funny to me. Even after they had their falling out though, Ezra was still in love with Kady and wanted to be with her. He sent her these emails all the time even when she stopped replying. That's dedication.

The antagonist of the book wasn't even really revealed till the last couple of pages. I was a bit confused about who the villain was supposed to be throughout the book. At first I thought it was Aidan, because that is a bit stereotypical. 

The computer becomes smart enough to realize it doesn't have to listen to people. But then near the last 100 pages or so, it was narrated mostly from the computers point of view, which I also thought was really fricken cool, and the computer had almost human features to it. It decided it really liked Kady and didn't want her to die so it protected her. They ended up solving the conflict together.

It wasn't revealed till the end came closer that the real antagonist of the story was Leanne. Ezra's evil mother. I mean, it was actually hinted at earlier on when Ezra was explaining to Kady that he couldn't leave the planet because him and his father were hiding from his mother. I really didn't think much of it at the time, but it was one of those significant little details that foreshadowed.

This book was so funny. It became apparent within the first couple of pages that I would be laughing a lot during the book. The humour is what pulled me in initially. Even in the most dire of situations the characters had some semblance of humour.

Because of the format this book was actually a really quick read despite being 600 pages. There were lots of pages that were full of pictures and poems and files. 

Despite the fact that Jimmy was only there for a brief period of time, I still really loved him. He was funny and seemed to be a really fantastic friend. I was sad to see him go. He was a good character and person.

So I'm not really a sci-fi person. One every here and there is fine, not exactly my favourite, but I really loved this one. I think everyone should read it at least once.

Quotes:

“I am frequently underestimated. I think it's because I'm short.” 

“She is catalyst.She is chaos.I can see why he loves her.” 

“I should have told you I loved you every day. I should have given you the stars.” 

 “He presses the triggers. And like roses in his hands, death blooms.” 

“Interviewer: So. Tell me about your mother.Ezra: You're taping this, right?Interviewer: Audio only. Camera is faulty.Ezra: Okay, well for the benefit of the sight-impaired, I am now raising my… oh, dear… yes, it's my MIDDLE finger at Mr. Postgrad here.Interviewer: Mr. Mason...Ezra: Now I'm wiggling it.Interviewer: Terminating interview at 13:58 on 03/19/75.Ezra: Look at it wiggl--audio ends-”