To Infinity and BOOM! | Illuminae

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Release date: October 22nd, 2015
Genres: YA, Sci-Fi
Pages:  599
Source: Bought it
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.
Review:


*All profanities have been removed due to the reviewer's motto to stop using profanity*

One does not simply review this oh-so-awesome book without freaking out and leaving a fangirlish mess all over the page. Therefore, forgive me if I do freak out and leave a mess.

First, lemme show you a .gif that sums up this book in utter perfection:



Illuminae isn't your typical structured book, as you can already read from the blurb (assuming you do read it). It is told in a dossier of hacked documents. There are no definite plot to follow through, you just have to connect the dots and follow it along and try your best to understand it. But, don't worry, you will.

I was a bit skeptical at the beginning. There weren't any narratives or descriptions to make me understand the story. There were interview scripts, chat logs, emails, and some spaceship pictures. If there's no structure then how am I supposed to know what the story is about? But as I went on, the dots connected and it all clicked and I was like HOLY-EFFING-STARS THIS IS AWESOME. The plot just presented itself right in front of me. Sure, you won't know what the bleep is going on when you just started the book, but that's okay, stars will align and you will go in the right path if you just keep reading!

To be honest, I'm quite fond of romance and outer space novels. Even though I'm kinda new at the latter one. Still, this book shines in those two aspects. The romance is so cute and full of i'm-mad-but-that's-because-i-care bickerings kinda thing (which is my FAVE). I ship them so hard I literally counted pages until the next time they interact with each other again. They only interact with e-mails and chat, that's true, but other people's private chats are always fun to read, you know? Especially, if they're in a relationship.

The characters also vary and interesting to read. They come from different races and GIRL POWER totally shouts from the pages. I also found myself almost crying for the deaths of many supporting characters. Even though they're just side characters, they got enough screen time to make me know them personally. 

And the outer space stuff! Whoa! I'm in LURVE with all of it! You see, I'm no fan of physics (not astronomy, unless there's physics involved). Let's just say that we have no decent history, physics and I. But I have to admit, I'm always enchanted by the space beyond our earth. Like, it's so big and full of wonders. We human beings have lived for thousands of years and yet there's still so much out there that we haven't even discovered. I'm DYING to know more, but then I have to be good in physics, so I gave up before I started. But, reading this book makes me wish I've learned everything and known everything. Because writing a book with so many scientific and astral stuffs is not something you can do unless you really know what you're talking about.

At the half until the end of the book, I was totally hooked. I read so fast in solitude with speculations in my head, only to realize they were all wrong. I was shocked and dumbfounded. The twist in (almost) the end wasn't something I expected. It shattered my heart. I half praised and half cursed the authors because of that awesome twist, but then I was (kinda disappointed, kinda happy) because


There's only one thing that annoyed me, though.
  • The lack of characters' description. As in, what they look like. All I know from Kady is that she has pink hair that has started to grow back at the roots. You see, this thing is essential for me to create a scenario of them in my head. If I don't even know what they look like, I'm supposed to...what? Picture myself in it?
  • There were this three pages of wikipedia-like pages that described the war that's happening. It was so wikipedia-like that I literally groaned in frustration because I was so NOT reading any school-like things in a novel I read for PLEASURE. But in the end, I did read it, though (for the sake of understanding the plot, people).
Oh, well, that was two.

In all, Illuminae is a total antimainstream novel. It's full of twists and interesting stuff you've never seen in any YA novels before. With unpredictable plot and heroic characters, prepare yourself for a journey toward infinity and beyond unlike you've ever experienced before!

My rating:      . 5


Reviewed by Inas

4 comments

  1. I'm shipping Kady and Aidan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Absolutely amazing review!! Love your title as well! I loved this book and really think you did it justice :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!! Of course I had to do give it an amazing review because the book itself was AWESOMETACULAR!

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