Book review: Illuminae

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1), by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Description: (from Rock The Boat )

“Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents, Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about the price of truth and the courage of everyday heroes.

The year is 2575 and two mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice covered speck. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them Ezra and Kady have to make their escape on the evacuating fleet. But their troubles are just beginning. A deadly plague has broken out on one of the space ships and it is mutating with terrifying results. Their ships protection is seriously flawed. No one will say what is going on.

As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth its clear only one person can help her. Ezra. And the only problem with that is they split up before all this trouble started and she isn’t supposed to be talking to him.

A fantastically original, heart-stopping adventure where everything is definitely more dangerous than it seems.”

*I received an ARC free from the publisher but this in no way affects my opinions of the book* *thanks again!*

I enjoyed this book a lot!! At first I was worried because there was so much hype around it. Everybody seemed to love this book and I tend to have an unpopular opinion about popular YA books. I also was worried about the format. But: WOW. I tip my invisible hat to Amie and Jay, I bow before them, I’d offer them cake if I could. This book felt like the blockbuster YA book of the year. I was sucked in and couldn’t stop reading. Stopping to go eat something was a torture.

About the format: the story is told from the point of view of cameras, reports, chat messages, journal entries… most of the time centered on Kady and Ezra. So that’s not your usual novel. Ten pages in and I was used to it, but some people might need more time. But it is so well done that I got gripped by the story and the fate of the characters and sometimes even forgot that it was not told as I’m used to. Maybe it’s not for everyone, but it’s worth the try!

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

It is set in space, and the description of the spaceships is amazing, they are an integral part of the story and of the action. Same for the AI, it is a main character on its own, and a really intriguing one.

“Miracles are statistical improbabilities. And fate is an illusion humanity uses to comfort itself in the dark. There are no absolutes in life, save death.”

If you read a lot of science-fiction, the plot may not be the most original thing; actually it is a combination of several science-fiction tropes, but the way it is told, the suspense, the humanity of it is definitely worth the read. If you want a book that fill you with swoons and laughs, that makes your heart beats faster AND filled with amazing twists : there it is. It’s beautiful inside and out with a wonderful cover and lovely uncommon interior design.

It was sometimes brutal, made me shudder, yelp and gasp; my mom kept asking what was going on and I couldn’t refrain from telling her everything and when she saw me back in the book later she would ask me again what was happening now. I can’t wait for it to get translated in French one of these day so that she can read it too! [Edit: out in french in September 2016!]

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

The sequel will be called Gemina and will be out October 2016. If I understand correctly there will be different main characters and I can’t wait to get attached to them too and get my emotions thrown all over the place again. I loved how Illuminae sucked me in its pages and I can’t wait to experience that again. I couldn’t think about anything else while reading it and couldn’t stop talking about it on twitter, to my family and to friends at school who didn’t know what was happening to them! *sorry not sorry*

I’ll definitively read Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff other books, they really impressed me with that one!