Book Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Title: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files 01)
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Pages: 608
Source: Publisher/ALA
Format: ARC
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction

             

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 is a Sci Fi lovers dream. I was not able to put it down. I carried it everywhere I went. I stole as many moments as I could find to read this baby! I spent many mornings zombiefied, because I had stayed up WAY past my bedtime to keep reading.

Illuminae is a chunker of a book, 608 pages to be exact, but because it is told through a series of "documents", I flew right through it.

In all honesty, I was a little leery of picking this book up because of it's format. Though that is what initially drew me to it. I know that whenever I see a book that is written in an unconventional way, I tend to gravitate to it, but then I get scared that I will not be able to make sense of it. So NOT the case with with Illuminae.

Illuminae is so masterfully written, it reads like you are watching a movie or a television show. You are completely drawn in from page one. Never once do you realize that you are reading "documents". The reading experience is exactly the same as if you were reading a book told from the first or third person. So please, don't not pick this baby up because of it's bulk or because of the way the story is told. It would be a HUGE mistake if you did.

Our main characters are Kady and Ezra. I was in love with both of them right from the start. They are both hysterical! I mean, laugh out loud hysterical, especially Ezra. The banter between these two is some of the best written conversation between two characters I have ever read. Also, the omnipotent Illuminae representative is equally as funny. Some of the documents have these notes clipped to them at the top of the page, giving you some insight into what you are about to read. These notes are often times sarcastically written.

Now, I don't want you to think this book is a comedy, far from it. This book needs the levity because when you're not laughing, you are trying to deal with the nail biting drama that is occurring. For example, this "plague" that the passengers of these space vessels are dealing with. When I first read about this "plague", I about died. It was so not what I was expecting, that I didn't understand what I was reading. I had to literally go back, and re read. Que my first WTF moment, 'cause there were several. Let me tell you, downright terrifying. Give you nightmares frightening.

Guys, I am salivating for the next installment already. If you love Sci Fi, buy this book. If you love Battlestar Galactica, buy this book. If you love just reading good books, BUY THIS BOOK!

Sidebar...I LOVE Battlestar Galactica! Like, LOVE. I have watched it from start to finish SEVERAL times. All I wanted to do after reading Illuminae was marathon it all over again!