Published: October 2015
Pages: 608
Series: Illuminae Files
Summary
The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra — who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.
My thoughts
Illuminae is an interactive experience. This is one where you really need the physical copy to get the best out of this style of book. This story is wholly delivered through hacked documents, redacted files, interview transcripts, schematics, and even instant message conversations.. I love stories like this, typically I’ve only seen it from crime books ie. Murder in the Family which was an email/ podcast style, or Janice Hallett who has many books also in this style. It adds a different dimention to storytelling and I really enjoyed it.
“Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity wraps around its collective madness.”
With this style it really makes the reader feel like an inside investigator. We are trying to identify the clues and figure out where the story is going as our characters are progressing. Some of the pieces are from the perspective of the AI. How do you bring to life the inside mind of artificial intelligence? What Kristoff and Kaufman did was smart and it worked really well. It’s such an engaging style and the different persectives really added to the tension of this story.
This is also a very emotional book. There are many difficult themes which (as a parent of very young children) I found very difficult at times to read. It hurt my heart but it also made me so invested. I had to keep reading, I needed the light at the end of tunnel. These topics are also handled very well. They are real and raw, we can see it if we open our eyes and see what is happening across the world today. Devastation and loss, one day everything is fine and the next it is a war zone, it can come quickly and it leaves chaos in it’s wake. That is this book. Lives upended, families destroyed, hope diminishing.. This is a story that explores human behaviour and what we do and how we behave in certain circumstances.
“You have me. Until the last star in the galaxy dies, you have me.”
The impact of technology is a really interesting topic, and very relevant for now as we see AI grow increasingly. How dependant humans become on technology, what repercussions there are when things go wrong or not as planned. Even more broader than that when you count for how irrational human behaviour can be. What we do when our protective instincts kick in telling us to survive. How does that influence our relationship with the superior intelligence of AI? It’s really interesting and I am definitely keen to see where this trilogy goes.
There is an ending to this book that introduces us to the next part of the story. This is one of those instances where I bought all 3 books on sale secondhand and I am glad I got the whole series at once!
“She is catalyst.
She is chaos.
I can see why he loves her.”
There is some romance in this book, it’s relatively small compared to everything that goes on and although the dialogue is quite cringe at times, I’m going to cut our characters some slack. If I was 17 and my planet got attacked and I had to escape on a spaceship which was only the beginning on my problems, I’m not sure how I would react to be able to cope with all that so I’m letting them have their cringe. There isn’t much of it and it does add to the development of our main characters so if that puts you off, please don’t let it.
“I should have told you I loved you every day. I should have given you the stars.”
“Am I not merciful?”
Would I recommend?
Yes, this book was fantastic, engaging, fast paced and filled with emotional whiplash. I read this in one day I was hooked!! I don’t see many people talk about these books and they definitely need more love. Give it a try and see what you think.