Book info:
Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files #1
Paperback Release Date: April 25th, 2017
Publisher: Ember
Pages: 624
Format: Paperback
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It certainly filled the Battlestar
Galactica-shaped hole in my heart.- --Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of
The Red Queen
Read the New York
Times bestselling blockbuster that critics are calling -out-of-this-world
awesome.- The first in an epic sci-fi series unlike anything else out there.
Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was
the worst thing she'd ever been through. That was before her planet was
invaded. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra are forced to
fight their way onto one of the evacuating craft, with an enemy warship in hot
pursuit.
But the warship could be the least of
their problems. 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
biggest threat; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady
plunges into a web of data hacking to get to the truth, it's clear only one
person can help her bring it all to light: Ezra.
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.
Brace yourself,
because you're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to
leave.- --Marie Lu, author of the bestselling Legend series
Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.- --EW.com
You're not in for an ordinary novel experience. . . .- --Bustle.com
A truly interactive experience. . . . A fantastically fun ride.- --MTV.com
Don't miss the rest of the series!
The Illuminae Files_02: GEMINA
The Illuminae Files_03 -- OBSIDIO
My Review:
My rating: 4.5 stars
I hate that I waited so long to read this one! It definitely was worth all of the hype that has surrounded it the whole time it has been out. I also understand now why one of my high school students had it as one of her favorite books on a display we had her do in our library. I love books that are done in this style. Instead of just page after page telling the story all written out like a normal novel, the story is pieced together through emails, text messages, diary entries, and other types of documents like classified files that were found by one of the main characters, Kady. Kady is our main character. And this is a story that begins with an attack on the mining settlement on another planet where she lives with her mom. In the escape from the attack, she is able to get on a ship, but she ends up being separated from her boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend, Ezra, and also at one point her mother is sent to another of the three ships that escaped the colony.
The biological disease that was released onto the planet isn't one that is necessarily anything different than maybe you've read in other science fiction stories, but in all, it was almost the least important danger. Well, at first it seemed that way. It seemed as if we had a Hal from the 2001: A Space Odyssey series. It seems that the Artificial Intelligence, in this case, named AIDAN (Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network), may have been making decisions on its own. It seemed to have possible had something go wrong in the attack that made it become more aware. AIDAN seems to think that it has the needs of the many in its best interest, and if that means that some people, or meat as it calls them, have to die, then that is what is best. Kady soon is connecting back with Ezra, and he is what keeps her going the crazier things get.
While I had a slight inkling of who might be behind the Bei-Tech group, how it worked out in the end still was a good twist. There were some other twists that I didn't see coming. The authors did a perfect job of telling this story in a way that kept those things as twists. There were also a lot of neat pages mixed in between the other documents. Images made from words, diagrams of the ships, the thoughts of AIDAN. I liked how even as AIDAN seemed to be doing okay, there would still be an error put in whenever it was something that definitely was not something a computer or AI should be "feeling".
One other little thing I just loved was the way that the majority of any curse words were crossed out, as if it was done in the documents before they were saved or passed on. Honestly, what a creative way to try to keep the story from sounding too bleached and "clean", yet still keep from having to say it was full of that type of language. Really enjoyed, looking forward now to reading on with the 2nd book!
About Amie and Jay:
Amie Kaufman is the New York Times bestselling
co-author of These Broken Stars and This Shattered World, and Illuminae, the
first in a new series starting in 2015. She writes science fiction and fantasy
for teens, and her favourite procrastination techniques involve chocolate,
baking, sailing, excellent books and TV, plotting and executing overseas
travel, and napping.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, their rescue dog, and her considerable library. She is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, their rescue dog, and her considerable library. She is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.
Jay Kristoff is the award-winning author of THE
LOTUS WAR trilogy, a Japanese-inspired steampunk fantasy. Part 3, ENDSINGER, is
out now. He's also co-author of the upcoming ILLUMINAE (with Amie Kaufman), a
YA Sci-Fi... thing, to be released by Knopf/Random House in 2015, and
NEVERNIGHT, the first part of a new fantasy trilogy kicking off in 2016.
Jay is 6’7 and has approximately 13380 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell.
He does not believe in happy endings.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
Giveaway:
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- 3 winners will receive a paperback of ILLUMINAE, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
Week Two:
5/4/2017- BookHounds YA- Re-Post Review or Blogger Content
Week Three:
