ARC Review: Illuminae - Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Pub Date: October 20th, 2015
Publisher: Knopf BFYR
Page Count: 608

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.

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No matter what I say, the book itself will be better. - Nova @ Out of Time

I wasn't sure about Illuminae at first. Sci fi is one of those genres where I only go in occasionally because they're very hit or me. So it brings me great happiness to report that Illuminae was a hit. It was basically, a stand with a blindfold and throw a pie into my face from a hundred miles away kind of hit.

Let's get the little "negative" bit out of the way. Well, it actually isn't negative, which is why it's in quotes. I just wanted to add that it was a little hard for me to read because the page layout is so cool and that distracted me away from the actual words. However, that's just me and it was only in the beginning. By the middle of the book, I really appreciated the layouts and images because they worked with the narrator.

Illuminae is written in a bunch of hacked files. So what does that mean, you ask? It's pretty much like medical files and text messages until the last quarter where things turn really weird [but good. So good!] That being said, there isn't really a narrator until towards the end. And by then, the narration is so unique because it isn't quite sassy or boring - I can't even describe it. We don't really get inside the head of a specific character because we're reading files about them however there are some bits that are written by Kady so we see her. In a way, it's like watching a movie - where we're on the outside but somehow, in the middle of all the action. I loved this narration, I think it made a lot of sense in terms of the characters.

Ezra and Kady are on two different ships. [And I ship them.] *ba dum tss* On a more serious note, I really loved the slow burn romance as romance was a part of the book, rather than the book itself. I'm so glad there was no overpowering!

Now I suppose that things could've gone dual perspective, but where's the fun in that? Besides, Kady and Ezra were the main characters but I really liked that the focus was about the story and not just them having the weight of the galaxy on their shoulders. I got the appreciate the plot for the sheer brilliance of it all. 
Something else that I really appreciated was how I could get a feel of their personalities even though I could never get inside their minds. Through their IMs, you can tell what kind of people Kady and Ezra are. There's a scene in the very beginning where both are in interviews. They have different mannerisms when talking and I particularly love Ezra's.

Because Ezra is me. [Originally posted on Twitter.]

In the beginning, I didn't really know what was going on. The great thing about that is because the characters themselves didn't know what was going on either. "We're experiencing the book in the moment" is what I'm trying to get at. I don't really like those books where we know more than the character and have to wait for them to figure it out. I understand that when you don't know what's going on, the knee jerk reaction is to question if you should continue but if you ever doubt Illuminae while reading - just keep going. Trust me!
However, by halfway, things pick up - quite quickly too. I found myself rapidly turning the pages, wanting to know what happened. There are twists [one in particular made me scream out loud. It was really well done!] and there is heartbreak. But amidst that, there is also hope. So I can't say that this book will hurt you because parts of it will make you sigh in relief. Am I not merciful?

This book was so unique and so well told. I can't say that I wish more books were like Illuminae because the uniqueness is what makes it memorable but I wish there were more books that were stylistically different from the typically twelve point font and times new roman with two centimeter margins on every page. This book is simply unforgettable. Read it. Like now.

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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.

 

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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.