Book Review | Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Title: Illuminae

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Genre: YA Sci Fi

Rating: ★★★★

“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.”

What to say about this book? I enjoyed it. The mixed-media formatting was a whole lot of fun and I’d definitely recommend reading along while you listen to the audiobook. It was almost like a movie, with the full cast of characters, and the background music to really set the tone when it was needed. 

The plot? It wasn’t my favorite. I may not be a sci-fi gal. I’ll just go ahead and put that out there, my review may be biased. My boyfriend (yes, I mentioned you. Hi Mark.) started reading this before me and immediately put it down because the romance was too cheesy for him, so I can’t even get a sci-fi reader’s opinion about it. It was set in space, on three different ships, and at first, I couldn’t grasp who was where. Maybe if it was written in a more conventional format, this wouldn’t have been a problem? Maybe I’m just too slow to grasp sci-fi concepts? I don’t know, anyway. A lot of the dialogue that moves along the plot is between our heroine, Kady, and her beau, Ezra. It felt…cheezy. All this intense stuff is happening and they’re writing love notes. I guess I’m not a romantic at heart, or I’m too old, but it just felt unrealistic to me. 

The pacing? Also, not my favorite. I was over halfway done with the book before the main twist happened, and I was getting bored. I just didn’t care. The infected aboard the ship were interesting, but they kind of disappear for half the book. The AI is interesting, but it kind of disappears for half the book. The ship that’s following them was kind of interesting, but it’s only mentioned in passing. It just felt like there were so many little things going on, and all at once they come together, but they felt so disjointed up until that point. 

So, why’d I give this four stars? Honestly, the plot twist. My boyfriend said it’s a common trope-y plot-twist for sci-fi and that’s fine, but I was sitting there, just completely blown away for about two minutes after I read it. It was also fun how the authors explained the subtle hints they gave the reader, so it didn’t feel like it came out of left field. After the plot twist, the plot as a whole really started to pick up too, and I had a hard time putting the book down. I also really liked what the authors did with AIDAN (the AI). It was interesting to feel empathetic about it. Overall, this book was a lot of fun. Even when the plot started to lose me, the way it was written kept me enthralled. 

I’m still not sold on the next book. I found the third book at a thrift store, so it’s in my possession, but the second is yet to be found and I’m not sure I want to pay full price for it. It’s definitely on my radar, but I’m not going to make it a priority. 

Have you read Illuminae? Do you agree or disagree with me? Let me know your thoughts!