Book Review
Title: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) Re-Read
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: YA/Sci-Fi/Romance
Rating: *****
Review: So, the first time I read this series I read them with big gaps between the books but this time I will be reading them close together and I am going to see whether or not my opinions on this series has changed. The opening to Illuminae was shocking as ever and the humour in the opening is better given the fact, I already know who the Illuminae group are and the elaborate game they are playing.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, I was loving the characters just as much as I did the first time around, the banter between Byron and Kady is sublime, the messages between Ezra and Kady say much more when you read between the lines and the sense of dread is overwhelming from the second the ships make a run for it. Considering we get information from inside and outside the chain of command we do get some insight, but you are always left guessing about something. The highlight has to be the divine banter between Ezra and Jimmy and it only makes Jimmy’s fate even more devastating later on, but the worst thing is realising that AIDEN was right all along, so many more people would have survived if they had just blown up the Copernicus without asking questions but the human heart plays into proceedings and makes the situation 10x worse.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Ezra has been conscripted into the UTA while Kady with the help of Byron is digging into what the UTA is keeping from them. As Kady and Byron dig deeper they learn that things are slowly going to hell and recruit Ezra’s help. They learn that a virus was aboard the Copernicus and is being referred to as Phobos. Phobos is a mutating virus that literally can’t be controlled, and Ezra helped bring it aboard the Alexander which is bad news. We also learn that Jimmy’s team was called to a code blue in Hanger Bay 4 where the infected are being kept.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, morale continues to fall aboard both ships, but things really take a turn for the worst when the Captain of the Hypatia finds out what AIDEN did and try to withdraw from the Alexander only to be overruled and killed in the process. This really is the beginning of the end as things only go downhill from here. However, Byron is taken to the Alexander leaving Kady on the Hypatia alone but now she has someone she trusts closer to Ezra than she is. As the time for Lincoln’s intercept drops from hours to minutes, Kady and Byron have an idea, but no one knows where they are going to make it out alive on the other side and knowing what is to come, I was surprised that no one ended up with several mental health problems like PTSD.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, there are less than 10 minutes to go before the Lincoln catches up with the Alexander and the Hypatia. As AIDEN is brought back online to deliver Byron and Kady’s logic bomb to the Lincoln, it sees the errors the humans have made after being blinded by their emotions something AIDEN doesn’t have. However, AIDEN sees the way to save them although they won’t see it that way. As AIDEN takes control of the Alexander killing anyone it deems to be a threat to its survival the Hypatia tries to run only to have AIDEN stop them. However, there are survivors fleeing from the Alexander and Syra Boll the acting captain of the Hypatia brings them aboard but into quarantine because of Phobos concerns.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Kady tries to get the command of the Hypatia to help those on the Alexander but they refuse to listen to reason. With no other option, Kady steals a shuttle and makes her way over to the Alexander alone, which is slowly descending into the pits of hell to rescue Ezra. As she makes her way through the ship, dodging the afflicted to find Ezra, Kady comes face to face with AIDEN’s elaborate plan but in the end, it appeals to her sense of humanity and she agrees to work with it but only if it releases the 1000+ unafflicted aboard the ship. However, AIDEN can’t access the door so Kady knows she has to guide the groups of survivors to the shuttles before working on AIDEN’s repair and all before the Lincoln catches up with them again.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Kady helps rebuild AIDEN piece by piece but by the time the Lincoln arrives it doesn’t seem like they have done enough to stop the Lincoln. However, Kady takes pride in the fact that she got over 700 healthy people off the Alexander and with the Lincoln in front of her and the afflicted behind she prepares to make her last stand with AIDEN. All this time we see that Kady isn’t military trained and isn’t an adult, that she is a frightened teenager willing to put everything on the line for the people she loves. With the Lincoln breathing down their neck, they prepare to fight back again BeiTech. In the end, Kady does exactly what she set out to do and the ending where the real plot is revealed, and we learn that everything isn’t being told in the immediate past but over a year after the events at the beginning of the novel was amazing.
Overall, I loved Illuminae just as much as the first time I read it and knowing how the story ends is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it brings all those little things into perspective and we see how significant every action was in leading to the climax, however, we know the characters are going to make it out alive and well, so we care a little less about the struggles they go through to get there because the doubt that they might not survive isn’t there. Still highly recommend this series and absolutely anything these authors write, especially Jay Kristoff.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Also see: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
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