Illuminae

Written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Narrated by Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, Johnathan McClain and 9 more

For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension.
 
 “A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form." —Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of Red Queen

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 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.
      Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
 
“Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.” —EW.com
 
“[Y]ou’re not in for an ordinary novel experience. . . .”  —Bustle.com
 
“A truly interactive experience. . . . A fantastically fun ride.” —MTV.com
 
★ “[O]ut-of-this-world awesome.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred
 
★ “…stylistically mesmerizing.” —Publishers Weekly, starred
 
★ “[A]n arresting visual experience.”—Booklist, starred
  
★ “[A] game-changer.” —Shelf Awareness, starred

“Brace yourself. You're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to leave.”  —Marie Lu, bestselling author of the Legend trilogy
 
"Genre: Undefinable. Novel: Unforgettable." —Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures & author of Unbreakable
 
“An exuberant mix of space opera, romance, zombies, hackers, and political thrills.”  —Scott Westerfeld, bestselling author of  Zeroes and Uglies
 
“Stunningly creative. Smart, funny, and romantic.”  —Veronica Rossi, bestselling author of Under the Never Sky
 
“This is one of those rare books that will truly keep your heart pounding.” —Beth Revis, bestselling author of Across the Universe
 
“This book is xxxxing awesome.”
—Laini Taylor, bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781101916636

Amie Kaufman

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult and middle grade fiction and the host of the podcast Amie Kaufman on Writing. Her multi-award-winning work is slated for publication in over thirty countries and has been described as “a game-changer” (Shelf Awareness), “stylistically mesmerizing” (Publishers Weekly), and “out-of-this-world awesome” (Kirkus Reviews). Her series include the Illuminae Files, the Aurora Cycle, the Other Side of the Sky duology, the Starbound trilogy, the Unearthed duology, the Elementals trilogy, and The World Between Blinks. Her work is in development for film and TV and has taken home multiple Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, and a Gold Inky, made multiple best-of lists, and been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law, and conflict resolution and is currently undertaking a PhD in creative writing. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter, rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library. Learn more about her and subscribe to her newsletter at amiekaufman.com.

Reviews for Illuminae

[rena613 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My teens read this book. Daughter age 16 gives it 4 stars, son age 13 gives it 5 stars. My son especially loved the unique way the story was presented, with the different types of communication and articles.

[dorothy2012-444115 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Set aside the day when you decide to read this book. You really won't want to put it down.
Wow.
Just.
Wow.

[mmparker-213929 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perfectly-executed sci-fi adventure. It's funny, too.

[danielle.desrochers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 stars as of writing this. It may go up, I still have a lot to process.
I really loved the way this was written, I kind of felt like I was in there with Kady and Ezra and everyone trying to save their lives and the lives of those around them. Zhang was my favorite, the way he and Kady bonded quickly and relied on each other even when they didn’t know if the other had any ulterior motives. So, so good.

[amzzz_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Tried to like it. Everyone in book club liked it. Didn’t like it.

[dawn.zimmerer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting and, at times, terrifying, sci-fi book. Another strong female lead character (thanks for that!) as well as well thought through characters throughout. This was more about the story for me though...and whether or not the main characters would survive. And she kept me waiting until the end...and kept me wanting more. Looking forward to part 2.

[castlelass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in the year 2575, colonists living on the remote planet Kerenza are under attack in what is essentially a war between two corporations in a dispute over the illegal mining of hermium. Survivors of the attack are evacuated to three starships. The story is an action-packed thriller involving hunting down spaceships, a deadly plague, computer hacking, an artificial intelligence-gone-rogue, shoot-outs, and, in the midst of it all, a teenage romance between protagonists Kady and Ezra.

The book is structured in an unusual and creative format, combining interviews, transcripts, computer logs, official reports, statistics, instant messages, and more. It is infused with sarcastic humor and embedded references to its obvious influences (e.g., Star Trek, Star Wars). It does not give much background about the source of the dispute.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I own a hard copy, but I am glad I chose to listen to the audio book. The audio production is fabulous! It is performed by a cast and felt like listening to an old-fashioned radio broadcast with futuristic content.

[forsanolim · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kady and Ezra have just broken up when their planet is invaded by a mining megacorporation's forces. Evacuees from the planet of Kerenza are now aboard a group of three spaceships trying to outrun the opposing corporation's forces, who want to wipe out all evidence of and witnesses to the invasion. With a damaged/potentially deadly AI system, a mutating plague, and teenage angst, there's a lot going on here.

While I appreciated the unique way that the book was told---in a range of assorted documents/chat logs/articles/etc---I didn't absolutely love this book. The characters (especially Kady) were fairly flat. I definitely skimmed through parts of their almost caricatured teenage-y snarky chat messages, and I didn't feel super invested in anyone's story. It was definitely a quick, almost compulsively readable book, but I doubt that I'll continue with the series.

[elspethw-137053 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars.

Pros:
-Interesting format. I listened to the audiobook so I missed out on the art but the full cast made up for it imo.
-Unpredictable twists.
-Some delightfully gruesome moments.
-Anti-corporate theme.

Cons:
-Flat characters.
-Central teenage romance that seems to be based on absolutely nothing except overly cute banter.
-Strong Female Protagonist TM.

Usually I'm more of a character over plot kind of person. I can handle long, plotless meanderings as long as the characters are compelling. In this case it was the plot that grabbed me as the characters are completely one dimensional and the relationships between them are flimsy at best. The main character is your stereotypical unrealistically Strong Female Character with all the brains and the beauty and her relationship with her boyfriend is overwrought and uninteresting. But I kept reading to find out what happened next regardless. The short chapters and variety of formats (IMs, emails, descriptions of security footage, wikipedia entries) kept the story moving and I genuinely could not predict what was going to happen. There were some super creepy elements that I don't want to give away and I was really more in it for the atmosphere than anything.

Will keep reading the series but have middling expectations.

Edit: S*** forgot to mention how f***king annoying it is that this f***king book f***king censors every f***king swear. At first I thought I had some weird G rated version of the book but no this is how all versions are. In the audiobook it's fucking annoying. I had a look at the ebook and it seems just as bad. This is a YA book but lots of YA books have swears. Teenagers swear. Probably more than anyone. This book is full of graphic violence but god forbid we allow bad language.

[seitherin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the story. Hated the telling. The AIDAN bits were almost impossible to read on my tablet--background, font type, font color--nasty choices.

[jessicareadsthings · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's been a while since I've read a book in one day.

[sammelsurium-831072 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two teens in love struggle to maintain hope as their lives fall apart in an intergalactic war. I enjoyed it, but maybe not for the reasons the authors wanted me to enjoy it. The romance is bland, the chaos is delightful. I was a lot more happy that AIDAN survived than that Ezra did.

[akbouterse · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. The basic plot without giving anything away was about an attack on our main characters home and their flight for survival on a space ship. Later developing into a story about AI and disease outbreak. This seems crazy and overwhelming but I thought it was amazing. It helped that it was written using letters, emails, and other found footage like things, which is one of my favorite style of books. I grew to really care about all the characters. I loved Ezra and Kady and I thought their relationship developed really well. I thought the setting was also super awesome and super cool. Space is always a fun setting for me and I think this is executed really well. It was clear to me that the authors had consulted people about the setting. There was a lot of things going on in this book plot wise and the action starts basically on page one, but I was never overwhelmed and I never felt like anything was too fast or too slow. Everything that happened felt liked it developed naturally and that was something that really could happen in the future. Though this is a YA novel this book seemed almost older and more mature than I thought it would be. It honestly made me think a lot about the plot and the characters and the the subtext of the hole story. I thought the outbreak part of this story was handled superbly and I really enjoyed that plot line and watching everything come to light. Overall I thought this book was very intriguing and much more thought provoking then I thought it would be when I picked it up. Pick this up, read it, then figure out what it all means.

[librolindsay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great SF thriller, like 2001 with zombies(ish). I was intrigued by the format, but initially found it really difficult to get into, so I tried reading it along with the audio, and it was soooooooooo coooooooooooooooooooool. After a certain point, I got into the rhythm and intent of the book and didn't really need the audio, but I couldn't abandon it. Probably took me twice as long to read, but it was totally worth it. I don't think you'd necessarily lose anything by only reading/listening to one or the other, but as a package... dang. So excited the second one's nearly out to keep rolling with it.

********
Read Harder: Book over 500 pages

[tonifgmamtc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars

This book is awesome. I didn't have it figured out at all. Everything was fresh for me. It's in the future. People are in space. It's the files of a tragedy and a sort of government or company cover-up. But this is the files of what really happened and fighting back. The AI aspect is so interesting also, the way that it becomes so human.

[mirandalg14 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When you read a 600 pg book in 1 day, you know it was good.

Written through IM, email, and classified reports, this book tells the story of Kady and her fight to save her ship (and maybe her very recently ex-boyfriend, if she can swing it). When her mining outpost is attacked by a competitor, only a few thousand people make it to the three ships fleeing for safety. Those ships head for the nearest location with a transport portal, more than six months away. They are stalked by the enemy, a well armed attack vessel. Throw in a twist with a rogue AI and a killer virus, and this makes for a great story.

I loved These Broken Stars, and this has that same feel to it. The uniqueness comes in the style it was written in, including the wonderful pages with the ships flying through space. It also includes schematics of the ship and the distance the characters have to travel in order to make it out alive.

[Mora · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think no one who has read this book knows where to start appreciating it; there are so many things in these almost 600 pages that I have only one word to describe it: AMAZING. The characters, the plot, THE TWISTS, it grabs you and makes you its own literally. It makes you laugh out loud, cry oceans ALL TOGETHER, AND I LOVE IT FOR THAT. Do yourselves a favor and read it; you won't regret it. (Translated from Spanish)

[HaruBooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it, at first it seemed a bit slow to me, but as the story progresses you can't stop reading, the ending left me in shock but eager to read Gemina! I highly recommend it! (Translated from Spanish)

[NadiaColeccionista · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love the way this edition is made, its way of narrating the story in the form of a report makes the reading much more agile and easy to understand ??

It's a story that has a lot of intrigue and progresses very quickly; you get to know the characters very well as if they were described in a traditional way. I am very eager to read the second part because I've heard that there will be other characters, and I want to get to know them. (Translated from Spanish)

[snickel63 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! It was beautifully written and I loved the way some of the pages words created pictures. The storyline was good and relating it to space was great as well. There is a bit of romance in it but nothing too overpowering which I also liked.

[damiella-533991 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was catching up on some old podcasts earlier this year and came across an interview with Jay Kristoff. I was definitely hooked and decided it was a definite to read. The main hook for me was the format (that of interconnected commented documents that link together to form the story and where the text was part of the illustration itself was a joy)

What with one thing and another I didn't get around to it until yesterday and I bitterly regret that
a) I didn't make time to read it as soon as it was purchased
b) I didn't come across this a lot sooner.

I particularly liked the representation of AIDAN, the AI in this tale. It seems to me that in many tales that computers are endowed with too many human traits. AIDAN is a being of pure logic and utterly ruthless. Everything is calculated and actions are undertaken only in response to probabilities and regarding people purely as numbers. If the command crew of his ship are planning to turn him off, the pursuing ship will catch them again. He will not be able to defend the fleet. The crew must be killed.

Numbers do not feel.
Do not bleed or weep or hope.
They do not know bravery or sacrifice. Love or allegiance.
At the very apex of callousness, you will
find only ones and zeroes.

And yes this is still the story of a girl and a boy but to me, the computer was MUCH more interesting.

[jpeterman-190606 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ooohh man! I loved this book! The format had actually put me off and intrigued me at the same time, so I waited until I was nearly out of time (I checked this out from the library) and then I just devoured it! The story moves pretty fast and keeps you interested the entire time.

Edit 10/29/19: Still love this book! I just love how they formatted it. It's so unique and it just works so well for the story.

[lflareads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A creative approach with mixed media to tell the story.

[allison_s-802575 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was not expecting to LOVE this as much as I did. I was expecting fun with space viruses and some YA romance, which inevitably evolves into a love triangle. WHAT I ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED: SOME TERROR, LOTS OF TEARS, AND A LOVE TRIANGLE BUT ONLY IF YOU KINDA COUNT THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT. Stargate meets The Walking Dead, or something.

I loved both protagonists, but I ADORED EZRA. This never happens. I can't think of too many male protagonists in YA I have adored at this level. Probably because I'm a sucker for the "former jock with a heart of gold, shitty life story, and a pilot's license" schtick. Sue me. Kady was also amazing and intelligently kick-ass and full of snark and all the other things I usually love about my female protagonists, PLUS she wasn't in love with a total whackjob. And the secondary characters are SOOOooooo well-fleshed out through DOCUMENTS AND CHATS (so are the mains, for that matter). Fabulous.

YEAH, and the format was fun. The entire narrative is told through military dossiers, chat logs, charts, and graphics. And I cried a lot, so this was obviously an effective mode of storytelling.

AND THE SEQUEL WILL BE INSANE.

[vokram-944968 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my very favorite style of book - epistolary. But all the characters were immediately stupid. Had to bail.

[mrnattania72 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great story. The cover and the writing style totally caught my eye, but the story and the twists and unexpectedness kept me faithful to the rend of this tale. I am eagerly waiting to get teh next in teh series!

[viragoreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a truly fascinating read. I really enjoyed the format. From one page to the next you didn't know what you were going to get, which was kind of exciting. The story was fantastic.

One consortium illegally colonized a planet for mining, and when the other consortium found out they launched a deadly attack with biochemical warfare and regular everyday missiles. Survivors are rescued, but they rescue ships are overrun with refugees and somewhat crippled. Luckily their dreadnought attacker has been crippled as well. Then it's a race to see who can get across the many, many lightyears to safety on a space station and get the word out about the attack (or silence the survivors.)

In the meantime the biowarfare waged is causing major troubles on one of the refugee ships, and the battleship's AI is damaged enough to make it cuckoo for coco puffs! There is so much going on in the story, and surprisingly, none of it was lost in the varying formats or the multiple characters. Very much looking forward to the next book in the series!

[DanielEscoto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's a book that, despite being many pages long, you don't feel them; it even has a very dynamic way of helping you imagine everything. This book made me feel part of the story. It is one of the best science fiction books I have read. The story of Kady and Ezra starts in a childish way, but as you turn the pages, you see how they gradually mature through everything they are going through. (Translated from Spanish)

[fm4d · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I rarely buy books by the cover in a bookshop, very rarely, but somehow the format and visuals of the book evoked 'fun' in me and even goodreads rating was favourable. Well, what I've missed and I shouldn't was the 'Young Adult' in genres.

So.. the characters are stupid, tiresome and I wanted to kill them since p.2 in general. Story (I've dropped the book around the page 250) is quite generic and full of illogical stuff like AI getting damaged by physical damage to ship because it 'resides in matrices' and the way hacking of communication is described. And the format that seemed so cool is only interesting for ~100 pages, then it is like reading a play (in which every character is either stupid, awkward or retard).

Why 2 stars? I've had about 3 laughs through the book and I respect that I am not the target group author had in mind, so I am just trying to be fair.

[jonez-6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.25

A decent read. Gimmicky, but it worked. A tad over hyped. I was expecting...more. This has a great premise, and it is fairly original, but I think the hype surrounding the book set it up to fail a bit. At least for me. Also, this went from a 4.5 star to a 3.25 simply because of the ending. The book, though YA, transcended the genre until I got to that ending. It kinda let me down, TBH. The authors could have really gone from mediocre to amazing had they not chosen the turn of events that they did. I will see how Gemina goes, but if it isn't an improvement I may not carry on with this series.