{Review} Illuminae: The Illuminae Files: Book 1 by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Posted by Donna
Release Date: October 22nd, 2016
Finished Date: August 28th, 2016

Publishers: Rock the Boat
Genre: YA, Sci- Fi 
Source: For Review
Format: ARC

Pages: 599
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo 

 

The year is 2575 and two mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice covered speck.  Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it.  With enemy fire raining down on them Ezra and Kady have to make their escape on the evacuating fleet.  But their troubles are just beginning.  A deadly plague has broken out on one of the space ships and it is mutating with terrifying results.  Their ships protection is seriously flawed.   No one will say what is going on. 

As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth its clear only one person can help her. Ezra. And the only problem with that is they split up before all this trouble started and she isn’t supposed to be talking to him.

A fantastically original, heart-stopping adventure where everything is definitely more dangerous than it seems.

The Review: Illuminae is a gripping and fast paced YA sci-fi story written in a truly unique and fascinating way. You can dive into Kady and Ezra’s story following the aftermath of their planet being invaded through hacked documents including interviews, emails, military documents, medical reports, illustrations and many more interesting ways.

When I started Illuminae I didn’t know what to expect and I must admit for the first 100 pages I didn’t know if the was the type of novel that could keep me interested in the story. But it did and I honestly flew through the pages as quickly as possible to find out how it ends. Now you’d think a 599 page book would take a while to get through but it doesn’t. It’s a really quick read with some many unique ways of telling the story that I was blown away by the details in this book. I have no idea how long it must have taken to create a book like this but as a reader, it’s definitely a book I won’t be forgetting for a long time and it most definitely stands out from the crowd of other YA sci-fi stories out there.

Kady and Ezra’s story is what drew me into the story to start with and without their story I know I definitely would have lost interested. But these two characters were fantastic! Most of their communications are through emails during the book story and I really enjoyed it. If anything it intensifies their relationship and their banters and as a reader I didn’t feel like I missed anything by that. I actually really enjoyed how their story was told.

The plot of the story was full of suspense and a great page turner. I for one can’t wait to see what happens next in the series – even if it is a different set of characters – I know some of you don’t like that - but I can’t wait. I do hope Kady and Ezra pop up at some point though.  

Thank you to Rock the Boat for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.