Illuminae

Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

Illuminae
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Allen & Unwin
Country
Australia
Published
4 March 2019
Pages
612
ISBN
9781760875404

Illuminae

Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations 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, exes Kady and Ezra are forced to escape on the evacuating fleet.

But the warship is the least of their problems. 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 the hell is 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.

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. 

Review

Illuminae is unlike anything I have ever read previously and I loved every moment of it. Engrossing and encompassing, the format follows the structure of a series of documents in various styles, from email and instant messaging to more abstract illustrative pieces. There is enough plot in this book for at least three books, it’s so densely packed in, and to say too much would ruin the joy of discovery, but it follows Kady, who lives on an illegal mining colony at the edge of the universe in 2375. A rival tech corporation attacks the colony and massacres the workers and the survivors are forced to flee in damaged spaceships, and that’s just the very start of the book!

A truly original and inspiring read that shows great empathy to its characters, and introduced me to my new favourite character – the almost brutally determined Kady – it manages to successfully be both fantastically inspiring and also possess a frank earthiness. The format does require the reader to work more than most books, but this just added a weightiness and meat to the experience. Illuminae is a truly immersive read and well worth checking out. We don’t usually give out star ratings in our reviews, but I’d like to make an exception in this case just so I can give it 6 out of 5!


Isobel Moore

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