Book Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

My Review of Illuminae

This really is an epic story of survival, love, determination, set far in the future, and taking place on space ships. Overall, the cast who voice the audio book do an amazing job. I’ve seen pics of the contents of this book in paperback form, and can truthfully say I don’t think I’d enjoy it nearly as much in paper form as I have in audio form. The audio form is smooth, seamless, with no visual distractions, no frustrations with formatting. It is the meat of the story, woven into an aural soundtrack that blooms images inside your mind. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff do a fantastic job with the story, and the cast amplify the impact by adding their voices to it.

(Possible Spoilers Warning for content below this line. I gloss over certain key points. I don’t believe that I in any way ‘spoil’ any part of the story, but…just in case…)

There are so many stories being told in Illuminae. The one that ties them all together is the desperate fleeing of refugees from an evil corporation determined to wipe out all evidence of their wrong-doing. There’s the authors playing on our fears of Artificial Intelligence via AIDEN’s insanity. Is it really insanity, though, or is it humanity? Kady and Ezra’s story, which while it doesn’t appeal to me will definitely appeal to those who seek seemingly hopeless romance. The infected: Intelli-zombies of a sort driven into psychopathic paranoia by the virus. Kady’s determined undercover white-hatting. The ego of those in charge dooming so many people. The AI’s obsession with the one it thinks can save it. Katie’s moral core leading her on a path that may lead to her end. The bravery of unexpected personnel which save so many…and a few others I haven’t named.

The scale is insane, the story told through the eyes of people who hardly ever actually lay eyes on each other, and while there’s a delightful twist at the end that explains how they’re going to do a book two, you feel like the story that’s been told is suitably complete that you don’t need to read further if you don’t want to.

All in all, Illuminae was fantastic piece of work that I’d recommend for any sci-fi fans out there. However, I don’t care if the words were blacked out in the book, Audible needs to freakin’ warn people that it decided, for some damn reason, to silence out the curse words! It was distracting and pulled me from the story a few times!!

Click here to find Illuminae (The Illuminae Files) now on Amazon.com

Title: Illuminae | Series: The Illuminae Files | Authors: Amie Kaufman (site) and Jay Kristoff (site) | Narrators: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, Jonathan McClain | Audiobook Length: 11+ hours |  Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (site) |  Pub. Date: 2015-10-20 | Pages: 599 | ISBN13: 9780553499117 | Genre(s): Science Fiction & Young Adult | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 5 out of 5 | Date Read: 2015-11-20 | Source: Self-purchased audio book.

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