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bakeddoughnut's review against another edition
4.0
I can't believe it took me so long to finally get around to reading this, I absolutely loved it!!!! I thought I wouldn't enjoy this unusual style but it was perfect for this story. Also anyone that hasn't listened to the audio book should definitely give it a go- it's done very well! Can't wait to pick up Gemina now!!!!
seyahrue's review against another edition
5.0
This was still just as great as the first time I read it, and listening to it on Audiobook was a really fun way of getting back into the story. I loved that they had so many different voice actors, it kind of felt like listening to a podcast in a way.
Excited to get into Gemina now! Hopefully the voice acting there is as good as it is in Illuminae
Excited to get into Gemina now! Hopefully the voice acting there is as good as it is in Illuminae
emmas_reads_'s review against another edition
3.0
This was a reread for me and I definitely didn't like it as much the second time.
I thought the beginning half of the book was very slow, confusing, and didn't explain a lot of the world. The second half of the book is what saved it from a two star rating. In the ending we get to actually somewhat connect with Kady, the main character, even if she is not a very well-written character.
I definitely flew through the last half of this book and it was so much better than the beginning.
I thought the beginning half of the book was very slow, confusing, and didn't explain a lot of the world. The second half of the book is what saved it from a two star rating. In the ending we get to actually somewhat connect with Kady, the main character, even if she is not a very well-written character.
I definitely flew through the last half of this book and it was so much better than the beginning.
soupgirl9's review against another edition
5.0
oh man i dont even know what to say. aidan is one of my fav "villains" I think I've ever read, like ever, his monologues hit every time
unexplainabl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Why didn't I read this sooner? It's such a good book. I will admit, I don't think I could have gotten through it without the audio. I definitely recommend audio if you read this because it's a full cast and it has some amazing sound effects!
bernmetoacrisp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
top quality audiobook production
blurrypetals's review against another edition
1.0
I think it's important for me to stick the world's biggest disclaimer in front of this review, so here it is: This book will be The Shit to a lot of people. It already is to many. It's been very successful financially and critically and there is nothing I can do to keep anyone from thinking this book and its sequels are The Shit...this book is just Not For Me.
Sci-fi has always been an incredibly difficult genre for me, especially when it comes to reading it. It has to be done just so in order for me to even be open to it. I didn't pick up The 5th Wave for the longest time because I didn't want to read sci-fi, but it ended up being one of my favorite series because I pushed past my biases and gave it a try anyway. The same can be said for Cinder, but I ended up loving it and its sequels for its magic and wonder more than I did for its space travel and robots.
So, because The 5th Wave and Cinder were both sci-fi series I was initially adverse to even trying, I was convinced I would love Illuminae, too. No such luck, unfortunately.
I've often said that the only thing worse than a truly terrible story is a boring one, because I would far rather read something that's so bad it's hilarious than I would wasting my time with something that is literally putting me to sleep describing a fucking space battle.
Before I dig into this much further, I'll dole out compliments for the thing I did like, the single solitary thing that kept me listening to six whole fucking hours of this goddamn travesty of a thing and that thing was the absolutely incredible casting, foley, sound mixing, etc. that so was all so lovingly put together for the world class audiobook. I can't believe how well this was done, considering just how many moving parts there must have been in recording, mixing, and editing this thing. Fucking endless kudos for that. It was jaw-dropping, how excellent the audiobook was.
Unfortunately, that's where the compliments stop. The idea of making this all some file someone stumbled upon is a novel concept, but in execution, it absolutely murdered any sense of pacing, clarity, character arc...basically, the way this was done really just feels like a bunch of reports being read to me and it's boring. It feels so disconnected and distant, leaving any chance at any of the events (which, as it turns out, are apparently pretty traumatic and horrific; would've been cool to feel that trauma and horror like I was living it myself) feeling personal dead on arrival. It's just sad, and not in the way that I feel sad for the characters, but the way that I feel sad for the people responsible for writing this, editing it, publishing it. It's all just...sad, very unfortunate, very disappointed.
As I said earlier, I listened to about six hours of the audiobook before I started poking around spoiler territory, trying to see if there would be a turning point that might make things more interesting, which led me to just reading a full-on recap someone wrote prior to the release of the second book, Gemina. Usually, if I read a spoiler and feel betrayed (by myself, usually) or upset that I read that thing, that means I still care about something. I'll admit, I did a bit of it when I was stuck in the middle of Heir of Fire and, when I found out certain things about Dorian and the character he had been spending most of the book with, I got upset. I got mad that I'd done that to myself. It kind of lit a fire in me to motivate me to get caught up. But here? I felt nothing. After six hours. It didn't help much that the spoilers I read didn't seem to be very eventful, but the point remains: if I don't care that your book was spoiled for me, you did it wrong. Even worse, if Sarah J. Maas somehow has a leg up on you on anything, you definitely did it wrong.
I wanted to like this book, I really did, but in the end, its pacing, character, and plot were all, in my opinion, incredibly bland and forgettable...and, as I stated before, sometimes that's worse than something really, truly awful. Would you rather write something that will be remembered and harshly criticized or would you rather write something that would be forgotten entirely? I know which book I would rather read, that's for sure, and it certainly isn't this one.
Sci-fi has always been an incredibly difficult genre for me, especially when it comes to reading it. It has to be done just so in order for me to even be open to it. I didn't pick up The 5th Wave for the longest time because I didn't want to read sci-fi, but it ended up being one of my favorite series because I pushed past my biases and gave it a try anyway. The same can be said for Cinder, but I ended up loving it and its sequels for its magic and wonder more than I did for its space travel and robots.
So, because The 5th Wave and Cinder were both sci-fi series I was initially adverse to even trying, I was convinced I would love Illuminae, too. No such luck, unfortunately.
I've often said that the only thing worse than a truly terrible story is a boring one, because I would far rather read something that's so bad it's hilarious than I would wasting my time with something that is literally putting me to sleep describing a fucking space battle.
Before I dig into this much further, I'll dole out compliments for the thing I did like, the single solitary thing that kept me listening to six whole fucking hours of this goddamn travesty of a thing and that thing was the absolutely incredible casting, foley, sound mixing, etc. that so was all so lovingly put together for the world class audiobook. I can't believe how well this was done, considering just how many moving parts there must have been in recording, mixing, and editing this thing. Fucking endless kudos for that. It was jaw-dropping, how excellent the audiobook was.
Unfortunately, that's where the compliments stop. The idea of making this all some file someone stumbled upon is a novel concept, but in execution, it absolutely murdered any sense of pacing, clarity, character arc...basically, the way this was done really just feels like a bunch of reports being read to me and it's boring. It feels so disconnected and distant, leaving any chance at any of the events (which, as it turns out, are apparently pretty traumatic and horrific; would've been cool to feel that trauma and horror like I was living it myself) feeling personal dead on arrival. It's just sad, and not in the way that I feel sad for the characters, but the way that I feel sad for the people responsible for writing this, editing it, publishing it. It's all just...sad, very unfortunate, very disappointed.
As I said earlier, I listened to about six hours of the audiobook before I started poking around spoiler territory, trying to see if there would be a turning point that might make things more interesting, which led me to just reading a full-on recap someone wrote prior to the release of the second book, Gemina. Usually, if I read a spoiler and feel betrayed (by myself, usually) or upset that I read that thing, that means I still care about something. I'll admit, I did a bit of it when I was stuck in the middle of Heir of Fire and, when I found out certain things about Dorian and the character he had been spending most of the book with, I got upset. I got mad that I'd done that to myself. It kind of lit a fire in me to motivate me to get caught up. But here? I felt nothing. After six hours. It didn't help much that the spoilers I read didn't seem to be very eventful, but the point remains: if I don't care that your book was spoiled for me, you did it wrong. Even worse, if Sarah J. Maas somehow has a leg up on you on anything, you definitely did it wrong.
I wanted to like this book, I really did, but in the end, its pacing, character, and plot were all, in my opinion, incredibly bland and forgettable...and, as I stated before, sometimes that's worse than something really, truly awful. Would you rather write something that will be remembered and harshly criticized or would you rather write something that would be forgotten entirely? I know which book I would rather read, that's for sure, and it certainly isn't this one.
lizzie_knappett's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I love multi media books and this one had me gripped
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If the page count wasn't so intimidating, I could see this having had a craze in my school. Or maybe I think spaceships are cooler than others do. The unique formatting feels like a cute gimmick until occasionally It's Not and it's very very intentional and really lends more impact to the story. My small gripes are generally just because it's YA and can be forgiven. What omnipotent AI is gonna fall in love(?) with a random 17-year-old just because she can code? Who's still using emoticons when texting your savior while you hide from a pack of crazed murderers? Why are the characters putting more emphasis on losing the (ex-)boyfriend and not HER LITERAL ACTUAL MOM??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, Gore, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Alcohol, and Physical abuse
dothelindyhop's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25