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Illuminae: The Illuminae Files 01
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Illuminae: The Illuminae Files 01
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Illuminae: The Illuminae Files 01
Audiobook11 hours

Illuminae: The Illuminae Files 01

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension.

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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 20, 2015
ISBN9781101916636
Unavailable
Illuminae: The Illuminae Files 01
Author

Amie Kaufman

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally 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 30 countries, and has been described as “a game-changer” (Shelf Awareness), “stylistically mesmerising” (Publishers Weekly) and “out-of-this-world awesome” (Kirkus). 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, 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, and rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library. Learn more about her and subscribe to her newsletter at www.amiekaufman.com

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Reviews for Illuminae

Rating: 4.340631554684318 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Have you ever been so excited to read a book that when you finally read it you found yourself staring at the page in frustration and disappointment? That was my experience with Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

    Don’t get me wrong, the cover is absolutely stunning and the nontraditional format, which includes chapters filled with memorandums, IM chats, emails, and charts, is inspired. Unfortunately, the plot was too cookie-cutter to hold my interest.

    Illuminae, while categorized as a science fiction book, is really just a futuristic love story. Girl, Kady, meets boy, Ezra, on a colony, Kerenza, in space. They break up on the same day their planet is attacked by an evil corporation, BeiTech. Even with the addition of some spaceships, thousands of fleeing citizens, and a psychotic computer program, somehow you still get an astonishingly predictable story-line.

    Kady, a child prodigy computer hacker, and Ezra, a very skilled athlete, later turned bad-ass soldier, are our main characters, and I don’t think I’ve ever been less enthused. There are many other minor characters throughout the book, but they all feel like caricatures. Everything is about Kady and Ezra. If you don’t like them from the beginning of the book, I guarantee you’re going to despise them by the end.

    The inclusion of AIDAN, the computer program that oversees and protects the well-being of the fleet of spaceships, was a curious choice. The authors try to incorporate the tired trope of a computer struggling with the idea of human emotion, but they never fully pull it off. A few chapters are devoted to its confused ramblings, which kept me interested for a while, but ultimately became annoying.

    If your library is in dire need of a gorgeous cover, don’t hesitate to pick this up. Just please think twice before reading it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A roller coaster YA SF with space ship attacks, zombies, crazy AI and whatnot told in a pile of reports and journals and emails.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Whoa! What have I just read? This book is unlike anything I've ever read before and I loved it. Set in 2575 "Illuminae" is told entirely from emails, chat logs, surveillance reports, interviews, hacked documents, journal entries, illustrations, etc. Probably, not everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it. The many characters in "Illuminae" were amazing - so likeable and real. Ezra and Kady were fabulous protagonists and the romance between them was perfect. Kady was feisty, strong and intelligent with a big heart, while Ezra was funny, confident, down-to-earth, romantic and protective. I loved their snappy dialogue and heart-melting moments. I even found myself sympathising with Aiden, the artificial intelligence program running the spaceship, Alexander. However, there are also moments of extreme violence, nail-biting action and deep tragedy. By the time I had reached the last page, I was exhausted and felt battered and bruised. The authors kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish with so many twists and turns my head was spinning. Can't wait for the sequel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was money in the bank! The formatting and dialogue was soo unique! It started off a little overwhelming but quickly made sense. I would LOVE to see this on the big screen. It's non-stop action, teenage heartache, sarcasm, and trippy sci-fi. What more could you want? Even though this young adult book is massive (599 pages!) it reads quickly thanks to the unique format of the pages; the text of the book alternates between personnel files, online chats, memos, diary entries, code, and more. Kady Grant and Ezra Mason have just broken up and the timing couldn't be worse. They're at school when the sirens go off. Their small mining planet is under attack. They're able to make it off-world with a small contingent of other survivors on three ships, but the trouble is just getting started. Those responsible for the attack on their planet don't want their to be any survivors so they are in pursuit. Now to top it off, the AI system on one of the ships is acting wonky and some of the survivors are having weird side effects from the weapons used on their planet. Ezra and Kady aren't on the same ship but soon discover that their breakup is the least of their worries, if they don't get to the bottom of what's going on they're toast. Hilarious, unique, and breathtaking. I can't wait to read the sequel!!!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Action-packed story written in a creative format. Can't wait to start the sequel!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the first book in the Illuminae Files series and was an amazing read. This book was so interesting and intense. It's a large book but it's impossible to put it down. I stayed up way too late finishing this.Kady and Ezra live on an illegal mining planet and one day during school the planet is invaded. Kady and Ezra just broke up but Kady decides to save Ezra anyway by picking him up in her truck and from there things get really crazy. They end up on two different spaceships with a hostile spaceship in pursuit, the AI running their warship seems a bit insane, and now people are getting sick. I loved the creative way everything was put together and was very impressed with how cohesive and intense the story was. This is a very unique format to an intense story. There are typical sci-fi elements such as spaceship battles and an AI that is questionable in his defense of humanity. There are also other elements to the story with the spreading illness and Kady and Ezra’s relationship.I barreled right though this novel and could not stop. It does get pretty gory and gruesome towards the end, so just be aware of that. It gets kind of freaky and I wanted to leave the lights on for a bit after I finished it!Overall this was an amazing and intense read that I could not put down. The format is very creative, the story is intriguing, and it’s very intense. This is a series I just can't wait to continue!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What do you get when you throw Star Trek, Firefly, and Hal into a mixing bowl. You get the sweet taste of Illuminae. This space opera sucks you in and does not let go. But first I should tell you that it is not a novel. This is a collection of files that tell the reader about an incident in space. Where a company destroyed a planet because of illegal mining, and then set loose a plague. This file does come in audio book, but I highly suggest reading it! The book itself is just beautiful. The lay out, etc. The files from ADIAN are a little hard to read at night because they are black pages with white and gray type, but they are also some of the most beautiful pages of the book. To tell you any more of this story is to give to much away. Do not be daunted by the 599 page count. It reads fast and there are many files that are short. This is also great if you have a short attention span.The good thing is that I picked up Gemina at BEA. The bad thing is that I may be able to read #2 early, but that makes the wait for #3 just that much worse. PLEASE Amie and Jay, do not make me wait too long for #3.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I don't read sci-fi very often, but I saw Illuminae at my library and decided to try it. I am so glad I did. I was showing my 11 year old daughter the books I got and she stole Illuminae from me. This surprised me, because up to this point she really didn't like to read and had never read a book with this many pages and read it so fast. This was her favorite of the series. We both gave it 5/5 stars. The way the book is written with different types of media, from emails, to logs of videos, to the ship's AI, is so amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting into sci-fi and to those who love this genre.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was so fantastic. I loved how it was put together. I couldn't put it down. I have to say read it, don't do the audio book! You miss out on all of the thought that was put into the book and its amazing pages. I am waiting for the library to open so I can go get the other two books.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Holy Smokes this book was good!!!

    I don't know who suggested to read the hardback together with the audiobook, but I did and it was awesome!

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Holy Freakin Hell. What a story. Don't mind me while I take the next few hours to get all of my emotions in check. This book broke my heart, pissed me off, gave me an adrenaline high and then pieced my heart back together. This book was so freaking good. Glad I already ordered the sequel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A really fun book to read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Illuminae is an intense, cinematic science fiction novel that's got a little bit of everything: spaceships! Explosions! Corporate intrigue! Romance! Plague zombies! I love a good epistolary novel, and this one is killer. The variety of document types allows for great character-building dialogue and action sequences both, and also builds in some great opportunities for unreliable narrators (of which there are plenty). I loved the relationship between Kady and Ezra; it's not often in a YA novel that the love interests already have an established relationship, and it was a nice change from the more common will-they-won't-they romance. If you like this, you'll also enjoy the Expanse series (both the novels and TV show) by James S.A. Corey, another science fiction series that subscribes to the Rule of Awesome.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When the planet Katy and Ezra are living on in suddenly attacked, the survivors try to escape and find help in nearby vessels. A plague is also launched during the attack. Between the disease, the maimed artificial intelligence force, AIDAN, that runs the ships, and the danger from the attacking corporations, the survivors don't have much of a chance. The tome is written as a dossier investigating the incident with files, observations, chats, and all sort of things making up the story. Kady is a strong, clever, and brave hacker who is willing to do whatever it takes for the people she loves.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I actually avoided this book at first when it was expected to be released. I didn't grasp what it was about and thought it was just another teen sci-fi book about love and loss... Boy, was I wrong. I finally chose to read this book, after a recommendation I saw on Goodreads. Within the first couple of pages, I was lost in the war with Biotech and the race to save the evacuee's from the Lincoln.

    With the setting in 2575 we see the world through futuristic eyes. A war breaks out over a small planet that is on the outskirts of the traveled universe. The people residing on this planet find themselves in the middle of a crossfire and their home is left destroyed. There are fighter ships, fighter pilots, government secrets, biochemical warfare, and artificial intelligence. (I won't lie, I felt reminded of Star Wars often)

    The format of this novel is written using confidential documents, emails, instant messages, interviews, and more. It emerges the reader and brings them aboard the ships with the unknown at every corner. They are fighting many enemies, Lincoln Biotech's ship chasing after them, an unknown pathogen spreading in the air infecting thousands, and secrets no one will tell.

    Kady and Ezra are a recently broken up couple who find that they are pivotal points in this novel. With Kady's hacking skills, she is able to unearth some of the hidden secrets that are not being told to the crew on board. Ezra finds himself in the middle of the fight as a fighter pilot, helping in any way he can, while attempting to salvage his relationship with Kady.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Unforgettably different. I felt like I was reading the cut scenes of a video game. Both shocking and poetic at times. MTV meets Star Trek mixed with a dab of 2001 Space Odyssey and Aliens.

    To begin with I found it frustrating. I connected with the human emotional element: the main characters', Kady and Ezra's, break up. Why did these kids break up? What happened?? Instead of answers about that specific element, we get a ton of briefing notes. That said, to enjoy this book you have to be open to a story told through many unique perspectives, such as briefings (as mentioned), interview records, memos, personal messages, AIM-type chats, surveillance footage summaries, thoughts of a computer program, etc. With so many switches, I found it daunting at times, especially when the characters seemed to be squalling about their problems, break up, etc, and I still didn't have the whole picture to understand them.

    About 75% through the book there was, for me, an unforeseen twist and then, literally, I couldn't read fast enough. The nail-biting, how-they-going-to-get-out-of-this-one-alive? Ending is great. Happy, until next time.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was our book group pick for March. What a fun read!! I couldn't put it down because of the way the author wrote and presented it. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book. THIS BOOK. Best book I have read all year - EASILY. Read it now.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I can see why this book receives so many mixed reviews (the layout is unique and takes getting use to), but I loved the story. I enjoyed the multiple POVs, in a way I felt it slightly reminiscent of The Martian, but I could have done without many of the layouts. While I thought it tied everything together in the end, there were a few layouts that I felt unnecessary. And I also liked that the format allowed for more twists and surprises. Even with the multiple page designs I still felt strongly connected to the characters, Kady in particular. What surprised me was how much I like AIDIN. Although artificial intelligence, AIDIN is such a complex character who displays great almost anti-hero characteristics. The ending of Illuminae leaves the story wide open and I am so excited that I received an ARC of Gemina so that I don't have to wait until October to see what happens next.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fabulous book!! Fresh twist on a science fiction classic with an addition of contagion and a powerful heroine and Kaufman has penned a must-read work.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An illegal colony is attacked and the story is told after the fact via an apparent secret investigation and is told through a dossier of hacked documents, emails, military files, medical reports and such this a fun and interesting concept and story that is totally saved by its format.An interesting if not totally original story, the format is the star here. The main characters don't quite feel real though many of the side characters mentioned do, what prose there was vacillated between coming across as far too juvenile feeling and very serious and very, very dark and the switching back and forth between these tones was a bit jarring at times. One of the more fascinating elements was how they represented the A.I.'s communications, visually that worked very, very well.Overall very interesting and worth reading, I was engaged in the story as a whole despite the flaws and I'm intrigued by the remaining two books in the story. I'm really curious to see how this format works under different settings.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    FINALLY FINISHED!! This rollicking adventure was a blast from start to end. The most intriguing part, of course, was the unique formatting that heightens both the emotions and the stakes of the plot without seeming trite. The highlights for me, though, were the dynamic teen characters leading this thrilling story with humor & aplomb, as well as the unexpected dash of romance, philosophy & poetry woven beautifully within the climax.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Action-packed story written in a creative format. Can't wait to start the sequel!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Ok so in my opinon this book was very over hyped although I started reading it a few years after it came out. Ehhh, I don't think sci-fi is really my thing in the first place. And mixed with this multi-media storytelling, I was having a really hard time paying attention to what I was reading. It wasnt until the middle of the book when I really understood what was happening in the book. I listened to the audio book version and I think if it wasn’t for that I wouldn't have been able to follow along if I were physically reading it. Will I be reading the next chapter in the Illuminae files? I don’t know….I think I’ll be taking a break from reading this genre of book for a while. Completely conflicted and annoyed.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    fantastic! just finished a re-read! couldn't recommend it enough! go! read!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    LOVE IT NEEDS TEN STARS YASSS TYY GOOD
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I've had one book as my favorite book since 2008 and its help that spot until now. Illuminae is filled with plot twists, tense action, intragalactic wars, viruses and so much more that stops you in your tracks to keep you turning the pages and listening. I not only read this book but listened to it as well and it still had me on the edge of my seat. I love the details and the excitement this book has on every page from beginning to end and beautifully written. 10/10
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Aidan was definitely the best character. Didn't foresee the happy go lucky ending but I'm good w it
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Oh boy, oh boy... this was one hell of a book... DAMN..... this book took me on such a wild roller coaster that i was soooooooo dizzy trying to wrap my head around it... i admit at the beginning i was really confused by book's format ( reports, IMs and other media) but once you get the hang of it.... its a smooth sail to the end... and BOY THAT WAS AN ENDING...
    and now as i am typing this review, all i can think about is that i can start the next book "gemina" in few minutes ^^