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Illuminae is the first book in the Illuminae Files series.
It is written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff and published by Ember in 2015.
This is a Young Adult science fiction involving interplanetary travel, plagues,
space zombies, and artificial intelligence. The entire story is compiled like a
dossier for a governmental inquery so there are no chapters or traditional
story narrations. This might deture some readers but anyone looking for a fast
paced sci-fi, especially if you’re just starting in the genre, needs to read
this book!
The main characters are Kady Grant—a high school computer
hacker—and her ex-boyfriend Ezra Mason—the high school jock. There are others
who play varying roles of importance such as Dolan and Jimmy, both friends of
Ezra, and Byron, Kady’s hacking teacher. The captain of the battleship
Alexander is Torrence. And the all important AI named AIDAN. While other names
are mentioned, they do not play huge roles and a lot of them can be
interchangeable, though keeping track might help you solve the mystery a little
quicker.
As the story progresses, Kady and Ezra realize they have no
one from their home but each other and they have to deal with their past fights
in order to move forward with their new lives and possible relationship as refugees. Unfortunately, they aren’t on the same ship and can only talk
through instant messages and emails. Through those mediums, they have to figure
out what’s really going on.
Spoiler Alert!
As I said before, the book is compiled of files on the
events that happened leading up to and aboard the refugees on the battleship
Alexander, a science vessel called the Hypatia, and a mining vessel called the
Copernicua. The over arching story is this:
The illegal mining colony Kerenza was attacked by a rival
company known as BeiTech. The assault wiped out most of the population, leaving
a few thousand as refugees on the battleship Alexander which had come to the
Kerenza’s distress call. With everyone separated onto three ships and
attempting to outrun BeiTech’s own battleship—the Lincoln—the Alexander drafts
the refugees into the military services in order to keep control over the
overpopulation as well as replace those they had lost during the battle. All of
the refugees are dealing with PTSD. Kady’s method is to act out, shirk her
duties, and question authority which leads her to hacking the ship computers
for information about what’s happening. Ezra, on the other hand, is angry about
his father’s death and is drafted as a fighter pilot in order to get revenge
against BeiTech. Everything seems alright until the AI orders Ezra and his
squad to open fire on the Copernicuas and refuses to allow the pilots to
confirm orders with the Alexander’s captain. The AI destroys the Copernicuas
and blames the attack on the Lincoln. There are a few survivors from the mining
ship who make it onto the Alexander and are kept isolated in one of the Bays.
This is when the plague is revealed.
Through scientific notes, security reports, and a child’s
writing, we learn a plague was let loose of the Copernicuas which mutated and
spread quickly throughout all 2000 people. It caused severe psychosis leading
many to murder each other.
Torrence shuts down the AI, thinking it was damaged in the
fight against BeiTech but this prevents them from escaping the Lincoln. Kady
suspects something and starts digging and Ezra has to sit back and do nothing
as one of his new friends is killed by the plagued now living in Bay 4. A count
down until the ships are caught by the Lincoln begins and everyone is
scrambling to find a solution. The two ships no longer trust each other and
Torrence takes anyone he needs by force, causing the murder of the Hypatia’s
captain.
When they turn the AI back on, it saves them from the
Lincoln but—in an attempt at self preservation—releases the plagued in Bay 4 on
the population of the Alexander. Now there is a death tole and a percentage of
infected as well as the countdown until the Lincoln’s arrival. Everything falls
into chaos and Kady decides she’s going to steal an escape pod and go over to
the Alexander in search of Ezra. There she sees first hand what the plague does
to people, she’s forced to kill, and the AI tricks her into helping it reboot
its systems so it can fight the Lincoln. Kady and AIDAN are successful in
destroying the Lincoln but Kady is expose to radiation poisoning and possibly
the plague. She and the AIDAN in her hand held device get into an escape pod
with all the information that is compiled in the dossier you’e reading and
prepare to die. Instead the Hypatia returns for Kady and she is treated for
plague and radiation.
The book ends with text messages between BeiTech’s Executive
Director Leanne Frobisher and the Illuminae—whoever compiled the file for her.
In the exchange it’s revealed the Illuminae is Kady and Frobisher is Ezra’s
mother. Kady intends to use the information she’s gathered to detroy Frobisher
and BeiTech and she only gave them the files as a warning of what was to come.
A declaration of war is made between the two, and the book comes to an end.
I loved this book! I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel
about the narration style but it works so well and I think it creates a more
raw experience for the reader. For example, after the Copernicuas is destroyed
there is a list of everyone who died on board followed by a few pages with
pictures of every single person. This kind of memorial within the book actually
made me tear up while in an airport! Similarly, the reveal of the plague isn’t
like anything I’ve read before. It’s not someone discovering their friend or
loved one has gone crazy or seeing someone’s diary as they lose their minds.
Instead, this shows the doctors and scientists as they observe and take notes
and try to come up with a cure but are starting to realize they’ve been exposed
as well. There’s a page from a child’s book with a child’s handwriting that
show a sudden panic about everything that’s happening. It’s unsettling on a
level that traditional narration would not be able to do.
I have not had a book give me this many raw emotions in a
long time. I cried at Jimmy’s death—told from the perspective of a seasoned
Marine giving an official report—and I somehow ended up feeling bad for AIDAN
even though it’s set up to be the villain in all of this. I suspect it has
something to do with AIDAN’s inner narration and monologue as it tries to
understand what’s going on and somehow becomes infatuated with Kady. The AIDAN
sections are also vastly different because the words form images, like tracing
the path of fighter pilots in battle or using the text to show an image of the
cosmos.
There’s also plenty of nightmare fuel in here. My personal
nope moment was when Ezra describes seeing a little girl pulling something
behind her as she wanders down the hall. He thinks it’s a teddy bear until he
realizes it’s a human heart.
In conclusion, everyone interested in sci-fi should read
this book. It’s different, it’s exciting, and you never know what’s coming up
next. I’m looking forward to getting the second book soon.
I am an affiliate with Z Publishing House. If you're interested in reading the works of emerging writers, please check out their books here: http://www.zpublishinghouse.com?rfsn=1831564.e6264
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