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lawbooks600's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Score: Eight out of ten.
I enjoyed The Aurora Cycle from these authors so I decided to give The Illuminae Files a shot to see if it lives up to my expectations. I picked up the first instalment in the series, Illuminae, and glanced at the blurb, making it seem intriguing. When I closed the final page, it was enjoyable, and made me hope that the next part of the series, Gemina, will be of the same quality, if not better.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Full trigger warnings: Explosions, military violence and war themes, mass death, death of people and a parent in the past, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury, gun violence, epidemic, dead bodiesalphabet_soup_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
mxdegroot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
For this kind of dystopia, the unique formatting of the book works amazing. You never get the exact inner thoughts of any character, but you get more than enough insight and it's not hard to follow. The only critique I have is that it could be shorter than it ended up being, as it felt like the pace only really started to pick up towards the middle of the book.
February 15th, 2024 - February 21st, 2024.
“You have me. Until the last star in the galaxy dies, you have me.”
“She is catalyst.
She is chaos.
I can see why he loves her.”
“Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity wraps around its collective madness.”
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Medical content
clpavain's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mindy0608's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Cursing and Pandemic/Epidemic
sara_reads_and_wines's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
tabea1409's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
a_cera_t0ps's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While the plot and external circumstances had very strong involvement, (i.e. BeiTech/the Lincoln) the story seemed very focused on the internal fallout of basically every named character (as much as possible without overcrowding the book).
There is a romance, technically two, but in neither does it feel forced. Between Kady and Ezra, it is a natural development; they had just broken up when the attack had happened, it was not due to a lack of feelings on either side. Throughout the book, they work together to survive. They put petty fights behind them. It's a very nontoxic relationship, and it was really engaging to read.
The other romance is probably mad spoilers, but is also well written. It intentionally goes against the grain of the natural character capabilities, but that is a heavy part of the plot: the breakage of what once was, especially when it comes to the Alexander's personel, body, and mind.
The book was very quippy, and was written from individual perspectives, even when most of it is an outside observer. The writer style and format was all extremely creative, and in some ways, it needed to be. It is interesting to have such a clear example of just how different a movie is from that which a book is capable of.
This book was long, but it went fast, both due to the intriguing use of certain pages and to just pure engagement.
The main plot is Violent with a capital v. It is a rescue mission, a mystery, a zombie apocalypse, and a war. The romance is integral to the character's actions, but as actively involved as it is, they never undermine the important stuff. This is a character driven story: the importance and diversity of humanity (the moral stuff, not a group of people) is heavily explored, especially in the fourth quarter of the book.
This is a crazy good book, with too many twists and turns for me to cover all of it, so just read it for yourself.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
First of all, the format is ingenious. An entire story told just through different files and documents? Count me in.
Second, the complexity required by those files. If you take the time to actually delve into the pages (even the ones that don't look too important to the story, like the list of confirmed deceased), you'll be blown away by what you find.
Third, any author who has the ability to make me care about a mass-murdering robot will forever have my loyalty.
If you haven't read the Illuminae Files, I recommend that you drop everything and start now. Even if sci-fi isn't necessarily your cup of tea, I promise you won't be disappointed.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Self harm, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
urmigurimgay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing, Medical content, Abandonment, and War