at806's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Murder, Violence, Blood, Gore, Suicide, Child death, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Pandemic/Epidemic
jessi_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, Grief, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Gun violence, Body horror, and Vomit
Minor: Cursing
unicorngirl'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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Cannibalism, Suicide, War, and Murder
Minor: Cursing
raventheclaw19's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Illuminae is a very YA-friendly sci-fi mystery/thriller (I know it’s not tagged as a thriller, but it is) with minimal swearing (“censored on reports”), and only vague references to sex (jokes about “your sister” and references to acts done prior to the events of the story).
Take it from someone who normally hates thrillers, this book is good. Admittedly, there’s a lot of death and blood (only a few disturbingly gory parts, though), so do keep that in mind, but I didn’t find it too uncomfortable and I’m normally a very squeamish person.
Can’t wait for the next book!
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm
I know it’s a lot of content warnings, so do proceed with caution. I’m not very good with blood/gore, but I only had a couple small parts (see below) that made me uncomfortable. There’s a lot of death, but it’s not vividly gory until about 45% (I think) into the bookSpoiler
when they enter the quarantine bay> and 70% throughSpoiler
when the remaining Alexander survivors escape the shipstardust_heidi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Death of parent, and Grief
akrafi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Cursing, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
sunnythesassy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Genocide, Death of parent, Death, Body horror, Violence, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Gaslighting, Confinement, War, Vomit, Blood, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Colonisation
Minor: Abandonment and Child abuse
mapplethenerd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Body horror, Murder, Self harm, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
cleli_aa'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Murder
alexa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.75
so. i have been collecting some thoughts throughout this whole thing and they might not be especially cohesive, but that's ok, i was always more of a bullet list person.
i like the format of this, it was really interesting and fun, even if limited the amount of what you can learn about the world. some things were weirdly the same considering we're 500 years in the future, as i already expressed.
it might be just me, but the romantic drama between 2 high school seniors was the least interesting part of this thing, i found it irrelevant and at time or two a little bit annoying, but i suppose that's 17/18yo allo people for you. dunno, never been there.
honestly in general, i did not feel much attached to or interested in the characters beyond like a superficial level.
the ai in this was so weirdly melodramatic and rambling aside from its twisted logic which i'm assuming comes from the damage sustained.
in the q&a at the end, the authors mentioned talking with psychiatrists as part of the research that went into this and it does not sound very inspiring, considering the level and amount of demonization of people struggling with psychosis is staggering and infuriating, i think it was actually my biggest problem with this book.
the authors were quite good at creating tension and making one need to read on to know what happens next, i'll give them that.
however, i'm not entirely sure about continuing the series. it's likely i will i guess? not if they continue the ableism though, i'm not gonna stand for that
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Body horror, and Confinement