Audiobook Review: Illuminae

Title: Illuminae

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Format: Audiobook, ~11 hours

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Illuminae on Goodreads

Synopsis:

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 mega-corporations 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. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review: Holy Sh*t! I’m so mad at myself right now. Why did I wait this long to read this??? Why did no one tell how PHENOMENAL this audiobook would be???

So I remember working at my bookstore back in 2017 when the Obsidio per-order campaign was in full swing and thinking I should read these books. The printed books are a work of art and I’m so happy I have physical copies of them. But I also remember thinking that I would have a really hard time reading them because of my ADHD. I still picked up a copy of Obsidio when it was released in 2018 but every time I tried to read Illuminae I just couldn’t focus enough to get into the story.

Then in 2019 I discovered audiobooks. I can have a hard time getting into them but more often than not I have really enjoyed the ones I’ve listened too and late last year I decided to give Illuminae another shot as an audiobook. And I’m really angry at myself for not listening to it sooner and for not binging it when I started it last December.

This is by far, the best audiobook I have ever listened too. The cast is phenomenal. The sound work is amazing. If you are looking for a great audiobook experience this is it. Even if you’re already read Illuminae, you NEED to listen to these audiobooks.

Looking beyond the audiobook performance though, this was also a really good book. I wasn’t surprised by the events of the book, but I was still anxious listening to it, especially the last couple of hours.

I really enjoyed Kady and Ezra’s relationship and while I know they’re not the main characters of Gemina I am looking forward to seeing how their relationship continues–assuming we get to see enough of them to see that.

I also really enjoyed watching Aidan develop throughout the book. Artificial Intelligence is really interesting to me and I loved how Kaufman and Kristoff developed its character. I’m also hopeful we’ll get to see more of Aidan in the rest of the series as well.

This was just a really great book that definitely lived up to the hype. It’s prefect for fans of Firefly and Mass Effect.

Up Next: Next in the Illuminae Files is Gemina. I’ve already downloaded it from my local library and can’t wait to start it!

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