Illuminae

The Illuminae Files, Book 1

By: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

Narrated by: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, Johnathan McClain, Kimberly Farr, Donnabella Mortel, Matthew Frow, Ryan Gesell, Sile Bermingham, Beata Pozniak, Jolene Kim, Emma Bering

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

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

“A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form." (Victoria Aveyard, best-selling author of Red Queen)

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 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 audiobook in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

“Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.” (EW.com)

“[Y]ou’re not in for an ordinary novel experience....” (Bustle.com)

“A truly interactive experience.... A fantastically fun ride.” (MTV.com)

“...stylistically mesmerizing.” (Publishers Weekly)

“[A]n arresting visual experience.” (Booklist)

“[A] game-changer.” (Shelf Awareness)

"Genre: Undefinable. Novel: Unforgettable." (Kami Garcia, best-selling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures and author of Unbreakable)

“An exuberant mix of space opera, romance, zombies, hackers, and political thrills.” (Scott Westerfeld, best-selling author of Zeroes and Uglies)

“Stunningly creative. Smart, funny, and romantic.” (Veronica Rossi, best-selling author of Under the Never Sky)

“This is one of those rare books that will truly keep your heart pounding.” (Beth Revis, best-selling author of Across the Universe)

“This book is xxxxing awesome.” (Laini Taylor, best-selling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone)

©2015 Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (P)2015 Listening Libary

Critic reviews

"Brace yourself. You're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to leave." (Marie Lu, New York Times best-selling author of the Legend trilogy)

"Ambitious, heartbreaking, and out-of-this-world awesome." (Kirkus Reviews)

Romantic Space Opera

This book is so unique that it is almost impossible to explain it. Told through interviews, emails, instant messages, translated video footage and an AI (Artificial Intelligence) named AIDAN it felt more like a congressional investigation than a YA novel. But don’t be turned off by that explanation. It’s so much more – there is romance, mystery, action, government conspiracies, sci-fi fantasy, etc. It was a unique and wonderful space opera and I loved every minute of this listen. It’s one of the most original books out there today. I bought the print version as well for all the diagrams and pictures that can’t be experienced through audio. This is the rare book that both print and audio come together so perfectly.

loved this book...

Where does Illuminae rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best books I've listened to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Once I got into it a while, it was hard to turn my car off and go into work!

Any additional comments?

Wasn't a fan of the swear word censoring but got used to it quickly. Loved the way the story was told...very different and entertaining.
Give this a couple chapters and you will be hooked.

Much better read than listened to

Where does Illuminae rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

great story but much better read than listened to because of the unusual format and interesting and different presentation in book format.

What did you like best about this story?

the format

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

didn't listen to it, I read it

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, it is definitely a page turner.ed

Any additional comments?

buy the book not the audio

WOW!!

This book blew me away!! It surprised me and thrilled me!! I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy!!!

Incredible

I devoured this book because of the engaging story and exceptional full cast recording. Simply brilliant. There is no flaw in this effort.

surprisingly wonderful

this book was surprisingly wonderful. it was Mt first auto book so it was hard for me to follow along. there were some really slow parts that I didn't understand what was happening but then there were really amazing parts where I couldn't stop listening. great job

I want more!!!

This is a story I wanted to continue. I thought Olivia Taylor Dudley did a perfect performance and the cast on whole was great!

Wow!

Wow. Just, wow. This was SO much better than I was expecting. Beautiful. The full cast is amazing, and the way the story weaves together is perfect.

Listen to this one

This is one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. The story was gripping, well written and with an intriguing presentation. Almost every character gets a hint of a back story, something to draw you in, make you care.

Absolutely amazing!

Ho-ly SH*T!
Okay, so it's 4:40 am and I have just finished reading this novel. Why, you ask. Well, it's simple really. I picked up from where I had been at about 10:30 pm and thought I'd stop reading about midnight and go to bed. Nope. That did NOT happen. Somewhere around the 40% mark, the story reached a fevered pitch that absolutely meant it was not getting put down until the end. Much to the detriment of my sleep schedule. At least tomorrow (today?) is Saturday and I can sleep in. But the real reason you're here is the review, so here it goes:

Our lovely novel starts off on the planet Kerenza IV, a giant ball of ice near the edge of the universe (or, at least, the developed edge, if you can call it developed) upon which there is a rather large mining operation. Our main characters, though, are Ezra and Kady, well, mostly Kady, who are high school students in school for the day. Kady is pissed because she and Ezra had just broken up. As such, she'd driven herself to school in her truck. This turned out to be a good thing when, all of a sudden, an attack is unleashed upon the planet.

In the flight to escape, Ezra manages to convince Kady to let him into the truck with her, and they make it to some escape pods (though, not without some excitement). They, along with several thousand others refugees, are evacuated onto one of three ships that were either in orbit already or answered the planet's distress call. Of course, they end up being shuttled to two different ships.

The attack on Kerenza was initiated by BeiTech, a rival corporation to the WUC, which was who had established the (illegal) mining operation on Kerenza. And during that attack, the unleash a bioweapon. Not cool, BeiTech. Really not cool. Anyway of the 4 ships attacking, the responding warship Alexander is able to fend off and destroy 3 of them. It damages the 4th and uses that opportunity to escape in an attempt to reach Heimdall station and the jump gate it possesses.

But that's just where the fun begins. Fun being a very operative term here, because this story was anything but fun. Anyway, that 4th ship, the Lincoln, begins pursuit. Because as we all know, dead men tell no tales (well, they can, and some will, but you get the idea), and BeiTech wants to make sure no one who knew what happened on Kerenza lives to spread the news.

The problem: BeiTech has decidedly pissed off one Kady Grant. Sure, it takes a bit for her anger to really hit the boiling point, but once it does, her righteous fury is an amazing thing to see. Even if it is misdirected - hell, even when accurately directed - at times.

This novel is told largely through files reconstructed after the fact, with data files, email conversations, IM conversations, log files, etc. While an odd way to tell a story - it was very much like what I would suspect a criminal file would be - it was actually very compelling. Indeed, some of my favorite parts were when AIDAN, the Alexander's AI, was talking. Thinking? Philosophizing? I'm not even sure how to describe what AIDAN goes through, but I loved it.

One of my favorite quotes from the entire book is from AIDAN:
"The Universe owes you nothing, Kady. It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is if you do something worthy of remembrance."

This is a novel that constructs a story out of reports and reprints that don't seem like they would coalesce into a story, but they do. It was a little weird to get used to at first because there certainly isn't a cohesive narrative voice. Except there is. And I know that sounds like a contradiction, but the cohesive voice was the absolute sh*tstorm that is the situation everyone is in. And that sh*tstorm doesn't stop just because they got away from Kerenza.

Then we get to that ending and OMG!!! I was not prepared. That ending made the rest of the story worth it, though. And now I cannot wait to read the sequel. Well, I can a bit. I mean, I would like to get *some* sleep tonight. This morning? i don't even know anymore.

Also, for parts of this book, I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by a full cast and was absolutely amazing for the parts I listened to. That includes the end which, again, was just *chef's kiss*. So, if you like scifi and audiobooks, I definitely recommend this one.