The Sagely Fox

Watching, Learning, Thinking

(Illuminae 1) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Review

    2021-01-20

“The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.”

“The fighters are tiny. Insects, really. But ants can slay an elephant, if there are enough of them.”

“The more you lose, the more you realize you don't have much left.”

(Illuminae 1) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

My thoughts about review spoilers, and ratings may be relevant before you venture below --- the spoiler line ---. Click the [Back] button there to return here if you take a look. Original draft review(s) 4/25/2021. 5/6/2021, & 3 other attempts. Review 1150± words, 07/26/2021

My Rating:

Highly recommended 5 star science fiction thriller novel. I believe if there were a writer's class strictly for "in media res" it would show this book. Kady is breaking up with Ezra, period! She's escaping school so as to not see him... except the school, well the whole planet is under attack from space, and things are blowing up, and it's an illegal space mining thing more like a planet that is largely ice, as I recall.

Generally:

Just try to keep up. Things are happening fast. You don't know anything, everything is confusing but it's okay... you've been there. If you're young you'll recognize it, if your family has fought, you'll recognize it, I made notes about "the fog of war" as it kind of struck me deep and personal at some points.

Thing is, when life does this, and I think it does this to everyone, there's just forward. If that is not what is happening with you when "that" happens or if you don't very quickly decide that's what you are going to be doing right about now... you're out of the game. In a book like this, or in 'the fog of war' you're likely dead.

No joke, survival rate is real low when real life sh.t starts getting tornado/hurricane/earthquake/volcano/war like REAL.

Anything slightly less than death at your doorstep, you'll likely muddle through it. But reading this book, you'll recognize it even if it wasn't absolutely deadly. It would have felt that way for way too long, even if it only lasted seconds.

Thing about this book, there isn't an "I'll stop here - spot". I actually knew that when I stopped for rest from chores. I intentionally bookmarked the book, the page, the minute, everything. Then I went on listening. Good thing I marked it. It was over when I woke up, and right about the time I marked it was when I lost consciousness.

My Notable Notes:

I can't do it. There's a reason I quit writing. There are over 500 words I probably wouldn't repeat to a shrink, but would have happily published decades ago.

Likes and Dislikes: (Possible spoilers).

All likes. Seriously, there are always things you hate because you hate that period. But this book, to me is happening on so many different levels emotionally, it's like saying you hate mean people. That's life and there's nothing in this book that seemed trivial about anything.

As for the book. It was brilliant. And for the record, it could have ended in a dozen places and that would have been fine. I knew there were sequels before I started so you know it as well. My point actually is that it could have easily ended without sequels. Oh, how we love our sequels though, no?

Here's a like for that one special person. I've read the Gateway saga 3-4 times. It's not my favorite of all time series, I just like it for a 100 reasons. This one struck me deep for dozens of reasons and while it isn't Gateway or Gateway-like, I will re-read it.

The Technical:
The left over segment of my critiquing manuscript days. Amie and Jay had the best help in the world. Rare a book comes out like this one where you know it is over, and you realize you're breathing again. I'll be happy just to recommend it.

Conclusion
For most folks this will just be a really good book. Before half the book I felt like I lived about every character in it, more than once, making the right decisions, making the wrong decisions, knowing I was right, knowing I was wrong, knowing I was powerless but still had to keep on doing what I knew was not working. Knowing who could fix everything and why they couldn't, wouldn't, or shouldn't. Knowing I had to ask and that I couldn't ask. Worst of all, knowing I had to decide -- and I would not be paying the price for that decision but someone else was going to pay dearly.

It's a fun and exciting book to read. On the seat of the chair, hanging on the whole time. I think it is much deeper. I knew a Mrs. Hogan once. She said, there's many layers and various different depths in most books. I've read a medium size library of books, I may have stopped at any moment and likely guessed how it would end. I promise, this time, I would have been wrong, but I would have been close enough.

Read on: Jan 17, & 19, 2021
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Author and Narrator links:

• Amie Kaufman (Author),
• Jay Kristoff (Author),
• Olivia Taylor Dudley (Narrator),
• Lincoln Hoppe (Narrator),
• Johnathan McClain (Narrator),
• Kimberly Farr (Narrator),
• Donnabella Mortel (Narrator),
• Matthew Frow (Narrator),
• Ryan Gesell (Narrator),
• Beata Pozniak (Narrator),
• Jolene Kim (Narrator) etc.

📚 Format(s): E-book: 588 pages,
Audiobook Runtime: 11:41:22