In Review: Illuminae and Gemina
Last year I read one of the books I was most excited to pick up. A story told differently. Illuminae by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff immediately went to my wish list once I discovered it was told through a collection of files, transcripts, emails, etc. And for some reason, I never got to review it. Fast forward to 2022, I finally bought Gemina, the second book in The Illuminae Files. But before I jump into it, first, I need to go back to the beginning, to where it all started.
Illuminae
Pages: 599 Genre: Sci-fi Publication: 2015
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.
My review:
The first time I read Illuminae, I loved it. Or so I thought. The truth is, I gave it 5 stars and even wrote in my reading journal that it could possibly be a new favourite book. When I decided to pick the book up again, these were my expectation. Although, the second time around, things didn’t go as well.
The story is told through transcripts of dialogue between the characters, which makes the story less memorable. The reason I decided to reread Illuminae was my lack of memory. I couldn’t remember most of the story. And I believe the culprit is the use of a lot of dialogue. I can’t picture scenes in my head because the scenes aren’t being described. It’s just a conversation between the characters. And if I don’t imagine it, then I don’t remember it. I need to have a visual queue to attach memories. And since the book rarely provides them, the story slips my mind.
Since the story is not told in traditional prose, I thought it would be much easier and quicker to read. Apparently, I was wrong. From the way the characters talk to the descriptive files, the story becomes very tiring. I can’t pinpoint what causes it. I only know a dialogue-heavy book with about 175 words per page (half of a regular novel) took me the same time it would take to read a “normal” 300 pages book. In this case, I would trade all the graphics and drawings for the same story told in prose. At least I would remember that one.
AIDAN is my Achilles’ heel. Once the AI takes over the story, I began to think about giving up. And it’s not like I’ve never read this story before. I just wanted to refresh my memory. But reading the AIDAN files was so boring. The way it talks, trying to be more philosophical, more poetic. I understand it’s hinting at a more human side of the AI, but that doesn’t make it more enjoyable. At times, I found it to be a contradiction. Saying it doesn’t understand human emotions and then using twisted logic, is inconsistent and afraid. It’s a way to give a human side to a machine, but at the same time, it never acknowledges it. A dangerous AI is always fun, but AIDAN was/still is a burden to read. And if Gemina wasn’t already on my shelf, I probably wouldn’t continue with the series.
To my surprise, reading back my thoughts from the first time I read it, most of these feelings were the same. I wrote down how I thought the story would be more captivating than it was, how I felt tired of reading, and how AIDAN was a character that I didn’t like. I forgot about all these emotions because I was incredibly happy with the ending. It blinded everything else.
Gemina
Pages: 659 Genre: Sci-fi Publication: 2016
Synopsis:
Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.
When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.
But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.
My review:
When I opened the first page, I decided to put the book down if I started to get bored. My change of feelings towards Illuminae was still fresh in my memory, so I wasn’t going to push myself just to say I finished the book. Rereading Illuminae made me realise I dislike how the story is told. This unique way doesn’t work for me. Although, this time, things went differently.
A second book can be the best or the worst in a trilogy (compared with the other two). Even though Gemina wasn’t five stars, it was a better experience than Illuminae. This time, I wanted to pick up the book. There was more action. The characters were doing more. Going here, then there, then everywhere. And because of it, there were more descriptive scenes. I have more memories of plot points than I have with Illuminae. I can picture it in my head because there was more prose. The story was described instead of being told which made the book more enjoyable. And as a bonus, AIDAN rarely appears in the story.
The story follows a different cast of characters, continuing where Illuminae left off. I didn’t feel particularly attached to the characters in Illuminae, and the same thing happened with these ones. I actually didn’t want to follow a different group. I was having a hard time enjoying the story because of the way it was told, the last thing I needed was to learn about a new cast of characters as if I was starting a new book instead of a continuation. But, the more I read, the more familiar I became and began to enjoy these new personalities.
In spite of it all, what grabs me to pick up the next book is the ending. With Illuminae and now Gemina, the endings lift the veil of a new mystery, something never hinted at throughout the book. And that surprise is what moves me to pick up the next one, even though I know I don’t like how the story is told. I prefer to reach for the next book because there were many loose ends or questions left unanswered that I need to know more about. Although with Illuminae and Gemina, the plot is finished. Illuminae starts with an attack on Kerenza and survivors being hunted. The book ends with that danger resolved. Germina begins with a special-op team invading Heimdall station, and by the end, it’s all finished. There isn’t a continuation from book to book other than the connection between the plots: the bad guys. Those are the same. And there isn’t just one problem, there are two.
In Illuminae, there’s a virus, and in Gemina, an eel-worm type of thing. Although they don’t pose as much of a problem when looking carefully. They act more like plot devices to either help or worsen the situation. And unless they are brought back in the final book, they seem pointless to exist. I thought the virus outbreak in Illuminae would be a much bigger problem than it was. I thought it would become the focus of the story. The worm-things from Germina always felt too disconnected from the story to even want that plot line to continue.
Bottom line, I felt these books attempt to be more unique, more special, but fail. The best value they have is the different way the story is told, and even that is something that I don’t enjoy. I’ve read better sci-fi that doesn’t need to hide a surprise until the end to make me continue. Now, I’m only one book away from finishing the series, and since I enjoyed Gemina, maybe Obsidio will be better. Otherwise, I shouldn’t have read past Illuminae.
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