Monday, January 25, 2016

ILLUMINAE // Hold Me, I'm in Love


Warning: As always, I try to stay relatively spoiler free. But it doesn’t hurt to proceed with caution. 

Rating: Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)


Okay, okay, I think I’m in love. This book was AMAZING. And I don’t say that lightly. I know that, as far as book bloggers go, I am very easy to please and I probably give out way more five-star ratings than I should if I want people to take my judgment on bookish matters seriously. But I would give this book eleven stars if I could. 

In a nutshell, ILLUMINAE follows Kady and Ezra as they escape the destruction of an illegal mining colony by hitching a ride with the Alexander and her fleet. However, the company that attacked the mining colony, unwilling to let any witnesses survive, pursues the fleeing ships for months. Matters worsen when a strange illness breaks out on one of the ships and the malfunctioning Artificial Intelligence takes drastic measures to prevent its spread. 

But the story is much much more than that, so obviously I need to explain to you why I love this book so much I would pry it out of the hands of a crying baby if I had to (haha, ahem, just kidding—I would never be that mean to a baby…probably). 

AIDEN. I. Am. In. Love. With. AIDEN. Although he is a computer (AIDEN stands for Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network), he is more than just an amalgamation of algorithms and code. Whether it is his programing or his damaged hardware, his thought processes transcend binary into poetry. There is something so tragic and pathetic about the way he falls for Kady. Actually, there’s something so tragic and pathetic about the way he processes the world in general. (And when I say pathetic, I’m speaking in terms of pathos rather than ridiculousness.) He may be one of the main antagonists, but he does not see himself as an aggressor. Always he tries to act in the best interests of the majority, and he constantly justifies and evaluates his decisions. His programing may be cold and sterile, supposedly devoid of human feeling, but there is still something so distinctly moving when he asks himself, “Am I not merciful?” 

His thoughts, both in wording and presentation, are works of art, and I daresay he is more human in the end than most of the humans on the Alexander. I think he is, hands down, one of my favorite characters of ever, and I will probably talk about him so much over the coming year that you will want to duct tape my mouth shut and throw me out the airlock before the end of it. Sorry, not sorry. 

Phobos. I actually felt a little misled here because one of the blurbs on the jacket mentioned zombies and I was like, “Ooh, yay, zombies.” Except they aren’t zombies, not really. Granted, the people effected by the virus behave a bit like the zombies in The Walking Dead in that they are attracted by sound. But Phobos victims are basically just uber psychotic people. Extremely terrifying, extremely violent, extremely psychotic people. And they are far scarier and far more dangerous than mere zombies. So I’m totally not disappointed. 

As Phobos progresses through their systems, they become increasingly unreasonable, paranoid, and violent. But they retain enough of their intelligence and enough of their humanity to make them far worse—more awful and more tragic. And if you've read the book, you’ll understand why I will always fight panic every time I hear someone say, “Don’t look at me.” There is probably something really deep and symbolic about the Phobos victims’ behavior, but I’m far too busy donning my hazmat suit and barricading myself in my closet to analyze this aspect of the book any further. 

Kady and Ezra. The story literally begins on the day Kady and Ezra break up. (Talk about poor timing.) And it’s fascinating to see where they go from there—how the tumultuous circumstances affect their strained relationship, and how the big, awful things around them help the two to see the small, awful things they have done to each other along the way. Normally I’m not a huge fan of romance, but when it comes to Kady and Ezra—yeah, I ship it. 

Also, Kady is a skilled hacker with more than her fair share of sass, and I want to be her when I grow up. 

Unique Format. As much as I was excited about the formatting of the novel, I was a little dubious for first the first two hundred pages or so. Maybe I was reading too quickly. Maybe it was that the narrative just felt a little different, like I was on the outside looking in. But I struggled to ground myself in the characters’ heads, and there were times I felt a little vague on the technicalities of the action, like maybe I had missed something important. (I sometimes feel this way when I’m reading books in French—I understand French, but it’s also not my mother tongue, so there’s a bit of a mental lag.) 

Despite my initial mild confusion, I did find myself getting more and more and MORE invested as the story progressed. Now, having finished the book, I can tell you I am entirely sold on this form of storytelling. It’s not something I would read all the time because I’m fairly certain most authors couldn’t pull it off. It’s also a style that doesn’t lend itself to every story idea out there. But in this case, I don’t think any other method would have fit ILLUMINAE quite so well—any other form of narration would have robbed the climax of its power. 

Woes and Whatnot. Nevertheless, I did have some qualms about ILLUMINAE. 

First of all, this book is censored. All the major swear words are blacked out as a part of the story. And I like what that says about the culture in ILLUMINAE, that awful things can happen and violence can be presented, but God forbid we cuss. On top of that, it’s also an excellent example of the way censorship backfires. Blacking out or not, there was never a moment where I was unclear what the intended swear word was. Blacking out the vulgar words only draws the eye and the mind to them, thus completely defeating the point. 

Or maybe that was the point. 

That being said, there was a good deal of swearing in ILLUMINAE, and while strong swearing doesn’t generally bother me enough to make me stop reading, it does make me a little more squeamish about recommending the book to just anyone and everyone. I would rather not sully the virgin minds of innocent younglings. ILLUMINAE also packs a significant amount of innuendo and general crassness. To be perfectly honest, I was planning to give this book a lower star rating for that very purpose because I think the story could have been told just as effectively with significantly less swearing and innuendo. When I give a book five stars, I see it as my giant stamp of approval—that I will shove this book in the face of anyone who listens. But I also want to be responsible about the books I shove into people’s faces. Which explains why I was initially hesitant. 

The Ending. "So, why did you give ILLUMINAE five stars if you're such a grandma about the language?" 

I’m glad you asked that question. 

I loved the ending. I loved the ending so much I almost cried because it was so beautiful. And I am not the type of person to get emotional over beauty, at all. I just don’t. But there are no words for how wonderful the ending was. I know that people often say something like, “This story took my breath away,” and they generally mean that as a figure of speech. So let me clarify. I literally had to keep reminding myself to breathe for the last two hundred pages or so. This book was so good I could have asphyxiated. It was perfect and intense and mind-boggling, and I haven’t felt so completely blown away by or invested in an ending since I read Ender’s Game. I cannot stress enough how well-written and unique ILLUMINAE is, how authentic it feels, how it carries such a big punch my poor little heart is still bruised. Both in formatting and in story, ILLUMINAE is a work of art. If I could, I would buy fifty million copies to line my walls as decoration. Obviously the sequel, GEMINA, cannot come out quickly enough. 



What about you, little coffee beans? Have you read ILLUMINAE? What are your thoughts? Have you ever read any books like it?

14 comments:

  1. I've never even heard of this book. Is it relatively new? It sounds amazing, though, and I'd love to read about an artificial intelligence program with some character. (Ultron just didn't do it for me.)

    I shall have to order it and tell you what I thought. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. It was published in October (2015), but I just got my hands on it this month. It really is amazing, and AIDEN is beautiful and wonderful and just yes, a thousand times better than Ultron (although I wasn't too disappointed with Ultron). AIDEN is basically my book boyfriend. *nods*

      Yes, do so! I shall await in eager expectation for your verdict on the subject. You're welcome, and thanks for commenting! :)

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    2. LIZ I FINALLY READ IT (because the library took so long to get it) AND IT WAS TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL AND I'M IN LOVE WITH AIDEN AND AHH THE LAST 200 PGS I ACTUALLY GASPED OUT LOUD IT WAS AMAZING I'M DYING. I NEED TO FIND THE AUTHORS TO SHOVE MY MONEY IN THEIR FACES. *FLAILS VIOLENTLY* I'M IN TOTAL LOVE HERE. CAPS DOES NOT DO MY EMOTIONS JUSTICE!!!!

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    3. AAAAAHHHHH I'M SO GLAD YOU FINALLY GOT THE CHANCE TO READ IT. AND ALSO, YAY, YOU LOVED IT!!!!!! I AM IN LOVE WITH AIDEN TOO. HE'S MINE, I TELL YOU, MINE. A;LSKFA;SLDFKJAS;LFKJAS;LDFKJAS;DLFJASD;FLKJAS;DFLKJASD;FLKJASD;FLKAJSDFL;KJASDF

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  2. I'm only half way through Illuminae, and I have that mental lag thing going on as well?? People keep telling me it looks up after 200 pages, so :) I love unique formats as well, and Illuminae defiantly checks that box!

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    1. I guess that's a pretty common thing. It's a shame because the rest of the book is so good. Hopefully Gemina won't have that same problem. I wonder if it's a matter of getting used to the formatting, or if it just starts out a little too impersonal. It definitely does pick up, but I wish it had been a little less slack in the beginning. But yes, many bonus points for unique formatting. And the formatting is even more spectacular in the last three hundred pages. :D

      Thanks for commenting!

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  3. AHHHH I TOTALLY AGREE. I WISH TO SCREAM FROM THE ROOFTOPS ABOUT MY LOVE FOR THIS BOOK. ERMAGERSH!! *flails for only nine years* Oh oh and I totally get what you mean about the swearing. I don't care about swearing...eh, it just really doesn't bother me. But for a YA book...omg, I don't care that it was blacked out, that was a lot of swearing, and idek what the kids are doing these days (I'm a grandma too, apparently) but 15-year-old-Cait would've had a hard time with this book. Hmm. And plus I felt like blacking out the language made them put in MORE. So whatever. Interesting choice on their behalf, I guess.

    BUT OMG AIDEN. <3 I freaking love that psychotic computer.

    And that thing? WITH EZRA? I nearly threw the book across the room and ate a brick wall.

    Also I loved this book. LURVE IT LURVE IT.

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    1. I WILL JOIN YOU ON THE ROOFTOPS AND WE WILL SCREAM TOGETHER ABOUT HOW AMAZING ILLUMINAE IS. *flails too hard* *falls over* It seriously was a lot of swearing for a YA book. My 15-year-old self would have been in the same boat as you, although I was super innocent back then, so maybe I wouldn't have even known what they were saying? *shrugs* And I wondered about that--like, maybe it encouraged them to go overboard. It's definitely interesting, but yes, a little much for a YA novel, I think.

      AIDEN IS MY BOOK BOYFRIEND NOW. YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM. HE'S MINE. He's my favorite adorable little psychotic computer.

      I KNOW RIGHT!?! Your reaction was entirely justified. I contemplated using my copy for knife-throwing practice. But I also was a teeny tiny bit okay with getting punched in the emotions that hard because wow. Just, wow.

      I AM SO EXCITED FOR GEMINA, BUT WHAT IF IT ISN'T AS GOOD CAIT. WHAT THEN? I shall die alone and lonely, clinging to my copy of Illuminae and sobbing my eyes out. That's what I'll do.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  4. I've heard a lot of good things about this book! I've really wanted to read it, so I think I'll have to keep a look out for it.

    Although, I never did know about the swear words in it and that they are blacked out. It is interesting the irony it creates. And I completely get what you mean about not wanting to recommend a book to just anybody. Different people have different standards. What one persons finds gasp-worthy another person is okay with and vice versa. Plus, there's the whole age/maturity thing to consider.

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    1. Me too! Even when I just started hearing about it a few months before it came out, I was surprised by how much good stuff I was hearing about it. So I decided I wanted in and bought it. :D You should totally read it--probably a lot of libraries will have it? Either way, I'm excited to know what you think of it. :)

      It really is interesting, and I wonder if it was accidental irony or purposeful irony. It's so hard when deciding how strongly to recommend something I adore. I don't want to shock anyone or accidentally burn people. Like, I want my more innocent or young/less mature friends to be able to trust my bookish recommendations, but I also want to flail like a lunatic as well. So it's a bit difficult, and I feel like a grandma putting up disclaimers, but I haven't found any other solution, so I guess I will just stick with being a grandma. *nods*

      Thanks for commenting!

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  5. ILLUMINAE IS PERFECT. I don't have much to say that you haven't already...but I pre-ordered it because Jay Kristoff's writing is my favorite, and I was not disappointed. Sci-fi beauty and lovely format and ughhhh.

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    1. IT REALLY IS PERFECTION. *gives you coffee beans* I almost preordered it, but for some reason I held back. But then I felt sad so I made sure I prioritized buying it. *nods* I hadn't read any by either of the authors, so it was a lovely introduction and I definitely want to read more from both of them. IT'S JUST TOO BEAUTIFUL ADFAKJSDFKLASF;L.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  6. I've heard about this book and it's nice to get your opinion on it. I'm a little wary about the formatting issues, because I'm afraid it'll drive me crazy, but I'm severely tempted to read this now that it has your seal of approval. XD

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    1. Aww, thank you! *gives you coffee beans* It is a very different formatting scheme, and any skepticism on the subject is entirely understandable. :P I can't speak with absolute certainly, since our brains could be entirely different, but I didn't find the formatting too distracting or disjointed for the most part. There were a couple pages where I had to stop and figure out how to read them, but I was also reading really quickly, so I wasn't giving myself much time to enjoy the layout. I hope you enjoy it! It might take some getting used to, but the story is well worth it. :D DO IT.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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