Book Nerds Across America: gemina

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Saturday, March 31, 2018

Audiobook review: Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book Summary
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion?

Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.

Flo's Review
I'm going to miss these audiobooks. What an enjoyable 33+ hours of my life! Even in this book, I still got chills listening to AIDAN. I loved the main analyst's voice. And I even got used to the creepy "Briefing Note" voice.

Obsidio was a delightful ending to this trilogy. There were several things that had me literally gasping as I listened to them. The twists! The surprises! I was sad at the deaths, teary eyed at some of the reflections of the characters, and always cheering on these great heroes!

First of all, it almost seems too obvious to comment on the timeliness of reading a book about a group of teenagers who are smarter than the adults surrounding them and are not afraid to stand up to them to save the world. Yeah, I'm just going to leave that right there.

Secondly, I was definitely teary at a few points in this book -- mostly listening to things Kady's dad wrote and said to the main characters. Thanks Mr. Grant! *tears* 😭 But I loved how he wrote to Hanna about how he and her dad would have conversations about these girls they were raising and how they were basically growing up to kick butt and be more awesome than they were. I just loved that.

I want to gush about a lot of things, but I also want to keep this spoiler free, so just know that I finished listening to this audiobook a few days ago and I am still thinking back on it about things that made me swoon, laugh, cry, rage. That's the sign of a good book right there. This series earned my mad respect for sci-fi, a genre that I don't usually read. The audiobooks were great. The books were great. Both were creatively and uniquely done. It's been a good ride with the Illuminae group, and I will be recommending their story to others.

Our other review of the Illuminae trilogy books:
Gemina
Illuminae

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Audiobook review: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book Summary
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

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.

Flo's Review

Obsidio, the final book in the Illuminae trilogy, comes out next week, so I wanted to get Gemina under my belt so I'd be ready. I listed to Illuminae and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to learn that my library had Gemina on CD.

If you are not familiar with this trilogy, the book is composed of documents and other forms of correspondence. It's a visual experience, so it is interesting to hear it translate to audiobook. Somehow, it is always fantastic! I really enjoyed listening to Gemina! The voice of Hanna sounded exactly as I thought she would, and I always love listening to Steve West (even despite the character he voiced!) And the Analyst, too -- I love hearing his voice! But if I'm being honest, my favorite part of the audiobook was being able to hear "I Wanna Lick Your Lollipop" sporadically throughout the story! (I kid, I kid...kind of.)

Even though the story felt a little long, a common and unfortunate side of listening to more than 650 pages being read to you, it never lagged. Several twists kept surprising me throughout the story. I loved to hate Cerberus. Who knew the word "Bless" could ever annoy me so much?! And, WOW, on the plot twist at the end! So creative and fun. I loved it.

I am very happy that I will soon have Obsidio, so I can how this whole crazy saga shakes down. If you haven't read or listened to any of the Illuminae books, you are coming in at a good time -- you can marathon them. If you have read them, which did you prefer: Illuminae? Or Gemina?

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book Summary
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 megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Flo's Review
First of all -- HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO GEMINA! The second book of The Illuminae Files releases today, so I thought this would be a good time to post my review of book #1, which I just finished yesterday. What a unique and creative book! I never see twists, so the twists (two big ones that I'm thinking of) stopped me cold. I don't read a lot of sci fi because I tend to lose focus when it gets to technical. But Illuminae never did that for me. The story was always about the characters and their relationships.

I actually listened to this on audio, and it was very good. I had heard from a friend that it was, but I was admittedly skeptical -- if you have seen this book, you know that its layout and formatting is non-traditional. I thought I would lose some of the experience by simply listening to the audio. But I don't think I did. The audio was great because it had noises that fit with what was going on. I didn't just read about the screams - I heard them. I loved the reader for the surveillance guy and also for Ezra. Honestly, all the voices were great. (Even the creepy "Briefing Note" voice of Illuminae.) But I think I will read the second book to get that experience as well.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are coming to my favorite local bookstore, Books & Books, on November 10th and I couldn't be more excited to see them! (Click here for more information about that event.)

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