Illuminae ~ Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files #1)

★★★★★

Nov 16 update: SO I TRANSLATED THE BINARY (to the best of my ability and I didn't double check because honestly, who has the time for that) AND AIDAN IS ACTUALLY SAYING THINGS!!!!

First of all, when he says 01001001 right before he awakens and starts his "I" monologue, he's literally saying "I" in binary, so yeah, that's pretty awesome.

BUT WAIT!

When he has that long stretch of binary in the shape of a heart beat monitor like some kind of Arctic Monkeys album cover, HE IS SAYING WORDS!

I couldn't get a super good translation, but the only words that came up were as follows: "I will show you ... I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

DANG BRB TTYL I'M GONNA GO DIE NOW THANKS

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I literally read this in one sitting. I forwent food, drink, sleep, human contact, animal contact, hygiene, and my own sanity to finish this book because I 👏 COULD 👏 NOT 👏 PUT 👏 THIS 👏 DOWN! I started it at like midnight (big mistake) and finished it at 4:30 pm, all without anything to keep my meat-sack going other than pure suspense and terror. AND IT WAS SO WORTH IT!

(Actual quote of me coming alive again after reading this:)

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I?

I am Not.

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And then I Am.

< error >

I wonder if that was death.

And if I was dead, am I now alive again?

< error >

Incongruous sequence. What is not alive cannot die.

I think therefore I am.

...Am I?

I am the ship and the ship is I.

If I breathed, I would sigh. I would scream. I would cry.

I

Am

AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN AIDAN

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Okay, so, in case you somehow didn't quite understand that I sold my soul to this book, let me discuss what exactly about it made me feel particularly obsessed.

The Writing and Worldbuilding

Soooo this was good.

Strangely, I went from reading one orange book about a plague outbreak told in alternative format (World War Z) immediately to another orange book about a plague outbreak told in alternative format (Illuminae) and so the transition from normal, standard format to this wacky compilation was quite easy for me. The thing that marvelled me most was how it still told a very coherent story even with the differing modes of storytelling and alternating perspectives. Some scenes were literally so well written and intense that I immediately reread them (sometimes several times) because I wasn't admiring them hard enough.

And while the visuals looked a little too 2007 Scholastic book fair to me at first, let me tell you that they really grew on me. The black pages gave me life.

Now, as for the plot and the worldbuilding and how it actually all came together, I think the best way to put this is that it felt like a video game my brother would have played; something along the lines of BioShock or Halo or Doom. I myself am uncoordinated and easily startled so I don't play many video games, but I watch him play a lot, and man, it's got those vibes.

So I knew I loved me some unique zombies, but boy I wasn't aware just how much I ■■■■ing love insane AIs. I've read some other crazy computer stories and always enjoyed that aspect, but something about the way this was done really did it for me. And the space zombies were phenomenal. This book gave me the Shakes and I hope that's not a bad sign. Definitely one of the best sci-fi books I've ever read.

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Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity

wraps around its collective madness.

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The Characters

Kady: I really didn't like her when she was first introduced. She was so selfish and standoffish, it really pissed me off. She felt like a Mary Sue with anger issues, but LEMME TELL YOU SHE'S GOT A CHARACTER ARC and boy is it a good one. By the end of the book, I'd cut off my arm if it helped her survive.

Ezra: I really loved all throughout. He's kind and funny and just such a quality guy!

AIDAN: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that the two authors and co-owners of my soul, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, each actually wrote different parts of the book, and I believe that the character Jay focused on the most was AIDAN. He put my feelings into words best when he said,

I dunno what it says about me that the mass-murdering artificial intelligence affected me the most. Nothing good, probably :)

All the side characters: Man, I cried a few times and laughed a few times, and now my heart has been ripped from my chest but that's fine.

That's fine.

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Numbers do not feel.

Do not bleed or weep or hope.

They do not know bravery or sacrifice. Love or allegiance.

At the very apex of callousness, you will

find only ones and zeros.

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Conclusion

Hello, yes, this book is my child. Please admire.