Description: 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.

Review: Obsidio is the last and finale book in the action packed science fiction thriller Iluminae Files series. While the book may appear to be long reads due to its page size, it is actually a fast read due to its unique format. Like its previous installments, Obsidio is also written in a mixture of textual formats, which includes case files, emails, online text messages, and images of hand written notes. It is absolutely necessary to have read the first two books before picking this one up as characters, events and consequences from the previous series play a vital role in this book.
  Another countdown. Commercial giant BeiTech’s invading forces are trapped in a seven-month orbit around the politically unstable mining colony of Kerenza IV, pushing to restore their ship’s power so they can get home; meanwhile, the surviving Kerenza colonists are hanging onto their lives and families by a thread. Elsewhere, battered survivors of other BeiTech aggressions are aboard the gunship Mao, on a collision course with Kerenza that will either save or kill them all.
  Obsidio retains all of the elements that has made it so popular: unlikely heroes, star-crossed lovers, space opera tropes, and its unique storytelling format which grabs its readers' attention right away and does not let go until the very last page. The body count in this book is large and the strong violence allows the reader to explore the important issues such as responsibility, accountability, the reliance and/or danger of artificial intelligence, and the duality of right and wrong. I don't think I have ever been captivated by an AI like Aiden before who is able to quickly strip away all emotions in order to ask questions that plague humanity. Although the action goes on just a bit too long, the book does deliver a satisfying conclusion to a great series.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language (though most of it is censored out), strong violence, and some crude sexual humor. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Starbound trilogy by Amie Kauffman and Megan Spooner, Sky Chaser series by Amy Kathleen Ryan, 2001: Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke, Lifelike series by Jay Kristoff

Description: 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.

Review: Gemina is another action-packed, nail biting installment of the Illuminae Files. It is more like a companion novel than an actual sequel since we follow the events of Jump Station Heimdall while the spaceship Hypatia was trying to get there. Though the format of Gemina is the same as its predecessor that had a collage style narration in various formats ranging from instant messages to diary entries to video transcripts this time it is more streamlined and is framed as evidence at a tribunal investigating the activities of BeiTech Industries. While it took me a while to wrap my head around the format of the first book, I had no trouble getting sucked into Gemina thanks to authors providing a context to their story.
  We follow two new characters from complete opposite social statures. Hannah is the daughter of the station commander. She begins as your stereotypical rich girl who just wants to have a good time, but we get to see peeks of her real personality shine through when the crisis on the Heimdall begin to happen. Nik is a drug dealer and the son of a notorious crime family. Nik is your quintessential bad boy. These two characters meet when Hannah arranges for drug purchase for a party on the ship. Obviously things take a dive before the transaction when a multiracial commando team of BeiTech “auditors” board Heimdall to take over its wormhole for a BeiTech drone assault fleet sent to eliminate Kerenza’s witnesses. With lots of sneaking, combat, quick thinking, and the crucial help of Nik’s younger cousin Ella (a fiesty and snarky, brilliant hacker disabled by a space plague she barely survived), Hannah and Nik try to stay a few steps ahead of their assailants. There is also an introduction to a drug operation that relies on mind-eating, multi-headed, predatory parasites with psychoactive venom, that are let loose on the station when the cartel is out of commission, which rises the ante in suspense on this already tense survival story. The snowball effect of small complications that keep growing made turning the pages that much faster to see how our protagonists will survive. There are plenty of twists and turns to the story including a cliffhanger ending that will have readers anticipating for the last book in the Illuminae Files. Due to its fast-paced, suspense filled story, I would highly recommend this series to reluctant readers and fans of science fiction.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language (though most of it is censored out), strong violence, and some crude sexual humor. There is also mention of drug usage and allusions to sexual situations. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: Starbound trilogy by Amie Kauffman and Megan Spooner, Sky Chaser series by Amy Kathleen Ryan, 2001: Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

 I have read numerous glowing reviews for Illuminae, a new science fiction series by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff. Since I didn't get a chance to read it last year, I made sure to finish it early this year.

Description: 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 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.


Review: Illuminae pushes the boundaries of what makes a novel. Told exclusively through interviews, chat logs, reports, emails, and security footage. While this format is very unique, it did take me a while to get into the story and figure things out. I did, however, really enjoy piecing the information together along with the characters. The different format did allow clues sprinkled throughout the book as well as build suspense throughout the book when time was running out for the characters.
 Sharing tropes and ideas from classic science fiction writers, Illuminae is an exciting ride. Kady and Ezra just broke up. On the same day, their planet is viciously attacked and they are separated on two different space vessels. Though their romantic relationship is a rocky, they both want to escape destruction, retaliate, and maybe give each other a second chance. There is never a dull moment and the book's fast paced keeps you flipping through the pages to see what new information the characters uncover.
  This first book in a trilogy is simply a long briefing report about the mining colony attack and its aftermath. All of the myriad of documents tells a different part of the story, even parts that are censored or in code. Speaking of censoring, I did find it annoying to have majority of the profanity censored. It made my reading pace a bit slower trying to find the right word so I could read the sentence coherently. I found the use of the Artificial Intelligence really clever. The book is mainly plot driven, but I would have liked a little more of character development of the main characters though we are starting to see them stand on their two feet. 
  Illumiane hints at romance and it reminded me a bit of  what I remember of watching Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey especially with the inclusion of the AI. Given its unique format, I can definitely see this book attract a wide variety of readers, those who obviously enjoy science fiction, but others who enjoy conspiracy and survival stories. I had a lot of questions while reading Illuminae and though it doesn't offer any answers, it left me plenty interested in seeing where the story will go next.

Rating: 4 stars


Words of Caution: There is strong language, most of which are censored/blocked off in marker. There is also strong violence throughout the book. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

If you like this book try: Starbound trilogy by Amie Kauffman and Megan Spooner, Sky Chaser series by Amy Kathleen Ryan, 2001: Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke