Illuminae: A Review (The Illuminae Files #1)

Goodreads 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 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.

My Review:

All right, so this book is hard to get used to at first. This series takes place in the future and the story is told from various point of views. The surveillance guy is perhaps my favorite, but let me explain a little more.

So Kady and Ezra are two characters who had to escape the destruction/overtaking of their illegal home planet. We see their story through their journal entries, their communication through their futuristic version of Instant Messaging, and recorded "phone" calls.

Like I said, it is hard to get used to, but once I started reading, I was hooked. I had to know was BiTech was doing and why they were attacking this planet and the survivors. I needed to know what their motivation was for trying to kill all witnesses.

This book was also fast paced despite it's length. There was never a dull moment. Then again, with Kady there is never a dull moment. She is a the best computer hacker that ever existed. And I know she will be the reason for BiTech's downfall.

I won't reveal too much, but the plague absolutely terrified me. Chemical warfare is absolutely horrifying.

If you enjoy espionage and intrigue, cool futuristic technology, and a super computer that seems to have a crush on you, this is the series to read! I'm so excited for the second book!

And something I find hilarious about this series, is that the story "documents" that are turned in to the overseer have been censored. All the curse words are literally blacked out! Haha. I found that awesome.

5 out of 5!