Let's Talk About Books

Incredible. Simply incredible. 

This is officially the first book I've read in 2016 and it deserves that honor. I could probably leave it at just that, but I'm a chatty person so I'll talk more about it. 

This book is absolutely amazing. A true work  of art. There's a lot that goes on in it but not once does it feel busy, confusing, or out of control. I kind of wonder if it would have come out so smoothly if Kaufman or Kristoff had written it by themselves. It feels like the kind of story that needs two people writing it to keep it under control. Either way, their partnership truly worked out for the best because this book came out amazingly.  

AIDAN is easily my favorite character. The sections that took place in his code were breath taking. There was a poetry to those sections and it's interesting that I liked them so much because normally I don't care for poetry. But I couldn't get enough of them. AIDAN was such a complex character and it's character arc was one of the best I've encountered in a while. I started writing notes about halfway through the book and written in all caps I  have "FUCK AIDAN". That was when we first really encountered him (I know it's an it, 'cause it's a computer, but I keep wanting to type "him", so I'll go with that. Maybe because I know a boy named Aidan). Because truly he was terrifying at first. I thought for sure I would hate him and be afraid of him for the rest of the book. And yet I love him. When he "died" after the battle with Lincoln, so to speak, I got a little choked up. Not horribly so, just a little. His redemption arc was amazing and I look forward to seeing what he's up to in the sequel. 

Speaking of the sequel, I'm very excited to see more of Leanne. I'm not sure why, but I have always been a sucker for female villains. Like, no character gets me going more than a lady villain. And Leanne sets herself up to be an amazing villain. We don't have a ton of information on her yet, just what Ezra reports and what BeiTech's actions can infer, but that's more than enough to get me to bite. I hope she's every bit as good of a villain as AIDAN started out to be. 

This book started out strong and it ended just as strongly. The ending did a good job of wrapping the story up in such a way that I don't think a sequel is necessary. If they left the story at just what we have, I would be satisfied. Of course, I am extremely excited for the sequel and will read it the moment it comes out. Illimuniae can just stand by itself, which I think is a wonderful thing for a book in a series. 

Now, as amazing as this book is, there are a few issues I take with it. Nothing that keeps it from being amazing, nothing that keeps it from being 5 stars for me. Just little things I feel like mentioning. Perhaps the big one is Ezra and Kady reconciled a lot faster than I thought they would. It wasn't written badly at all, which is why I'm not counting it against the story. In fact they wrote their relationship wonderfully. I just would have liked it if they had hated each other a little bit longer. I adore love stories where the two parties hate each other at first. And since they referred to it as 10 Things I Hate About You (Which, fair, I haven't seen but I know the basic plot) in space, I expected there to be more conflict/dislike between the two. So I guess that's something to keep in mind. If you want characters that fight/hate each other for most of the time, this might not be your cup of tea as far as romantic relationships go. Read it anyway though. 

Another, smaller issue I had was I didn't like the way the chat speak was written. Like, "u" instead of "you", for example. I'm online a lot, I use chatrooms a lot, and I haven't seen people type like that in years, even when I was a teenager. So I don't know, that felt a little unnatural. Then again, they had to type fast so I suppose it makes sense for there to be short cuts. It's just a picky thing I suppose. 

Final note: The security footage scenes were probably the only ones I was a little apathetic towards. They just moved slow, compared to the rest of the book. I suppose that's why they were included, to keep the pace from being too monotone. They just weren't my cup of tea and probably the only sections I skimmed more than I read. My loss, I suppose. 

Overall though this is an amazing book. Really, I cannot stress how much I love this book. As soon as I get the money for it, I'm going out and buying a copy for myself. Kristoff and Kaufman mentioned they'd be back in town when the sequel comes out, so I'll make it a point to stop by that reading and let them know how much I adored this book. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stores. Definitely read this one.

Final note: I really want to watch Event Horizon now. Kind of weird.