REVIEW: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Rating: 5/5

Illuminae isn't a book. It's an experience.

I could sum up the plot to try and sell it to you, but that wouldn't do it justice. What makes the story special is the way it is told; the way it puts you in the driving seat of this massive spaceship and guides you through it, rather than just telling you.

Illuminae is a quasi-graphic novel, but with an emphasis on the 'novel' part. We don't get the detailed illustrations of characters and settings you would normally expect from a regular graphic novel, but it's certainly still 'graphic' in other ways. Every time I picked the book up, I was excited to explore all the different types of documents it uses to tell the story - emails, text messages, transcripts of announcements, conversations ... you name it. You truly feel like a detective sifting through these documents to find out what really happened.

I particularly liked how the writers used documents to show the progression of Phobos/the virus. They took us through every step of the way, allowing us to see how different characters felt about the situation, and how things ended the way they did. It was extremely clever.

The only parts I think this story telling method doesn't work quite as well is during the action scenes. This is understandable, as how do you depict an action scene by using official documents instead of first person narration? It's not easy. I liked the approach, but it was definitely confusing at times. I wasn't sure who was shooting who and why they were shooting them. However, this doesn't subtract from how spectacular the book is overall.

Now, let's talk about the writing. I haven't been this impressed by writing in a long time. Two very specific scenes come to mind when thinking about this (spoilers ahead): McNulty's death and the surveillance footage transcription. Nothing has ever given me chills like McNulty's death scene. It was so incredibly emotional that I had to put the book down for a few minutes afterwards to recover and process what I had just read. It was perfectly written, with just the right amount of sadness and sympathy to make you cry (well, I did anyway). Secondly, Kaufman and Kristoff's writing is vividly detailed, shown in the various transcriptions of surveillance footage. Somehow, the writers manage to make the personality of the guy describing the footage so incredibly strong - it permeates through his descriptions. In particular, I was struck by Byron's death scene. I read it just before I went to sleep and I knew I was going to have nightmares because it was so vivid in my mind. These writers are so talented.

One of my favourite parts of Illuminae is how AIDAN is given a conscience. Aside from the obvious 2001: A Space Odyssey vibes, I think it adds a nice twist to the story. When people say 'I don't usually like sci-fi but I loved Illuminae', I reckon it's purely because of AIDAN. He brings something different and interesting to the story that unsuspecting readers will love. Scarily, Kaufman and Kristoff were able to make me sympathise with AIDAN, with lines such as:

'I would rather be numb than stand here in the light of a sun that can never chase the chill away.' (417)

AIDAN becomes weirdly human in his behaviour. He mentions more than once how he wishes he could sigh, and only then do I realise just how cathartic sighing is. There are somethings in life that call out for a big ol' sigh, so it feels weird to imagine not being able to. I actually felt sorry for him. 

Another element of this book that I loved is the focus on ensuring your story is told. I have often thought about how important stories are to our culture as human beings, with ideas such as 'you are alive until the last person who remembers you dies'. A few of the characters in Illuminae talk about how important it is to them to have their story passed on, and I loved it.

Overall, Illuminae is an incredible book. Even if you don't usually like sci-fi, you will like this book. 

To finish, my favourite quote:

'Oh poor baby. Did I hurt the mass-murdering psychopathic artificial intelligence's feelings?' (461)