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.

BRIEFING NOTE: 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.

Illuminae is the first installment in a science-fiction trilogy set in year 2575 futuristic universe. The story begins with interviews of two teenagers – Kady Grant and Ezra Mason, who later turn out to be the main characters. Kerenza is a small planet covered in ice at the edge of the universe, but it finds itself being under attack from megacompany called Beitech Industries. Those who managed to escape were arranged in 3 space stations: Alexander, Copernicus and Hypatia. Kady has broken up with her boyfriend Ezra on the morning of the invasion and hasn’t talked to him ever since. Affairs on Hypatia are getting more serious and she gets herself involved with another hacker in pursuit of truth. In the meantime, Ezra has sent about five hundred emails to Kady, all the while he’s been training to become a pilot.

After suspicious circumstances under which Copernicus, alongside one third of Kerenza’s population, was blown up, a bioengineered weapon is discovered and survivors soon realize they are running out of time. Biotech’s Lincoln is advancing towards them and crazy AI is threatening to destroy remaining two stations and all their survivors.

The Illuminae Files are designed and organized to be read as a series of hacked military files, interviews, conversations, chats, emails, and AI data. While it sounds quite interesting and refreshing to read a book written in such an unconventional way, it actually turned out like every outfit I plan – looks great in my head and I can’t wait to try it on when I actually look like a 13-year-old preparing for a doll party.

I was looking forward to reading this book because everything about it seemed interesting. While the plot and world building were well-thought trough and highly intriguing, the writing (or should I say files) made it impossible to follow some details, follow the plot and make any kind of deeper connection to any of the characters. Constant switches between files, emails and camera footages made me dizzy and often left me annoyed.

I love sci-fi and I feel like I would have much preferred this book if it have been written in a traditional manner. It all truly went so well - AI gone astray, badass hacker girl and her pilot boyfriend fight affected survivors and space ship sent to destroy them – but as I said, I can’t go over how much the concept of writing ruined it for me.

The idea of the main characters was pretty good and likeable, but that was all it was – a silhouette. Both Kady and Ezra were underdeveloped, underrepresented and just everything not enough. Which was, in my opinion, expected, because you can’t go into depths of characterization with camera footages and chat excerpts. Kady is a badass hacker who wants to know what the hell is going on. She’s determined and smart, but that’s really all she is. Lack of her personal view made it hard to see her as a real character, and Ezra made an even lesser impression for me. The only thing I actually liked about them was the cute romance and the plot twist at the end, but all in all I wasn’t too overwhelmed with this book.