Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)

Part two of the most creative and entertaining sci-fi trilogy in the whole universe, Gemina, close on the heels of Illuminae and holding its own, does not disappoint. Ever. Also narrated in the form of an incriminating dossier of emails, schematics, transcripts and classified files, Gemina continues to tell the story of what happened after an outer space mining colony was attacked by a hostile corporation. But this time, Kady and Ezra take a backseat and let new characters Hanna and Nik drive for a while.

Jump Station Heimdall is an insanely boring place for a teenager, at least according to the station commanders daughter, Hanna. Spoiled, self-entitled, and a demon in the martial arts, Hanna spends her time sexting her boyfriend, buying overpriced jumpsuits and taunting her drug dealer, Nik. Raised by a long family line of criminals, Nik is easy-going, cocky and quite resourceful when it comes to breaking the law. And he definitely has a thing for Hanna.

As in Illuminae, when the cow dung hits the fan, the teenagers are the only ones who can save the ship, or jump station, or universe. Your choice, its all there. At the Terra Day celebration, a highly trained elite force sent by BeiTech, the corporation that attacked the mining colony, invades the Heimdall. Led by a dead-eyed psychopath who finds bliss when everything goes his way, the assassin squad lies in wait for the ship bearing the last refugees from the mining colony. Hanna and Nik, polar opposites, join forces to defend the Heimdall, save their family and friends and prevent BeiTech from destroying the only living witnesses from the colony.

My first impression of Hanna was: I miss Kady. Hanna is so bratty and self-centered that she is unlikeable and easily dismissed as a tease. Au contraire, mon ami, there is more to this little girl than meets the eye. Raised by a military father, this little girl has studied warfare, battlefield logistics and can quote Sun Tzu, Napoleon and the Bhagavad Gita. Shes sassy, kickass, and clever, and she grew on me.

Nik, on the other hand, I loved from the beginning. With his life story inked on his body and his heart on his sleeve, Nik is absolutely charming in a bad boy sort of way.

The book is powered by a wicked sense of humor and creative genius. Malware has infected the stations computer system so that a single raunchy pop song is constantly playing: in the elevator, during a gunfight, while being attacked by mutant eels. Did I mention the mutant eels with their psychotropic body fluids? Evil little monsters. I caught a bunch of pop culture references: a computer actually uses a line from Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Im pretty sure Nik is channeling the Joker from the movie Batman Beyond at one point. I saw the names of at least two young adult novelists on the Heimdalls casualty list. And the texts between the teens, even in moments of crisis or sadness, are hysterical.

There are more twists in this book than in your intestines. So many times my family heard me loudly proclaim how much I hated this book only to follow with shhh, cant talk, Im at the good part. Its engrossing and compelling and entertaining and so so so so good. Now, in case you do miss Kady and Ezra and AIDAN, yes, AIDAN, do not worry, they join the story.

What makes the only important difference between Illuminae and Gemina is the readers perspective. We know there will be painful twists that gouge our hearts, we know it will make us laugh out loud, make us cry, make us curse the authors and their unborn children (trust me, I did), we went through it all with Illuminae. As seasoned readers of the Illuminae Files, we know to look for the clues, the crumbs, left by the authors because we know they are there and it is so fun when you find them. And, in the end, on the very last page, when a character asks, You wanna know how it ends? my answer was a resounding Yes. Yes, I do.

The last page always has the best line. Bliss.

After I finished reading Illuminae, I had every intention of taking a short break before starting the next book in the trilogy, Gemina. But did I? OF COURSE NOT. On the day I finished it, I broke down and started Gemina.

I usually try to keep my reviews as spoiler-free as possible, but when Im writing about a series of books, this can be really difficult. The events of this book are directly tied to those that occur in Illuminae, so there will absolutely be spoilers for that book.

This book was action-packed, and much like Illuminae, the plot revolved around a race against the clock, which worked as a great tension-builder. Hanna is pretty much a badass space ninja, and I am here for it. The lamina were HORRIFYING, and I was expecting some twisted nightmares. Thankfully, there were none. But I think they were an excellent (and obviously very creepy) addition to the book. Sort of like this books version of the Phobos outbreak. AIDANs surveillance footage summaries were entertaining, and it was good to see him again, along with Kady, Ezra, and the other familiar faces aboard the Hypatia! The pacing is just as breakneck as the first book, and once BeiTech attempts to seize control of Jump Station Heimdall, its hard to step away from the story.

I liked Hanna, Nik, and Ella but not as much as Kady and Ezra. It took me a while to become invested in their stories, and again, I just didnt care about the romance. (Im beginning to think this might just be me) And without revealing too much, the ending didnt feel realistic to me, in the sense that it seemed a little heavy-handed, defying ridiculously astronomical odds.

Overall, even though I had a few minor issues with this book, I think its a strong installment in the series, and when I say that I cant wait to read Obsidio, please know its a serious understatement.

Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman have done it again with this exceptional book. I loved Illuminae with a passion, so I was worried that this book wouldn’t be able to keep up. My worries were completely unfounded. This book continues the story from Illuminae, but from a different perspective. The book focuses around the jump station Heimdall and how it gets overtaken by an elite BeiTech strike team. The two main characters, Nik and Hanna, are the perfect team to survive this attack. Both are strong, arrogant, and have learned to survive based on their life experiences. Their quips and witty conversation is bolstered by the addition of Nik’s cousin Ella, who is a computer wiz and general badass female. As with Illuminae, the book design was unique, beautiful, and so entertaining. I was in a reading slump and needed a pick me up, which this book certainly did. I read it in a day and a half and was thoroughly entranced.

I am so impressed with the illustrations by Marie Lu. I was floored when I saw some of the drawings. The illustrations and design of this book was even more beautiful compared to Illuminae. As an avid videogamer, I really enjoyed the formatting and presentation of the story. It reminded me of the quest journals you often find in RPG videogames. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of sci-fi and videogames. It is one of my favorite books of the year.

My one complaint is that some of the “bloody” journal pages were really hard to read because the “blood stains” obscured the writing more than I would have liked. While this may have been intentional on some pages, I am not entirely certain it was intended for all of them.

I finished Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff last night.. well dawn.. 4 am, actually! I think it sais a lot about a book that I NEEDED to stay up waaaay after my bedtime to finish it!

At first I didn’t feel like it’s going to be as great as the first book. You know, sequels don’t always meet the expectaions. But after some sh*t goes loose and basically our heros’ (Hannah, the staiton captain’s daugther and Nik, member of a criminal gang, House of Knives) lives turn upside down and the whole situation goes south.. Now then, my friends, begins this spectecular story.

Again we have this spooky, scary feeling all through the book which keeps you on edge all the time. Some really detailed differences between the main characters make the conversations interesting. Then comes some backstabbing, and maybe three or four major turnes in the flow of the events that make you bite your nails and keep you reading at 2 am at night.

My favourite part was when the real scientific theories ( I can’t tell which ones as that would spoil things for you) came up and it again brought things closer to me! I’m a nerd so please forgive me that scientific theories excite me!

Two thirds of the book was a bit disappointment for me in connection with the format. It was a bit boring and monotone after 1,5 books (not like in Illuminae) but the ending was beautifully constructed! I loved it and it completed the storytelling in a perfect way!

Of course at the ending my heart skipped like three beats and I highly suggest you buy Obsidio before finishing Gemina ’cause maaaan.. Major cliffhanger alert!

I was gaping at the last page for a minute thanking all the deities out thier for the fact that I’ve already bought Obsidio! Again! I highly recommend this series to everyone!

Patience and Silence had a daughter. And her name was Vengeance.

Hello trauma my old friend… Its not nice to feel you again!

I laughed. I cried. I glared at the book. I cursed my friend who talked me into reading this series. I put it aside when I knew it was going to hurt. I got so freaked out I couldnt walk about the house with the lights off…. seriously, those alien slime worms absolutely horrified me and they made me sick to my stomach. I got sucked in, and I loved it.

I really enjoyed the introduction to new characters and how the story spun to someone elses viewpoint, then it all blended together and it was incredible.

Im still hurting. Those last few pages had my heart in an awful state. Im going to go eat my feelings now.

If you havent started The Illuminae Files yet, you should but be warned, its going to really hurt!

Most folks will take the extra moment. That single extra breath. Even when your world stops spinning and gravity dies and the blood glitters in the air like a galaxy of warm red suns all around you.
A lot can happen between breaths, after all.

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