Gemina (The Illuminae Files)

Rating: 4.7/5 Stars Title: Gemina (Illuminae Files #2) Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Synopsis: Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed. The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault. Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion. When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands. But relax. They've totally got this. They hope. Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless. Initial thoughts: After reading Illuminae, I had a feeling that I was going to have trouble getting through this book as I had the first, but I loved the story so much that I decided to keep going and push through the processing complications I had experienced. I really enjoy science fiction stories and wanted to see what was in store for Kady and Ezra after everything that happened in the first book. Especially after that cliffhanger that we were left with! So, with that, I jumped right into reading this book. Plot: What I liked: I missed Kady, Ezra and AIDEN from the first book as this story follows a different set of characters, but I did enjoy learning about what was happening at the station. The plot of the story was well paced and full of realistic characters that reacted as I would have expected them to in response to the pressures placed upon them. Even the protagonists were human in many aspects and showed emotion amidst stressful situations (of course some were described as being more robotic in expression, but I digress). I loved the humor that was put into the story as well as the sass of the characters. They were witty and clever, bringing out the severity of a situation while still staying real and coping using humor. What I didn't like: Again, this was tough book to get through because of the constant switching of fonts and occasional artistic texts. Though it added to the atmosphere of the story, I found it difficult to read and process. So, the book took me much longer to finish. I am assuming that Obsido is going to be the same way. Characters: Hanna Donnelly: She was so much more than just your pretty party girl. Hannah was my favorite character (Even above Kady which was weird to me) and I loved following her around and seeing just what she was going to do in certain situations. She was smart, witty, and strong and I found myself drawn to her character. Nik Malikov: The bad boy with a heart of gold. I loved Nik and I found his character really endearing and I was rooting for him. He was silly, and though he toes the line of what he should and shouldn’t say, I felt like he knew when to stop and take a step back. Ella Malikova: I loved this girl! She was sassy, but still a good person. I liked reading her thoughts on the situation aboard the station. Travis Falk and his Team: He was crazy and I thought he was a fantastic villain, and his team was very quick thinking (for the most part). I liked how they all worked together. I would equate them to a pack of dogs to be honest on how they hunted and how they showed no mercy. Overall: This book was fantastic and I seriously loved it! It was a roller coaster ride from start to finish with so much conflict riddled throughout it. I really think that the story was so well written and executed. I liked how the beginning and end come together as if in a trial setting. The first book was like a warning while the second is the actual follow through. The characters were fantastic and I actually enjoyed this book a little more than Illuminae and cannot wait to start the third book, Obsidio.

4.5 Stars! Gemina was a fantastic continuation of The Illuminae Files with an intriguing storyline and characters, both new and old, that you can’t help but root for. Hanna, the daughter of the station captain, has little to look forward to on Jump Station Heimdall so the upcoming celebration for Terra Day is an event she has been eagerly anticipating. Before she can join the festivities she makes a pitstop to pick up some party favors for her friends from Nik, a member of a notorious crime family living on Heimdall. Little do Hanna and Nik know that their meeting saved their lives when a BeiTech assault team invades the station to prevent the arrival of Kady Grant and the Hypatia. Now Hanna and Nik must work together to evade the BeiTech forces while looking for a way to save everyone on Heimdall along with everyone aboard the Hypatia. Hanna is initially presented as the spoiled daughter of the station captain who doesn’t have a care in the world. Over time we learn there’s much more to Hanna than she presents to the world. Her father’s idea of fun was for the two of them to play war strategy games and as a result Hanna is quite skilled in the art of war. Nik is presented as the nephew of Heimdall’s crime lord who has a reputation for being able to get anything you want. Despite coming from opposing sides of the social spectrum, Hanna and Nik have a good friendship that at times is full of banter and flirting. The two work well together in the fight against BeiTech and I enjoyed how much others would underestimate Hanna. My favorite new character introduced is without a doubt Ella, Nik’s cousin and hacker extraordinaire. We also see the return of some of the characters that survived Illuminae and it was great to see them again and to learn how they fit into this storyline. In Gemina we start to learn more about the motives of BeiTech and just how far those in charge will go to cover up their agenda. The BeiTech assault team that arrives on Heimdall definitely ups the suspense factor a bit compared to Illuminae as now the enemy is in the same place as our characters while previously they were more off-page. Several of the events that occur on Heimdall surprised me in their outcomes which was a nice change from a lot of books that tend to go the easier route. The unique format of this book is by far one of my favorite aspects of this series. Having the story be told through a series of documents is something I had never encountered prior to reading Illuminae. At times throughout the story you have to turn the book itself in order to read it which definitely makes for a different reading experience. There were a few sections that were difficult to read, in particular the whisperNET IM logs as those are on a gray background with black text. Those sections did slow me down a bit as I had to read them more carefully as I had difficulty seeing the text. I enjoyed Gemina almost as much as Illuminae and I’m highly anticipating picking up the final book Obsidio. Gemina does get off to a somewhat slower start than Illuminae but once the action picks up it never slows down. I highly recommend this series for anyone looking for a unique sci-fi series.

Excellent story with fab twists and turns. There were two major plot twists in particular I was not expecting (i.e., read: Jackson and Ella), and fangirled SO HARDCORE when they finally mentioned AIDAN. Two things that bothered me: Mostly personal prefs, so to each their own. Not the biggest fan of cussing, and even though the censorship kinda helped, the context usually heavily implied what the words were. As a Christian, it felt like a knife to the heart every time I saw God's or Christ's Name used in vain (which is pretty frequent, not gonna lie). Another theme which seems to be typical of these books is that they all seem to have a type of graphic, gory horror to them. No, bioterrorists who wanna make political statements are not enough. Gotta toss some disease-ridden zombie-like people around in Illuminae, and some highly aggressive alien parasites (I would bet Kristoff got the idea from the "Alien" franchise itself) in Gemina. At least this time, for Obsidio, I'll be ready to brace myself more. That aside, good story. Never thought I'd like some of the characters, but they all ended up surprising me. Nik was not really a criminal by nature, and despite being kinda a perv, he really does have a heart of gold. Hanna initially gave me the same vibes that she gave Ella, spoiled rich girl whose only hobby was disobeying her dad, flirting and getting high on space pot when she was bored (which was often, it seems). But she actually is very skilled, has a strategic mind and knows how to use it. She showed a lotta education, compassion and nerve when it came down to it, causing me to respect her. Lastly, Ella. Chatterbox brainiac. Made me laugh SO hard when she kept changing Nik's username. Even tho they're cousins, they have more of a sib relationship, and really do love each other. Thought she was a gone at first, due to the you-know-what happening (hint: long, icky, black and sticky). But I was pleasantly surprised, although I'd like to know what exactly happened. All in all, great read, just a few things bugged me. :)

Rating: 5/5 Penguins Quick Reasons: I SWEAR, these books will be the death of me!; super entertaining, snarky, and heart-wrenching; complex, frustrating, endearing characters; the roMESS in this read is SO WORTH IT; OH MY PENGUINS ALL THE PLOT TWISTS OF EVER; someone please tell me you're buying me book 3 for my birthday?! AHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I feel like if I let myself, I could spend this entire review just screaming and none of you would even come close to understanding the amount of feeeeeeelings I'm feeling right now because words just.... they fail me. They fail me so hard core right now I can't even. I am so...just... GAH, THIS BOOK SERIES! I swear, it's going to be the death of me--all the plot twists and turny-loops and "you thought you knew what was coming?! you thought WRONG!" ness. Seriously, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff know how to weave a topsy-turvy, confusing, twisty tale...and keep readers enthralled throughout. This installment was absolutely no exception! These characters are super entertaining and endearing. While I found myself (inexplicably? or perhaps not, given how much I ADORED him in Illuminae) missing AIDAN through a large portion of this read. Of course, once he made his appearance (and stuck around!) I was a very happy penguin and could focus more completely on the rest of the crew, who were just as vibrantly written and stubbornly AWESOME as I'd been expecting. I don't quite know how Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff managed it, but they wrote a sequel that both stands apart from it's predecessor and yet somehow fills in at least a few of the questionable gaps. I just... I am in absolute awe. The plot is fast-paced and so twisty, you'll find your heart has broken and been mended at least half a dozen times within the span of just a few pages. No, really Penguins--this is not an over-exaggeration at all! I was on the tippity tops of my toes throughout this entire read, begging to know what was happening while at the same time trying desperately to close my eyes to the events because SO MUCH HEARTACHE! I screamed at my book--numerous times. I pleaded, and threw tantraums (over facebook chat, at least), and laughed and rallied and then fell apart all over again. Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman are BRILLIANT at writing intensely entertaining, dramatically realistic, gut-wrenching shotgun reads, and OH MY PENGUINS, I cannot wait to lay my hands on Obsidio next year. I need it. I just... If you haven't heard me wax poetic about the beauty that is Illuminae, hear me now. Pick up this series! The characters are entertaining and lovable, the plot is action-packed and so full of surprises, and you will--guaranteed!--find yourself flinging the book in anger at least once, but probably more like a thousand times, before the end. I definitely recommend this series to lovers of science fiction, uniquely formatted reads, and super epic world-saving journeys. The wormhole is open, Penguins; the fate of reality rests on your readerly shoulders now!

You know when you read an awesome book that totally blows you away? And then you know that there’s a second part to that book series, yet you’re a little skeptical that the second book can live up to the sheer awesomeness of the first book? Well, that’s how I went into Gemina, the second part of The Illuminae Files. I love the first part, and so far in 2017, it’s the measuring stick for books I’m reading. And when I heard that the second part would focus on a different set of characters, I was even more skeptical. I absolutely adore Kady and Ezra and AIDAN from Illuminae, so how could I possibly learn to adore new characters? Is it even possible? Well, it turns out that even if there’s a one-in-a-zillion chance of an alternate universe where the second book at least lives up to the first given these circumstances, then the team of Kaufman and Kristoff can pull it off. Before I go any further, please be aware of my spoiler policy. I keep my reviews spoiler-free for the book I’m reviewing, but I may have to reveal details of the previous book. You have been warned. In Illuminae, the people of the mining colony Kerenza had been attacked by BeiTech, a rival corporation. The rag-tag group of survivors flee in three ships, but are pursued by the bad guys. Also, there’s a disease outbreak that turns its victims into paranoid, bloodthirsty zombie-like people. The ship’s artificial intelligence AIDAN makes some choices to save some of the people, but ultimately, only one ship—the science vessel Hypatia—is the only one that gets away. It’s on course for the Heimdall jump station, where a wormhole can take them into core space and they can report the attack. Gemina takes place aboard the Heimdall space station. The workers and residents of the station are unaware of the exact details of what happened. Even more pressing, they’re unaware that BeiTech is out to cover its tracks. An assault fleet is headed for the wormhole to destroy the Hypatia before it can arrive and expose the attack. But first, a team takes control of the space station, killing some crew members and locking down the others. Can our two main characters save the day? This time, the reader follows the stories of Hanna Donnelly and Nik Malikov. As the daughter of the commander of the Heimdall space station, Hanna has lived a life of privilege and tactical training—she’s well versed in some martial arts. As a member of a crime family, Nik has spent some time in prison, but he and his family are breeding really scary animals that make a powerful psychotropic drug. Hanna and Nik have a business relationship at first, as she’s trying to procure some “party supplies” for a station-wide celebration, but it’s near their meeting time when then the attack on the station begins. I won’t go into many details, but they’re among the only two that are in a position to fight the bad guys. Like the first book, Gemina is told via transcripts of chats between the characters (typed emails and IM conversations, and spoken conversations via the station-wide WhisperNet), descriptions of security footage, and memos and computer logs. And like in the first book, it’s a fascinating way to tell the story, and it still works because the characters and situations are compelling. But unlike the first book, I found an even higher level of immediacy in the story. In Illuminae, they were being pursued externally by the bad guys and threatened internally by the virus. The former was the enemy threat, and the latter was an unfortunate coincidence. Here in Gemina, the enemy is ever-present on the station, and there’s another unfortunate coincidence internal threat—and these combine to make the station one really scary place, never mind the external problem of the unseen assault fleet coming. All these conflicts, mixed in with the character histories they’re trying to keep secret from each other, make this at least as compelling as the first book. Maybe more so. I fanboyed whenever there was a reference to Kady, Ezra, and AIDAN from the first book. I love when and how they were integrated into this story. My mind was blown again. And there’s a cataclysmic event revealed near the end of the book that not only blew me away, but the way in which the actions of the characters are presented on the pages blew me away. If the first book blew me away, I think that this one did it twice as much. Now it’s going to be about another year until the third part comes out, and I have high expectations for it. This series is like seeing a brand new set of stars, and Gemina deserves its spot in the sky next to Illuminae with FIVE STARS.

BRIEFING NOTE: After absolutely falling head over heels in love with Illuminae , I didn't think it could get any better. Hahaha joke is on you, this one is ███████ fantastic and I loved it even more than the first book. ▪▪▪▪▪ Chums, I was sucked into Gemina immediately. It builds on the action from Illuminae and starts with a court proceeding of sorts for BeiTech. The evidence provided are the documents provided by the Illuminae Group, and the briefing notes we read in Gemina are part of the official record. I thought this was such an innovative way to frame the story, and I love books that start at the end and watching how things got to that point. As the Hypatia is making its way to Heimdall, the crew of Heimdall Station have their own problem: namely a BeiTech strike team set on eliminating the Jump Station so word cannot get out about the attack on Kerenza. In retrospect, I should have seen the intense heartbreak I felt coming because of how the book opens, but no one can prepare you for the ███████ emotional rollercoaster that is reading this book, chum. Guard your hearts now. "When you fight a monster, be careful you don't become the monster." I didn't think I could love characters more than I love Kady and Ezra, but Nik and Hanna surpass my love tenfold. Their banter and sarcasm is similar in tone to the levity of Illuminae, serving as a great way to divert the tension you feel when reading the book, but it doesn't feel recycled at all. The characters all feel real and I honestly feel so deeply for them. “It’s not about what I say, right? It’s what I do that matters here.” I love stories about sacrifice and ordinary people doing extraordinary things when situation calls for it, and Gemina delivers an excellent narrative with people doing heroic things. I absolutely adore Hanna, Nik, and Ella with their Operation Thermopylae and their dedication to doing everything they can to stop the BeiTech crew... even give up their lives. I really enjoyed the tie in to war tactics and strategy, and Hanna's propensity to quote Sun Tzu. They never really lose hope and the fast friendships and devotion to one another feel so organic to me - just like how veterans who serve together are bonded by that experience. Analyst 7213 is still my favorite character and I absolutely live for his reporting on the video feeds. We get another Analyst added, 7213D, which... yes. Just all the yes. BRIEFING NOTE: As with Illuminae, I read along with the full-cast audiobook and it was perfection. I love the audiobook so much, but I definitely recommend reading this one with a physical copy because some of the mixed media included are pages from Hannah's journal - which are drawings by Marie Lu! You don't want to miss them, just like you don't want to miss the Lollipop Song, chum. ▪▪▪▪▪ In case you can't tell, I absolutely loved this book and it took almost a month for me to write this review. This book is another fast-paced adventure that answers questions about BeiTech and Illuminae, as well as raises the stakes. It is obvious the series was plotted intricately well and this book fits into the trilogy so well, and I cannot wait to read Obsidio. I don't know if my heart is ready, or if I will ever trust again, but I cannot wait to see how this series ends!

Holy ****ing ****! (As they would say in this series!) I thought Illuminae was a wicked and wild read that totally blew my mind, but Gemina has leveled the playing field, if not topping it! Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff prove once again what an excellent writing team they make that they could give us yet another kick*** book to read! Those 659 pages flew by! The downside to reading the ARC, besides having to wait loooooonger for the next book is the lack of pictures. Not all the pictures and artwork were present in the book, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not a total hardship. Granted, I will be awaiting the finished copy to peruse the pages for said artwork and pictures! My first concern over this book was knowing that we were dealing with new characters. Normally, I long to be with the characters we were just introduced to and if the new characters are soooo new to me, I find I struggle to keep up with the story like I did with a book not too long ago (from reading this book). But thankfully that was not the case here. It takes place sometime after the events of Illuminae and we find ourselves reading yet another dossier of events that took place on the Heimdall station, the one that Ezra and Kady were trying to reach with the rest of their surviving crew. Here we meet Hanna, the daughter of the ship's commander, and Nik, the nephew of a very dangerous gang. Apparently, being on a space station/ship doesn't prevent that kind of thing from happening, but oh well! Hanna and Nik have an odd relationship to start out with. And it's basically that Nik is Hannah's go to guy for recreational drugs. She's not a druggie or anything, she just wanted to get one drug to bring to her friends for a party. But the celebration to come, one that the whole ship/station takes part in, is interrupted when bad guys infiltrate the ship. BeiTech strikes again, in attempts to clean up their dirty laundry. With everyone being held hostage all over the ship, Hanna and Nik managed to be outside of the happenings and are soon running for the lives as they try to figure out who these bad guys are and what their plan is. And to add to the danger, there's a new virus being formed, one that could kill everyone on board if it's not stopped. Once again we get to read a uniquely told story told through the usual emails, IM chats, journal entries and more! I never really thought this kind of storytelling would work for me because it's so different and I worried that the story wouldn't really get told, but after Illuminae, my fears were put to rest at how easily a story can be told through these means. Gemina really steps up to the plate here! The pacing was spot on! We're talking fast action and an incredible thrill ride!! There was seriously never a dull moment as danger lurked around every corner for Hanna and Nik. It was so intense! And not really understanding what the new virus was, was another creepy factor! This thing can kill you if it gets a hold of you. And yeah, the virus is sort of a living thing! So be prepared to run! I loved having that added danger and suspense into the mix! Not only are there human enemies, but one that is something else and much harder to stop! The characters that we focused on the most were naturally, Hanna and Nik, but also Nik's cousin Ella, who is terminally ill, but she's one helluva a techie! She can crack into just about anything, even changing her cousin's screen name to something less than favorable much to his frustration! Ella had me in quite a few fits of hysterics! She was a riot! Then of course you gotta love Hanna! She may be the commander's daughter and sort of fits into a "princess" role, but she can kick serious butt as her father trained her well. And then Nik of course is pretty bad*** himself since he's in a crime family, but he holds a few secrets of his own that make you really like the guy! Naturally, these two start to have some chemistry, pretty much from the get-go. Add in the fact, that Hanna has a boyfriend and already I was getting a little love triangle miffed, but thankfully, the action and danger take place SO early on, that romance and drama hardly hold a place in the grand scheme of things! And we do see a connection between Gemina and Illuminae! Never fear, this won't just be an additional story taking place in the same world! Everything will come together in the end and I cannot wait to see how this series will end! The ending, oh that ending! If you thought Illuminae had a shocking ending, you haven't seen anything yet! Gemina will blow you away and having you gasping for more. But it seems for the meantime, we're all to be left floating out here in space holding our breaths until the final book. Sigh...oops! ;) Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Great sequel but did not move as fast as Illuminae did. Gemina is a book written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It was copyrighted in 2016 and was published by the Knopf Books for Young Readers. Gemina is the sequel to the smash hit Illuminae otherwise known as the Illuminae Files. In this sequel, the story takes place on the space station Heimdall which is the battleship that is closest to the Kerenza system which the Beitech company had attacked in last book. The story takes place after the Kerenza invasion and follows a group of auditors sent from Beitech to take over the Heimdall station. The auditors mission is simple. Their job is to take over the Heimdall station before the science vessel Hypatia arrives and then destroy both ships. By eliminating all witnesses on board Hypatia and Heimdall, no one will ever find out about the Beitech invasion of Kerenza. The novels was written in the same kind of format that Illuminae had used which was the e-mail format. However, one of the main characters Hannah Donnelly, the daughter of the Commander of Heimdall, was an artist. She kept a journal throughout the book by drawing pictures in her journal instead of writing in it. This added a new element to the story that was not there in Illuminae. The author was able to use Hannah’s drawings to tell part of the story along with the e-mails giving the scenes a more overall description of what was happening. Gemina is a great sequel to Illuminae and the ending opens the door wide open for another book. Fans of Illuminae will love Gemina. I would recommend this book to young adults ages 12 and above.