Obsidio (The Illuminae Files)

Wow. Where do I even begin? This is one of my favorite series of all time, and I was so eager and terrified to see it end. Jay and Amie have scripted the most beautiful world, with the most lovable, endearing characters, and I was horrified to see how the war would end—but, above all else, I knew this would be a ride I couldn’t miss. I genuinely don’t even know how to break this review up, because I don’t know how to explain to you all just how much this book meant to me, and how perfectly satisfied I was with it as the ending to our journey."Kady looks back and forth between the girls and shrugs.“At least our lives will have been worth dying for.”"→ Kady Grant / Ezra Mason ←Our original duo, and quite frankly, my favorites. I loved them in the first book, but we see an entirely different side of the couple in the finale. They’re exhausted, beaten down, grieving, and full of rage, but they’re still clinging to hope. If anyone can put on a strong front and pretend like everything isn’t going to hell around them, it’s these two. Kady is one of my favorite female protagonists of all time, and she didn’t let me down. She’s wickedly intelligent, and an emotional powerhouse who manages to ground everyone around her, no matter how bad things get. Ezra is honestly the perfect counterpart to her with his humor and warmth, and I would be the first one in line for a 600-page collection of pure fluff and cuteness between these two."And he kisses her like she’s the first, last and only thing he’ll ever need, like he’s learning every last part of her. Reverently, like this moment is holy."→ Hanna Donnelly / Nik Malikov ←I wasn’t sure how I would feel about watching the two couples meet and interact with one another—would they mesh well? Would it feel natural?—but it was honestly perfection. With her astonishing strength and fighting prowess, coupled with her tactical brain and wit, Hanna meshes beautifully with Kady. Nik and Ezra are both our natural pros at banter, and the two of them together? Hilarious. Constantly a bright spot in horrifically dark times, and I loved the reprieve their taunts and jabs offered. Hanna and Nik together, though? I know a common complaint in Gemina reviews is that they didn’t know each other well enough to fall for one another, and I won’t spoil anything, but that topic is touched on really solidly in this finale, and I applaud the authors for being willing to tackle it on page.“We invaded these people’s homes, Cherry. Bombed them to ███. Killed their families. You think this isn’t a battle? This is a ████ing war.”→ Asha Grant / Rhys Lindstrom ←When I first learned that Asha would be one of our protagonists in Obsidio, I was stunned. I’d been perfectly content to count her a loss in the first two books, when Kady mourned the loss of her cousin, but I’m really pleased that she was included as a character. She didn’t feel quite as three-dimensional as the other girls did to me, but I think that was fully to pin on the fact that this book was non-stop action and suspense with very little time for a lot of character development. Rhys struggled with the same problem, but despite not getting to spend much alone time with either of them, I still enjoyed them tremendously as characters and was certainly rooting for them throughout the entire thing. There’s a sub-plot arc with Asha and a little girl she’s rescued named Katya, and the maternal vibes it gave off? Everything."I feaR this ship will neeD knives soon, Little SpiDeR."→ Ella Malikova ←Everyone’s favorite little hacker girl did not fail to impress in this installment. I absolutely adored Ella in Gemina and desperately hoped she would get a substantial amount of screen time in the finale, so I was beyond ecstatic to spend so much time with her. True to her nature, she is still hilarious, snarky, and brilliant with a keyboard—but she also develops in the sense that we see her develop an affection for Hanna that is sisterly and precious. I love my little Spider girl, and what I wouldn’t give for a whole spin-off about her."She cradles me to her breastand I cannot feel the warmth of her skin.Cannot hold her as she holds me.And I cannot recall ever feeling so alone.< error >"→ Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network ←I am without words. AIDAN plays such a tremendously fascinating role in this story—truly, it would be nothing without its logic, vicious honesty, and fiercely protective nature of Kady, the last of which we see bloom quickly in this final installment. If you noticed AIDAN growing more human-like and emotional in Gemina, just wait until Obsidio, where we get to see it depict humor, sorrow, loneliness, and even jealousy. There’s nothing that I can really tell you about AIDAN without offering up a million spoilers for this finale, so I’ll just say that, if you love AIDAN even half as much as I do, I don’t think a single part of you will be disappointed by this book."I know their names.Iknowtheirfaces."→ supporting cast ←There are a million and one characters in each installment of this story, and Obsidio is no different, but they each feel so complex and unique and perfectly human that I am consistently stunned by how easy it is to keep them all apart. We have entire spaceships and armies full of supporting characters, so I’ll just name a few favorites:• Isaac Grant: #SquadDad goals for life. We’ve got a crew full of orphans running around at this point, and Isaac doesn’t hesitate to take them all under his wing. I have probably never loved a parental figure in any YA story half as much as I love him, and I spent the entire book laughing and crying over his pep talks, jokes, and desperate attempts to make everyone stop swearing.• Duke Wozniak: Ah, “The Duke”. One of Rhys’ co-soldiers, he refers to himself in the third person, is missing half of his tongue, and sleeps in full armor no matter what. I love this guy. I know he’s on the “wrong side” of things in the story, but he’s a fantastic example of how there are people on both sides who don’t have bad intentions—they’re just doing what they can to survive.• Yukiko Oshiro: Rhys’ sergeant and “shadow”, responsible for keeping him out of trouble at all costs. This poor woman is shown from the beginning to be in so far over her head that she’s doing everything she can to stay afloat, no matter what it takes. Despite how much I wanted to dislike her for some of her decisions, I couldn’t help but constantly root for her and hope she would see the light.“The die is cast. But today we will shake the table upon which it lands.”→ action and war ←While the other two books had plenty of scenes that were written for character development, or plotting, or explaining the ins and outs of spacetime, dimensions, ships, etc., Obsidio comes in with a hook and doesn’t relent until the very end. There is so much action and tension in this story that I literally spent the last 150 pages with a feeling of nausea I couldn’t quite shake. There were pages that left me trembling, sobbing so hard I could not think straight—much less see the words on the pages. I cannot express to you how invested I was in this story, and how desperate I became to reach the end and see where the die would fall. The final battle was scripted so fluidly and to utter perfection; I could not, and would not, have asked for more."I am not good.Nor am I evil.I am no hero.Nor am I villain.< error >< error >IamAIDAN."→ final thoughts ←If my incessant gushing and compliments to Jay and Amie’s storyweaving has not been enough to sell you on this book, I can’t think of a single other thing I could say to do the job, honestly. As I mentioned at the start, The Illuminae Files is, without question, one of my favorite series in life, and I can only count one or two other series in the world whose finales have pleased me as much as Obsidio did. I cannot recommend this series, and this book, highly enough, and I sincerely hope that you will give it a try. I cannot wait to see what Jay and Amie craft in their next adventure together.

BRIEFING NOTE: This is a fantastic end to one of my favorite series ever, chum. This is a trilogy that is excellently plotted into three acts and is never ███████ boring. If you haven't yet read Illuminae and Gemina , tread with caution as this review has spoilers for the first two books.▪▪▪▪▪"Every story needs its villain. And its hero. And its monster."I am so sad that this amazing series is over, chum. If I am being honest, it took me almost two months to read this book because I didn't want it to end and was savoring every single page. I simply didn't want to say goodbye to the characters I had come to love, especially Nik.After the events of Gemina, the Mao is left without a jump station and is essentially stranded in space. They know that BeiTech has mobile jump technology and begins making its way towards Kerenza IV to commandeer it so they can get the truth out about what BeiTech did."I am not good. Nor am I evil."The main theme of the trilogy's finale is good versus evil and how those lines get blurred. In Illuminae and Gemina it was clear who the enemy was because they had their black hats and BeiTech armor, but the morality of war and following unjust orders are forefront in Obsidio. The story follows the characters we have come to know and love as the Mao makes its way towards Kerenza IV as well as characters on the ground of occupied Kerenza IV seven months after the attack on the colony (Asha, a civilian, and Rhys, a BeiTech techie brought into rotation on the ground). I really appreciated the way that Kaufman and Kristoff used an "outsider" BeiTech soldier to discuss the issues of morality in war and the struggles he feels with being told to do things he didn't agree with."I didn't sign up for this. I'm just a ███████ tech.[...] I'm just trying to explain how I got here! I didn't see a poster on a wall that said 'Join the corps! See the galaxy! Bomb the ██ out of innocent people!' They forced me to go. And even if they hadn't, you think the recruiters tell you what you'd be in for when you sign up? None of these pounders knew they'd be in ██ like this. You think people honestly sit back and say to themselves, 'You know what? I think I'll get myself involved in planetary genocide this week?'"These issues on the ground pair well with the ethical dilemma that AIDAN presents time and time again throughout the trilogy. "AM I NOT MERCIFUL?' AIDAN is an AI that is programmed to protect humanity no matter the cost - and those costs never being in line with morality of Kady & Co. But chum, the ███████ brilliant thing that Kaufman and Kristoff have done with this book is set Rhys and his unit be the BeiTech version of the morality debate. It can be argued that the pounders on Kerenza have the same protocols as AIDAN: soldiers are conditioned and programmed to follow orders above all else. Morality in times of war fall to the wayside because failing to follow Admiral Sun's orders is not an option. The conversations that rhys has with his commanding officers mirror those Kady has with AIDAN on the morality of the situation."This is war!" Oshiro roars. "'Right' is whatever the people who're standing at the end say it is. 'Right' is decided by the people who win."Sorry this kind of turned into a philosophical analysis of the book, but I honestly just couldn't help myself! I think a reason that I love this trilogy so much is how many parallels I see with my favorite show Battlestar Galactica. Morality gets blurred in times of war and while it is never right to commit atrocities against humanity, it is important also to realize that history is written by the victors and it is the winning side who will assign blame."I have heard it said that evil is simply a point of view. The villain is always the hero in is own story. And the definitions of 'wrong' and 'right' ever shift on the inconstant tides of human morality."One of the things that amuses me when reading young adult SFF is that the teenagers receive no support or hesitation from the adults in the world. A lot of times the book seems to be devoid of adults, which is unrealistic. One of the things that I think is done so well is the pushback and tension from the adults aboard the Mao that think they know better than a bunch of teenagers. We all know that people generally feel like age and seniority automatically makes them the most experienced and knowledgeable person, disregarding the opinions and expertise of their younger counterparts. I see this all the time professionally and am treated like a child because of their preconceived notions, and it was incredibly realistic and powerful to see that power struggle among the crew of the Mao. Just like the lack or morality in war isn't right, neither is ignoring the expertise of the Illuminae Group and it was exciting to see the main characters do their part and earn the respect of the others.The characters all continue to grow in this final installment and I enjoyed learning about the process of pulling together the Illuminae Files -- and the identities behind the analysts. It seems so obvious now that they've been unmasked for me. One of the most resonant parts of the book for me was Hanna grappling with the aftermath of what happened in Gemina. It is obvious that Kaufman and Kristoff took great care in crafting these characters and I am sad to see them go.Overall this was an incredibly satisfying end to an amazing trilogy. While the overarching plot is simple enough, this is a story about the characters. Ordinary people who are put into tough situations and do extraordinary things. No, not magical things chums! They sacrifice themselves for the greater good of others, determined to "live a life worth dying for.". That all people see themselves as the hero of their own story and that in war - as in life - the world is painted in shades of grey.

Este tomo fue el perfecto cierre para la trilogía,simplemente me encantó y ver cómo se hizo justicia y todo lo que pasaron los personajes es un vaivén de experiencias.

Esses livros deviam ser considerados obras de arte! Jay Kristoff e Amie Kaufman não deixaram a desejar em nada!Cada plot para seu coração,mas uma história muito boa de início ao fim,sem te deixar em nenhum momento sem vontade de continuar!Muito pelo contrário é como ae cada palavra nos prendesse mais e mais!Os personagens maravilhosos todos juntos finalmente nessa batalha final é simplesmente TUDO!Eu disse e repito,se Jay Kristoff escrever em um papel higiênico eu compro,leio e com certeza vou amar.

Good read

This trilogy is a cracking good read. Unusual and highly effective writing style. A definite must read for Sci Fi lovers

Primeira série que leio em inglês. Experiência sensacional. Aqui tem de tudo. Açao, emoçao, aventura, toque de romance. Cinco estrelas favoritado. Recomendo a todos. Roger that. Dani out.