Books Love!-- The Illuminae Files Trilogy

My dear, sweet bibliophiles, I bring you good news of fun adventures in outer space!

A few months back, a bookseller in the small, independent bookstore, The Country Bookshop, in Southern Pines, NC, recommended a YA book called Illuminae. And, as I am want to do when other book lovers recommend books to me, I bought it, without reading the blurb or first page or anything else.

Fast-forward to a couple of weeks ago...I picked it up. When I finished it just a few days later, I put book two in the series on hold at the library. (Moving quickly on to book two, or moving on to it at all, is not a given with me when it comes to trilogies/series. I have read A LOT of book ones and never moved on to book two--even when book one was enjoyable.)

I devoured book two, Gemina, in a few days. This time, I put book three, Obsidio, on hold before I even finished book two. I will be picking that one up at the library today!

So, this begs the question, why are these books so compelling?

Hmmm...I think the authors, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, do an excellent job of balancing plot, characters, action, and unique story delivery, and this delivers a delightful and somewhat obsession-inducing reading experience.

Here's what they give you:
- A fast-paced plot, filled with twists and turns, set in an interesting and well-developed future world
- Interesting, multi-layered main characters that you will fall in love with and cheer for (even if you may not think you're going to love them at the beginning)
- Lots and lots of action...like, lots of it
- Very thick books that are faster to read that you might expect because they deliver the story through a wide variety of techniques: instant messaging and email transcripts, photocopied files, computer syntax, journal entries, sketches, etc. which makes for an interesting and interactive reading experience (This could have been kitschy, but is not, in this case, because the rest of the book (plot, characters, etc.) delivers; I'm sharing a few photos to give you an idea of what the reading experience is like...)

Which all means that you will not get bored with these books!

Here's something else they give--which so many trilogy writers do not: three complete stories with a beginning, middle, and end that tie together without leaving the reader so cliff-hung at the end of books one and two that the experience is unsatisfying. That is to say, that while they do make you want to come back for more and find out everything, they still provide a satisfying conclusion at the end of books one and two. This makes me smile!

So, who wants to read this? If you like YA (i.e. books where the main characters are teens); if you like speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, or dystopian future stories; if you liked books like The Hunger Games, Legend, Divergent, Uglies, Red Queen, etc.; or, frankly, if you like a fun, fast-paced, action-packed read...then you may want to give The Illuminae Files a try.

I really enjoyed Illuminae and Gemina, and I can't wait to read Obsidio. Kudos to Kaufman and Kristoff for creating such fun books!

Until next time, happy reading!