Book review: Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Obsidio is the mind blowing, heart breaking, stunning conclusion to the Illuminae Files series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It was well worth the year and a half wait to get my hands on it. Fun Fact: Back in 2016 when this book was announced, there was a pre-order promotion. Those who pre-ordered the book and submitted their proof of purchase and their name had the opportunity to be "killed" in Obsidio when it finally came out. And I got in! I am proud to announce that Amie Kafuman and Jay Kristoff officially killed me with their books. You can find me in the beginning of the book, around page 100, as a casulity of the initial attack from Bi-tech on Kerenza IV. I was thrown into a pit with almost 2,000 other people. So cool ! 😂
Anyways, back to the review.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza IV—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion?
Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.
With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken. (taken from the Obsidio Goodreads page)
MY THOUGHTS ON: CHARACTERS ( Like, last time, I will only be reviewing the newest additions but I will give my input on some of the recurring characters.)
Asha Grant is Kady's cousin. She had an accident on her home planet and both her and her family decided it would be best to send her to Kerenza IV to live with her cousin. She stayed through high school, then got her own place down the street. Asha and Kady saw each other almost every day. In Obsidio, Asha is a rebel. Kept alive by Bi-tech as a nurse, she is barely allowed to live. limited food, no free time, always tired, etc. And she is also looking after Kayta, a presumed orphan because her parents are no longer planetside. Either they made it away from the attacks, then died in the other attacks or they died during the first attacks. Either way, all they know is that it is now Asha's job to look after her and make sure she stays safe and hidden.
Rhys Lindstrom is Asha's ex boyfriend from her home planet and a technician/soldier for Bi-tech. He didn't sign up for this war but he has no choice but to comply. He is pretty much your stereotypical soldier boy. A handsome, arrogant soldier kid who thinks he knows better than everyone else. I'll be honest, I didn't like him. I feel like the story would have been just fine without him.
Ben Garver is the former captain of the Heimdall, and isn't happy that he is being forced to let Syra Boll become the new captain when their ships connect and transfer. I hate him. That is all.
My favorite characters are still Nik, Hanna and Ella. I loved it when Hanna, Kady and Ella talked, and when Nik and Ezra talked. New fave bromance. Also, Issac Grant treating those kids like his own was so heart warming. It made me want to cry. The page where everyone got a personalized note from his was so touching when you consider the note from the recipients point of view. And his conversation with Ella when he was fixing her air mask. Issac Grant deserves better.
MY THOUGHTS ON: PLOT
Like I mentioned before, I didn't really like Rhys. So the parts of the book when it switched back to his POV were meh. But everything else was great. I didn't know an evil AI could have character growth but here we are. I enjoyed the fact that they brought the fight back to Kerenza IV, but it felt rushed almost. I also really enjoyed how the authors actually made you question whether everyone would make it out of this story alive. No spoilers, but it was really intense. I still stand by my opinions on plot twists, which is that Gemina's plot twists were still the most surprising but Obsidio was up there in a close second. I don't think my jaw could've been lower to the ground.
Also, the Easter eggs that Kaufman and Kristoff implanted in Illuminae and Gemina that you realized in Obsidio was great. I need to go back and re-read the series now that I know everything. The Big plot twist in Obsidio that made you want to scream, that was resolved by something that had been mentioned almost 10 times prior as if the authors knew you would forget that vital piece of information. I loved it, the realization when I read it.
I truly adored the ending, when *they* went to eat and talk afterwards. I can't believe it's over. I eagerly anticipate Amie Kaufman's and Jay Kristoff's next work of art/collaboration, The Andromeda Cycle.
MY OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5 STARS
MY OVERALL SERIES RATING: 6/5 STARS. Yeah. 6.
Goodreads links: Illuminae - Gemina - Obsidio
Illuminae Links: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository - Audible
Gemina links: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository - Audible
Obsidio links: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository - Audible
NOTES: These books are 10x better read in physical format rather than kindle. The formatting doesn't fully complete to the screen size, and it gets pretty hard to read because it's so small.
Anyways, back to the review.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza IV—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion?
Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.
With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken. (taken from the Obsidio Goodreads page)
MY THOUGHTS ON: CHARACTERS ( Like, last time, I will only be reviewing the newest additions but I will give my input on some of the recurring characters.)
Asha Grant is Kady's cousin. She had an accident on her home planet and both her and her family decided it would be best to send her to Kerenza IV to live with her cousin. She stayed through high school, then got her own place down the street. Asha and Kady saw each other almost every day. In Obsidio, Asha is a rebel. Kept alive by Bi-tech as a nurse, she is barely allowed to live. limited food, no free time, always tired, etc. And she is also looking after Kayta, a presumed orphan because her parents are no longer planetside. Either they made it away from the attacks, then died in the other attacks or they died during the first attacks. Either way, all they know is that it is now Asha's job to look after her and make sure she stays safe and hidden.
Rhys Lindstrom is Asha's ex boyfriend from her home planet and a technician/soldier for Bi-tech. He didn't sign up for this war but he has no choice but to comply. He is pretty much your stereotypical soldier boy. A handsome, arrogant soldier kid who thinks he knows better than everyone else. I'll be honest, I didn't like him. I feel like the story would have been just fine without him.
Ben Garver is the former captain of the Heimdall, and isn't happy that he is being forced to let Syra Boll become the new captain when their ships connect and transfer. I hate him. That is all.
My favorite characters are still Nik, Hanna and Ella. I loved it when Hanna, Kady and Ella talked, and when Nik and Ezra talked. New fave bromance. Also, Issac Grant treating those kids like his own was so heart warming. It made me want to cry. The page where everyone got a personalized note from his was so touching when you consider the note from the recipients point of view. And his conversation with Ella when he was fixing her air mask. Issac Grant deserves better.
MY THOUGHTS ON: PLOT
Like I mentioned before, I didn't really like Rhys. So the parts of the book when it switched back to his POV were meh. But everything else was great. I didn't know an evil AI could have character growth but here we are. I enjoyed the fact that they brought the fight back to Kerenza IV, but it felt rushed almost. I also really enjoyed how the authors actually made you question whether everyone would make it out of this story alive. No spoilers, but it was really intense. I still stand by my opinions on plot twists, which is that Gemina's plot twists were still the most surprising but Obsidio was up there in a close second. I don't think my jaw could've been lower to the ground.
Also, the Easter eggs that Kaufman and Kristoff implanted in Illuminae and Gemina that you realized in Obsidio was great. I need to go back and re-read the series now that I know everything. The Big plot twist in Obsidio that made you want to scream, that was resolved by something that had been mentioned almost 10 times prior as if the authors knew you would forget that vital piece of information. I loved it, the realization when I read it.
I truly adored the ending, when *they* went to eat and talk afterwards. I can't believe it's over. I eagerly anticipate Amie Kaufman's and Jay Kristoff's next work of art/collaboration, The Andromeda Cycle.
MY OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5 STARS
MY OVERALL SERIES RATING: 6/5 STARS. Yeah. 6.
Goodreads links: Illuminae - Gemina - Obsidio
Illuminae Links: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository - Audible
Gemina links: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository - Audible
Obsidio links: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository - Audible
NOTES: These books are 10x better read in physical format rather than kindle. The formatting doesn't fully complete to the screen size, and it gets pretty hard to read because it's so small.
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