Illuminae. Die Illuminae Akten_01

???They are beyond me.
These humans.
With their brief lives and their tiny dreams and their hopes that seem as fragile as glass.
Until you see them by starlight, that is.???

Wow, wow, wow!

Let me get my issue out of the way. Several characters, particularly early on, had the same glib, sarcastic voice, and it became annoying. Not because they weren't funny – very funny – but they were the same.

Apparently there is never not a good time to do a “I'm nailing your sister” joke.

I also have to warn that the style of the book is entirely reports, records, surveillance tapes, and similar, and they're formatted accordingly. Reading on a Kindle was a bit challenging, and I spent a lot of time with my nose almost touching the screen to make out some pages. But it felt worth it, somehow, to see all the creative uses and to marvel at how well the authors did this.

Now the good stuff:

The book was always entertaining, and when it really got going – the second half! – the story was exciting, suspenseful, and surprising. “You've got to be kidding me,” I muttered more than once. “This book!”

Kady was complex. Not unafraid, but willing to do whatever needed doing anyhow. Ezra was sweet, but the lead sister-nailing jokester, so that good old. But on so many occasions I found myself caring about the lives of minor characters because the authors did their work well.

Perhaps the best character was Aiden, the ship AI. Crazy, but strangely noble, and poetic, and compelling. Not evil so much as damaged. Reminded me sometimes of Morpheus in the Sandman graphic novels.

Highly recommended!