Illuminae - Amie Kaufmann & Jay Kristoff

[goodreads]

Title: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)
Author: Amie Kaufmann & Jay Kristoff
Genre: Sci-fi, epistolary
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 599
Date read: October 2018, May 2022

Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the worst thing she'd ever been through. That was before her planet was invaded. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating craft, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But the warship could be the least of their problems. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their biggest threat; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady plunges into a web of data hacking to get to the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: Ezra.


Full disclosure: I was predisposed to like this book for not just one but TWO reasons. First of all, because I absolutely LOVE books that play with the media, and I've seldom seen books that do it as well as this one. Secondly because I'm a huge fan of epistolary novels, and this one came close enough to count.

Fortunately the plot lived up to it as well. It took me a little while to get into it properly, as you're literally thrown into the middle of the action (... much like "Sleeping Giants" actually - another book with much the same writing style), but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I really liked both Kady and Ezra and was thoroughly tricked by some of the twists the book threw at me. Though the first in a series, it's got a good ending, but I'm still keen on reading the next in the series.