Gemina (The Illuminae Files)

Gemina was a sci-fi powerhouse and the equal of its predecessor in the series. I expected it to be lesser simply because the wow-factor of the writing style, formatting, and sheer heart-pumping excitement of Illuminae would not be there.I was wrong. New setting and characters, but same reaction. Life went on without me until I finished this one.Gemina was book two in a series and is one that needs to follow in a row. It might standalone, but it does flow forward from Illuminae even if much of the book seems to be a separate story path.The story opens with the population of the Heimdall Jump Station anticipating a big holiday and party. Many have left for the holiday, but for those that remain, the anticipated holiday has a surprise bang. A traitor in their midst has been suppressing distress calls and news out of the Kerenza system and the in-bound Hypatia.Bei Tech, the company behind the disaster needs to clear away all witnesses and make the situation go away. They send an elite strike team to take over the jump station and neutralize its workers while getting the wormhole back on line so their Kennedy Assault Fleet can destroy the Hypathia survivors.Meanwhile, a gang leader seeking a profit in the drug trade starts incubating his own cash cows and sets the chain in motion for a dark and deadly infestation in the depth of the jump station.The survival of the people on Heimdall and the people of Hypathia are depending on the commander's daughter, a gang member, and his cousin who must take down an elite ops fighting force, an embedded traitor, that which is menacing in the dark, and the ploys of Bei Tech. It's not looking good, but yet, they might make it with more luck than good, teamwork, and untried skill.Alright, if you're not already in the know, this series has an innovative, unique format. It's epistolary in nature as it is told through communications, graphics, drawings, messages, and audio transitions among other things. The adjustment to the style was easy. I would highly recommend getting these in print format because it would be tough to read some of the pages in the electronic format.As to the plot, it continues to be complex and full of intrigue. Several times, I thought I had things figured out and yeah, got it wrong. Even knowing there are twists and turns doesn't help. The danger was breath-stopping stuff and there were some amazing close calls and bad moments.The characters might seem tough to connect with due to the format, but not so. It was easy to get to know them and even see them flaws and all as they grow and come into their own. The relationship side happens with unlikely partnership moving to camaraderie to more. The romance is backburner as it should be under the circumstances.YA cautions- severe violenceThe end closed out this segment of the story while leaving it open-ended for what is to come. I will definitely be forging ahead with the series. Though this is classified as YA, I can easily recommend it to YA and adult readers who enjoy sci-fi adventure and intrigue.

Rating: 5/5 PenguinsQuick Reasons: I SWEAR, these books will be the death of me!; super entertaining, snarky, and heart-wrenching; complex, frustrating, endearing characters; the roMESS in this read is SO WORTH IT; OH MY PENGUINS ALL THE PLOT TWISTS OF EVER; someone please tell me you're buying me book 3 for my birthday?!AHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I feel like if I let myself, I could spend this entire review just screaming and none of you would even come close to understanding the amount of feeeeeeelings I'm feeling right now because words just.... they fail me. They fail me so hard core right now I can't even. I am so...just... GAH, THIS BOOK SERIES! I swear, it's going to be the death of me--all the plot twists and turny-loops and "you thought you knew what was coming?! you thought WRONG!" ness. Seriously, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff know how to weave a topsy-turvy, confusing, twisty tale...and keep readers enthralled throughout. This installment was absolutely no exception!These characters are super entertaining and endearing. While I found myself (inexplicably? or perhaps not, given how much I ADORED him in Illuminae) missing AIDAN through a large portion of this read. Of course, once he made his appearance (and stuck around!) I was a very happy penguin and could focus more completely on the rest of the crew, who were just as vibrantly written and stubbornly AWESOME as I'd been expecting. I don't quite know how Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff managed it, but they wrote a sequel that both stands apart from it's predecessor and yet somehow fills in at least a few of the questionable gaps. I just... I am in absolute awe.The plot is fast-paced and so twisty, you'll find your heart has broken and been mended at least half a dozen times within the span of just a few pages. No, really Penguins--this is not an over-exaggeration at all! I was on the tippity tops of my toes throughout this entire read, begging to know what was happening while at the same time trying desperately to close my eyes to the events because SO MUCH HEARTACHE! I screamed at my book--numerous times. I pleaded, and threw tantraums (over facebook chat, at least), and laughed and rallied and then fell apart all over again. Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman are BRILLIANT at writing intensely entertaining, dramatically realistic, gut-wrenching shotgun reads, and OH MY PENGUINS, I cannot wait to lay my hands on Obsidio next year. I need it.I just... If you haven't heard me wax poetic about the beauty that is Illuminae, hear me now. Pick up this series! The characters are entertaining and lovable, the plot is action-packed and so full of surprises, and you will--guaranteed!--find yourself flinging the book in anger at least once, but probably more like a thousand times, before the end. I definitely recommend this series to lovers of science fiction, uniquely formatted reads, and super epic world-saving journeys. The wormhole is open, Penguins; the fate of reality rests on your readerly shoulders now!