Tuesday 24 November 2015

#LoveOzYAbookclub: November 2015 Book Discussion Post – Illuminae (Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff)


Hi and welcome to our first book club Discussion Post! 

Now, as book club host, it’s kind of my job to be impartial, but this is the first book off the rank, and (hopefully) the only book I’ll get to choose over the course of book club.  And I’ve got to say, I loved Illuminae – it shook up my head in the best possible way.  I’ve seen a few books that have tried to meld the narrative aspects with graphic-novel style, but this is the first book that I think actually managed to pull it off.  From page one to finish, I absolutely could not put it down (I read it in almost a single sitting) and I was truly blown away by the finale.  Now I’m praying that Brad Pitt and his movie production mates do the novel justice on the big screen.

So – on with the show!  Illuminae is reviewed by Danielle Binks, of Alphareader fame, and she had some great things to say about it, including this:

“Y’know how Battlestar Galactica is actually exploring religion and civil liberty … Or, okay – how Joss Whedon’s Firefly isn’t really just an intergalactic-Western? But rather it’s inspired by the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg and the everyday people who are stepped on in the great moments of history, and that it’s even a story of the immigrant experience and outsiders pushed to the fringe by the victors in a war they never wanted any part of? Yep, okay – well, in the same way there is a lot happening beneath the surface of Illuminae.”


What did you think about Illuminae?  Add comments below, or feel free to join in the Facebook group for discussion about this book, as well as general book talk and a bit of silliness on the side.

xxEllie






2 comments:

  1. I adored it. It reminded me of Battlestar Galactica to begin with. Loved the style, it hooked me, then kept coming up with new twists that I didn't see coming (but made perfect sense when they did).

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  2. I also thought it had a Battlestar Galactica zing to it and I loved the illustrations. The way the book is set out is so original. I can't imagine this story being presented/written any other way now I've read it. The interactions between the two main characters felt authentic (I laughed out loud a few times). The action scenes really pulled me into the story and I was rooting for Katy the whole way. Love the twists too. I'm keen to see how they'll dramatise it into movie form. I feel sure it will be a hit too. Go YA sci-fi, that's what I say!

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