Obsidio (The Illuminae Files)

Obsidio is the endings of all MFing endings. Wow.

As a reader, I always look for satisfaction in an ending of a book, and definitely for an ending of a series. Endings don't always have to be tied up in a nice and perfectly tied bow, but it would be nice to feel good about what I just read.

But wow. Jay and Amie have created this beautiful masterpiece, that isn't only visually appealing, but engages in such a stimulating way.

Without saying too much to possibly give spoilers, Obsidio continues the Illuminae files trilogy with another key to the interstellar puzzle. Not only has Jay, and Amie introduced additional characters in Obsidio, which have been pushed into the category of best cast ever, they have also managed to create this wonderful piece of art with so many moving pieces, seamlessly I must add!

I was so invested in every part of this story, the complete series as well. I have such a huge book hangover (still), and it's going to take some time to get over it.

Illuminae, Gemina, and Obsidio will forever be on my forever top series list.

THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE ALL TIME SERIES. Why? Yeah, I know there's no sex, all the cuss words are bleeped out, but OMG this is fantastic.

The entire series is great. Great story, great dialogue, great characters. I highly recommend LISTENING TO IT vs reading. I have all media types of this series, it's that amazing. And reading it is FAR different than listening to it. The cast on the audio version is superb. What's beyond superb, because that's actually what I meant. Just a phenomenal job over all. Cast, producing, directing, and of course, the actual story.

I would love to find out who wrote each part - Amie vs Jay. I can see Jay writing all of AIDEN's part (and see him rubbing his hands together saying bwahahaha). Anyhow, loved all the characters - Kady, Ezra, Ella, Nik and her highness, Asha and Rhys. LOVE each of them. And Aiden, obviously.

Cheers to an amazing and impossible (? hard at the very minimum) to beat series!

“Mason, E: Just once I wish someone would say, “I have good news and —-ing awesome news.”

Mason,E: Like, “hey, we found a big crate full of malt liquor, oh, and by the way, you are the Son of the One True King,” or something.”

In this final installment of the Illumae Files, all of my favorite character, along with some new favorites work together to take down Beitech Industries and try to rescue to civilians left on Kerenza IV. This book was perfect. I LOVED every single page. So much happened that I will be reeling for a while from this story. Having all of the information, I now definitely want to go back and reread the entire series together. There is just so much detail and so much to put together from this story. The uniqueness of how this story is presented cannot not be out done and I think this book took it even farther. I cannot recommend this series enough and I of course give this book 5 stars.

Illuminae is Battlestar Galactica meets 21 Days Later meets 2001.
Gemina is Star Wars meets Die Hard.
Obsidio is Illuminae meets Gemina.

That's not a knock on Obsidio. These aren't "derivative" novels--they're inspired, in the full sense of that word. Yes, they borrow thematic concepts, and yes, they're light on actual character development, with explosive plot being used to pressure-cook character shifts. And yes, even the collaged style of the novel is something you've seen before, at least if you've picked up the transcripts from Dracula or the typographic experiments of House of Leaves. But it all works.

If I ding Obsidio a point, it's only out of respect to the better books that preceded it and paved the path to this fitting conclusion, particularly Gemina, the most audacious and creative of them all. If I give this only four stars, it's because we've already seen some of these horrors play out the same way in the earlier novels (although the fact that they continue to happen, often in the same ways, isn't really all that surprising). If this doesn't get top marks from me, it's because the book has a lot of threads to wrap up and sometimes takes shortcuts to get there.

That said, as a relatable analogy to our modern times, Obsidio's perhaps the most important of the novels, set as it is in the midst of a massive prison camp, focusing on a desperate resistance and on the choices soldiers can always make to either mindlessly abet in atrocities or to draw a line against injustice. There's no distance between the villains and heroes in this one, which further emphasizes the humanity (or lack thereof) found in each, or mixed across sides.

Obsidio is a fitting conclusion to the series, and if you've made it this far, there's really no reason why you wouldn't want to check back in on the survivors of Illuminae and Gemina. (Just don't expect anything drastically new.)

What a fantastic trilogy. This final chapter brings all the characters that you have grown to love together in a complex, heart wrenching at times and beautiful finale. I read the first book in this series last year and just read the last 2 in the series recently. Now i want to go back and read the first book again - I have never done that. This series as it all science fiction adventure and swoon worthy romance, excitement, twists and even a dash of horror to keep things interesting. I actually teared up in parts and giggled aloud while reading other parts - I never do that either! Can't say enough positive about this book and the whole series - sorry to see it come to an end. I am trying to tell everyone I know about it though!

If I was being completely honest the "epilogue" of the book was not as poignant as I thought it would be. The only thing that saved the entire ending and made me cry like a baby was AIDEN. And really that was the way it was in all three of the Illuminae Files trilogy.
AIDEN and Ella were what made these books amazing and I won't hear anything otherwise.

Side question: How did Mr. Biggles II get water for a fish bowl [ ignoring the fact that the fish bowl/water alone would not have sustained his life in any way] on a ship that was in strict rationing mode?

I love these freaking books. They are amazing - they have it all, seriously. I cannot wait for my kids to be old enough to read them. These are what can make people like to read and change lives, no exaggeration. I want to force these on any and all librarians so they spread the word. I expect if you’re reading this review that you’ve read the prior two installments - if that’s the case, you simply must read this one. And if you haven’t read the first two, then get cracking!! You won’t regret it, I promise.

Wow. Wow wow wow!!! There are some series that just peter out as they near the end but THIS IS NOT THAT KIND OF SERIES!!!! Just the opposite in fact: Each book in this trilogy just got better and even more action filled. It was amazing to see everyone in the previous books coming together to kick ass and take names. I personally feel that this series will be even more amazing with each and every single re-read.

In conclusion: If you haven't read this series yet, what the heck are you waiting for? Run, don't walk to your nearest library or bookstore!!!

*Original review on Goodreads & My Blog*

My Audible book got here first so I started it right away!! This trilogy is one of my favorites to listen to in audio! A full cast and sound effects!! It's fantastic! It makes me feel even closer to the characters!

I really wish this wasn't the last book. I loved this one better than the first two. It was everything. It deserves all the stars!!

I think a lot of space opera fans would love this! Highly recomend!

Happy Reading/Listening!

Mel ❤️

Because I loved the first two books, I had pretty high expectations of the third, maybe too high. It took me a while to get into the story this time – I think about a third of the way. Maybe it was the strong reliance on camera surveillance this time, maybe it was the mass violence, maybe both. In terms of the characters, I really like Ella, and I absolutely love AIDAN, so the more he was around the happier I was. I do think the story's worth reading to conclude the series. 3.5 rounded to 4.

What an amazing book and an amazing series. This is definitely one of my favorite series of all time. I listened to this on audio in one day, I couldn't turn it off. I am so sad it's over. I loved Asha and Rhys coming into this one with everyone we already know and love. AIDAN was amazing as always. This was so stressful but in such a good way! These are some of my favorite characters ever.

I'm so sad this is over. Best. series. ever.

If I was being completely honest the "epilogue" of the book was not as poignant as I thought it would be. The only thing that saved the entire ending and made me cry like a baby was AIDEN. And really that was the way it was in all three of the Illuminae Files trilogy.
AIDEN and Ella were what made these books amazing and I won't hear anything otherwise.

Side question: How did Mr. Biggles II get water for a fish bowl [ ignoring the fact that the fish bowl/water alone would not have sustained his life in any way] on a ship that was in strict rationing mode?

I love these freaking books. They are amazing - they have it all, seriously. I cannot wait for my kids to be old enough to read them. These are what can make people like to read and change lives, no exaggeration. I want to force these on any and all librarians so they spread the word. I expect if you’re reading this review that you’ve read the prior two installments - if that’s the case, you simply must read this one. And if you haven’t read the first two, then get cracking!! You won’t regret it, I promise.

Wow. Wow wow wow!!! There are some series that just peter out as they near the end but THIS IS NOT THAT KIND OF SERIES!!!! Just the opposite in fact: Each book in this trilogy just got better and even more action filled. It was amazing to see everyone in the previous books coming together to kick ass and take names. I personally feel that this series will be even more amazing with each and every single re-read.

In conclusion: If you haven't read this series yet, what the heck are you waiting for? Run, don't walk to your nearest library or bookstore!!!

*Original review on Goodreads & My Blog*

My Audible book got here first so I started it right away!! This trilogy is one of my favorites to listen to in audio! A full cast and sound effects!! It's fantastic! It makes me feel even closer to the characters!

I really wish this wasn't the last book. I loved this one better than the first two. It was everything. It deserves all the stars!!

I think a lot of space opera fans would love this! Highly recomend!

Happy Reading/Listening!

Mel ❤️

Because I loved the first two books, I had pretty high expectations of the third, maybe too high. It took me a while to get into the story this time – I think about a third of the way. Maybe it was the strong reliance on camera surveillance this time, maybe it was the mass violence, maybe both. In terms of the characters, I really like Ella, and I absolutely love AIDAN, so the more he was around the happier I was. I do think the story's worth reading to conclude the series. 3.5 rounded to 4.

What an amazing book and an amazing series. This is definitely one of my favorite series of all time. I listened to this on audio in one day, I couldn't turn it off. I am so sad it's over. I loved Asha and Rhys coming into this one with everyone we already know and love. AIDAN was amazing as always. This was so stressful but in such a good way! These are some of my favorite characters ever.

I'm so sad this is over. Best. series. ever.

This is a masterpiece and even though I knew knew knew I would love it, I wasn’t quite prepared for the amount of emotions. I'm in awe of the layers and the way things wrapped up.

This story is a roller coaster and Amie and Jay are geniuses.

**Huge thanks to Knopf for providing an early finished copy free of charge**

This was exceptional. Easily one of the best endings I've EVER ever EVEEEEER read.

The whole book was a rollercoaster, and I loved every single moment.

There were ZERO unanswered questions; answers to questions I didn't know I had.

Probably gonna re-read the entire series right now, because I CAN'T SAY GOODBYE.

Aidan. You wonderful monster. I'll love you forever.

Amie & Jay. You guys are sensational.

CAN'T WAIT FOR THE ANDROMEDA CYCLE!!!!

While there were a couple times I stopped and thought "not another plot twist," this book kept me enraptured. This series is innovative in its format, which suits its story better than a traditional narrative. It's interesting to look at and to read. I loved the first two books and this finale wrapped up the series well. It improved upon the unique aspects of the first two books without seeming repetitive or trite​ and kept me guessing right up until the end.

This series is truly rock-solid from its very first page until its very last. I just stared at this book for a full minute to comprehend the epicness that just went down. I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTIONS.

This was exceptional. Easily one of the best endings I've EVER ever EVEEEEER read.

The whole book was a rollercoaster, and I loved every single moment.

There were ZERO unanswered questions; answers to questions I didn't know I had.

Probably gonna re-read the entire series right now, because I CAN'T SAY GOODBYE.

Aidan. You wonderful monster. I'll love you forever.

Amie & Jay. You guys are sensational.

CAN'T WAIT FOR THE ANDROMEDA CYCLE!!!!

This book - this series - is gold. A huge lesson on craft and creativity to all aspiring writers. A literary delicacy for all who read its pages. I can’t wait for Kaufman and Kristoff’s second series together. They are brilliant and we readers are lucky to have them.

The exciting Illuminae Files trilogy comes to conclusion in the action-packed Obsidio. Kudos to the authors for doing an outstanding job tying up all the loose ends and finally bringing the entire cast together.