Review: Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Title: Obsidio
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Pages: 615
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Spoiler-Free Review*

Wow, what a wild ride!

When I first heard about Illuminae, the first book in the Illuminae Files series, I was skeptical about the unique formatting. While I can’t say too much about the plot without spoiling the first two books, the series is set in space in the year 2575, beginning with the hostile attack of an ice planet called Kerenza by a corporation called BeiTech. The survivors escape to two spaceships, but their problems are far from over as the corporation attempts to cover their tracks by killing the witnesses. Told through dossier-style documents, the story follows the attempts to survive spaceship attacks, limited supplies, diseases, and hidden information.

Sure, it sounded like an interesting story, but would it be hard to follow? The answer is no. I devoured Illuminae in one day, and I’m so glad I gave this series a chance. I was going to say that the book was amazing despite the format, but that would be wrong. Illuminae, and its sequel Gemina, were so amazing because of the immersive dossier style of the books, as well as the cast of characters. The myriad of document types, such as IM chats, emails, video footage reports, and more all added to the exciting tale. After the first two books, I was hooked and couldn’t wait for the third and final installment, Obsidio. But I made it! And it was well worth the wait.

I was so excited that Obsidio brought together my beloved characters from books one and two. The third installment was the perfect mix of characters I have loved from the first book (though I can’t say who, because the survivor list is spoilery) and new characters that added a great new vantage point to the story. 

The three stories come together in a mind-boggling way- how did Kaufman and Kristoff manage to work all of these pieces together in such a satisfying, heartbreaking, meaningful story?? The culmination of this series is not only a brilliant masterpiece of fiction, but is also a tale of humanity, loss, and the grey area between good and evil, right and wrong. Obsidio really made me think and, although it is a romantic story, the focus is survival and finding the truth in a censored world. I can’t recommend this series enough.