Gemina (The Illuminae Files)

Rating: 4.7/5 StarsTitle: Gemina (Illuminae Files #2)Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay KristoffSynopsis:Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.But relax. They've totally got this. They hope.Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.Initial thoughts:After reading Illuminae, I had a feeling that I was going to have trouble getting through this book as I had the first, but I loved the story so much that I decided to keep going and push through the processing complications I had experienced. I really enjoy science fiction stories and wanted to see what was in store for Kady and Ezra after everything that happened in the first book. Especially after that cliffhanger that we were left with! So, with that, I jumped right into reading this book.Plot:What I liked:I missed Kady, Ezra and AIDEN from the first book as this story follows a different set of characters, but I did enjoy learning about what was happening at the station. The plot of the story was well paced and full of realistic characters that reacted as I would have expected them to in response to the pressures placed upon them. Even the protagonists were human in many aspects and showed emotion amidst stressful situations (of course some were described as being more robotic in expression, but I digress).I loved the humor that was put into the story as well as the sass of the characters. They were witty and clever, bringing out the severity of a situation while still staying real and coping using humor.What I didn't like:Again, this was tough book to get through because of the constant switching of fonts and occasional artistic texts. Though it added to the atmosphere of the story, I found it difficult to read and process. So, the book took me much longer to finish. I am assuming that Obsido is going to be the same way.Characters:Hanna Donnelly: She was so much more than just your pretty party girl. Hannah was my favorite character (Even above Kady which was weird to me) and I loved following her around and seeing just what she was going to do in certain situations. She was smart, witty, and strong and I found myself drawn to her character.Nik Malikov: The bad boy with a heart of gold. I loved Nik and I found his character really endearing and I was rooting for him. He was silly, and though he toes the line of what he should and shouldn’t say, I felt like he knew when to stop and take a step back.Ella Malikova: I loved this girl! She was sassy, but still a good person. I liked reading her thoughts on the situation aboard the station.Travis Falk and his Team: He was crazy and I thought he was a fantastic villain, and his team was very quick thinking (for the most part). I liked how they all worked together. I would equate them to a pack of dogs to be honest on how they hunted and how they showed no mercy.Overall:This book was fantastic and I seriously loved it! It was a roller coaster ride from start to finish with so much conflict riddled throughout it. I really think that the story was so well written and executed. I liked how the beginning and end come together as if in a trial setting. The first book was like a warning while the second is the actual follow through. The characters were fantastic and I actually enjoyed this book a little more than Illuminae and cannot wait to start the third book, Obsidio.

Holy ****ing ****! (As they would say in this series!) I thought Illuminae was a wicked and wild read that totally blew my mind, but Gemina has leveled the playing field, if not topping it! Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff prove once again what an excellent writing team they make that they could give us yet another kick*** book to read! Those 659 pages flew by! The downside to reading the ARC, besides having to wait loooooonger for the next book is the lack of pictures. Not all the pictures and artwork were present in the book, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not a total hardship. Granted, I will be awaiting the finished copy to peruse the pages for said artwork and pictures!My first concern over this book was knowing that we were dealing with new characters. Normally, I long to be with the characters we were just introduced to and if the new characters are soooo new to me, I find I struggle to keep up with the story like I did with a book not too long ago (from reading this book). But thankfully that was not the case here. It takes place sometime after the events of Illuminae and we find ourselves reading yet another dossier of events that took place on the Heimdall station, the one that Ezra and Kady were trying to reach with the rest of their surviving crew. Here we meet Hanna, the daughter of the ship's commander, and Nik, the nephew of a very dangerous gang. Apparently, being on a space station/ship doesn't prevent that kind of thing from happening, but oh well! Hanna and Nik have an odd relationship to start out with. And it's basically that Nik is Hannah's go to guy for recreational drugs. She's not a druggie or anything, she just wanted to get one drug to bring to her friends for a party.But the celebration to come, one that the whole ship/station takes part in, is interrupted when bad guys infiltrate the ship. BeiTech strikes again, in attempts to clean up their dirty laundry. With everyone being held hostage all over the ship, Hanna and Nik managed to be outside of the happenings and are soon running for the lives as they try to figure out who these bad guys are and what their plan is. And to add to the danger, there's a new virus being formed, one that could kill everyone on board if it's not stopped.Once again we get to read a uniquely told story told through the usual emails, IM chats, journal entries and more! I never really thought this kind of storytelling would work for me because it's so different and I worried that the story wouldn't really get told, but after Illuminae, my fears were put to rest at how easily a story can be told through these means.Gemina really steps up to the plate here! The pacing was spot on! We're talking fast action and an incredible thrill ride!! There was seriously never a dull moment as danger lurked around every corner for Hanna and Nik. It was so intense! And not really understanding what the new virus was, was another creepy factor! This thing can kill you if it gets a hold of you. And yeah, the virus is sort of a living thing! So be prepared to run! I loved having that added danger and suspense into the mix! Not only are there human enemies, but one that is something else and much harder to stop!The characters that we focused on the most were naturally, Hanna and Nik, but also Nik's cousin Ella, who is terminally ill, but she's one helluva a techie! She can crack into just about anything, even changing her cousin's screen name to something less than favorable much to his frustration! Ella had me in quite a few fits of hysterics! She was a riot! Then of course you gotta love Hanna! She may be the commander's daughter and sort of fits into a "princess" role, but she can kick serious butt as her father trained her well. And then Nik of course is pretty bad*** himself since he's in a crime family, but he holds a few secrets of his own that make you really like the guy! Naturally, these two start to have some chemistry, pretty much from the get-go. Add in the fact, that Hanna has a boyfriend and already I was getting a little love triangle miffed, but thankfully, the action and danger take place SO early on, that romance and drama hardly hold a place in the grand scheme of things!And we do see a connection between Gemina and Illuminae! Never fear, this won't just be an additional story taking place in the same world! Everything will come together in the end and I cannot wait to see how this series will end! The ending, oh that ending! If you thought Illuminae had a shocking ending, you haven't seen anything yet! Gemina will blow you away and having you gasping for more. But it seems for the meantime, we're all to be left floating out here in space holding our breaths until the final book. Sigh...oops! ;)Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Muy buena continuación de los Illuminaefiles con nuevos personajes y el final muy caótico, pero así debía de ser, ya muero por leer el tercer libro.

It came a little bit damaged, but nothing serious, the book arrived pretty fast. I'm pretty happy with it!

I ordered this book by mistake because someone gave me the book 1 Illuminae on Spanish and my inner self was driving crazy on having a trilogy in 2 different languages... but I need to recommend everyone to read it in english! The jokes will always be better in the original language, and the chemistry of the characters is beyond awesome. It's one of the first Sci-fi books that has been able to trap me in the last 3 years.

Venía un poco roto de la portada y de algunas de sus hojas, pero llegó más rápido de lo definido

Una decepción, pésima calidad en comparación al primer libro en versión en español, ni siquiera es del mismo tamaño, no tiene solapas, las pastas son una simple hoja de papel, de verdad nunca había quedado más insatisfecho.