Gemina - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Review)

Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files #2
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction
Publication date: October 18th 2016
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format: hardcover,  608 pages
How I got it: My Public Library 
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 
My rating: 5/5 

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that critics are calling “out-of-this-world awesome.” 

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. 

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My thoughts:

This book follows Hanna and Nik who are on a space station that is being invaded.  The story sort of picks up where we left off when the BeiTech agency still trying to take people out, but now they are trying to stop the people that where originally rescued from being able to enter the wormhole.  Hanna and Nik are on the space station in front of the wormhole.  

I loved the pace of this book.  Again, I read the hard copy of this book and didn’t even attempt the audio version.  I think this is a book that you need to hold in your hand to truly appreciate the book.  I loved being able to read all the classified information and flip the pages seeing the different images as well as text.  The illustrates in the book add so much more.

A few notes I don’t think you would have needed to read book one before reading this book.  There are only a few flashes back and forth, but this could most likely be read as a standalone book.  I totally think you should read both books though because they are amazing, but just in case this one could be read on its own.    Second even if you are not a big science buff or love science this book works.  I might not understand everything that is going on to the nut and wire, but you can grasp at the bigger picture of what is going on.  The author’s do a great job bringing you into this whole world that you don’t need to fully understand all the engineering to understand exactly what is going on in the book.

The author’s do another great job creating an entire new space station.  They are so detailed and descriptive it is like imaging you are there when you are reading.   While I was reading, I could totally picture what was going on.  I think the drawings in the book also helped with a layout of the ship as a guide to where the characters are.  

I loved Hanna in this book at first I wasn’t totally sure what to think of her, but as the story develops she becomes a strong heroine you can grow with.   Hanna’s personality is different than Kady from the first book, but they both show such strength not only physically but emotionally as well.   

Nik is another interesting character in this book.  At first he isn’t presented in the best light, but as the story progresses you can see that he is just trying to help other’s.  I also loved his cousin Ella she is another perfect character to add to this mix.

The story moves along at a nice pace.  I do feel towards then end when a lot of the action is picking up it does move a lot quicker and I ended up reading this book very quickly.   I can’t wait for the next book of this series.

My one complaint for this book would be I loved Kady and Ezra from the first book and I wished they were in the second book a little more.   I wanted their story to be able to continue in the second book and while it does sort of continue it wasn’t what I thought would have happened.

I would suggest this as a weekend read.  It was hard for me to put this book down and I got totally wrapped into it so I needed a longer period to sit down to read. 

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About the Author

Amie Kaufman is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Illuminae (with Jay Kristoff) and These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, and Their Fractured Light (with Meagan Spooner.) She writes science fiction and fantasy for teens, and her favourite procrastination techniques involve chocolate, baking, sailing, excellent books and TV, plotting and executing overseas travel, and napping. 

She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, their rescue dog, and her considerable library. She is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.

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Jay Kristoff is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of THE LOTUS WAR, THE ILLUMINAE FILES and THE NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLE. He is the winner of two Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, nominee for the David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards, named multiple times in the Kirkus and Amazon Best Teen Books list and published in over twenty-five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6’7 and has approximately 13030 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell.

He does not believe in happy endings.

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