Countdown / Audiobook Review / Book Review.
I'll be damned. They did it again. (Or before. Time is relative.) The Aurora Cycle was great (still have to add the reviews for books 2 and 3) and this book, by the same authors, does it again. Although, in this case, it's... different.
Totally different!
The book and the audiobook are completely different, and that's what makes this thing even better!
The Aurora Cycle is still a set of three regular books, though multi-POV and first person present tense. Illuminae is not. The book resembles a collection of documents, reports, scans, etc. that tell a story in pieces.
You may like that, or you may not.
Learning from audiobooks
In 2021 and 2022 I've consumed more audiobooks than ever before. Getting stuck in traffic jams does that to a person, and whenever I am at home, there are simply too many other things to do. So audiobooks it is.
And trying to complete my own damned novel, I have a particular and peculiar interest in (first person) preset tense books. As such, Illuminae and The Aurora Cycle were great samples / examples.
Interior
Here are some examples:
I've seen this kind of formatting before. It's not entirely new or unique, but I admit this is a beautiful book. I sampled a borrowed US copy, and have ordered my own hardcover. I hope the Amazon print is the same as the one I borrowed.
(It is... Mostly. Unfortunately it is printed on cheap paper. This deserves better quality paper and the US print I borrower did have that. Oh well...)
However and more importantly... This is not a superb story, nor an easy read. So, normally, I would advise against picking up this one.
However... Yep. Another however... However...
Audiook
... as an audiobook it shines. The narration lifts it way above the original printed version, and what was a sometimes annoying, straightforward story (or an annoying puzzle, depending on your point of view) does go all the way, and rarely holding back.
Summary
An illegal colony gets jumped upon by a competing corporation, most people get killed. Those that get away find out the AI on their escorting battleship has gone mad. Add a psychotropic drug that turns people into crazy living dead characters (these prefer eyes over brains, but the ideas are similar), and a teen hacker who wants to save her boyfriend.
Verdict
Go and listen to it. Absolutely great stuff.
I just wonder... Is this the future type of book for semi-illiterate readers? Scary...
Update. I received my copy of the book, and unfortunately it's printed on the cheaper paper. Oh well, it makes a nice combo with the audio book. And yes, I think it's completely unreadable. Get the audio book.
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