Review: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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.

Pages: 659

Format: Hardback

Published By: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Illustrator: Marie Lu

Genre: YA - Sci-Fi
Series: Illuminae Files

Rating:
✮✮✮✮✮

Review:

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is the continuation of Illuminae, taking place right after but from different perspectives, and as was the case with the first novel - it was one of the best novels I've read and I loved it as equally as Illuminae. I was already hooked from the first novel, but it took me even less time to get through Gemina. It was a blend of action, intrigue, and the perfect dose of romance between Hannah and Nik. This story takes place on the Heimdall station that Kady and Ezra are currently heading for, and as before a lot goes on in this novel: BeiTech causing more problems, a space-time continuum concern, and aliens feasting on the people on the station.

What I love most about this series is how kick-butt our female heroines are. Hanna wasn't afraid to do anything if it meant protecting her friends and doing what must be done. She's also really good with hand-to-hand combat and she has a great personality. Nik is a hardened criminal who has a sweet side to him, and he's also really great (personally I love Ezra more). And I just love the flirting, and the slow building of the relationship between Nik and Hanna. Anothe great thing about this book is that you get another female hacker, Nik's cousin, Ella. And all of our characters from book one make an appearance in this novel, including our friendly murderous AI, AIDAN.

One of my favorite things about this novel was obviously how the story was told through documents: emails/IMs, files, reports, interviews, and art. I just love how unique this series is in that regard.

I would highly recommend this novel if you haven't yet had the chance to pick it up. Yes, it's a rather long novel, but because of the way it was written, it's such a quick read (at least it was for me), and didn't take me long to get through.