Gemina (Illuminae Files, #2)

by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

[kimbacaffeinate]

The tale begins in the middle of a UTA Tribunal against BeiTech Industries in the form of transcripts. They are entering in documents that pertain to the alleged attack on Jump Station Heimdall. Grab supplies and get comfy because you aren’t going to want to set this down.

Gemina unfolds using different formats, some are instant messages between people on the ship, others are emails and some are documentation or footage of events that transpired. As we move through these formats, we begin to learn about the ship and characters on board. We meet Hanna Donnelly, the ship commander’s daughter, her boyfriend Jackson Merrick an Orientation Officer, and Nicholas “Nik” Malikov, an unregistered civilian along with his cousin Ella.

The characters are well-developed and I easily connected with Hanna, Nik and Ella. We also get to spend time with the BeiTech team leader and a few key soldiers allowing us to grasp their mission and ruthlessness. Their leader and Hanna play a game of cat and mouse that was addictive to witness. We do engage with some key characters from Illuminae thrilling me.

Hannah is busy with important things like getting party drugs for Terra Day and a new outfit to knock the socks off Jackson but danger is coming. It will come from within the ship and with the arrival of unexpected guests.
When an élite BeiTech team strikes the ship, Nik and Hanna are thrown together to defend it. Meanwhile, Hypatia is headed towards the Heimdall, with news of the Kerenza invasion. All of this is playing into BioTech’s hands. Thankfully, for us, Hanna is not just a pretty face. She may appear to be a spoiled, self-absorbed teen but she is her Daddy’s daughter.Game on!

If you read Illuminae and thought the virus Kady dealt with was scary, wait until you see what is lurking in the cold sublevels of the Heimdall. OMG…I shiver just thinking about it, and the back-story about why they are there is fabulous. And nope, I was not at all surprised to learn that years from now humankind is still stupid.

Prepare to get your geek on. Doctor Who fans will squeal when you hear the lines space-time continuum. (Squee) While, Hanna and the gang are trying to take back the ship, BeiTech is opening a wormhole as part of their mission. Only there is a malfunction. This thread was brilliant, geeky enough to make you drool, but not so high-tech that others cannot hack it.

Kaufman and Kristoff took these threads and twisted them together creating intense action scenes, mind-blowing twists, carnage and more all while allowing us to connect to these characters. We witness friendships deepen, see those we trust betray us and witness the birth of romances. At its heart, this is a science fiction thriller, but the characters give it heart and a little swoon.

Copy obtained at BEA2016 This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer