Book Review: Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Rating: Infinity/10
Hello, my lovely fellow Book Dragons,
Today we are discussing Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. This is book two in the Illuminae Files. And it is amazing. These books are absolute works of art. They manage to surprise me every time, and that’s not the easiest thing to do because I’m suspicious of everything. The book made me laugh on multiple occasions, it also made me cry on multiple occasions. The stakes in this installment are higher than in the first book of the series and considering how high the stakes were in the first installment that is saying something. While reading Illuminae I was a trembling ball of nerves, and my nerves were worse here.
Also, allow me to point out just how many people die in these books and don’t come back to life. I am simply saying that it’s both refreshing and hurtful at the same time. My soul can only bond to so many fictional characters before they die and I think it’s reaching its limit.
As this is the second book in the series I am now off to Spoiler Land. Stay out of Spoiler Land. there is a giant black hole there just waiting to swallow you up.
I was stressed while reading this. I’m talking crazy texts to people who had no idea what I was talking about stress. I did a lot of research on parasites after this. That was a mistake. Don’t do that to yourself. Do not research parasites. Those giant brain parasites the sadistic due included were truly terrifying. As soon as it was brought up as a thing, and we got to see Nik freaking out about them I started freaking out. I learned one thing reading these books: things will always go wrong and having things go wrong with brain-eating parasites is a terrifying thought. I do not care how good the drugs are, stay away from brain-eating parasites. I apologize for the excessive ranting but I had to get it out my system.
As usual with Kristoff and Koufman the characters were amazing. Relationships were made clear in just a few seconds, and the foundations for future relationships were laid just as quickly. Hanna and Nik were both wonderful characters to read about. There were layers to both, and the writers took the time to explore them. I dont know how they managed that because things started going wrong pretty much right away. The fact that Nik was in love with Hanna was obvious from the beginning, well possibly not to her but everyone else. The fact that her spy/traitor boyfriend specifically set Nik up to die just shows how obvious it was to everyone else. He got her a jasmine corsage! How adorable is that? He asked her for her favorite flower and then went out of his way to get it for her. I think that’s when she realized he was being serious. Of course, that’s also when the space station got invaded. Because we can’t have things go well.
I loved Hanna as a character. She’s proud of who she is and not ashamed to show off how smart and skilled she is. A girl can outthink and outfight most people and she knows it. I also loved that she was a terrible shot. Watching her breakdown because of her father’s death was heartbreaking. You could feel her pain. Their relationship was established so well that I, as a reader, was shocked when he was shot. The fact that Jackson used that death against her tells you what kind of person he is. Poor Hanna just kept getting gut-punched. I liked watching her try to form a friendship with Ella. SHe wanted to gain her respect not only because Ella was important to Nik, but because she quickly came to respect Ella’s skills.
Nik was also fantastic and fantastic for setting unrealistic expectations for our significant others. He always went out of his way for Hanna. He had respect for her even before he found out just how capable she was. He talked her out of senseless vengeance. His quilt about his uncle’s death didn’t cripple him. We find out eventually that he has been through some things before that have immunized him from falling apart. I admire that but I also want to vie him a hug and some cookies. He’s a tough boy who isn’t afraid of showing love. Which makes him the best kind of person. When he got into that ship and the wormhole did the thing I almost had a heart attack. We were told over and over: that thing is unpredictable so I didn’t believe for a second he was fine. Then we had AIDAN being all cryptic. I do not appreciate how cryptic you are AIDAN, please stop it. Then he got shot retrieving Hanna’s journal and I had to close the book and breathe despite being in the middle of an action sequence. Two seconds later we are told Nik is on coms with The Hypatia and claims Hanna is dead and I had a mini-meltdown. Okay fine, it was a full-blown meltdown.
As I have given up on cohesion I will again recommend the audiobook. It truly is a masterpiece. I did both the print copy and the audiobook at the same time and it was a truly immersive experience.
What I loved about this book is that it made clear that the fact Hanna, Nik, and Ella lived through it was luck in addition to skill. In a parallel universe, all of them died. They still saved everyone left on Haindall and the refugees on Hypatia, but they died. It was by no means an easy victory. The sequence where AIDAN is simultaneously talking to Hanna and Nik as they raced toward the wormhole was a masterpiece. The mirror sequences were beautiful. Both Nik and Hanna have lost each other once, and they were not going to lose each other again. I dont think many couples can say that they watched the other die and it made them stronger as a couple. Oh, and that jasmine corsage sure came back to haunt us didn’t it. When Nik came out of that wormhole to give it to her, I didn’t connect the dots. I was too focused on the reunion. Than Hanna connected the dots and cried for the fifteenth time while reading this stupid book.
A brief note on Ella before I start wrapping this up. She was another fantastic character. She had so much going against her and yet she was so incredibly strong. Not only because she was an amazing hacker and computer genius but because she never once felt sorry for hearse.f she had every right to. She is paralyzed, dependent on an oxygen mask, and stuck in one room. That doesn’t stop her from being amazing and doing amazing things. When the brain-eating parasite goes after her I was not okay. And the authors leave us hanging about her fate! That’s just mean! Then we get to watch her die in an alternate universe. I did not sign up… okay yes, I did sing up for this. Poor Nik had to watch his cousin die in addition to Hanna. At least he got them both back. I don’t think anyone in this book is ever taking anyone for granted ever again.
Seeing Kady and Ezra again was lovely, though they are still in danger. AIDAN as always was fascinating and disturbing at the same time. I loved the interactions between the casts of characters. Ohhhhhh, and the best thing was that ending where the dear Director got the shock of her life. Hanna made a dramatic entrance there. And then the book ended. Luckily I have the third book ready to go, but I can only imagine the frustration of having to wait a year for answers. I would be screaming. I am already screaming because the reading slump of the decade has put me behind on all my reading and I don’t get answers until it passes. I am also starting grad school in September so reading time will be limited. Why didn’t I read the last three months again? I have many questions and only some of them are book-related.
We now exit Spoiler Land. Welcome back to just Regular Land. No, I do not have any idea what I am talking about.
If you have not read Gemina go read it. Well, read IIlluminae first and then read Gemina. You will thank me once you do. These books are just so good. I can’t think of anything to criticize. Usually, I find something to criticize, even the smallest detail but here I got nothing. Why criticize perfection?
According to the schedule of doom, I see you all on Saturday next so look out for that. I hope you have enjoyed this mess of a disorganized review. I will try to improve but make no promises. It’s not in my nature to have coherent thoughts. Per usual, I have not gotten to so many things I wanted to talk about! If you read the book or have read the book please come talk to me about it because I have many more disorganized thoughts to share.
See you all next time!
Anna
