
Narrator: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Olivia Mackenzie-Smith, Ryan Gesell, Carla Corvo, MacLeod Andrews, Erin Spencer, Andrew Eiden, Lisa Cordileone, Matthew Frow
Series: The Illuminae Files #3
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, Listening Library on 2018-03-13
Length: 615 pages
Length: 13 hours and 1 minute
Reviewing Audiobook, Hardcover from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2022 Audiobook Challenge, 2022 Backlist Reader Challenge, 2022 Beat the Backlist, COYER 2022






From best-selling author duo Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff comes the exciting finale in the trilogy that broke the mold and has been called "stylistically mesmerizing" and "out-of-this-world-awesome".
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza - but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion?
Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys - an old flame from Asha's past - reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.
What an amazing conclusion to The Illuminae Files! Obsidio by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff is the final book in a unique, immersive YA sci-fi series that documents the attack on Kerenza IV and destruction of Heimdall jump station by BeiTech Industries. Told through a series of transcripts, surveillance footage, emails, and instant messaging, the story unfolds at a breakneck pace. This book picks up where Gemina left off. Please note that there may be spoilers to the prior books in the series from this point forward.
The survivors on Hypatia and the Mao are finally together, arguing on the best course of action. With the jump gate destroyed and limited resources, the decision is made to return to Kerenza IV where hopefully BeiTech’s jump ship Magellan is, take back the colony, and save any survivors that may be left. While those decisions are playing out, the reader gets their first glimpse of the colony back on Kerenza IV under BeiTech control.
Asha Grant is alive on Kerenza IV working as a pharmacy intern in the hospital by day and as a rebel leader by night. She’s clearly at the end of her rope, struggling to survive each day and work under the noses of her captors. As a survivor, she’s witnessed countless atrocities at the hands of BeiTech and isn’t sure that any of her family survived. I like Asha. She’s resourceful, and despite being tired, isn’t ready to give up. Then her past comes back to haunt her in the form of Rhys.
Rhys is a BeiTech communications officer who has been ship side since the attack began. When his senior officer is killed in action, Rhys is sent down to the colony to keep their communications array in working order and try to get a signal out to the company. He is unaware of everything that is happening on the planet. His understanding is that the colony was mining illegally, and what his comrades have done since then is treat them as criminals. He isn’t aware of the mass graves or the other atrocities that have occurred. Rhys is a good guy in a bad situation. However once he sees that and sees Asha, his conscience begins working in overdrive.
I love how the authors complete this series, introducing new characters in each book and bringing them all together in the end. I wasn’t sure if it could be done, but it far exceeded my expectations. This final installment was just as fast-paced and action-packed as the first two, however it felt more desperate. There was more on the line because if Kady, Asha, Hanna, Nik, Ezra, and Rhys failed here, it was over. AIDAN’s reappearance was distressing to say the least, but also necessary. I love this crazy AI.
Overall, I loved Obsidio. It served as a fantastic conclusion to the series. I loved seeing how the characters came together, how they worked everything out, learning the identity of some of the narrators, and watching the UTA tribunal unfold was magnificent. I again listened to the audiobook and also had a hardcover copy to follow along. I highly recommend this method if you enjoy audiobooks. The full cast narration adds SO much to the story, bringing the characters to life in a way I didn’t expect. This is a must read for sci-fi fans!
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