Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2), Allen & Unwin, Oct 2016, 659pp., $22.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781925266573
The Illuminae Files is a heart stopping, sci fi/fantasy that young adults will love. Gemina is the sequel, no less gripping, with edge of your seat action. It too is a tale of love and survival with two new teenage protagonists. This story links with the original, in that it is a consequence of the first, yet unfolds elsewhere in the universe. While the Hypatia spacecraft is speeding toward the safety of the Heimdall space station, we discover what is happening on Jump Station Heimdall, an outpost spinning around a wormhole which acts as a portal to Kerenza. Onboard Heimdall, Hannah, seventeen-year-old pampered daughter of the commander, is looking forward to Terra Day celebrations. Tiny and isolated, Heimdall might be the galaxy’s most boring outpost but things are about to get interesting. Her boyfriend is not who he says he is. Her ardent admirer, Nik, is part of a crime gang, dealing dust (a hallucinatory drug harvested from alien parasites, incubated in cows). Kill squads are on their way to breach the wormhole. The deadly lamina parasite is about to be unleashed. A glitch in the space-time continuum threatens to cause universal destruction. Can Hannah join forces with Nik to defeat BeiTech and save the universe?
Once again, the action-packed storyline develops through a collection of files – evidence being proffered for trial. The authors use several devices to realise the characters and propel the action, including dossiers, emails, surveillance footage, transcripts and Hanna’s journal. Towards the end parallel narration mirrors two simultaneous realities. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and was looking forward to the next instalment. The new main characters are well realised. Hanna is a strong, intelligent teen who is used to getting what she wants. Nik is fit, tattooed, resourceful and totally smitten with Hanna. Ella is Nik’s cousin, a witty fifteen-year-old electronics prodigy who hacks Heimdall’s systems and operates a blackhat network. Falk, codename Cerberus, is a chilling nemesis.
Fast-paced and full of edgy dialogue, tension and twists, there are multiple heart-in-mouth moments where you fear for your character’s life – there seems no way out. The story is graphically descriptive and unfolds like a movie (think shades of Die Hard meets Alien with a sprinkling of Macgyver). I enjoyed the word play and the creative format. The reader is given access to the characters and the action in so many different ways – we ‘see’ them through surveillance cameras, we ‘hear’ them through dialogue with each other via Whispernet. Excerpts from Hanna’s journal builds intimacy with the reader as her hopes and desires are revealed. The cliff-hanger ending left me wanting more, even though I felt wrung out and emotionally exhausted by the end. Once again, I have no idea what the authors have in store for us in Book 3 but I’m sure it will be amazing. Has anyone optioned the film rights yet? Just saying…
Also available as an eBook and audiobook, although I’m not sure how well this graphic laden text will translate to these formats. Learn more about the authors at: amiekaufman.com and jaykristoff.com.
Reviewed by Sharon Seymour
