"EVERY STORY NEEDS ITS VILLAIN.
AND ITS HERO.
AND ITS MONSTER."

(Also hi this is a quote that I don't want to lose, but it's also something I wouldn't have wanted to encounter in a review before reading it myself, so it's under a spoiler tag even though it's not really a spoiler:

Spoiler

FROM THE LATIN VERB illuminare: "TO SHED LIGHT." ALSO: "A RAY OF LIGHT." OR FEMALE, PLURAL: "THOSE WHO SHED LIGHT," "THE SHINING ONES."

)

This was a pretty good read, and I wish I could give it 4.5 or even 5 stars. The plot arcs are compelling and tense; so many narrative threads are woven together masterfully; there's action and romance and strategy and ethics all at play. As a conclusion to the series, it's pretty satisfying overall.

But I think a big part of the problem is that this is so consistent with the previous two books, which means the cracks really show.

- While reading Gemina I was frustrated beyond belief that

Spoiler

not a single one of the main characters (or the more prominent secondary characters) actually dies, even when we literally see them die on-page; it undermines the impact of all those names of people who get X-ed, because apparently 2k+ of their deaths don't hold a candle to a single major character death

, but I apparently hadn't seen anything yet. At some point it stops being tense / exciting and starts feeling emotionally manipulative.

- Maybe this isn't really a thing and I'm just nitpicking, but I'm going to point it out anyway because going forward, I think we can do better: the diversity is almost entirely limited to in-passing mentions, minor characters, and mostly villains (see: the BT roster in Gemina). The few Asian-coded (minor) heroes, as far as I could tell, were stereotypical programmers. It's almost worse than if everyone was presumed cis-het-white, because it implies that the writers were conscious of the representation issue but for whatever reason didn't want to make the actual main characters diverse. And there are [at the very least] seven of them, by the way, so I really don't think it would've been that hard.

- Some of the tropes, like

Spoiler

making out as a cover when caught by the enemy

, are delightful. Others are thrilling the first time and become exasperating when they're reused in the span of just a few chapters. Certain characters are supposed to be tactical geniuses, after all.

- Honestly, everything about AIDAN's storyline in this book, which is again a case of established plot threads coming together.

Spoiler

I knew since Illuminae that we were heading for "AIDAN is in love with Kady and it's going to make him want to be more human-like", but they really laid it on thick here. At the same time, though, I can see a human making the same calls AIDAN did (see: the infamous trolley problem), so I don't like that the only person defending AIDAN's actions is AIDAN, who self-identifies as the monster of the story. We already know the good guys are Good Guys, there's no need to contrast them across (arguably justifiable) mass murder by an AI whose directive is to keep as many people alive as possible.

ALL THAT SAID. This series has been a fantastic adventure, even if I did rush to finish it before the books had to be returned to my library, and it's one I may revisit in future. Godspeed, Illuminae Group, I wish you all happiness.

content warnings:

Spoiler

on-page murder and death of child(ren), loss of loved ones + survivor's guilt, grief, on-page major character death(s),

rep:

Spoiler

Japanese secondary character (villain), mention of F/F + WLW minor character (villain), miscellaneous diverse minor characters

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CONVERSION: 11.55 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 2 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 3 / 5