--- product_id: 19257718 title: "Illuminae" price: "£22.97" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/19257718-illuminae store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # Illuminae **Price:** £22.97 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Illuminae - **How much does it cost?** £22.97 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/19257718-illuminae) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension. “A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form." — Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of Red Queen This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more— Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. “Prepare yourselves for Illuminae .” — EW.com “ [Y]ou’re not in for an ordinary novel experience. . . . ” — Bustle.com “A truly interactive experience. . . . A fantastically fun ride.” — MTV.com ★ “[O]ut-of-this-world awesome .” — Kirkus Reviews , starred ★ “… stylistically mesmerizing.” — Publishers Weekly , starred ★ “ [A]n arresting visual experience .”— Booklist , starred ★ “ [A] game-changer .” — Shelf Awareness , starred “Brace yourself. You're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to leave.” —Marie Lu, bestselling author of the Legend trilogy " Genre: Undefinable. Novel: Unforgettable ." — Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures & author of Unbreakable “ An exuberant mix of space opera, romance, zombies, hackers, and political thrills.” — Scott Westerfeld, bestselling author of Zeroes and Uglies “ Stunningly creative. Smart, funny, and romantic .” — Veronica Rossi, bestselling author of Under the Never Sky “This is one of those rare books that will truly keep your heart pounding.” — Beth Revis, bestselling author of Across the Universe “ This book is xxxxing awesome .” — Laini Taylor, bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone Review: Everyone's favorite things in one single book - I loved this book upside-down. I loved this book the right way up. I loved this book through pictures. I loved this book in words. I loved this book dressed up in its pretty dust jacket. I loved it just as much without one. I loved this book on my Kindle. I loved this book as an audiobook. Pick a format, pick a facet, pick a scene - I loved this book. (A really, truly, unhealthy amount - the amount where you hold it to your chest and squeeze in public places, and never even notice if you get The Looks.) · Because here is what you were doubtless told about Illuminae: IT LOOKS AMAZING! And yes. Yes it does. This book is a stunner in every format. It is perhaps the most painstakingly designed book I have ever seen in my life. (I've never seen the old handwritten ones, much as I love calligraphy - so this takes the cake. Every cake. Pick a cake. It has earned them all.) Told through graphics, schematics, dossiers, blueprints, interviews, chat logs, and various other transcripts - Illuminae spared no expense when it came to design. It is a thing of beauty. Not all the pictures in the world could convey the experience of, well, experiencing it. If all you know of Illuminae is that it's a wonder of originality and design and novelty and art - you know enough. But there's more. (Boy, is there ever more!) There are things you aren't told about Illuminae a lot. And you really ought to be. So I am dashing into the nearest phonebooth, donning my superhero suit, and relaying the things you were never told about this book, but you really should have been. Because while the designer should be given an award, a medal, and their own country to run (in no particular order), there is also... everything. · It is written beautifully. If you're the sort of reader who is sold on lyrical prose, beautiful sentences, rhythm and style - it's all there. It seems almost impossible to tell a story in pictures, interviews, and documents and make it actually sing - but sing it did. (It has an amazing voice.) Let it never be said that the writer is limited by the genre/format/character. I intend to throw this book at the next person who tries to argue this to excuse sloppy writing. (And it's a sizable beast - it can do some serious damage on impact.) · Despite being a sizable beast, Illuminae is dynamic and interactive and doesn't give you a moment's reprieve. In this intergalactic spaceship chase, not only is the action consistent (side effects include heartburn and anxiety), but the pacing is a masterful thing of wonders. Throughout a good chunk of this book, there are countdowns - countdowns to impact, countdowns to a battle, countdowns to TID (total internal destruction). It has it all, and it makes for 600 pages of feverish cries for help from the reader. Heart palpitations are likely. Boredom is not. · Characterization hurts. Here's what Illuminae also doesn't do: choose between the plot and the characters. In a heavily plot-driven story, the characters are its crowning glory. I don't think my love would run nearly as deep had I not fallen in love with just about everyone in turn. A tech-savvy hacker with a penchant for dry humor and snooping. Her straight-laced ex boyfriend with anger and sass in equal measures. A hacker sensei who colors way outside the lines. A murderous supercomputer with a god-complex. And everyone else who comes along. But maybe it has all my favorite things. Maybe this is a favorite borne of subjectivity and bias. Because it does - Illuminae is all my personal favorites combined. Morally dubious anti-hero? Check. The world's most audacious plot twist(s)? Check. Sass? Check. Interactive bonus material to supplement the story? Check. Every single hook of mine, this book has covered. And I can't be objective. But the bottom line is this: Illuminae is everyone's favorite things in one single book. Ultimately, that's the benefit of this format. It's heavy on the action in graphics. It takes breaks from the action in blueprints. It's descriptive in video transcripts. It's straight-to-the-point in chat logs. It's character-driven in interviews. It's plot-driven in inter-ship comms. You name your hook - Illuminae has your hook. And I couldn't possibly recommend it more. Review: 4.5 stars! - I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for almost 2 years and randomly yesterday I decide to finally read it. I'm so glad I did. This book was pure sci-fi with little sprinkles of romance and while I love a good plot and world building, I love reading romance. So I was a little worried about not enjoying this book enough because of that but I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet moments between the characters in this book that totally had me swooning. The formatting for this book is really amazing. The cover in itself is so freaking beautiful I can't stop staring at it because it's so cool. I loved how different this book was from anything else I'd ever read before. But I will say the formatting got old after a while. I loved reading the chats, emails, reports, etc but I really missed actual dialogue and being able to be in the main characters's heads. I felt like it was hard for me to connect with Ezra and Kady (especially her) because I didn't know what the heck they were thinking or what they were really going through besides what some random person was telling me. I also don't like that we don't really get a clear indication of what these characters look like. We get a few pieces later in the book but in the first half I think part of the reason I had such a hard time connecting with the characters was because I literally could not picture them in my head. They were like blobs with personalities and idk if it's just me but I need to picture the characters in my head when I read. It definitely got frustrating after a while but still, I couldn't stop reading. There became a point in the book where I just literally could not put it down. Even if I had a million questions and my head hurt from trying to read all the little notes and whatnot, I couldn't stop because I needed to see how it would end. A foolish part of me thought we'd get some actual first person pov at the end but jokes on me because that didn't happen. But the formatting kinda grew on me in the second half of the book and even though I miss regular format/dialogue I still very much loved getting the story the way that we did. And I did eventually connect with the characters and I became very invested in their stories. Oh man this book made me cry. I wasn't expecting to because I didn't really feel attached to anyone? But then suddenly people were dying and the writing was just so freaking beautiful and the tears would start dripping from my eyes and I'd be like "wait...what is happening?!" and ugh, this book made me feel so many things it's so good. I haven't decided yet if I'll be jumping into book 2 or if I'll need a bit of a break from this fun (but tiring format) but I am so happy I finally read this and I really love this world that they built! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #306,652 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #7 in Teen & Young Adult Space Opera #62 in Teen & Young Adult Survival Stories | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,235 Reviews | ## Images ![Illuminae - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71OOnIZoj3L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Everyone's favorite things in one single book *by L***X on June 17, 2016* I loved this book upside-down. I loved this book the right way up. I loved this book through pictures. I loved this book in words. I loved this book dressed up in its pretty dust jacket. I loved it just as much without one. I loved this book on my Kindle. I loved this book as an audiobook. Pick a format, pick a facet, pick a scene - I loved this book. (A really, truly, unhealthy amount - the amount where you hold it to your chest and squeeze in public places, and never even notice if you get The Looks.) · Because here is what you were doubtless told about Illuminae: IT LOOKS AMAZING! And yes. Yes it does. This book is a stunner in every format. It is perhaps the most painstakingly designed book I have ever seen in my life. (I've never seen the old handwritten ones, much as I love calligraphy - so this takes the cake. Every cake. Pick a cake. It has earned them all.) Told through graphics, schematics, dossiers, blueprints, interviews, chat logs, and various other transcripts - Illuminae spared no expense when it came to design. It is a thing of beauty. Not all the pictures in the world could convey the experience of, well, experiencing it. If all you know of Illuminae is that it's a wonder of originality and design and novelty and art - you know enough. But there's more. (Boy, is there ever more!) There are things you aren't told about Illuminae a lot. And you really ought to be. So I am dashing into the nearest phonebooth, donning my superhero suit, and relaying the things you were never told about this book, but you really should have been. Because while the designer should be given an award, a medal, and their own country to run (in no particular order), there is also... everything. · It is written beautifully. If you're the sort of reader who is sold on lyrical prose, beautiful sentences, rhythm and style - it's all there. It seems almost impossible to tell a story in pictures, interviews, and documents and make it actually sing - but sing it did. (It has an amazing voice.) Let it never be said that the writer is limited by the genre/format/character. I intend to throw this book at the next person who tries to argue this to excuse sloppy writing. (And it's a sizable beast - it can do some serious damage on impact.) · Despite being a sizable beast, Illuminae is dynamic and interactive and doesn't give you a moment's reprieve. In this intergalactic spaceship chase, not only is the action consistent (side effects include heartburn and anxiety), but the pacing is a masterful thing of wonders. Throughout a good chunk of this book, there are countdowns - countdowns to impact, countdowns to a battle, countdowns to TID (total internal destruction). It has it all, and it makes for 600 pages of feverish cries for help from the reader. Heart palpitations are likely. Boredom is not. · Characterization hurts. Here's what Illuminae also doesn't do: choose between the plot and the characters. In a heavily plot-driven story, the characters are its crowning glory. I don't think my love would run nearly as deep had I not fallen in love with just about everyone in turn. A tech-savvy hacker with a penchant for dry humor and snooping. Her straight-laced ex boyfriend with anger and sass in equal measures. A hacker sensei who colors way outside the lines. A murderous supercomputer with a god-complex. And everyone else who comes along. But maybe it has all my favorite things. Maybe this is a favorite borne of subjectivity and bias. Because it does - Illuminae is all my personal favorites combined. Morally dubious anti-hero? Check. The world's most audacious plot twist(s)? Check. Sass? Check. Interactive bonus material to supplement the story? Check. Every single hook of mine, this book has covered. And I can't be objective. But the bottom line is this: Illuminae is everyone's favorite things in one single book. Ultimately, that's the benefit of this format. It's heavy on the action in graphics. It takes breaks from the action in blueprints. It's descriptive in video transcripts. It's straight-to-the-point in chat logs. It's character-driven in interviews. It's plot-driven in inter-ship comms. You name your hook - Illuminae has your hook. And I couldn't possibly recommend it more. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5 stars! *by A***A on December 13, 2017* I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for almost 2 years and randomly yesterday I decide to finally read it. I'm so glad I did. This book was pure sci-fi with little sprinkles of romance and while I love a good plot and world building, I love reading romance. So I was a little worried about not enjoying this book enough because of that but I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet moments between the characters in this book that totally had me swooning. The formatting for this book is really amazing. The cover in itself is so freaking beautiful I can't stop staring at it because it's so cool. I loved how different this book was from anything else I'd ever read before. But I will say the formatting got old after a while. I loved reading the chats, emails, reports, etc but I really missed actual dialogue and being able to be in the main characters's heads. I felt like it was hard for me to connect with Ezra and Kady (especially her) because I didn't know what the heck they were thinking or what they were really going through besides what some random person was telling me. I also don't like that we don't really get a clear indication of what these characters look like. We get a few pieces later in the book but in the first half I think part of the reason I had such a hard time connecting with the characters was because I literally could not picture them in my head. They were like blobs with personalities and idk if it's just me but I need to picture the characters in my head when I read. It definitely got frustrating after a while but still, I couldn't stop reading. There became a point in the book where I just literally could not put it down. Even if I had a million questions and my head hurt from trying to read all the little notes and whatnot, I couldn't stop because I needed to see how it would end. A foolish part of me thought we'd get some actual first person pov at the end but jokes on me because that didn't happen. But the formatting kinda grew on me in the second half of the book and even though I miss regular format/dialogue I still very much loved getting the story the way that we did. And I did eventually connect with the characters and I became very invested in their stories. Oh man this book made me cry. I wasn't expecting to because I didn't really feel attached to anyone? But then suddenly people were dying and the writing was just so freaking beautiful and the tears would start dripping from my eyes and I'd be like "wait...what is happening?!" and ugh, this book made me feel so many things it's so good. I haven't decided yet if I'll be jumping into book 2 or if I'll need a bit of a break from this fun (but tiring format) but I am so happy I finally read this and I really love this world that they built! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing and Twisty Space Ride! *by M***) on November 26, 2016* SO MANY STARS YESSSSSSS This book gave me life and reminded me why I love reading so much and deserves every freakin’ star possible. Visually, this thing is also a masterpiece. The cover? GORGEOUS! The pages and different styles of telling the story? AMAZING! This book is absolutely stunning in every way. I had tried to read this one as a hardback several times before because I saw all the hype and just couldn’t do it for whatever reason. I think it was through BookBub that I found out that this one was $1.99 on Kindle and I figured I would give it a try on there. I think I also tried on Kindle before the last time and again, to no avail. But this last time, something changed. Once I got through some of the rougher parts, I was racing through the book and even finished it in record personal time. One thing that I did not enjoy about the Kindle version was that it hindered my enjoyment and visuals of the more visual things in this book. I didn’t figure out how to zoom until the last 30% of the book and before them, had to squint and guess as to what they said or find a copy in a store and check them out. Anyways, back to my thoughts on the actual book. Like I previously said, the beginning to this one is a little rough. I wasn’t too into the interviews and was unused to the style. But, I quickly eased into it and I think I most enjoyed the chats and pages that involved text woven within an image. The other styles I did not enjoy as much but they really do add the story and serve to give the reader multiple perspectives as to what is happening. And these perspectives really work and again, add to the story. I do like fantasy and science fiction YA but have found it hard to find ones not ruined by cheesy romance or in a style that I love (Some perspectives just bug me and I can’t get into them.) but I’ve never read one like Illuminae before. Not just because of the style but also in terms of the content. I don’t generally read into space books as it’s hard to find them or to find good ones. This one was a step out of my reader comfort zone that I am so glad I took. I raced through it, devouring every cute romance bit of Kady & Ezra’s story, every whacked AIDAN moment, and every twisty turn of the Beitech v. Alexander & Hypatia crew battle. The authors really excelled at writing all of those aspects and drawing me in using them. At first, I wasn’t so into Kady+Ezra, but as the book went on, I really enjoyed it and found myself becoming a hardcore shipper in no time. As for AIDAN, it was kind of the same thing. In the beginning, I hated it and what it was doing to the people it was supposed to protect. But towards the end, especially in the scenes with Kady, I actually kind of liked it a bit and almost felt sorry for it. Although, I hated the fact that (spoiler removed) I found this one to not be predictable, except for a few minor things, but otherwise it was completely unpredictable and intriguing. I highly recommend this one and have added it to the high honor of being on my favorite shelf. All the stars in the universe for Illuminae, my friends. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/19257718-illuminae](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/19257718-illuminae) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-06-22*