I mean, was there ever any doubt that I just wasn’t going to absolutely love Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff’s finale, Obsidio (The Illuminae Files, #3)… No, chum. There most certainly wasn’t.
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.
The Good
- All Of My Precious Babies! – Ezra, Kady, Hanna, and Nik are just as sassy and kickass as they were in the previous two books. I will never not wish that I was as quick with pithy comebacks as Hanna is. Like seriously, I need her to teach me her ways. I mean you can occasionally catch me on a good day where I can come up with someone on the spot but normally I won’t think of anything good until 30 minutes later. Such is life. Anyways….. The new bromance stirring between Nik and Ezra is really funny. If you’re like me and enjoy hate-to-love, then these two will crack you up. Golden boy vs. the criminal… 😉
- AIDAN – He’s just as crazy as ever and yet, he’s also the hero we don’t deserve. Is it strange to say that I’ve got this strange crush on him? It is, right?! Eh, who cares. I will continue to stand by the fact that he is one of the all-time greatest fictional characters ever created.
- The Return To Kerenza – I’m really glad that we return to Kerenza IV for the finale of this trilogy. I love stories set on spaceships and such, don’t get me wrong. But it seems very fitting to return to where it all began at the end and it really worked with the overall storyline. I really enjoyed getting to experience the side of the story from those who were left behind and having to deal with the occupation. Let’s just say that life hasn’t been a picnic for them while our heroes were off in space.
The Bad
- Boring? New Characters – My biggest issue with this book was the introduction of two new characters, Asha and Rhys. They came across a little flat and boring after our main four had such vibrant personalities. I just didn’t quite connect as well with these two and felt like I was following their story from a distance. I wish they had had more distinct personalities, something that differentiated them from the side characters around them. But alas, they did not.
Overall, this was a really great finale to such a beloved trilogy! I enjoyed everything about it, even though I would have liked to see a bit more from the two new main characters. However, I thought it was a clever way to reintroduce us to Kerenza IV and give us a different side to the story. Now I just need Kaufman and Kristoff to hurry up and publish their next collaboration, please!
Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars
Have you read Obsidio? If so, what did you think of the new character additions? Do you think it was a good finale? Which book was your favorite in the series?
Wonderfilled Reads 
I finished Obsidio very recently and my first thought was “I wish there was more!”
Asha and Rhys were less “exciting” than the previous couplings, but I think this actually served as a good juxtaposition between them and Kady/Ezra & Hanna/Nik. While the previous characters were super good at their respective skills (computers, fighting, etc), Asha and Rhys were ordinary people just trying to survive. They didn’t have special skills, they just did what they had to do to make it til help arrived.
The conclusion to the series was great, if heartbreaking. Amie & Jay are really good at making you think one thing and then totally turning it around by the end. Illuminae may have been my favorite entry because I love AIDAN and it gets the most page time there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally agree about Asha and Rhys being just normal people surviving. I actually liked that part! It was more that I didn’t really connect with them personally. I felt their personalities were a little bland, maybe because the original 4 have such really strong ones? But I totally agree – Illuminae is my favorite in the series too! I think the tension and suspense was soooo well done in it. Also, AIDAN. He’s amazing! 🙂
LikeLike
Asha was sort of weird to me because apparently she had this crazy rebellious past (and Rhys did too!), but neither actually came across as people who would have snuck into clubs, done illegal drugs, etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I get what you mean. I mean the reasoning they gave for her changing her ways still didn’t fit because nothing about Asha’s personality screamed rebel at all. It was just very meh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly! I thought it was more believable for the guy and even maybe believable that “the military straightened him out” or whatever, but I just didn’t see Asha as a rebel, even a reformed one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup, we’re definitely in agreement on this! 👍🏻
LikeLike
Great review! I loved this book! It was a great conclusion and I totally agree with you on Asha and Rhys. They didn’t intrigue me either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Yeah, they were just really blah characters which I was a little surprised by.
LikeLike
Great review for this book, and I know what you mean because there was never going to be a doubt I was going to love this one either. 🙂 I’ll admit I wasn’t a massive fan of the new characters in this one, I mean I liked them and thought they were well developed and all but I always enjoyed reading more from Kady, Ezra, Nik, Hanna and Ella rather than Rhys and Asha. Also AIDAN was one of favourite parts of this book, just like it’s been a favourite part of the whole series! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, yes, yes! I felt the same way about Rhys and Asha. I think they were just too blah compared to the others. But yes, AIDAN has definitely been my favorite character throughout the series. Actually, he’s one of my favorite characters of all-time haha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess we just have much more development of the other characters because they were in more books. 🙂
Same here, it’s going to take a lot to knock AIDAN off the top spot for me! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, you’re probably right about that!
LikeLiked by 1 person