My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Obsidio is the third and final book in the Illuminae Files. After the thrilling events of Gemina, Obsidio jumps directly into the story and action. Be sure to read the first two books in the series, Illuminae and Obsidio before this review.
We are introduced to two new main characters in Asha and Rhys. They are both planet-side on Kerenza IV, so we finally get to see what that side of the story is and how the people have been coping since the attack. Now that our time is split between our original duo of Kady and Ezra, the two from Gemina Hanna and Nik (plus Ella) and our characters on Kerenza, I feel that Asha and Rhys have less time to develop. As a result, they’re definitely my least favourite pair.
Asha was training to be a pharmacist but finds herself dealing with more medical issues than she ever expected. After watching the brilliant Kady hack her way into anything and everything, or Hanna take down trained soldiers with her martial arts skills and strategic mind – Asha is underwhelming. She is average, likely very similar to most readers if they were to find themselves in this series. There is nothing wrong with that but I feel it makes her a little forgettable.
Rhys gives us an alternative perspective as he finds himself on the side of BeiTech and wholly unaware of what has happened the last seven months. He must come to term with the events and decide where his loyalties lie. I think the most memorable part about him was his gravity-defying hair.
Although I loved seeing what was happening on Kerenza, I am partial to the scenes on the Mau as they featured my favourite characters. Despite the split focus, I never felt that the pacing lagged or could have been done better. I was completely engrossed in the story the entire time.
There are not enough positive family dynamics in YA literature and despite the fact that many of the characters in the series have lost family members I feel that there is one stand out in the final book of the series. I absolutely love how Isaac Grant took on the mantle of the parental figure for our main characters in a tumultuous time and just supported them through everything. No questions.
The ending almost seemed to come too quickly and there was not as much emotional impact as I wanted there to be. I wish a little more time had been dedicated to the trial. That and the lack of connection that I generally felt for Asha and Rhys leads me to take a half a star away from an otherwise fantastic book. I still highly recommend this series and cannot sing the praises of the audiobooks enough. They are absolutely fantastic performances that completely immerse you in the experience and world.
Kyera's Library 
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