Aurora’s End
by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are the award-winning authors of the Illuminae Files, which have sold more than a million copies across Australia and internationally, and Brad Pitt’s production company has even snapped up the TV rights to the series.
It was the first book of the trilogy Aurora Rising that made it to the New York Times bestseller list. Set in the year 2380, graduating cadets from Aurora Academy are assigned their first mission. Star pupil Tyler Jones has a squad of super-intelligent misfits who develop a close bond as they fight to keep peace in the galaxy.
Crammed with explanations about the trilogy’s alternate universe, Aurora Rising also introduces a girl that Squad 312 rescues from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two hundred years, Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley is pivotal when the standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy baddies come onto the scene in Aurora Burning.
It seems like Game of Thrones has been thrown into the in the ever-increasing expanse of the universe as battles rage. For example, the oldest race in the galaxy, the Syldrathi, is made up of five castes known as Warbreed, Waywalkers, Weavers, Watchers and Workers (because someone has to do the actual hard work).
In this third and final installment of the Aurora Cycle, Squad 312 is racing to save the galaxy from being consumed by the Ra’haam and they jump back and forth across space and time. While some of the squad bicker amongst themselves and battle the onslaught in 2380, some of the squad has found themselves in 2177, and they all need to work out what needs to be done to save the galaxy from an ancient evil.
Full of action and plot-twists, there is always danger and the threat of death but most of the bodies end up being nameless causalities. Humour and romance among the diverse range of characters offers welcome relief and gender is not an issue so far in the future. Essential reading for fans of the previous two books and it is a good idea to do a quick catch-up (most libraries have the first two books) if you haven’t already been infected by the Aurora Cycle.
Lezly Herbert
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