Author: Beth Revis
Pages: 416
Genre: Young Adult - Sci-Fi
Publisher: Razorbill
AMAZON: Across the Universe
Synopsis.
“Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her
parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects
to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never
could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty
years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a
spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer
malfunction. Someone–one of the few thousand inhabitants of the
spaceship–tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn’t do something soon, her
parents will be next.
Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed’s hidden secrets. But out of
her list of murder suspects, there’s only one who matters: Elder, the
future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen
coming.”
REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars
Across the Universe had me
up until all hours; I have not read many sci-fi novels but I was intrigued when
I read the synopsis and I must admit, it didn’t disappoint; I was anxiously
turning the pages and eager to find out what would happen next. It also combined the elements of YA and Dystopian which I have come to enjoy and love.
Amy’s parents have signed up to be part of the
first manned interstellar exploratory mission, they will be cryogenically
frozen
cargo on the Godspeed for 300 years and will begin the colonization process on
the new planet upon arrival; 17 year-old Amy has agreed to go along with them
leaving everything she has known and loved behind.
The initial freezing process and what Amy endured
whilst frozen would have been horrific but when she was woken 50 years too
early you can imagine the panic she must have felt. You could feel the pain and
loss at being woken at a different time to her parents, her mind must have been
in constant overdrive being in a strange place, feeling like an outcast and
freak, treated horribly and having no-one familiar with her at all. It
definitely isn’t something she signed up for but the strength she showed was
admirable.
The first person Amy met was 16 year-old Elder, the
second in charge of the Godspeed; he reports to Eldest – a tyrannical and evil
leader, but in most aspects Elder doesn’t agree with what he has been taught.
There are a number of secrets he has to learn and many changes yet to make.
There were a number of twists and turns in the
mystery surrounding the Godspeed, the frozen humans were being killed and the
murderer still at large; I was able to work out who it was early on in the
novel but was curious to find out the reasoning.
Society on the ship was certainly intriguing, the
controlled lifestyle and the false stories told to control peace and to prevent
the truth being revealed was an interesting aspect, human beings were treated
as objects and those that couldn’t be controlled were medicated and treated in
the hospital mental ward – I am eager to see how things will change under new
leadership.
One of my favorite things about this novel was that
it was told from both Amy and Elder’s POV’s which worked well to see the
emotions and events occurring through both of their thoughts. I think it gave
us more of a connection to both of the main protagonists.
I absolutely adored Harley and was saddened by his story;
I loved the fascination he had with the stars and his painting, I wish things
could have been different for him.
I enjoyed the world-building in Across the Universe, it was truly
fascinating and Ms Revis’s writing is wonderful; it draws you in with the vivid
details she provides, you get a visual of the characters and of the ship and
can just picture them in your mind. I found even the smallest tidbits
fascinating.
The only thing I found to be lacking was the
romance, to me it seemed one sided from Elder and I thought it was more because
Amy was different and he was curious so I am keen to see if it progresses in
the sequel.
I am truly hoping for a wonderful, happy ending
with this series but I am not sure if there will ever be a landing or a reunion
between Amy and her parents but I have my fingers crossed.
The next book in this series is A Million Suns which has a 10th
January 2012 release date.
Obtained: Amazon for Kindle
The story sounds very different from other, Thanks for the review, this book intrigues me too now !
ReplyDeleteThank-you Melliane! I really enjoyed this book and hope you have an opportunity to read it as well. I am quite anxious to get hold of the sequel but have a few months yet to wait :)
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