Book Review: A Million Suns

Author: Beth Revis
Series: Across the Universe #2
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Pages: 386
Source: Gift from Evie @ Bookish :)
Read it in: 3 days

Summary: It’s been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed.

But there may be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act on his vision—no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder learns shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a mystery that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier. Their success—or failure—will determine the fate of the 2,298 passengers aboard Godspeed. But with each step, the journey becomes more perilous, the ship more chaotic, and the love between them more impossible to fight.

~LC's Take~

Ever since I finished Across the Universe, I knew that I would be reading the sequel-- the unique setting in the emptiness of space, the mystery and suspense that kept me turning the pages, the tension build-up with the characters, and Beth Revis' awesome and humorous style of writing-- all of these things had my totally hooked! In A Million Suns, we have the continuation of Amy and Elder's story aboard the spaceship Godspeed, destined for some far-off planet called Centauri-Earth that is supposed to be habitable for humans.

So my general impression of this second book was definitely a good one, but because I tend to over-analyze everything, there are a couple things I have to rant about *a little* because they sort of annoyed me.  First, the good things:

One of the GREATEST aspects of this book-- and this series so far-- is Beth's amazing ability to throw her readers for a complete loop, again and again. There were so many mind-blowing twists and surprises in A Million Suns, as we learn some of the darker secrets of Godspeed, and what the heck is going on with its mission... there was a definite sense of foreboding and impending doom throughout this book-- clearly, Godspeed is not going to last forever and it's only a matter of time before the energy and other resources on the ship run out, leaving thousands of people stranded in space. This really increased the intensity level of the plot and had me anxious to see how things would turn out.

And yes, the SECRETS we learn in this one?? OMG, totally had me freaking out!! Just when you're getting over the last plot twist, something else even bigger is revealed, and you're right back to furiously turning the pages to see where all this is headed-- Beth, you are a GENIUS at keeping the reader on the edge of their seat! :)

I also really loved the tension and conflict going on between Elder and Amy, and the very good question that Amy poses- if she had a choice between Elder and other guys, would she still choose Elder? Or does she only have feelings for him because he's the only other person like her on the ship? I thought this added a really interesting dimension to their relationship, and I'm looking forward to seeing where things go with them in the last installment.

So onto a couple things that bugged me (WARNING: Some *mild* ranting ahead)...

The main thing was how old-fashioned the society on the Feeder level was, given the fact that they're all on a spaceship in 2300-whatever-it-is. Because seriously, there's one part where Elder and Amy go into the city and I felt like we were stepping back into the 1800's-- Why are there guys using hacksaws to manually butcher cows with flies buzzing around and people hand-spinning clothe like ye olde folke from ye dayes of yore?  I mean jeez, this is the 24th century, they do have sanitation measures, no? Laser cutters, automated robot weavers, something?? I just didn't understand why there is this super-modern ship with futuristic technology headed to the outer limits of space, and then an archaic society that still has farmers and peasants and guys butchering meat in the market-- yes, these people still have basic needs and they need to be kept busy on the ship and I know that Eldest was trying to keep a big secret from them all, but wouldn't it make more sense if they were doing experiments or monitoring space stuff or trying to communicate with alien lifeforms... haha I don't know, something futuristic?? Just my opinion there, we'll leave it at that.

Also-- and maybe this is just me-- but didn't anyone on Godspeed think that maybe, just mayybeee, everyone was going to go ape-shit and rebel against the Eldest leader once they were taken off Phydus, the mind-controlling drug? You'd think they might have done some gradual experimentation with that first to see what the effects would be before just pulling the plug, especially on a flipping spaceship where there's nowhere to turn for help if things get out of hand. Along the same line, it sort of blew my mind that there was hardly anyone aboard the ship who knew what was going on, or how to run the ship, or what to do if Godspeed ever landed. Everyone was pretty much clueless, bumbling along not knowing what to do, and this came across as a bit unrealistic to me.

I know, I know, I can be over-critical of certain details in books, but overall I really did enjoy A Million Suns. There were so many layers to it-- the mission, the internal politics aboard the ship, the mystery Amy is trying to figure out, the troubled romance between her and Elder-- all of these things kept me reading, and there was never a dull moment. Add to this Beth's unique and engaging writing style, and a story filled with mystery and suspense, and you have the recipe for a great series. I would absolutely recommend these books to any sci-fi fan, or any reader looking for something that is intensely action-packed and completely different from anything they've read before!

~Cover Talk~

LOVE. Absolute and total love with this cover. Honestly, it breaks my heart to see the new covers for this series, because both this one and the cover for Across the Universe are absolutely breath-taking, and the new ones, in my opinion, are completely "meh." I do understand the reasoning behind repackaging this series-- the new covers definitely will broaden their appeal to a larger audience because they don't scream "YA" like the old ones, but as a huge YA fan, I'm biased towards the gorgeous old versions. This one in particular is so beautiful-- the picture of Elder and Amy holding hands, looking out of Godspeed into the galaxies beyond-- it catches my eye every time I see it! I wish Penguin would at least release a version of Shades of Earth in the original cover style...

Which cover versions do you like better??

~About the Author~

Based on my personal experience, Beth Revis is freaking awesome-- and hilarious. I had the opportunity to chat with her in a live author chat online back in May, and she seriously cracked me up. Here is a little more about this amazing author!

Beth Revis wrote her first books as a student in classrooms, when the professors did not hold her interest and she jotted down stories instead of taking notes. Beth writes science fiction and fantasy novels for teens. Her debut novel, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, was published by Razorbill/Penguin in Spring 2011.

You can check out more about Beth on her OFFICIAL WEBSITE, or on her BLOG on writing!

~Fan Site!~

If you are a fan of the Across the Universe series, you're going to want to check out this awesome fan site that has an interactive version of Godspeed, and added info about the series! 

~LC's Rating~

Another frexing awesome book in Beth's Across the Universe series. If you are looking for a story with a unique and otherworldly setting, mystery, suspense, and great characters, I would highly recommend adding these ones to your TBR List ASAP! :)

~Get It!~

Book Review: Across the Universe

Author: Beth Revis
Series: Across the Universe #1
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Pages: 416

Summary: 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.

~Video Review~

LC's Take:

"Inside the ship, we are always surrounded by one another, so much so that we cherish our tiny private rooms and time alone. Never before have I appreciated how truly alone we are on this ship. There is no one else but us... If we fail, there is no one out there to see. If we die, there is no one out there to mourn us." ~p.335

So let me start out by saying, this book probably had one of the craziest and most ambitious plot premises I've ever read. It was absolutely mind-blowing to think of what it would be like to be cyrogenically FROZEN for a couple HUNDRED years in a space ship zooming through space, only to be woken up early, knowing that you'll never see Earth again, and that you may not even make it off that ship ALIVE. I mean,that's just totally insane right?!

I included the above quote from the book because I wanted to point out just how amazing Beth Revis is at creating a real sense of fear, loneliness, and desperate entrapment aboard Godspeed. In fact, the strange and alien world inside the ship was probably one of the most fascinating aspects of this book. It was sort of like this dystopian microcosm, where everything is in miniature and everyone basically lives in captivity like animals.  It is the job of "Eldest," the leader of the ship, to maintain order and keep out the causes of discord on Godspeed as it courses its way through the Great Unknown towards a planet that is impossibly far away. The setting was just very refreshing and different.

I also really loved the two main characters in this book-- Amy and Elder-- and how the story is told chapter by chapter through their alternating points of view. It was easy to tell which POV I was reading from because they both had totally unique perspectives. I also loved that both of them could think for themselves-- Amy was a spirited, emotional character who refuses to believe that life on Godspeed is natural, and Elder is constantly challenging Eldest and his methods for controlling the ship. Both Amy and Elder were very well-developed, since they both had distinct personalities, memories, and histories. This made it easy to slip into each character's identity and get lost in their story.

The only character I had a problem with was Eldest because he came across as a weak villain to me-- he just didn't seem all that dangerous or intimidating, and his character was even described multiple times throughout the story as childish and foolish. This made it difficult for me to take him serious, and even though he acted like a dictator at some points, I would've been able to respect his character more if he came across as more villain-ish!

I did have a couple other *minor* issues with the story. First was my big question about whether Godspeed had ANY contact with Earth anymore-- I found it difficult to wrap my head around the idea of putting this big of an effort into sending humans out into space to inhabit a whole new planet and then not have any means of communication between Earth and the ship. Secondly, I didn't really find many of the "shock value" elements of the dystopian world aboard Godspeed to be all that "shocking" or new. The empty drone-like citizens, the mad-scientist doctor who messes with DNA and reproduction, the manipulation of history to conceal the past, and the euthanasia of the elderly-- I've read about all of this before in other books. But at the same time, it did enforce just how desperate Eldest was to maintain total and absolute control over society on the ship, and also just how desperate this society was becoming after being stuck inside metal walls for hundreds of years...

Also-- and I don't want to spoil anything-- but I TOTALLY saw the whole thing with Harley coming.

ALSO-- the part where Amy gets drugged and acts all loopy? Umm, DYING LAUGHING. I KNEW Beth Revis had like the greatest sense of humor! :D (See-met-tree-cul LOL)

The cliff-hangers and plot twists towards the end of the book and the whole crux of the Plague incident had me with my eyes glued to the pages for the last few chapters. What exactly is going on with Godspeed and what is its ultimate mission? I loved how there were plenty of mysteries to be solved-- not just with who the killer was, but basically with the entire ship and its mission. Pieces of the puzzle only came together slowly, which was a *little* frustrating, but it totally kept me on the edge of my seat.

Overall, Across the Universe had me captivated and was a lot of fun to read. I loved the world-building, the unique setting, the mystery and suspense, and the overall mood of the story, along with the main characters Amy and Eldest. My curiosity and fascination with this world out in space has left me looking forward to reading A Million Suns to see what happens next--I'm pretty sure that this will be a series that I follow to the end!

~Cover Talk~

Some of you guys may have heard me tell this *slightly* embarrassing story before, but just for kicks, I'll tell it again. So, I swear that for the longest time, I thought that the image on the cover of Across the Universe was-- an amoeba. I kid you not. It was that whole negative-space trickery going on, and for whatever reason, my brain could only see that light-pink sparkly piece and see some weird blob-thing. It wasn't until I was holding the book IN MY HANDS that I stopped and was like "WHAT THE..?!" Because CLEARLY it is an image of two people in profile, the guy hovering over the girl, about to kiss her. Yeah, I have NO IDEA where the heck I came up with an AMOEBA. But um... long story short, I love this cover, it rocks-- whether you see it as two people kissing or a giant celestial blob, it is one awesome book cover.

LC's Rating:

The incredible world-building and story premise of this book absolutely blew me away-- I just loved the mystery, suspense and the unfolding of secrets throughout the plot. Amy and Elder were great main characters, and I can't wait to see what happens to them next!

Book Review: Ship Breaker

Author: Paolo Bacigalupi

Release Date: May 1, 2010

Pages:  336

Read it in: 3 days

The Hook: A gritty, high-stakes adventure set in a futuristic world where oil is scarce but loyalty is scarcer…

Praise: “A riveting tale of adventure in a broken world… Ship Breaker is the best debut novel I’ve read in ages.”  ~Scott Westerfeld, author of Leviathan

Favorite Part: "He pushed open another door and crawled through... Warning signs said: SPEED MECHANICALS IN USE! WATCH HANDS AND LOOSE CLOTHING. Nailer was amused that he could actually make out the meanings now. He was going to drown, but hey, he could read."

Summary: In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota-- and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life… In this powerful novel, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set in a vivid and raw, uncertain future.

LC's Take: 

Wow, I don’t think I have ever been so quickly intrigued and caught up in a story I knew nothing about and that, honestly, didn’t even have a plot that sounded that interesting to me at first. And yet, from the very first couple of pages I was completely drawn into another world in some distant future—a raw, carnal, dog-eat-dog world that is as dangerous as it is beautiful-- with tropical beaches, blinding white sun and salty waters where clipper ships move like ghosts in the distance. The writing style captured my attention right away. (SIDE NOTE: Does anyone remember the computer game Riven? Because the backdrop for this book reminded me of the unforgettable imagery from that game I used to play in high school!)

Nailer- the main character- is a boy, around 14 years old (he doesn’t know his age himself) who lives out his life as a “ship breaker” on a wrecking crew in the tropical Gulf. Along with other kids his age, his job is to “scavenge,” crawling into the tight spots of giant oil tanker ”corpses” and slowly tearing them apart for scrap metal. Nailer’s world is full of uncertainty—you could strike it lucky and become richer than your wildest dreams from an oil find, or you could die of starvation in the rusty dark bowels of a dead ship you’re tearing apart. 

Here is what I really loved about Ship Breaker:

• Bacigalupi paints pictures with words—you can feel the heat and dirt and grime that make up Nailer’s life. His descriptions are vivid and alive:

• “Wherever the huge ships lay, scavenge gangs like Nailer’s swarmed like flies. Chewing away at iron meat and bones… Even at night, the wrecks glowed with work, people laboring by torchlight as they continued the steady job of disassembly. The ships showed as huge black shadows against the bright star points and the surge of the Milky Way above. The torch lights flickered, bobbing and moving. Sledge noise rang across the water. Comforting sounds of work and activity, the air tanged with the coal reek of smelters and the salt fresh breeze coming off the water. It was beautiful.” (p. 6, 40)

• The characters are fully-developed and real—from Nailer’s abusive, amphetamine-drugged dad Richard Lopez, to Nita the spoiled yet beautiful and clever “Swank” that Nailer gambles his life on—the characters are just as vividly portrayed as the settings they’re placed in, and they  jump off the pages. I thought they were captured perfectly.

• The plot of Ship Breaker is so good! Trust me, you will be totally caught up in Nailer’s story because the stakes are so high—either he wins completely, or he dies a terrible death—there’s no option in between. This keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end.

• Bacigalupi makes no attempt to water-down this gritty tale with a bunch of censored, P.C. writing—the language is very explicit. For me, I thought this made the book even better, because it makes it that much more real for the reader. However, if you are the squeamish type and don’t much like reading about outlaws “pig-opening” people and gutting them like fish, well… you might want to pick something more tamed-down!

LC’s Rating:

Ship Breaker presents a dystopian world full of adventure-- its primal, survival-of-the-fittest plot will have you totally captivated from beginning to end. Awesome book!