lex6819
Written on Jan 1, 2013
Amy has left the life she loves for a world 300 years away
Trapped in space and frozen in time, Amy is bound for a new planet. But fifty years before she's due to arrive, she is violently woken, the victim of an attempted murder. Now Amy's lost on board and nothing makes sense - she's never felt so alone.
Yet someone is waiting for her. He wants to protect her; and more if she'll let him.
But who can she trust amidst the secrets and lies? A killer is out there - and Amy has nowhere to hide . . .
- ISBN10 1101484845
- ISBN13 9781101484845
- Publish Date 1 January 2011
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Razorbill
- Format eBook
- Language English
Reviews
mrs_mander_reads
Written on Oct 28, 2012
notajammiedodger
Written on Jul 29, 2012
Amy and her parents have been frozen and sent into space, travelling to a new planet they know nothing about. When for no apparent reason Amy is awoken from her frozen sleep 50 years early. Why was she woken up? Who woke her up? What's really going on? Godspeed is a ship full of secrets and lies. And it all comes down to why. . .
The whole idea that this ship, Godspeed, had been flying for 250 years, that it has its own history of the people aboard it really intrigued me. I loved the writing of this book. I just felt like certain aspects of it were written amazingly (not to say all of it wasn't, there were just certain parts that stood out for me). I felt like Amy's consciousness while she was frozen was captured really well, I felt like I was stuck in nothingness with her. Conscious, but with no sense of how much time had passed, she had no idea if she had only just been frozen or if 300 years had already passed.
I definitely loved all of the characters. I can see myself getting even more attached to them through the rest of the series. Harley broke my heart. I loved Elder; I am very interested to see how he'll handle things in the next book. I liked Amy's character except for a few things. Her childishness annoyed me a bit at times, saying momma and daddy. But I am also excited to see how she is going to react with what we learned about her at the very end of the book.
So many secrets! I actually figured out exactly who the killer was about 80 pages in, but there was definitely lots of other stuff I would never have seen coming. I still can't stop thinking about it all. I don't know what else to say without spoiling everything. I went in not really knowing anything, not knowing what to expect and I loved it that way. I would highly recommend checking it out! I cannot wait to get myself a copy of the second book. I'll be keeping an eye out.
This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)
Ashley
Written on Jul 8, 2012
Since starting my blog, this is the first book I've read that I absolutely adored but feel like I have no idea how to review! It just left me in awe and I feel like no words can describe my love for this book. So I guess I'll start off simple: with the cover.
This cover is one of my absolute favourites. Seriously, that is drop dead gorgeous. I have a puddle of drool forming right now. I wish I could just melt into that universe and be one of those silhouetted figures! I wish my dreams looked like that.
So, moving on, past my puddle of drool...
This book starts out super strong! There is no long introduction, no waiting time. Page #1, Amy is getting ready to be frozen; frozen for a 300 year long journey to another planet. Cue fan girl scream. Seriously, this book is a perfect example of why I adore sci-fi!
After Amy gets frozen, we start learning about Elder, a 16 year old boy living on the ship centuries after Amy gets frozen. At first I was like, "Nooo, take me back to Ami!" But I quickly got settled in with Elder. The chapters in this book alternate between Amy and Elder's points of view, and Elder's chapters are the ones that start off focusing on the conspiracies and mysteries in the space ship. Things get super interesting super fast! Plus, Elder is such a great character. I love how he's independent and he thinks for himself. He doesn't swallow the brainwash nonsense that some people try to feed him. He's young so he still has a lot to learn, but he doesn't accept everything his elders (haha) tell him as fact. He's not afraid to question and doubt.
This book is interesting because we're not just learning about a future version of our world; we're reading about a girl who's also learning about a future version of our world! She's in our position. She's suddenly thrown centuries into the future, into a culture with different traditions, different appearances, and different ways of living. It's just as strange to her as it is to us readers! Things are so different that suddenly she's the freak on the ship; she's the one who's different and talks funny and looks funny and isn't their kind of 'normal.' That makes her very easy to relate to and sympathize with.
Across the Universe will keep you completely on edge! Each chapter is filled with some kind of beauty, excitement, mind blowing information, or entrancing love. From the moment Amy wakes up, she's faced with new challenges, conspiracies to unravel, truths to face, hard facts to accept, and feelings she's never felt before. I could completely place myself in her shoes and I felt every emotion she was feeling.
Maybe the end was a little rushed, and there wasn't a super awesome twist. The gist of it is that there's a central conflict throughout the story: someone is unplugging the people who are cryogenically frozen and killing them. The answer to that does become pretty obvious, so it's not a huge z0mg moment when it gets revealed. But there are other things you don't even think about that are a complete shocker! So that makes up for it!
This is definitely a must-read for any sci-fi/dystopian fans. Now excuse me while I go buy the second book!
Jordon
Written on Jul 4, 2012
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I was super excited to read this book because I love Science Fiction programs so I thought it was weird I had never read any books that were set in space etc.
The premise of the book excited me, it sounded awesome. It kind of reminded me of the program Stargate Universe, well at least the end of season two when everyone freezes themselves ready to wake up in three years time. Plus the whole stuck on a spaceship thing.
From the blurb I read (It was different to the one I have put in the summary area above), the book sounded like it would be about an adventure in space where Amy finds she has woken up too early by accident (Well not really since she was nearly murdered), she finds she is alone (She thinks) until she stumbles across a (Very sexy) warrior named Elder (and then lots of aliens), they end up getting in space fights, witness a dying star, escape a black hole, come across another spaceship, acquire a crew and try to save the universes from a frightening evil. I let my imagination go crazy! Now that story is something I would still love to read!
In my mind I imagined a whole action packed adventure with aliens, lies, secrets and love. I’m not sure why, I guess as soon as I saw the words “Cryogenically frozen”, “Spaceship”, “300 years in the future”, “Unplugged, and she is nearly killed”, I imagined a whole different story. A story with a lot of exciting possibilities. A story that would fill the void that has been there since the shows that were made/produced/based on stories by Gene Roddenberry have stop being made. Seriously, if science fiction T.V. shows like Gene Rodenberry’s Andromeda were made now they would be amazing with the use of the technology we have at the moment!
So you can imagine my disappointment when I read the book and found that the story I read was nothing like the story I had imagined. Well, I mean you can only imagine that if you have read the book already. It wasn’t horrible, I did still enjoy it! I was just disappointed the premise didn’t meet my overzealous expectations. There wasn’t any action in it, or aliens, or stars exploding/imploding, or planets forming, or black holes threatening the existence of the mission, the spaceship and everyone inside it!
When it comes to space my imagination does get quite crazy. I love the idea of the adventure of space. The completely unknown. It’s fascinating and I could day dream about it all day. I mean I would even write this space adventure story myself if I were any good at writing and researching and I was patient enough for the time and hard work it takes to write such an amazing story. But I digress.
This story was practically just a regular mystery story set on a spaceship. Yeah there were differences because it was set on a space ship but I found the story didn’t take advantage of the exciting adventures that could have happened because it was set on a spaceship. It was just a regular murder/mystery story set in a different location. Very disappointing when comparing that to my space adventure story don’t you think?
But none the less it was an alright read. It was still interesting. It had me guessing. And I read the whole book in one night because I wanted to see what happened. I’m not sure how I felt about the story switching between Amy’s and Elder’s points of few but I can see why it had to. It wasn’t as exciting as I had wanted it to be but there was still excitement there.
If you like science fiction give this a go! Just don’t expect to read anything action packed or about space or aliens.
And if you happen to know of any stories that are like the space adventure I described above please let me know! I would love to read such an adventure! Seriously. I am craving it.
Miss J
xx
inlibrisveritas
Written on Feb 19, 2012
Okay…that’s over, for now. To the review!
The summary and the fact that the author is one of the nicest I’ve had the pleasure to talk to is the reason I was drawn to this book. I keep up with a lot of authors but Beth is definitely one of the ones that make me smile, and I just knew I had to read this. First up, the title…the fact that it’s Beatles song makes me squee a bit. I’m not a real Beatles fan, since I prefer the remakes (the movie) over the original songs but I do love the songs.
The writing and the plot is so crisp and well thought out that when I did get the chance to read it, it was hard to put down. I loved the alternating POV’s, which is rare for me because typically it’s something that can really bring a story down for me but in this case it definitely added to the whole experience. You end up understanding the full situation and differing opinions from both Amy and Elder, and it makes it that much more enjoyable. The characters are also really fleshed out and you understand where they are coming from but you also see how they differ. I really enjoyed Amy and her place on Godspeed, as well as Elder’s place. It’s such a unique idea for the plot, definitely one of the most dystopian type novels I’ve read. I have to say that Harley is probably my favorite character though, there was something about him that just made me smile and at time same time he kind of hurt my heart.
My favorite part of the book though was the last 98 pages, that was the moment where my heart kind of dropped and I was floored. The great thing is that during those last 98 pages it happened more than once and I couldn’t stop reading. I ended up staying up till around 3am to finish it, and as a result slept in till 1pm…but it was well worth it. If I had book two I would have started it immediately, and it’s going to kill me to have to wait to buy it.
Overall I do recommend this book, completely and wholeheartedly. For those looking for younger readers, it does contain some mention of sexual activity but it’s never vulger nor does it harp on the actual act…other than that it’s pretty clean. If you haven’t read this and you enjoy YA and dystopian novels then you totally should.
e_rodz_leb
Written on Apr 25, 2011
I don't think that I would have been able to make the decision that Amy made. I think I would have preferred to stay with my family on Earth and live a happy life, that beein frozen in limbo for centuries. Her experiences before, during and after being frozen would drive crazy a leser mortal.
As for the life in this space ship, I don't know where to start. To be honest I guessed most of what was happing or happened, but it was still a sick thing to do to drug so many people into submission.
I will definitely pick up the rest of the books in the series.
lizarodz
Written on Apr 25, 2011
I don't think that I would have been able to make the decision that Amy made. I think I would have preferred to stay with my family on Earth and live a happy life, that beein frozen in limbo for centuries. Her experiences before, during and after being frozen would drive crazy a leser mortal.
As for the life in this space ship, I don't know where to start. To be honest I guessed most of what was happing or happened, but it was still a sick thing to do to drug so many people into submission.
I will definitely pick up the rest of the books in the series.
Jo
Written on Feb 9, 2011
When I first heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. Not because it sounded great, not because of the beautiful cover, and not because it was a debut novel. I wanted to read it because it was by Beth Revis. I don't know if other British bloggers are as familiar with Beth as they are with maybe Cat Clarke or Karen Mahoney, British authors who are prevalent in the book blogosphere, but Beth is also one of those authors. She has commented on various posts on Ink and Paper, and I have commented on hers, and remember when she was still an aspiring published author. So to me, Beth is "one of us". So of course I had to read her novel, and I really, really wanted to like it. There were two things that worried me though. Firstly, it's set in space, and I have absolutely no interest in fiction set in space in book form (put it on the TV or the cinema and I'm there). Secondly, it's dystopia, and I've found I don't get on well with them. But Beth wrote it, so I had to read it. And, oh my god, it was amazing!
I actually don't know where to start. Let's start with the space/sci-fi aspect. As I said, I have no interest in space in books, but I'd say Across the Universe is very light on the sci-fi. Of course, the story is set on the spaceship Godspeed, and there have been some technical advances since Amy left Earth 250 years ago, such as floppies - computers on floppy sheets of plastic (think tablets, but on perspex), and wi-coms, communication devices implanted behind the ear, but Revis writes it in such a way as to make it all sound so simple and understandable, it's not overly heavy and complicated. Also, there are farms, homes, a hospital and other buidings within the lower level of the ship, it's that big. So although you're always aware that the story is set on a spaceship, and how claustrophobic it is, there's still a familiar feel to it, which helps for someone like me who wouldn't normally pick up a book because it's space sci-fi.
The "world" of the ship is just wow. A lot of time has gone by on this ship, and there have been some changes to what we consider normal. How they are ruled, the process of reproduction, and the things that go on behind the scenes that the population at large doesn't know about. There are some absolutely shocking and disgusting discoveries to come across in this book, so I won't spoil them for you. But the way Revis wrote it, the circumstances on board the ship, and the reasons for what happens, you find yourself understanding and seeing the "logic" of it all, even though it's absolutely horrendous. It's just fantastic!
The plot itself is just genius! It's so intricate with the murder mystery, Amy discovering everything from technology to the way of life, and Elder and Amy finding out what's really going on, and having everything link to each other. Seriously, I was reading and just couldn't stop thinking "Wow!" It blew me away time after time, it was just fantastic!
What's not made clear in the blurb is that the novel is actually from multiple perspectives, that of Amy and Elder, which in and of itself is just genius because of how different they are, they both learn from the other about how things are, how things should be, and what's "normal". Amy is just a brilliant character. As you can imagine she's devastated to have been woken up early, that she almost died, and will be older than her parents when they are woken up, and she's suffering from culture shock over how things are just so different, and claustrophobia. Yet she's absolutely determined to get to the root of the attempted murder and keep her frozen parents safe. It's almost like it's something to focus on to keep her going while she adjusts to her new life. Elder is brilliant too. He wants to learn, he wants to know all there is to know about being Eldest - the leader - so he can do a good job, and has more than one internal conflict going on over what the right thing actually is. The romance between them is a slow burner, but it's really, really sweet! I absolutely love how enthralled Elder is by Amy's red hair, and how he describes it - being a red head myself, it was a bit of an ego boost, ha!
The ending is just wonderful! I have to admit I did work out some things earlier on in the book, but there were others that just... made my jaw drop! It was brilliant, and wonderful, and completely satisfying considering the circumstances. I absolutely loved this book! It was clever, thoughtprovoking, emotional, fascinating, and just simply...wow. Kiersten White is quoted saying, “A horrifying and deliciously claustrophobic masterpiece that’s part sci-fi, part dystopian, and entirely brilliant,” and I couldn't have put it better myself. I cannot wait to read the next book, which should be making it's way to our grubby little hands sometime next year. If there is only one book you buy this year, it has to be this one.
Stephanie
Written on Feb 7, 2011
The whole concept really frightened me. The thought of being stuck inside a spaceship your whole life seems awful, and being frozen alive is terrifying. How Amy had the guts to get frozen is beyond me.
I really enjoyed the alternating perspectives. With Elder, you got to see what it was really like within the ship and how it works and runs and how it's organized so nothing gets out of hand. With Amy, you get to see what the ship looks like through someone who has been on Earth. Basically, the spaceship is just bizarre, and that's what made this book so fascinating. And the 'romance' between Amy and Elder, it was more Elder lusting after Amy. Amy was more worried about people killing her parents, which I was very happy to see.
I really, really enjoyed the history of the spaceship and how Revis used history on the Earth as an example for the spaceship. I wish we got some more information on what life was like on the spaceship when it first started it's journey through space, though I think I only wanted more because I found everything so interesting.
Across the Universe was a very fascinating and fun read. I can't wait to read the next book.