Across the Universe [Paperback]

Beth Revis (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 29, 2011 | Series: Across the Universe

Book 1 in the New York Times bestselling trilogy, perfect for fans of Battlestar Gallactica and Prometheus!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SURVIVE ABOARD A SPACESHIP FUELED BY LIES?

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends--and planet--behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.

Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader. And Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls? All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2011: As the spaceship Godspeed travels toward a new earth, the lives of 100 cryogenically frozen settlers hang in the balance after someone endeavors to quietly murder them. The other passengers aboard the ship have never known life outside its walls and are enslaved by the machinations of Eldest, their tyrannical leader, who divides them into three distinct classes. When Amy, a frozen settler from earth, survives being thawed in a murder attempt, she immediately bonds with Elder, Godspeed's lone teen and future leader. Amy’s individuality, her rebellion, and her fierce desire for freedom, inspire Elder to act on his own doubts and defy Eldest--his mentor and keeper--with shocking results. Eldest’s methods of twisting history and altering the lives of this captive community are a frightening echo of tyrants in our own history, and Across the Universe challenges readers to consider the impact of unchecked power, blind trust, and the ability of one dissenting voice to make a difference.-- Seira Wilson

Preview the Spacecraft in Across the Universe
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

In Across the Universe, Godspeed is a vast spaceship, the size of a small county. The lives of its passengers are severely regulated. And people are divided into three categories--Feeders, Shippers, and Keepers--represented by the three levels of the ship.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-Imagine leaving everything behind in order to be with the people you love, only to be left with nothing. Amy and her parents have been cryogenically frozen to be awakened in 300 years when their spaceship reaches the planet they will colonize. Unfortunately, Amy is unfrozen 50 years too soon. Her parents are too critical to the colony to awaken early, so by the time she sees them again, she will be older than they are. The culture on the spaceship is unfamiliar and everyone Amy meets is either an emotionless drone or lives in the mental ward. But there is little time for her to grieve the loss of her former life, because someone is thawing other colonists and leaving them to die. In order to find the murderer, Amy must join forces with Elder, the teenage future leader of the ship. But all of the inhabitants onboard have been told lies, and there are secrets that even Elder doesn't know. This compelling novel is told in alternating chapters from Amy's and Elder's points of view. Amy is a contemporary character in a fish-out-of-water situation, and her grief and fear are realistically depicted. And as Elder learns the truth behind the ship, he begins to experience a coming-of-age that is convincingly written. The mystery will propel readers along, and the budding romance between Amy and Elder set against the backdrop of a dystopian society will appeal even to readers who don't enjoy science fiction. Revis's thrilling debut novel hints at more great books to come.-Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill (November 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781595144676
• ISBN-13: 978-1595144676
• ASIN: 1595144676
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (404 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beth Revis grew up in western North Carolina reading CS Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle. Her debut novel, a sci fi novel for teens who don't like sci fi, is ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (Penguin). The first of a trilogy, it tells the story of a girl born of Earth but cryogenically frozen for a centuries-long trip across the universe and the boy born on the ship who she meets when she's woken up fifty years too early. The sequel, A MILLION SUNS, will be published in January 2012, followed by the third in the trilogy in 2013.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 155 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars promising, but lack of nuance January 12, 2011

By Serena Witzke VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

"What does it take to survive aboard a spaceship fueled by lies?"

The tag on the cover hints that the book should be cataloged under 'thriller,' while the cover itself, a boy and a girl a breath away from kissing, suggests YA romance. In truth, this book is neither. The premise is solid: Amy is frozen with her parents for the maiden voyage of the Godspeed, a vast spaceship flying across space to reach a new planet, only glimpsed from afar. The earth is somehow doomed, so the Financial Resource Exchange (a conglomeration that governs the world in lieu of countries) is sending military and scientific personnel to the new world on a chance that it could be made livable and safe. While the elite colonists sleep, a 'crew' of 2500 settlers will be born, work, and die for 300 years as the ship sails through space. Amy, however, is mysteriously woken up 50 years ahead of schedule, nearly dying in the process. Everything has changed: the people are monoethnic, there is no free will, and difference has been eliminated. The people have given up all control to a governing system of an Eldest and an Elder, the two oldest people of their respective generations on the ship, and go about their lives in a mindless stupor, interrupted only by 'mating season,' the one time in a generation the people go into an animalistic sex craze to create the next generation. The only people who act 'normal' are the inmates of the mental ward, where Elder lives. But when Amy comes among them, the regular workings of Godspeed are thrown into disarray.

So far so good. Amy's sinister awakening is reminiscent of the creepier moments of Event Horizon or Sunshine.... The ship itself, humanity's struggle to survive in isolation in a metal can careening through space, and the issues of tyranny and freedom in extreme circumstances smack of the better seasons of Battlestar Galactica. More people are unfrozen, murdered, by an unseen enemy. Amy is befriended by Elder, a young man being trained by Eldest to rule the ship, and his friend Harley, a 'mad' artist from the mental ward. Elder, already expressing dissent about Eldest's autocratic regime and the lengths to which he goes to manipulate the people into obedience, learns through Amy's difference and knowledge that much of what he thought he knew is a lie - Eldest has been manipulating him along with the people of the ship. Together the two of them work to overthrow Eldest and find out who is murdering the frozen colonists.

The murder plot quickly falls to the background and the main 'dystopian' plot kicks in. Eldest is evil, his regime is oppressive, and he is keeping the kids apart. Clearly, he must be stopped. Or so the book would have you believe. The author raises some very difficult issues: how does one effectively rule a society on whom the fate of humankind depends? Is it right to sacrifice the lives and happiness of the few to save the many? Is rigid control necessary for order? If humans must be so cruelly manipulated just to keep them from destroying each other, is humanity really worth saving? Is it better to live a pleasant lie or a bitter truth?

Unfortunately, most of these questions go unanswered, or are answered simplistically. Amy and Elder decide that Eldest's methods are too cruel, and he must be stopped. They then set about sabotaging the complex system of controls Eldest has imposed on the ship as the book races to its uneven conclusion.

Elder's desire to overthrow Eldest is sparked by his juvenile attraction to Amy. Amy is motivated by her idealistic belief in black and white "TRUTHS" and "LIES" and her longing for earth as it was before she left. When Eldest threatens to toss Amy out an airlock for being a potential disruption of the ship and is at another point likened to Hitler we are meant to hate him. He's a blocking character for the romance between the protagonists. He does cruel, controlling things. But the author gives far too little attention to *why* Eldest rules the way he does. When we get a major plot twist late in the novel, it will become clear to most adult readers why this oppressive regime was created and why it perhaps shouldn't be tampered with so recklessly. There are many highly complex and difficult issues of rebellion, authority,and control involved, all of which are bulldozed so that there can be a final showdown between 'good' and 'evil'.

What I found oddly inconsistent, however, were the last few chapters. After all of the heavy-handed rhetoric about 'truth' and 'lies' for the majority of the book, some characters express doubt about their actions, and we learn who the initial saboteur was. I wanted to learn more about what was now motivating the characters, why they had second thoughts, and where those thoughts might lead. The ending felt abrupt and forced. I had thought the book was a stand-alone, but now I wonder if the author has a sequel in the works to tie up the many loose ends. If she can engage with some of the deeper questions and moral issues she has raised in 'Across the Universe,' I think I would enjoy that book. Read more ›

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Completely falls apart June 28, 2011

By Biblibio VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This world has seen some bad books. "Across the Universe" is one of them.

When I try to organize my thoughts about this one, I'm surprised at how across the board they are. "What went wrong?" I have to ask, staring at the lovely purplish cover. "Where did the book fall apart?" Well, in my case, quite literally at the seams (the paperback copy I checked out of the library literally fell apart in my hands). It's a book with some potential, but nothing further - a mildly original take on a wildly cliched setting, several dull-as-doorknob paper-cutout characters, choppy writing, bad pacing... oh, the list goes on. Let's begin at the top.

Seasoned sci-fi readers will immediately recognize the cliche that is the setting - a settlement spaceship, traveling for hundreds of years with its frozen passengers below while a crew mans topside. It's always been an interesting premise, I'll grant that, and furthermore Beth Revis places an intriguing (and currently popular) twist on this familiar story by throwing it into a classic dystopia. But there's another fault - there's a textbook mad dictator, a predictably bland leader-to-be hero (Elder) and his equally dull romantic interest (Amy). The story only truly begins with Amy's arrival into the new futuristic world, but this happens much too late in the book to be of any interest. By this point, I've concluded that Elder is a pretty boring narrator, that Amy is just whiny (plus, I know she's about to wake up, so the suspense is of the false variety...), and I've managed to figure out about two thirds of the "mystery" elements that appear later in the book.

The premise quickly begins to come undone, particularly as Amy joins Elder in true narration.... This is the point where the weak characterization takes over, overshadowing many other potential flaws in the book. Boy and girl sound similarly effeminate (with the occasional out-of-place lusty thought from Elder meant, I suppose, to remind us that he is, in fact, a boy) and similarly uninvolved. Elder is the more interesting character but Amy is treated with more care - Revis casually raises issues from Amy's former life in an attempt to add further dimensions, but it's hard to overcome the original impression that this is a whiny, annoying young woman. Add to this the clunky writing and the various behavioral inconsistencies (which I won't go into, as they will include some very spoilery bits, but trust me - one minute the girl thinks one thing, the next minute she's completely forgotten about it... what?!) and what you get is a giant mess of characterization.

As for the story development itself, I suppose I was mostly disappointed because this was the only front that showed potential. Revis' world building is not bad (it's the strongest aspect of a very weak book) and it's relatively easy to overlook the faults. Setting that aside, it's impossible to overlook the plot holes. "Across the Universe" has BAD pacing - things happen too quickly, with little rationale behind the behavior (this relates to the previously mentioned problem regarding characterization...). The backstory is the most interesting aspect of the story but it's hardly delved into (possibly an indicator of sequels...? I sincerely hope not) and what's mentioned lacks some creativity and imagination. Revis builds her story along entirely familiar sci-fi lines but so watered down that it completely lacks punch. Mad dictator Eldest was a weak caricature, the mystery completely predictable, the side-characters following entirely familiar cliches... The potential did not make up for the complete lack of anything else of quality.

My final quip is with Revis' writing. I suppose some readers might enjoy this style of young adult present-tense storytelling but it just didn't work for me. Not only did I feel that the alternating chapters were poorly done (particularly in light of both characters sounding overly similar...) but the alternation meant that I was constantly jerked out of the story. The flow felt awkward, the vocabulary stilted and forced. The dialogue never quite clicked either and I came away feeling uncomfortable and wholly unimpressed. Furthermore, Revis was intent on forcing a romance into the story but there was no chemistry. The characters that HAD chemistry weren't, I suppose, meant to have it and so the problem was dealt with in an entirely ungraceful and pointless manner.

Basically, there was nothing I liked about "Across the Universe". Others have liked this book, I know, but I found that it didn't work for me on a single level. Not only was I frustrated by the hasty and yet predictable ending, I couldn't come to terms with the lack of originality in the story, nor the abysmal characterization. The writing didn't work for me, the backstory and setting felt underdeveloped (a shame, because they had potential), the twist was predictable, the characters sounded identical and equally boring and the whole romance felt strained. "Across the Universe" is one of those rare books that I can label "bad", that I can say I truly disliked without having to blink an eye.

Not a book worth reading. Not recommended in the least. Read more ›

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Plot, but... January 24, 2011

By Comet

Format:Hardcover

I can't say enough about the storyline. It was unpredictable, twisted, and very well thought out. It is a wonderful blend of sci-fi, murder mystery, and a hint of romance.
The book was also written nicely. Especially that opening scene!

So, why the three stars? For the characters. They NEED more development! Particularly Elder. I couldn't connect with him, at all. I understand he lives in another world, but he should seem a bit more "person", and a little less "object". He just seemed too flat to me. What does he really think about Amy? We never find out his emotional reactions to this new girl. Isn't he curious at all? Doesn't he think she's odd? None of this is addressed.
To me, Elder is an emotionless robot that does plenty of things and wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, but doesn't have any real feelings. Amy is a bit easier to connect to, seeing that she lived on Earth and we see flashbacks of her life that make her seem more relatable, but there's the same problem with her.

Second, I disliked what Elder revealed to us at the very end. We saw Elder's point of view during that time (sorry for being vague, but I don't want to give anything away), and he never said anything to suggest /that/. He pretty much lied to us, the readers. If you can't trust the main character, the main point of view, than who CAN you trust?

But, despite the flaws, the book is the first in a trilogy, and a promising start. I hope they get to the planet before the end of the series, and that the characters develop more.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, because while it's not the best book I've read, it was still enjoyable. If you like sci-fi, and you're looking for a compelling plot, give it a go.