Customer Reviews

Across the Universe

5 star:		(116)
4 star:		(96)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"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.

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.

Across the Universe is an incredible debut.

The spaceship Godspeed is massive. So massive, it's a feat of the mind to imagine the whole thing, complete with pastures of grazing cows, a city meant to hold thousands, and any number of nooks and special rooms designed for keeping secrets -- for centuries. And yet, even at that phenomenal size, the oppressiveness is tangible. Beth Revis does an incredible job conveying the scope of the ship, dwarfed by the infinite darkness of space just beyond the rigid walls. There's a scene where Amy goes for a run, and comes up against the edge of the ship -- there's no place to run, she realizes.

Adding to the oppressiveness is the sense of time, and even time travel, as Amy wakes to a world that's long forgotten her and everyone she remembers. All alone in this enclosed fragment of the future, she would give anything to go back, but that time is hundreds of years past. It's utterly chilling. And all the awaits her is another future even more alien than this, on a mystery planet said to support life -- but exactly what type, nobody could verify.

Elder, who voices half the chapters, is a compelling character, easy to fall for. I did wish for more one-on-one scenes between him and Amy to further progress their romance. (no, not in THAT way!) It was a great choice on the author's part to alternate between a girl new to Godspeed's world and a boy who's never known anything beyond it, not even a glimpse of the stars. Eldest, the leader of the ship, was a frightening villain, though less so than the impossible weight of time and space, draping Amy, Elder and the ship in a cosmic, endless shroud.

With a number of surprises including a second-act twist that sent me reeling, Across the Universe is poised to rock the YA world, and it absolutely lives up to that promise. I can't wait to read the second Across the Universe book, and any others Beth Revis writes.

~YA Highway, yahighway (dot) com

"Across the Universe" has one of the most amazing first scenes. Amy watches as both her father and mother submit to the process of cryogenic freezing, preparing for a 300-year journey that will carry them to a new planet. Their literal and metaphorical vulnerabilities are exposed, and she is forced to make the choice, on her own, of whether or not to follow.

It's incredibly well done. Evocative without being mawkish, maintaining intensity while steadily establishing the world of the book. I had prepped myself for "Across the Universe" by reading other reviews: I knew there might be questionably facile science and morality, and set my expectations accordingly. But my breath was taken away by that scene, and I thought: who cares, as long as the story is this gripping?

Then Amy goes to "sleep," we switch POV to Elder, and everything just... downshifts a gear. Or three.

It's not that stuff doesn't happen. A lot happens! Amy is awakened 50 years ahead of schedule and can't be put back into cryo, she explores the ship and finds a frightening new society where all "differences" have been wiped out and most people act like mindless, if satisfied, drones. (Dystopia: it's the new vampires! Thanks, "Hunger Games.") Not content to hide away in the infirmary, Amy sets out in search of answers: who flipped the switch on her stasis, what's causing people to act so strangely, and who IS the mysterious and all-knowing Eldest? What plans does he have for his successor Elder, and how do they involve Amy?

"Across the Universe" should be a page-turner. It's got all the earmarks of a juicy thriller, and the science fiction angle gives old tropes much-needed spice. However: slowly but surely, the expected fun of the reading experience turns into mild but constant nausea. The problem? This book is freakin' bleak.

I'm serious, the emotional summary is something like: bleak. Bleak bleak bleak. So bleak! ... possible smidgeon of hope? NO, ALL IS BLEAK.

And if that's your thing, rejoice. Enjoy a steaming hot cup of oh-god-does-it-ever-let-up. (Spoiler! It never does. We're hit by stomach-churning details up until the last pages.) For the rest of us, though, this unrelentingly oppressive atmosphere may prove difficult to digest. Most dystopic fictions are careful to interweave a little sweet with the bitter -- hope for humanity, unconventional romance -- and this does more than alleviate the overall gloom: it reminds the characters WHY they're fighting this seemingly impossible fight. (Or the readers why they keep plugging away at the book.) Otherwise, why not give up? But there's no real evidence of or even potential for joy in the world of "Across the Universe."

And some characters do give up, committing suicide. Oh, what, you thought I was being cute by stressing the bleak? I'm not kidding! Suicide, murder, virtual slavery, eugenics, attempted rape -- it's all in here. At least the book knows it's a downer and wears its pedigree with pride.

I agree with another reviewer about the cover: it may lead you to suspect romance. Don't set yourself up for disappointment. The relationship between Amy and Elder perhaps wins the dubious honor of being the skeeviest aspect of all. It's not a love story, it's a "last people on earth"-type situation, where they're the only two people near in age and who aren't emotionally stunted or psychotic. There's barely any romantic interaction, and while I understand this is the first book in a trilogy, you may end up perplexed as to how Revis will find any tender feelings after painting herself into a doom corner. (This goes across the board, actually. I have no idea where Revis will take it from here, and that's not a good thing: that means no idea (or no hope!) of what to look forward to, aka no concrete reason to pick up the next book.)

I'll take a moment here to mention: I was really happy that the cast was, sans Amy, made up of characters of color. But the fact that Elder's fascination is jump-started by the features which distinguish Amy as Caucasian, and he never lets up the mental rhapsodizing of said features (to wit: the color of her hair is so unexpected and gorgeous! the color of her eyes is so unexpected and gorgeous! the color of her skin is so unexpected and gorgeous!) was... kind of gross. Less of that, please?

I'm still impressed by the power of that opening scene. I have no doubt of the author's skill, or of this series' ability to create a complex world which makes me feel transported from my own.

But after spending about 400 pages there, I have no idea why I'd WANT to be transported -- or why I'd ever go back.

This plot driven sci-fi suffers from an emotionally illogical premise and sloppy writing. Amy seems to do nothing but run, cry or scream, which not only makes her character extremely flat, but greatly reduces the intended emotional impact of her predicament. Every time she bursts into tears after about the halfway point of the novel, rather than feel sympathy, I found myself rolling my eyes. An attempted rape scene told in first person includes far too many details that a girl under violent attack would not be realistically noticing. Numerous problems persist throughout the novel, such as errors in psychic distance at emotional high points ("I can feel her tears soaking through my tunic" as opposed to the closer, tidier "Her tears soak through my tunic") and most importantly, lack of credibility in the very premise. Never for one second do I believe that loving, stable parents like Amy's would leave her behind forever for the sake of a job, no matter how exciting. Their willingness to do so in the first chapter is (literally) unbelievable. Even if they forced her to come with them, I STILL would not believe it. Why would they take away from their child all of her extended family and friends, forever, no going back? Then after all of that, the "moral" of the story is an irritatingly direct rip-off of C.S Lewis. "You can't have the joy without the pain." And sometimes, even after the pain of forcing yourself to finish a bad 400 page book, you still can't find the joy...

I read this book, and the whole time I read it (it took me almost a week) I kept waiting for it to get really good--so good I would have to stay up all night to finish it. And I waited. And waited. And Waited. And then I turned the page, expecting it to FINALLY be really good because I was almost at the end of the book... and I was on the acknowledgments page. And it never got that good. I guess I was expecting a sci-fi mystery/romance/adventure, but this book is none of those things. It is a whole lot of talking and thinking and pondering and growing crops and looking at fake stars and mating. So I was quite disappointed, especially after all the hype.

And then there was the mating season. Is this book written for kids? Because detailing page after page of graphic, animalistic sex, where people are so focused on the act that they can't separate from each other to help a main character who is on the verge of being graphically gang raped right beside them--I was horrified that the author would put such detail into a young adult book. A brief mention of the Mating Season is all she needed to get her point across, yet she hits the reader over the head with it over and over. The irony is she won't write the "F" word. It was done in bad taste.

Very disappointing.

Overall, I have to say: this book is not appropriate for teens. At all.

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.

Alright, I have to be honest with all of you. I fell victim to all of the hype surrounding Across the Universe and just automatically assumed I would love it. I am a fan of science fiction books, I love teen romances and the cover is beyond stunning. I should have been more cautious going into this, because I feel like my expectations overshadowed my reading and unfortunately, I was left disappointed.

First of all, let's talk about the characters. I can't say that I loved any of the characters. I certainly didn't hate them, but I wasn't crazy about them either. Neither Amy nor Elder had that spark - that thing that connects you to a character and makes you pull for them. I felt like they were simply characters on a page, I did not feel bonded to them at all - especially Elder. Elder has no backbone whatsoever and I often found this irritating. I get that he was raised to follow Eldest blindly, but my god, the whole point of the book is rebellion. Why can't he stop acting like an idiot and actually do something.

Also, the romance between Amy and Elder felt off and a bit out of place. Sadly, there was absolutely zero chemistry between the two of them. After seeing that phenomenal cover, I was expecting these two to knock of socks off. First off, why exactly does Elder like Amy? Yes, I get that she is different looking, and he likes her crazy red hair... but what about her? All she ever says about Amy is that she is different. Um, okay. But why are you suddenly madly in love with her - surely isn't not simply because she is different.

I was also a bit disappointed with the plot. The mystery was predictable; I figured out the majority of the outcome very early on. I kept thinking, "that cannot possibly be right, it's too easy!" But alas, it was too easy. Then, to make matters worse, the ending climax is nonexistent. It just sort of explains what happened and then ends. I am the kind of person who loves a big ending and that was not the case with Across the Universe.

I did however, enjoy the "rewriting of history" where all of the previous leaders change Earth's history to highlight societies without differences. It's both interesting and horrifying to see how Revis makes Hitler into someone Elder respects. When I first read that section, I immediately felt like throwing the book away. I felt dirty. But as I got to thinking, I realized that in the Across the Universe world, this was plausible. If you alter history enough and omit certain horrors, you can make people believe anything. Like I said, I was both intriguing and terrified by this concept.

I was also totally creeped out by the idea of the "season"; which, I guess, was the point. When it was first introduced, I was all sorts of disturbed, but still fascinated at the same time. Unfortunately, Revis doesn't know when it quit and I quickly grew tired of hearing about random people going at it in the background. For the record, I am completely with Amy on this one - if you simply tell people the results of incest, they will be careful of whom they form, relationships with. There is simply no need to have people going at it like rabbits on the streets. Ew.

Overall, I think that Across the Universe was an entertaining read, but it wasn't a great read for me. I will probably continue reading the series, but it will not be on the top of my reading list.

I really, REALLY wanted to love Across the Universe. I've been eagerly anticipating this book for months. And then...I started reading. And it put me to sleep three nights in a row.

I hate that feeling when a book you've looked forward to for so long turns out to be...meh.

Part of my problem? I read Maria V. Snyder's Inside Out last week, and I couldn't help but make comparisons with Inside Out so fresh in my mind. Inside Out is so unique and compelling that Across the Universe felt flat, weary, and (frankly, in some parts) disturbing in comparison.

(As an aside, I highly recommend Inside Out for sci-fi lite, dystopian fans. It's a little tedious in the beginning with all of the ship descriptions--props to Across the Universe for including the ship diagram--but Inside Out hits its stride and turns into a riveting tale of contained life inside a ship of secrets.)

I admit--I had lofty expectations for Across the Universe, which affected my enjoyment. The novel has such a promising premise--I love the idea of blurring the genres into a this sci-fi mystery romance in a dystopian world--and I guess I was just expecting too much. The characters weren't unlikeable, but I didn't find myself really cheering for them, either. The best character in the novel went the way of Cogon from Inside Out, and I'm disappointed this character won't be back for the sequel.

The worst part of Across the Universe is the overuse of "The Season" hammer. I get it--the Season is disturbing and creepy and unnatural--but I felt like Revis kept hitting me over the head with it again and again. I think a few mentions would have been okay since it is important to the plot, but I feel like I spent the entire middle of the book scrunching my nose and saying, "Eeeew, gross." I wanted to scrub my mind with some disinfectant afterwards.

Across the Universe was not a terrible read, but it just never felt completely engaging and compelling--I never had that crazy obsessed feeling you get when you're reading the most amazing book and just CANNOT. PUT. IT. DOWN.

Across the Universe poses some intriguing questions regarding survival, leadership, individual thought, and differences in society, and I hope these ideas will be explored in even greater depth in the sequel, as some of the answers at the end felt too simplistic. The mystery is a little obvious and you'll figure it out way before Elder and Amy, but it did add another dimension to the novel. However, for me, Across the Universe did not live up to the hype. I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't expecting such an epic read.

While I really enjoyed Across the Universe, there were a few problems hat had me rolling my eyes quite a few times. As such, I'm just going to do a pro-con list. Slight spoilers in the "con" list.

PROS:
- A wonderful, complex story that requires thinking on the reader's part, which is so rare now in YA.
- A compelling story in Elder/Eldest's story.
- All the sci-fi bits were just enough to intrigue but not too mindbendingly boring.
- I enjoyed the beautiful world building done here.
- Penguin did some great editing work here, and props to the author too. The prose was easy to read, appropriate for YA, and easy-flowing.

CONS:
- The first half of the book had some pacing issues and I kept wishing they'd just get on with it, and then everything happened really, REALLY fast in the second half. I think the pacing in the first half has a lot to do with the alternating point of views, and all of Amy's point of view chapters were kind of pointless since she was, you know, frozen.
- I hate it when YA books replace offensive words with new less-offensive cuss words, ie "frexing" in this book for another more offensive word. Profanity is profane no matter how you put it. IF you're unwilling to put profanity in a book, then don't. Stop replacing it with these lame replacements. You know the characters' thoughts are still on the profane when they say "frex." This is one of the biggest problems in YA today in my opinion. If you can write about near-graphic human sex scenes all over the book during the Season, why not use cuss words?
- The romance was contrived and horrible. I didn't find it believable at all. The ending offended me because of Elder's propensity to gets away with all he's done with nary a consequence.
- Eldest was seriously one-dimensional. I'd like to know more about Doc though.

Overall, a very enjoyable book. Even though it has quite a few technical issues listed above, I still liked it and was intrigued and compelled by it, so I guess I can call it a success. I debated between 3- or 4-stars for a while, and this is really more like a 3.5