Now 2023 Previous Articles Road Essays Road Reviews Author Black Authors Title Source Age Genre Series Format Inclusivity LGBTA Portfolio Artwork WIP

Recent posts


Month in review

Reviews
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
Afterparty by Daryl Gregory
All Clear by Connie Willis
Cherry Heaven by L.J. Adlington
The Color Master: Stories by Aimee Bender
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward
Curses! Foiled Again by Jane Yolen
Ghostbusters: Total Containment by Erik Burnham
The Girls from the Revolutionary Cantina by Mike Padilla
Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book by Grumpy Cat
The Hidden Spring by Clarence Budington Kelland
Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
How to Paint a Cat by Rebecca M. Hale
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Journal of a UFO Investigator by David Halperin
Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer
Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
The Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Simon's Cat in Kitten Chaos by Simon Tofield
The Summer Experiment by Cathie Pelletier
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
3 Below by Patrick Carman
Touchstone by Laurie R. King
Under the Dome by Stephen King
The Vampire's Visit by David A. Poulsen
xxxHolic Volume 13 by CLAMP

Previous month


Rating System

5 stars: Completely enjoyable or compelling
4 stars: Good but flawed
3 stars: Average
2 stars: OK
1 star: Did not finish



Privacy policy

This blog does not collect personal data. It doesn't set cookies. Email addresses are used to respond to comments or "contact us" messages and then deleted.


Comments for Across the Universe

Across the Universe: 08/07/14

cover art

Across the Universe by Beth Revis is a parallel narrative about life and death on a slow ship. Amy is one of the founding members, placed into cryosleep. Elder, is the ship's next generation of leader, generations after Amy but when she's unexpectedly awakened, he has to become her mentor and protector.

Places, even enclosed environments, evolve over time. Cultures change. Language too. Through Amy's chapters we experience the change and the disorientation that goes with it. Society on the ship has evolved into mix of Stranger in a Strange Land, Logan's Run and Soylent Green (the film, having a different message than Harry Harrison's Make Room, Make Room)

Though it takes Across the Universe time to settle down, it eventually becomes a murder mystery. Someone is turning on the cryochambers and letting people die. People close to Amy are dying and she against all odds has to protect them.

Elder, bored out of his gourd, and well aware that his mentor, Eldest, is keeping stuff from, uses Amy as his excuse to finally learn the truth behind the ship.

So — while the plot is predictable to anyone who is an active consumer of science fiction, it's still a satisfying plot. My only complaint is that the explanation behind dystopian shift in the Godspeed's society, is one that at face value doesn't physically work. But given how many other lies were being told, I'm willing to believe that the "explanation" is just one more lie.

Four stars

Comments (0)


Lab puppy
Name:
Email (won't be posted):
Blog URL:
Comment:




Twitter Tumblr Mastadon Flickr Facebook Facebook Contact me

1997-2023 Sarah Sammis