TITLE: A Million Suns
SERIES: Across the Universe, Book 2
AUTHOR: Beth Revis
NARRATORS: Tara Carrozza and Lucas Salvagno
PUBLISHER: Penguin Audio
DATE OF PUBLICATION: January 10, 2012
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook, 10 hours and 18 minutes
GENRE: Young Adult, Science Fiction
ISBN: 978-1101539606
ISBN: 978-1101539606
SYNOPSIS:
Godspeed was once fueled
by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It’s been three months. In that
time, Amy has learned to hide who she is. Elder is trying to be the
leader he’s always wanted to be. But as the ship gets more and more out
of control, only one thing is certain: They have to get off the ship.
MY REVIEW:
I received this audiobook for review from the publisher. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the
views expressed herein are my own.
When I reviewed Across the Universe, I said that I thought
that it was a solid series opener even though it didn’t knock my socks off.
Apparently, Revis was just getting warmed up because A Million Suns totally
rocked!!
The second in the series picks up 98 days from when Amy was
awakened from the cryo chamber. Orion, the ship’s previous Elder, sends Amy on
somewhat of a scavenger hunt to search for clues to discover the secrets that
Eldest was trying to hide. Although he tried to do the right and
noble thing, it appears that ruling without Phydus may be clearly more
difficult than he envisioned. The inhabitants awaken from their drugged-up stupor
and some residents cause dissension. Total chaos abounds: People stop working, the
food supply becomes low, some become violent, crimes commence which results in
a police force being established, and some troublemakers try to start a
rebellion. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Add to that a psychopath
who is killing people and making it look like Elder is eliminating the
dissidents. What a recipe for disaster!
Revis had me literally on the edge of my seat! There was so
much tension and dischord, and Bartie is a brilliant antagonist. Aside from Elder,
I think that he was my favourite character. His arguments were very persuasive
and reasonable and, under different circumstances, I would have loved him.
However, because he was against Elder, I just couldn’t side with him.
My only complaint is my irritation with Amy. Her emotions
keep waffling back and forth regarding Elder. Does she love Elder, or not? She
keeps lamenting, “If only I had a choice, then I would know.” Well, just
because she is the same age as Elder does not mean that she needs to become
betrothed to him! What is precluding her from dating one of the 20s-generation
on the ship? They really are not that much older than she is. Why does she
think that Elder is her only option? Sheesh, there must be tons of young men
who would jump at the chance to date someone as unique as Amy is. After all,
she is not of the same ethnicity and the introduction of new blood to the gene
pool wouldn’t be a bad thing to a couple thousand people who are contained in the
same environment!
The last third of the book is a riveting ride, and so many
secrets are revealed. I love how Revis continuously fleshed everything out, unraveling all of the lies. The ending left me wanting more, and I cannot wait
to find out what happens next! I cannot believe that Shades of Earth, the final installment, is not due to be published
until 2013! That is just too far away!
I normally dislike when the same narrators are not used
throughout the series. However, in this case, I am pleased that Tara Carrozza
and Lucas Salvagno took over the reins. Even
though the characters have only aged several months between the two books,
circumstances have led to their jump in maturity. I felt that Carrozza and Salvagno
added more maturity to the characters of Elder and Amy.
MY RATING:
5 stars!! It was superb! I loved it, and I will likely re-read it again in the future! You should definitely read it! Thanks to Penguin Audio for the opportunity to review this fabulous audiobook!
This book qualifies as:
Design by Parajunkee Design
I appreciate the detail you put into the review and it sounds like a good book to me. I keep seeing your little tally sheet at the bottom doing better as you work on your challenges.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sophia Rose! It is encouraging to see those numbers coming up!!
DeleteI loved your review! I just finished reading Across the Universe and A Million Suns (I got to read them back to back :D ) and I loved, loved, loved them both! I can't wait to read the third in.....2013? Boooooo! lol
ReplyDeleteThanks, mamabunny13! I was able to listen to the audiobooks back to back as well, and I am a little perturbed that we have to wait so long for the third, wahhhhhh!
DeleteI finished this yesterday and LOVE IT SOOOO MUCH I CAN'T EVEN-.
ReplyDeleteSeriously. So amazing.
Awesome and FANTASTIC review! :D
Marlene Detierro (Dallas SEO)