Really Ravishing Review (Across the Universe))

Review of Across the Universe, by Beth Revis. 

Quickie: Sort of like Lost In Space, but creepy, and with a better love story.

Full: Amy and her parents are being cryogenically frozen. This, in itself, is creepy. They're going to be stored aboard the Godspeed as it makes its way from Earth to a new planet, Centauri Earth. Amy's parents are essential to cultivating the new civilization on Centauri Earth, but Amy... well, Amy is "Nonessential Cargo". Ouch. Cargo?

Fifty years before the Godspeed is set to land, Amy wakes up, still in her cryo-casket (my own wording) and drowning in cryo fluid. This was not how things were supposed to happen! Amy is rescued, luckily, by Elder, the up-and-coming leader of the Godspeed.

Elder is fascinated by Amy, for she's nothing like anything he's ever seen. Really. Every person aboard the ship looks the same, so Amy's red hair and fair skin are akin to magic in Elder's eyes.

But why was she woken up early? Who tried to wake her up? Why didn't they stay and make sure she woke up fully, instead of leaving her to drown? And if they left her on purpose... well that's attempted murder now, isn't it?

As Amy, Elder, and Elder's friend Harley try to discover who is behind Amy's near-drowning, more bodies are pulled out of cryo and left to die. Obviously, the person responsible is still trying to kill off the frozen people, but in spite of the round-the-clock guard that the three have set up, the bodies continue to be unfrozen.

Discovering the identity of the murderer isn't the only problem though- Amy's having a hard time adjusting to her new cage called Godspeed, and she's crushed and horrified that she may never see her parents again... and if she does, she'll be older than them! Elder's got problems too, as he tries to learn all he needs to know to lead the ship, he comes across knowledge and secrets that are truly unsettling, even horrific.

I just want to say outright- I loved this book. It was more than sci-fi (which I love), it was a thriller and a mystery and an adorable love story. It really makes you think. I was alternately fascinated and appalled at the ideas of the Godspeed inhabitants, along with their creations and innovations. I can't even imagine life on board a giant space ship. Spending your entire life in a floating hunk of metal? Knowing your children will have the exact same life that you do? How very... bland and depressing.

The pacing of Across the Universe worked beautifully for me. I never got bored. There are so many secrets to unlock, so many thoughts to explore, there's something new at every turn.

If you don't like sci-fi, you should definitely read it. It's more than sci-fi, it's SciRoMur. That would be Sci-Fi/Romance/Murder Mystery, for those of you who didn't catch that. :-p

4 out of 5 stars.

Really Ravishing Review (Grimspace)

Review of Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre. 

Quickie: Fantastic Sci-Fi! Loved the world, loved the characters.

Full: Sirantha Jax is a jumper. She was born with the J-gene, a genetic anomaly that allows her to "jump" through space, to take entire ships full of people from one place in space to another. She's the Corp's star, their best. But her last jump, a jump to a planet called Matins IV, went terribly wrong. Stuck in the Unit Psych being interrogated endlessly about the events preceding the crash, undergoing "dream therapy", and reliving horrible, confusing memories, Sirantha is about to break.

Her time there is cut short, however, when an unexpected savior breaks in a takes her out of the Unit Psych and off planet. The question she asks herself after a few days with this "hero" is, "Is this really better?". They're on the run and Sirantha doesn't know why. She soon uncovers the mission of the rag-tag crew she's with though; they're out to create an academy to train jumpers and give the almighty Corp some competition. Sirantha is necessary because they need a jumper to take them to all the different planets that the want to gather untapped jumpers from.

Sirantha's past winds up catching up to her, endangering the whole crew, and Sirantha feels (justly) responsible. She must confront her past and save the lives of those she's grown to care about. Without dying in the process, of course. That proves harder and harder as the Corp uses their power to manipulate and corrupt.

This isn't the first book by Ann Aguirre I've read, so I was prepared for the awesomeness. Even so, I was more than a little bit blown away. Sirantha was so very real. She was flawed and funny and had an extensive backstory that I loved getting glimpses of.

She was also a strong person, and I admired her greatly. Maybe this just shows what a girl I am, but I was heartbroken when she had to shave all her hair off. I'm very attached to my own hair, it's long and it's taken ages to get it that way. So the thought of shaving it all off.... AH! Anyhow, she had to lose her hair and although she was sad, she did it anyway. Maybe she just wasn't as fond of her hair as I am of mine... but still. Props to her for being so cool about it.

Writing-wise, there were a few spots where the pacing wasn't quite ideal, but in general I have no complaints. The characters were multi-dimensional and I loved all the sci-fi gadgets, gizmos, and life-forms. In fact, I was delighted by the realistic qualities... It was a future I could envision. It felt like this was a future that could actually happen, and I could understand the timeline. Usually I feel like sci-fi books are just a spot in time and I can't quite place it, even if they give a date. In Grimspace, I felt grounded, I knew how I got there. There's a good chance I'm not articulating this well, but it's difficult to describe.

Anyhow, I loved Grimspace and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. If you enjoy sci-fi, strong female leads, and just the right amount of humor, you should give Grimspace a try. :)

5 out of 5 stars.