Review: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

A Million Suns by Beth Revis
My rating: 4 of 5 genies
Published: January 10, 2012
Publishers: Razorbill
Pages: 386
Source: Library Loan
Format: Hardcover
Purchase At: The BookDepository.com or Amazon.com

Goodreads Summary 

Godspeed was once fuelled 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 Thoughts

Who doesn't love a little out of this world adventure? I know I do! A Million Suns was a fantastic journey; Elder, Amy and everyone else on Godspeed just grew so tremendously in my esteem and I consider it a pleasure to have witnessed Elder's transition to a more humane Eldest. I was pleased that he ascended so well the position of leader of the ship, believe me, it was a lot to handle!

• Why this book Could be for You

A Million Suns is an almost unbelievable improvement on Across the Universe a book that, mind you, I thought was pretty incredible already. It was great, seeing Beth Revis hone her writing - some of the prose is actually beautiful - and watching her develop the characters as well as relationships made the the whole plot ever more believable.

You should read this if you are in the market for engrossing fiction, complex situations and trying, albeit rewarding, relationships. This is a book which does not disappoint. All the time invested was well worth it!



Yes it is, darling, yes it is...

• Things to Look out For

Bartie, definitely Bartie, watch out for him. I kid you not, that boy could without a doubt incite a Saint to murder. This boy...he takes up far too much of the novel and is excruciating to read about; 80% of the problems in the book are of his making. I do not remember him much from the first book, but he plays a pretty prominent role in this sequel! I wish someone had warned me; there were certain parts of the novel that I just could not get through because his idiocy was mind-boggling.




Gosh, Bartie, you're a freaking asshat. Admit it.

Seriously, I am amazed, because he reads one book, suddenly he's the self-proclaimed expert on everything??You have got to be kidding me.

Elder has it hard enough. With running the ship, fixing the engine and constantly working out kinks in his/Amy's relationship-not-relationship, life is tough for this teen turned leader of many thousands; can someone not cut him a break! And is it so hard to expect that the little ingrate - Bartie - would reason coherently for maybe the first time in his life and realize that life is hard? There will always be hard decisions to make and undoubtedly 99% of them you're not going to like; deal with it, asshat, we all have to. So there, I'm doing you the courtesy of providing a heads-up of sorts: be prepared for a cart-load of stupidity the deeper the book reads, because yes, Bartie is with us.

That aside, the themes in A Million Suns are considerably darker than those previously seen. I think of this book as an appropriate graduation, Revis develops more the plots Across the Universe established in a very stylized and consistent manner. You feel for the characters and gain a greater understanding of who they are and where they came from, for example: Harley might have died but his story continues because readers are given more detail of his upbringing. You will cry for Victria and loathe Luthor, because with him that is kind of a given. Also, all is not finished with Orion either, he's still there...even though, technically, he isn't.

The only reason the rating fell short of five genies was because, as I mentioned, Bartie was very grating. I do not know if perhaps others have a higher tolerance for bull than I, but it was too much and this girl is not so strong. His presence was a pain and ultimately it took a piece of enjoyment for this book away from me.

• Final Verdict

Be it buy or borrow you need to get your hands on this sequel! Revis broke the Curse and her second book in the "Across the Universe" series is even better than the first. Read it!

Favourite Quotes

"Choice or no, my heart is his."

"But Amy," Elder says. "Space suits!"

"Love without choice isn't love at all."