Across the Universe

Beth Revis
Book 1 in Across the Universe trilogy

Amy is just a kid and is put in a position to make the biggest decision of her life. Should she end her life as she knows it in order to jump on a space ship with her parents and wake up in 250 years on another planet?

On the ship Godspeed, the Eldest and Elder are the current and future leaders. Their "cargo" is secret but their purpose is clear. Get to Centauri-Earth and initate the first human colony on another planet. When Amy is unfrozen before her time, she is taken under Elder's wing. What starts as a straight-up sci-fi drama turns into the space version of dystopia. A teen age boy and girl slowly uncover the corruption and systemic evils of the world they live in and become determined to change things for the better. And we get to evaluate the value of life, how to insure quality of life for all, the rights of one vs. the good of all, etc. This one just happens to be in a bit more of a claustrophobic atmosphere. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series.

The thing with sci-fi is you should probably get the sci part right. And these are just easy fixes. Why refer to an inertial confinement hydrogen fission power source? Clearly this would be a fusion device? Why talk about a lead cooled fast reactor engine that can take the uranium waste, recycle it and use it again for fuel --- indefinitely? At least don't break the fundamental laws of physics without making this a significant part of the plot line. Actually, for now I will give Revis a break on the recycled fuel since that little piece of science was told to us by Eldest, a known scientific neophyte. But she better clear that up in the next installment.
Rating: Read it