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sam_hartwig's review
5.0
WOW! Now this is how you finish a trilogy!! This was my favourite of the three. There were so many twists and turns, then there's the edge of your seat suspense and woah! the creep factor was turned up to the Max! I've really enjoyed reading this series and fans of Illuminae will love it.
SPOILER ALERT!!
My only slight disappointment was I saw Chris coming from a mile away! It was almost like there was a big 'I'm a traitor' sign above his head.
Other than that I LOVED this book!!
SPOILER ALERT!!
My only slight disappointment was I saw Chris coming from a mile away! It was almost like there was a big 'I'm a traitor' sign above his head.
Other than that I LOVED this book!!
bella247's review
3.0
I expected this to be more...loving and fast.
This book was interesting. A bit of a drag but can also go by really quickly. I always noticed that Elder and Amy lacked no chemistry. Amy is so stubborn, it annoys me
The end kind of ruined me though.
This book was interesting. A bit of a drag but can also go by really quickly. I always noticed that Elder and Amy lacked no chemistry. Amy is so stubborn, it annoys me
The end kind of ruined me though.
cutenanya's review
5.0
Actual score is 4.5 stars.
I find the conclusion to the Across the Universe series adequate but not perfect.
There are quite a few problems in Shades of Earth and the actual quality of the story is closer to a 3.5 or 4 stars. However, I really like the world building and though a bit hurried, the ending is beautiful and fitting for the series.
I try to avoid spoiling the story but from this point on, the review may indirectly give out hints to the story. If you want to avoid being spoilt at all cost, stay away from the rest of my review.
What I find great about Shades of Earth:
1) The idea that if people had known before hand, there wouldn't be casualties, heck, may have fewer wars. Unfortunately, information is never enough and often, lack of information is the key element that drives wars.
2) The romance between Elder and Amy is SWEET. Although "romance" is a big problem in this book, I must say it is also the sweetest thing, depending on your focus of perspective. If you take consider how the relationship between Amy and Elder has evolved from Amy being mad at Elder at the end of AtU (Across the Universe) to the two having so much trust and love now, it's really amazing. While a lot of YA tend to go for love at first sight (or at least falling in love really quickly), I prefer working hard to building love and a relationship. In AtU, we see attraction, in AMS (A Million Suns), we see the two struggling with the chaos and building trust, right in this book, they have moved to a complete new phase.
3) The relationship between Amy and her parents and how she proves she has emerged from a dependent to a mature independent adult, who rebels and yet loves her parents deeply. I especially like the scene between her and her mother near the end.
Now, onto the problems (and here's where spoilers will be unavoidable)
1) The love triangle. I think this is completely irrelevant. They can still show the dilemma between the initial inhabitants and the new comers without attempting a love triangle (though that could hardly be a love triangle really as the bond between Amy and Elder at that point is already too strong, and the characterization of Chris is way too shallow. Had he been introduced in the second instead of the last book, maybe he could be considered a contestant). I prefer this though as I hate nothing more than a love trianlge or square or so forth. ONE BOY and ONE GIRL is the perfect romance.
2) The ending. Heck, Elder coming back is sweet and all but really? After Godspeed crashing into a space station, creating a nuclear explosion, and Elder is alive (not to mention with little food and water). Either he is super man or the author is too afraid to have a tragic end. At least gives Elder more ammunition to stay alive!
3) The slow pace in the beginning and the rushed end. Cut off all the unncessary part with Chris hanging around Amy, Elder's jealousy, Elder being egoistic and arguing with Amy's dad, and you get more room to build a more solid plot and not rush the end.
Overall, I still love this series and I am hoping to reading future works by Beth Revis.
I find the conclusion to the Across the Universe series adequate but not perfect.
There are quite a few problems in Shades of Earth and the actual quality of the story is closer to a 3.5 or 4 stars. However, I really like the world building and though a bit hurried, the ending is beautiful and fitting for the series.
I try to avoid spoiling the story but from this point on, the review may indirectly give out hints to the story. If you want to avoid being spoilt at all cost, stay away from the rest of my review.
What I find great about Shades of Earth:
1) The idea that if people had known before hand, there wouldn't be casualties, heck, may have fewer wars. Unfortunately, information is never enough and often, lack of information is the key element that drives wars.
2) The romance between Elder and Amy is SWEET. Although "romance" is a big problem in this book, I must say it is also the sweetest thing, depending on your focus of perspective. If you take consider how the relationship between Amy and Elder has evolved from Amy being mad at Elder at the end of AtU (Across the Universe) to the two having so much trust and love now, it's really amazing. While a lot of YA tend to go for love at first sight (or at least falling in love really quickly), I prefer working hard to building love and a relationship. In AtU, we see attraction, in AMS (A Million Suns), we see the two struggling with the chaos and building trust, right in this book, they have moved to a complete new phase.
3) The relationship between Amy and her parents and how she proves she has emerged from a dependent to a mature independent adult, who rebels and yet loves her parents deeply. I especially like the scene between her and her mother near the end.
Now, onto the problems (and here's where spoilers will be unavoidable)
Spoiler
1) The love triangle. I think this is completely irrelevant. They can still show the dilemma between the initial inhabitants and the new comers without attempting a love triangle (though that could hardly be a love triangle really as the bond between Amy and Elder at that point is already too strong, and the characterization of Chris is way too shallow. Had he been introduced in the second instead of the last book, maybe he could be considered a contestant). I prefer this though as I hate nothing more than a love trianlge or square or so forth. ONE BOY and ONE GIRL is the perfect romance.
2) The ending. Heck, Elder coming back is sweet and all but really? After Godspeed crashing into a space station, creating a nuclear explosion, and Elder is alive (not to mention with little food and water). Either he is super man or the author is too afraid to have a tragic end. At least gives Elder more ammunition to stay alive!
3) The slow pace in the beginning and the rushed end. Cut off all the unncessary part with Chris hanging around Amy, Elder's jealousy, Elder being egoistic and arguing with Amy's dad, and you get more room to build a more solid plot and not rush the end.
Overall, I still love this series and I am hoping to reading future works by Beth Revis.
alicebme's review
4.0
Wow! This book made me like the whole series a lot more. Great job tying it all up! The very end was a little far fetched, but I'm gonna let that slide since Amy surely needed some love. Excellent choices by the author at every turn.
saritaroth's review
4.0
I LOVED this series . . . Until the ending. I don’t want to go into details for fear of perpetuating spoilers, but it was just too much of a happy ending for me. And that’s coming from someone who loves happy endings!
swampbooks's review
4.0
super upset with how it ended; I feel like there would be so much more for the author to write about! They just landed on a new planet, what's it like? How are the ship-born and the frozens going to survive? will they settle where they're at or explore and make a new town? Although it's understandable why she wouldn't, I very much wish the author would continue with another book. But other than the series ending and all of the heartbreak, amazing book! I've recommended it to all of my book-reading friends.
emasvingerova's review against another edition
5.0
No, tak tohle tedy byla kniha, kterou stojí za to číst. Nedívejte se na konec.
U téhle knihy jsem měla chuť číst úplně jako zběsilá, jen abych se dozvěděla, jak to všechno dopadne. Byl to tak nepopsatelný zážitek, tohle si prostě musíte přečíst!
Hlavně na konci, asi od nějaké šedesáté kapitoly jsem četla až do půlnoci jako zběsilá. Knihu jsem přečetla za dva dny a kousek, a byla jsem tak uchvácená...že to ani slovy nejde popsat :)
U téhle knihy jsem měla chuť číst úplně jako zběsilá, jen abych se dozvěděla, jak to všechno dopadne. Byl to tak nepopsatelný zážitek, tohle si prostě musíte přečíst!
Hlavně na konci, asi od nějaké šedesáté kapitoly jsem četla až do půlnoci jako zběsilá. Knihu jsem přečetla za dva dny a kousek, a byla jsem tak uchvácená...že to ani slovy nejde popsat :)
ellehawk's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked the ending of this book, and I liked the progression and growth from our main characters, but that might be all I liked about this book. The book as a whole doesn't feel like a satisfactory ending to the series, and is definitely making me feel some type of way about the series as a whole. I can see why middle-school-Elle loved it, but I definitely think my tastes have changed significantly since then, as this book just didn't soar for me... I am happy that I gave it a reread though - there is some sort of nostalgia or appeal to my inner child that is fulfilled by reading my old favorites.
renuked's review
5.0
A little spoilery but nothing horrible. Although don't risk it if you're reading it soon. And not until you've read the first two. Because come on people, you don't want to ruin these books for yourselves.
This is one of my favorite science-fiction dystopia series ever. Absolutely. I can think of a million hyped up novels (not naming any) and this trumps them all in everything. In fact, it's so real, its terrifying.
There is just so much tension. I can't even try to explain the intricacies of the plot without giving away all the plot-twists. The obvious ones, yeah you could see them coming, the non-obvious ones....."what the heck just happened?!" is the reaction. It's also such a satisfying ending. The story really didn't smush together and end. It wasn't a quick last minute wrap up. It was well-thought out and all the pieces finally fit together. The mysteries of phydus and the monsters are finally solved. It is really truly incredible and never loses momentum. I could go into depth about all the birds, the flowers, trees and *gasp* the betrayals! But really, it was just so brilliant.
These characters just have so much more depth than before. Honestly, I felt as if I understood Amy and Elder even better as they started to grow into their real roles. Elder was making leaps and strides as a leader, and Amy really grew out of her naive Sol-Earth persona. Of course I missed others, and Beth Revis was completely unafraid to kill off her characters, but it all served a purpose. The new characters (yes the Frozens), angered me at times but they too became lovable, if a little confused about how life on the Godspeed really was. It's all right though. Conflict between characters is better than everyone being too happy. That would just be boring.
We all know that Amy and Elder are totally soul mates right? The only question was does Amy love him because he's the only guy available, or because he's Elder? What do you think? I don't know, gosh, let's see what happens when we add a love triangle!.....No, but seriously that part was good too. Amy and Elder begin to realize what they really mean to each other on this planet full of new dangers, not all of them expected. And I hate love triangles. But when they work...they work.
Can I just say, this book had me under the covers quivering? Not because its a horror book, but because trying to predict what's horrible thing will happen to the beloved characters is a horror. The last two books I missed Sol-Earth so badly...and I live here. Amy's pain was so real. I really didn't think anything could be worse, but my god, the mysterious monsters, and gen mod material, and the *shhh* abandoned colony. It was all doubling the creepy planet factor with every description.
This is overall one of the most satisfying series I have ever had the fortune to read. Nothing was rushed or badly written. Everything had a place and a time. Every betrayal, death, sacrifice, reveal and kiss was perfectly placed. And it completely drew me in and refused to let me go until the last word, and it will do the same to you.
This is one of my favorite science-fiction dystopia series ever. Absolutely. I can think of a million hyped up novels (not naming any) and this trumps them all in everything. In fact, it's so real, its terrifying.
There is just so much tension. I can't even try to explain the intricacies of the plot without giving away all the plot-twists. The obvious ones, yeah you could see them coming, the non-obvious ones....."what the heck just happened?!" is the reaction. It's also such a satisfying ending. The story really didn't smush together and end. It wasn't a quick last minute wrap up. It was well-thought out and all the pieces finally fit together. The mysteries of phydus and the monsters are finally solved. It is really truly incredible and never loses momentum. I could go into depth about all the birds, the flowers, trees and *gasp* the betrayals! But really, it was just so brilliant.
These characters just have so much more depth than before. Honestly, I felt as if I understood Amy and Elder even better as they started to grow into their real roles. Elder was making leaps and strides as a leader, and Amy really grew out of her naive Sol-Earth persona. Of course I missed others, and Beth Revis was completely unafraid to kill off her characters, but it all served a purpose. The new characters (yes the Frozens), angered me at times but they too became lovable, if a little confused about how life on the Godspeed really was. It's all right though. Conflict between characters is better than everyone being too happy. That would just be boring.
We all know that Amy and Elder are totally soul mates right? The only question was does Amy love him because he's the only guy available, or because he's Elder? What do you think? I don't know, gosh, let's see what happens when we add a love triangle!.....No, but seriously that part was good too. Amy and Elder begin to realize what they really mean to each other on this planet full of new dangers, not all of them expected. And I hate love triangles. But when they work...they work.
Can I just say, this book had me under the covers quivering? Not because its a horror book, but because trying to predict what's horrible thing will happen to the beloved characters is a horror. The last two books I missed Sol-Earth so badly...and I live here. Amy's pain was so real. I really didn't think anything could be worse, but my god, the mysterious monsters, and gen mod material, and the *shhh* abandoned colony. It was all doubling the creepy planet factor with every description.
This is overall one of the most satisfying series I have ever had the fortune to read. Nothing was rushed or badly written. Everything had a place and a time. Every betrayal, death, sacrifice, reveal and kiss was perfectly placed. And it completely drew me in and refused to let me go until the last word, and it will do the same to you.