January 24, 2013

Review: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Shades of Earth (Across The Universe #3)
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: January 15, 2013
Pages: 369
Source: Hardcover/Own

The final book in the  New York Times bestselling trilogy, perfect for fans of Battlestar Galactica and Prometheus!

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

FUELED BY LIES.
RULED BY CHAOS.
ALMOST HOME.

*Review is Spoilery, I tried to keep it to a minimum but I don't think it worked. Lol. So don't read if you haven't read Shades of Earth yet. But if you have and are ready to discuss by all means, go ahead! :)*

Review: OK, so for those of you who don't remember much from Across The Universe and A Million Suns, I'll link my reviews to them for a refresher (since it's been a while probably for most of us). So first off I want to address the new covers. I wasn't a fan of the cover change but for this specific book I actually don't mind it now because it actually fits with the book. After reading you I think some people will understand how I think it fits. Now. Shades of Earth totally ripped my heart out and put it back in whole a number of times. This book was an emotional roller coaster for me. So just to prepare everyone. This is going to be a very thorough review, including some of the questions I was asking myself while I was reading (I'll highlight those in blue). So its longer than normal. Also, I'm going at this review by talking about each major part of the book, instead of by character.

So lets start off with the beginning then. I really had no idea what to expect for Amy and Elder when they left Godspeed for Centauri-Earth. Things just started seeming off right away after them leaving. I mean things were hitting the shuttle as it was descending toward Centauri-Earth. And for some reason, I just didn't think those birds were what hit it. I also wasn't that much of a fan of the frozens waking up. The one who got put in charge (Amy's Dad Colonel Martin) just started controlling everything, just woke up and took over. I seriously disliked that. Especially when they had to evacuate the shuttle. The military (from the frozens) just took over and lead everyone where they thought they should go. I also really disliked how they treated the shipborn as they called Elder's people differently. The Earthborn acted like they were so much better than the shipborn and Amy's father pissed me off the most with that. He was talking to Amy about Elder like he would never be good enough for her just because he was a shipborn. While Colonel Martin was busy being a discriminating jerk though, something else was out there... Killing the people of the colony, not caring if they were shipborn or earthborn. It made for a very interesting mystery. It was obvious that the pteros (the birds) had caused some of the deaths but others were a mystery. A complete and totally mystery. I do have to say though, one scene where one of the people was dying was quiet gross. I wont say much but the guy was still alive while being eaten. It was just horrible... Though the autopsy performed on him after he died lead to some very interesting information. He had been injected with gen mod material, the same gen mod material that had been made on Earth. How did it get there???

While that was happening Elder was getting this feeling that Colonel Martin was hiding something. So he found a way to find out just what Colonel Martin was hiding by the lake, from a distance of course. He wouldn't actually go without Amy right? Lol. I was having this nagging feeling after everyone left the shuttle that Colonel Martin was hiding something and that he shouldn't be trusted, I didn't realize how true that was until Elder and Amy went and found what he was hiding. Come to find out, he was hiding another ship he found on Centauri-Earth, so what do Amy and Elder do? Investigate of course (I loved how much snooping these two were doing together). Lol. So this ship only lets humans in according to its fingerprint system. It really made me question (along with Amy and Elder) if its only for Humans to get in, is there something on the planet (besides those birds obviously) that isn't human??? What they found on the ship made me question a lot more. They found a plaque on the ship reading "On this site was discovered the first probe sent by the first interstellar mission from Earth in 2310 CE, providing the information needed to develop the first successful extra-solar colony, Explorer, 2327 CE." "This plaque is a memorial to those lost on Godspeed. 2036-2336 CE." People had landed on Centauri-Earth before Godspeed was even supposed to. And Earth thought Godspeed was dead because they had lost communication with them. This raised a lot of questions for me. Like why didn't Earth wait until Godspeed was supposed to land? It wasn't supposed to land until 2336, so why not wait to see if it was still out there? Why give up on it when it wasn't even at its destination yet even without communication? They realized because of no communication that the people on Centauri-Earth had probably noticed Godspeed arrived, but since they didn't try to land and couldn't communicate with them that they really thought everyone on the ship was dead. As we come to find out though later in the book, most of the people did want to land the ship, but was stopped by being put on Phydus. After realizing that though Amy and Elder found out that the ship had cameras on Godspeed, they knew what was happening on the it. They were watching the entire time. That... That really got to me. It was like ARE YOU FREXING KIDDING ME?? (using the word Elder uses). It also got me questioning what was really going on then. It really got to me knowing so much was off about the planet and what was on it and Amy and Elder were in the dark about most of it for a while. Am I the only one that felt pissed off about all of this? I hope not. I was happy though that amongst all this chaos though that Amy and Elder did find some time to be alone and just be together! They needed each other with all that was going on! So glad they got back on track!

It wasn't until someone else was killed not by a ptero and not by any of the weapons the military had AND the shuttle from Godspeed was blown up that I was suspecting something else was 100% living on the planet. That just solidified it for me. I just couldn't figure out what exactly it was that was there. There was also the question about Phydus. Amy discovered Phydus in all the victims, only one of which even had some actually in her system. Now we all thought Phydus was created on the ship right? So how did the planet get it??? Then there was also this glass filled with solar energy they found. How does that fit into everything? Come to find out. It was the reason Earth sent another group of people to Centauri-Earth. To make this stuff and send it back to Sol-Earth. Just for that, and they even enslaved their people to do it... We come to find out that the other life on Centauri-Earth are the descendants of the first colony sent there. Only their not humans anymore. They're hybrids with mutated DNA, thanks to the FRX of which Amy thought was supposed to help them on this new planet. The hybrids though start going after the colony after killing a few hundred people leading Elder to go to Godspeed on the autoshuttle they found with the ship to find the answers to getting rid of them. Only while he's on Godspeed they go after Amy, turning her into one of them. Because on of the people they trusted was a traitor, a hybrid. Ugh!!! Lets get one thing straight, I didn't like the hybrids much because they killed Amy's parents. But after they turned her they explained why they went after all of them, telling her about how the FRX placed them on a drug to keep them working and how they thought all of the new colony was loyal to the FRX I didnt hate them much. That lead Elder to actually help them, by taking out the space station of which the FRX is using to get to Centauri-Earth. Also, he gets everyone from Godspeed to go to Centauri-Earth since the ship is dying. So question... How did the people aboard Godspeed not notice a space station in orbit with them if they were there for hundreds of years??? Anyways, Elder sacrificed himself to save Amy and keep the FRX from doing anymore harm to the hybrids and his colony. He pushed Godspeed into the space station to destroy it. THIS RIPPED MY HEART OUT!!! Not Elder!!! Not after all he's done for his people and Amy!!!! 

Amy though, even with that in her head she still worked out a peaceful way for the hybrids and her colony to coexist on the planet, after the people from Godspeed brought the antidote to the phydus the hybrids colony was stuck on. I was very happy with the peaceful ending and how Amy told the FRX off when they tried to get in contact with them again. Very happy they could coexist and be on the same side against the FRX! And I was so happy with the ending for Amy! My heart was put back in whole! :D

6 Stars! 

You know I only go up to 5 so you know this book was over the top amazing for 6!