A Million Suns

When the first novel left off, Amy and Elder were faced with questions, new unknown struggles, and uncertaintly to when Godspeed will reach its final destination.

A handful of questions from Across the Universe are answered, while new ones popped up for the readers. But for myself, the biggest questions was about the next set of challenges beyond Godspeed.SPOILERS!From Orion's cryptic messages to the truth about the stand still of the ship, it was any wonder if hope existed for everyone aboard. So much was at stake and obstacles kept getting thrown in Elders way. Riots, death, murder, mayhem... it was the hidden themes for the book. And it works.I was thrilled by the progression of the story. By chapter 53, I felt twitter-patted and couldn't put the book down. The tory ended on a cliffhanger that left me dying to know the next part of the journey for the two main characters. Revis had not only sucked me into the world, she made me want to be apart of this adventure that exists only in the world of Doctor Who or some other Sci-Fi media.And speaking of Sci-Fi, all those mysterious deaths with the black patches was truly genuis in a mad man way. Love will make people do some pretty crazy stuff! Especially more so when trapped on a space ship.Anyway, now let me dive into the parts of the book that fascinated the reader in me...There were some considerablly wonderful literature references placed through the novel. I was intrigued by how it was all used and the puzzle that was laid out before Amy and Elder.“Abandon all hope.” - Dante's Inferno“Follow me down the rabbit hole.” - Alice in WonderlandThese two quotes alone represent something bigger, almost foreshadowing the coming events to play out in the last half of the book. Dante's Inferno is a dark look into humanity and more. So seeing those exact words already tells of how disturbed everyone will become on the ship before the end. Then Alice in Wonderland points to how both characters may not know everything about the Godspeed and that they may in fact have to follow the trail to the truth or just like Alice herself, follow the white rabbit to wonderland and explore beyond her wildest imagination.I also was thrilled about the mystery behind the motives of each antagonist; whether they were part of the big picture or not. From the start of the riots to the peculiar realization of their “library”, no stone was unturned; except at the end (another cliffhanger!).And lastly, each fantasy bubble that was popped to make room for reality, truly helped keep the novel at a great pace that surely surpassed the first novel. Anyway... onto something fun. Now for those that are curious about maybe the year Amy was born in Across the Universe, I did some math from the dates that were in both books. Found out that she would have been born in 2005. This puts Amy in the beginning of her world in the year 2022 at the age of 17. And currently in 2012 she would only be seven years old! Amazing, huh?I would most certainly recommend this book if you read the first in the series. It answers a lot of questions, but leaves you with more in place of the ones that are answered.