Interview: Beth Revis, author of Across The Universe

Today, I'm interviewing Beth Revis--the lovely author of Across The Universe. We're gonna talk about writing, characters, and Captain Mal's butt. So, you know, all the good stuff.

Where did the idea behind Across The Universe come from?

It all came from the twist at the end--I wrote the entire book, came up with the setting and characters--just to write the end scene.

What books and TV shows would you recommend to sci-fi newbies?

My absolutely top number one recommendation of all time is Joss Whedon's TV series FIREFLY and the accompanying movie, SERENITY. It is so. Brilliant.

I've also just started watching BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA in part because I was impressed with seeing the women actors at NY ComicCon. One thing that really stuck out to me was that they said the writers of the show never prescribed a gender to a character--they found the right actor, despite the gender.

Firefly IS amazing. Joss Whedon is THE MAN. Aside from reading and writing, what other activities do you do?

I LOVE to travel! I'm always trying to come up with my next trip. While I was a teacher, I chaperoned students in European trips--I probably miss that aspect of teaching the most!

Oh, I'd love to go to Europe! What are some of your favorite characters (from anything)?

-Aerin from Robin McKinley's THE HERO AND THE CROWN for being so beautiful and kick-butt.
-Cimorene from Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles for being so hilarious and smart.
-Captain Mal from FIREFLY for having a cute butt.

I thought my friend's mom was the only one who noticed Nathan Fillion's butt. Guess not. What was your favorite part of writing Across The Universe? Least favorite?

My favorite part was getting to the end--I had it plotted out for so long, and it was just brilliant getting to it. My least favorite? Honestly....I loved it all. I don't *enjoy* revising and editing, but I love the way it makes everything better. It's like, I don't enjoy cleaning the house, but I love having a clean house.

Thanks for the awesome interview Beth! If you haven't already, add Across The Universe to your TBR pile.

Across The Universe Review

Author: Beth Revis
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Pages: 398 (ARC)
Publisher: Razorbill
Most Appropriate For Ages: 14+
Where I Got It: For review from publisher
Challenges: Debut author challenge

A Story of Love, Murder, and Madness Aboard an Enormous Spaceship Bound for the Future

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

Across the Universe is Titanic meets Brave New World.

I think my expectations for Across The Universe were too high or something, cause I just didn't love this book like everyone else has. Not that I hated it, but, well...

It started with a bang, but then somewhere along the line it just slowed down. The mystery was there but no progress was ever made, and nobody seemed to demand answers to any of the super-creepy stuff that went down on the ship. I found it too easy to put down, and I'll be honest and say that I almost took a break from it.  

However. The last 100 pages? Yeah, they were awesome. So awesome that they redeemed the book and made me want to read the sequel.

I'll be honest again and say that I might have enjoyed this book more had I read it a different time. I was suffering from a major Good Book Hangover, so it might've just been me.

I give props to Beth Revis, cause this is a promising start to a trilogy, as well as a good debut. But I expected to be blown away by this one but--while I thought it was good--I didn't think it was amazing.

Reviewers who were blown away:
Sophistikatied Reviews
The Hiding Spot

Book Report:

Plot: Well thought out, but doesn't really get going until the end.

Characters: Likable, but they never really came to life for me, you know?

Writing: Good. Very easy to read and descriptive, and the world-building was really well done.

Ending: BAM... That's the sound of the explosive ending.

Kid friendly? There's some pretty graphic (and really creepy) sex scenes.

Should I read it? If you're a fan of sci-fi, dystopia, or mystery, then yeah.

Overall:

I'll be interviewing Beth Revis tomorrow, so look out for that.