Almost two years ago we reviewed Across the Universe by Beth Revis.  You may recall that book: we discussed the misleading and unappealing (to boys) cover.  Well, the publishers must have listened, because over the various printings and editions of it and its two sequels, we went from this:



To this:


To these:


All I can say is thank you.  These are much better, and much more unisex.


Anyway.

From Across the Universe, where Amy wakes up from a cryogenic sleep too early only to find that life aboard the Godspeed has changed to a bizarre society nothing like expected, to A Million Suns where she and Elder discover that the Godspeed may already be orbiting their destination (and has been for decades or even centuries), we finally arrive at Shades of Earth and the possible conclusion of the journey and the series.

Having been forced at the end of the previous book to evacuate and land despite warnings that the planet iss swarming with monsters, our crew successfully lands the shuttle and wakes the remaining cryogenically frozen crew members.  Facing this strange turn of events, Amy's militarily-minded father and the scientists don't trust the shipborn Godspeed residents and immediately clash.  This tension is only made worse by a mysterious force murdering folks.  Is it aliens?  It must be aliens.

Reading this series is reading a genuine classic sci-fi story.  One can find more than a few social critiques in this, the same way the the stories of old did.  Despite initial impressions (and those old covers) there is no more romance in here than there is in any other sci-fi series.  I only wish that it hadn't been written in first-person present tense.  Even with that in mind, I still recommend it.  I quite enjoyed it.  Just make sure to get the ones with the newest covers.