Reviews

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

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constant_reader's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

drevie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The book leaves you feeling just as disoriented as Ambrose when he wales up. It took me longer to get my bearings than it did him.

I started off on OS side. Thinking it was actually trying to help. Then part way through I hated OS and wanted them to destroy it. Then at the end it turns out, OS is super useful and was actually trying to help them.

I don’t know how I would react if I was them finding out I was one of many clones. Would I keep going? I don’t know that I would.
These two characters chose to love each other time and time again. You can say it’s because there was no one else around, but there was that version that Kodiak that just set about breaking everything. Instead of loving. Here’s my favorite quote from the book and it’s the penultimate Ambrose speaking:

“You think of love as dizzy electricity. You think if you aren't in this heightened state, that the relationship is failing. This is a lie, an infection you contracted from popular music and fantasy reels, that doomed all your short romances in the academy, like with poor Sri. The bonded support you and Kodiak feel for each other isn't about skin skin skin, though it's related to that. It isn't the heat of his body against yours at the bottom of the water tank. Instead, it's the fact that you two are together at the bottom of the water tank.”

I think choosing to love is the point of this book and it did it beautifully.

cliffordainia's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

greenbriarssss's review

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5.0

"You love Kodiak. This is the hidden miracle of all this: you might be loving each other deeper than any humans have ever loved, have ever needed to love, have ever had the occasion to love."

I honestly don't even know where to start with this review. Sci-fi is a genre of media that I absolutely adore, but sometimes it can be hard to get into because of world-building. This book was very easy to get sucked into because the setting is just this spaceship. There are mentions of what is happening on Earth, but it feels like you're an outsider picking up on a conversation two people are having. You only get the context you need and start to wonder about the rest of what is going on. It was so well done and I loved every moment of it. Setting is super important in sci-fi because if it's too outrageous, it can be a lot to think about, but if it is underwhelming, it can be a disappointing read.

The book is YA and I can understand why some feel it was mismarketed. This book felt like it was on the edge of YA and new adult for me, given some of the contents; however, the dialogue sometimes felt so teenage boy that it was YA. None of this was bad at all! I loved how funny the boys were and found myself laughing at how serious Kodiak could be. The dynamic and chemistry between Ambrose and Kodiak was very interesting. Because they're from two different countries (the last two countries) that are in a cold war, it was interesting to see how the lack of geographical boundaries in space allowed them to learn to get along and lean on each other.

Reading this book also felt like getting whiplash...in a good way. After part one, it was like a roller coaster that didn't stop and I was so happy to be on it. I was gasping and wide-eyed while reading different portions because I just couldn't believe what was happening. The different twists and turns as the story progressed were so well executed. Not to mention the small details littered throughout the book were so interesting. Things would happen in the beginning and then either show up or be mentioned again later on. I never felt like I was missing something because everything came back around.

Basically, I could talk about this book forever. I bought it on a whim because I thought the cover was gorgeous and here I am crying over spacefarers Cusk and Celius. There were so many good quotes in this book, and I was lowkey having existential crises as I was reading. This is one I will definitely be recommending to people :)