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aardwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
For a book where most of what actually happens is relentlessly grim, a strangely gentle read. The whole thing is very tropey and none of the twists will likely actually surprise you, but the journey matters more than the destination. I have to say the emotional build-up early on feels a bit rushed, but then, our main characters are seventeen year old boys, so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and War
dododenise's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was so much more than I ever expected. I’ve read before that the blurb is misleading, and yet this book blew my mind.
This is what I’ve been missing in the science fiction books I’d been reading lately. I’m so thankful for this book of reminding me why I love science fiction so much.
I knew there needed to come a plot twist, and when it came I was still completely baffled.
The romance was beautiful. And so interesting. Yet this definitely wasn’t a romance, but so much more.
There are so many other things I could say, but I don’t want this to contain spoilers so I’ll shut my mouth. All I can say: Go read this book!
This is what I’ve been missing in the science fiction books I’d been reading lately. I’m so thankful for this book of reminding me why I love science fiction so much.
I knew there needed to come a plot twist, and when it came I was still completely baffled.
The romance was beautiful. And so interesting. Yet this definitely wasn’t a romance, but so much more.
There are so many other things I could say, but I don’t want this to contain spoilers so I’ll shut my mouth. All I can say: Go read this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and War
paracosim's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I hadn’t expected to cry so hard at the end of this book but I was sobbing for a good 10 minutes after. I think I’ll be coming back to this one again and again as the years go by.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Vomit and War
feralgoblin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
5.0
I was recommended this book by my sibling, saying that it was a psychological thriller with space himbo’s. So I expected to find a quirky mystery with a cute romance.
What I was not prepared for was a cleverly written, deeply emotional and often times philosophical story about two boys falling in love that had me a little teary-eyed by the end. Kodiak and Ambrose are both such well written characters- they’re both dorks who bounce between being so smart and being straight doofuses. I loved them from the moment I met them. And while I had a few gut instincts that turned out to be correct on a few of the twists, I was still left confused and surprised when others were revealed.
I’ve read plenty of books, watched plenty of movies and documentaries- but The Darkness Outside Us has been the first book I’ve read thats really made me ponder what it means to be human and just how powerful love can be in an unforgiving and inescapable place such as outer space.
This was probably one of my favorite things I’ve ready this year and I eagerly look forward to reading it again in the future.
What I was not prepared for was a cleverly written, deeply emotional and often times philosophical story about two boys falling in love that had me a little teary-eyed by the end. Kodiak and Ambrose are both such well written characters- they’re both dorks who bounce between being so smart and being straight doofuses. I loved them from the moment I met them. And while I had a few gut instincts that turned out to be correct on a few of the twists, I was still left confused and surprised when others were revealed.
I’ve read plenty of books, watched plenty of movies and documentaries- but The Darkness Outside Us has been the first book I’ve read thats really made me ponder what it means to be human and just how powerful love can be in an unforgiving and inescapable place such as outer space.
This was probably one of my favorite things I’ve ready this year and I eagerly look forward to reading it again in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, and Sexual content
lavender_lores's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book can fit so much book in it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gaslighting
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
reader_in_the_meadow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Darkness Outside Us is a 2021 Young Adult Science-Fiction novel by american author Elliot Schrefer. It is parted into six part and is written continuously with no marked chapters. Told is the story of Ambrose Cusk and Kodiak Celius, two spacefarers whose mission to rescue Ambrose's sister takes a dark turn when they discover secrets on their ship.
The plot of this book was all over the place, but in a good way. It was such a well worked out idea that was told in an easy to follow way, so you couldn't miss a thing. Since I don't want to spoil here I am just honna say that the plot twist came right out of nowhere which was such a surprise. And I love when that happens! However, there were some parts where only info dumping was done, but at least they were pretty short.
Since there are only two acting characters in this book there is not much to say about diversity, besides that both of them are non-heterosexual young men. But the tricky thing Schrefer had to do was make both of these characters a whole own personality each so they really stand out. And oh boy, how he did that! They were both very well worked out and their dynamic was so good!
The writing in this book was not that hard to read which makes it easy to concentrate on the story. However it was a bit hard for me to understand some of the more scientific terms, since I did know many of them. The way the story is told is through the eyes of Ambrose, who acts as the main character in this story. I was able to completely immerse myself in the atory and the atmosphere that was built up while reading.
I really liked the dystopian idea, of the cold war not ending and instead accumulating two big countries on earth. It gave the whole story a kind of intense background and so much interesting story points.
However, I found the characters at some points very annoying and just stopped reading because I could not understand them at these times.
To sum up, The Darkness Outside Us is a very great Science-Fiction book with a thrillerish turn woven into it that I can only revommend. Still, please take note of the content warnings before buying.
The plot of this book was all over the place, but in a good way. It was such a well worked out idea that was told in an easy to follow way, so you couldn't miss a thing. Since I don't want to spoil here I am just honna say that the plot twist came right out of nowhere which was such a surprise. And I love when that happens! However, there were some parts where only info dumping was done, but at least they were pretty short.
Since there are only two acting characters in this book there is not much to say about diversity, besides that both of them are non-heterosexual young men. But the tricky thing Schrefer had to do was make both of these characters a whole own personality each so they really stand out. And oh boy, how he did that! They were both very well worked out and their dynamic was so good!
The writing in this book was not that hard to read which makes it easy to concentrate on the story. However it was a bit hard for me to understand some of the more scientific terms, since I did know many of them. The way the story is told is through the eyes of Ambrose, who acts as the main character in this story. I was able to completely immerse myself in the atory and the atmosphere that was built up while reading.
I really liked the dystopian idea, of the cold war not ending and instead accumulating two big countries on earth. It gave the whole story a kind of intense background and so much interesting story points.
However, I found the characters at some points very annoying and just stopped reading because I could not understand them at these times.
To sum up, The Darkness Outside Us is a very great Science-Fiction book with a thrillerish turn woven into it that I can only revommend. Still, please take note of the content warnings before buying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content
Minor: War
spinesinaline's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
hanblan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and Death of parent
wildflower_sarah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Murder
n_asyikin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Ambrose woke up in a spaceship on a mission to rescue his sister; Kodiak, a fellow spacefarer from an enemy state went along for the collaborative rescue effort. The discovery of dried blood stains & damages to the ship's interior indicated that violence had occurred, but both Ambrose & Kodiak suffered memory loss that limited their knowledge. With an uncooperative AI system that seemed intent on not providing them with answers, they must solve a mystery that upended everything they thought they knew. All the while, facing possible threats from their robotic companions.
Leisurely in its pace at the start, the hypotheticals regarding the mystery was rooted initially in the evidential violence at the start, which honestly, left me rather complacent about the story at the start. But what was thought to be a "criminal" whodunnit situation took a massive turn; the unravelling was more expansive & became an unexpected contemplation on existentialist conundrums; that steady pace became a thrill of discoveries & survivalibility.
The progress of solving the mystery in itself is fascinating, primarily involving a psychological game between men & machines. But it was the tenderness that derived from the raw emotions evoked by Ambrose & Kodiak's "mission" that truly moved me: the immortality & heritability of fears, hopes, dreams - and how, having someone there with you through it all, just might be the very reason that makes life worth living & fighting for.
The Darkness Outside Us was intriguing in its mystery, but what would last with me was how beautiful the way we were allowed to embrace Ambrose & Kodiak's vulnerability. It was rather simplistic in the story-telling. But for me, it was a modest powerhouse!
Leisurely in its pace at the start, the hypotheticals regarding the mystery was rooted initially in the evidential violence at the start, which honestly, left me rather complacent about the story at the start. But what was thought to be a "criminal" whodunnit situation took a massive turn; the unravelling was more expansive & became an unexpected contemplation on existentialist conundrums; that steady pace became a thrill of discoveries & survivalibility.
The progress of solving the mystery in itself is fascinating, primarily involving a psychological game between men & machines. But it was the tenderness that derived from the raw emotions evoked by Ambrose & Kodiak's "mission" that truly moved me: the immortality & heritability of fears, hopes, dreams - and how, having someone there with you through it all, just might be the very reason that makes life worth living & fighting for.
The Darkness Outside Us was intriguing in its mystery, but what would last with me was how beautiful the way we were allowed to embrace Ambrose & Kodiak's vulnerability. It was rather simplistic in the story-telling. But for me, it was a modest powerhouse!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Minor: Sexual content