Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - The Darkness Outside Us

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

42 reviews

sonias's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

It's not fluff. If you want fluff - run the fuck away.
Cuddly space homosexuals don't compensate for all the trauma.

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michmoo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

I mean, what can I say about this goddamn book?

I was drawn in by the premise and captivated by the possibilities of where the underlying mystery would take us, and then promptly smacked in my soul with the beginnings of the plot twist which only further stressed me out when I realised that we still had a big chunk of the book to go.

Overall, I would say that while this is a sci-fi mystery thriller, it is also at its core, a love story. Watching the love blossom between the two protagonists was a gift in spite of the heart wrenching moments it led to, perhaps because of them.

I definitely recommend giving this book a chance if you are at all interested.

The author did an amazing job, I am emotionally compromised.

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mandaraffe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

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lisashelves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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tacoshark's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I was surprised by how well this ended up working - at first it seemed like it was going a somewhat predictable route, and while some of my predictions were correct, the way they played out was really well done and interesting. It kept me engaged and invested in these two characters throughout. The ending was a little bit weird and if it were up to me, I think it went a bit too far, but overall I enjoyed this a lot.

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char42's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

Firstly: This is not a Young Adult book! It could be maybe be called “New Adult” but I’d recommend for all ages 16+.

‘The Darkness Outside Us’ is a deeply moving and challenging book, a well-executed and original take on several key sci-fi tropes including <evil AI spaceship> and <clones / regeneration>. Schrefer build the tenfold beautifully and excruciatingly. The romance is believable and tender, without getting in the way of individual character development. I have some small nitpicks in terms of the continuity of character development (due to the central plot twist of the book) but given the unique plot, Schrefer managed to keep the character development mostly coherent and believable (which is a real feat considering the central premise). A beautiful and challenging sci-fi book, which feels miscategorised as Young Adult.

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