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inkdrinkers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
How do you describe a book that you know will inevitably become a classic?
This is a true science fiction masterpiece. The ending gives the same rush of emotion as classics like "The Lottery" or "The Most Dangerous Game." The plot and execution was lofty, but it absolutely nailed it. Everyone should read this, digest it, and then go for a walk outside and take in the sheer magnitude of what this story accomplished.
I loved this. I loved the characters. The formatting was a little difficult to get used to, but it pays off tenfold in the end and is the only way this story could be told. Please go into this blind, don't look up a single thing if you can.
This is a truly magnificent book.
This is a true science fiction masterpiece. The ending gives the same rush of emotion as classics like "The Lottery" or "The Most Dangerous Game." The plot and execution was lofty, but it absolutely nailed it. Everyone should read this, digest it, and then go for a walk outside and take in the sheer magnitude of what this story accomplished.
I loved this. I loved the characters. The formatting was a little difficult to get used to, but it pays off tenfold in the end and is the only way this story could be told. Please go into this blind, don't look up a single thing if you can.
This is a truly magnificent book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Vomit, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Death, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, and Chronic illness
Gore content is less than a horror movie, on par with a thriller. Contains mentions of bodies and death. Vomit is described. Sexual content is steamy and fade to black but discussion is had about it. Violence might be scary and was akin to assault. Moderate triggers: Abandonment is a huge plot point. Blood and chronic illness are mentioned throughout as byproducts of being in space and exposed to radiation. Death is both seen on page and mentioned off. Death of a parent is off page but discussed. Gaslighting is done by a side character and is a catalyst for the plot. Grief is openly discussed and worked through. Medical content is included throughout as the characters become ill and need aid.miaaaahh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I literally have no words other than it was an emotional rollercoaster. Just read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Cancer, Abandonment, Gaslighting, and Medical content
Minor: Suicide
taelights's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I HATE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Medical content, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and War
pvbobrien's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Cancer, Grief, Medical content, Suicide, and Vomit
Minor: Terminal illness and Injury/Injury detail
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: Medical content, Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Violence, Cancer, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Child death, Gaslighting, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death of parent, Xenophobia, Homophobia, War, Sexual content, and Genocide
greatestheights's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
4.5 stars for breathtakingly good plotting and suspense. Goddamn, this was not what I expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Moderate: Medical content and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: War and Genocide
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, Blood, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content, Cancer, and Confinement
cryptidkay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
I'll admit that I picked this up for the space gays. I love me some space gays. But this book came right out of sci-fi left field and dragged me along with it.
The author plays amazingly well with traditionally terrifying sci-fi tropes but at the same time including two characters who blossom and grow near and dear to a reader's heart (AND each other's). Doing such with only two characters (and the OS? I guess?) is amazing. There's no where for a reader to turn if they don't particularly like the main characters. No background folks to turn to (Rover? After what it's done? Eugh. No.). And that ENDING! Damn do I love a well-deserved happy ending
The author plays amazingly well with traditionally terrifying sci-fi tropes but at the same time including two characters who blossom and grow near and dear to a reader's heart (AND each other's). Doing such with only two characters (and the OS? I guess?) is amazing. There's no where for a reader to turn if they don't particularly like the main characters. No background folks to turn to (Rover? After what it's done? Eugh. No.). And that ENDING! Damn do I love a well-deserved happy ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
folkmare's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This. was really not the book I was expecting. If you are going into this book hoping for a semi-lighthearted romance about boys in space, you will probably be disappointed. There IS romance in this book but I wouldn't say that it's the main focus. It's hard to describe what I mean by massively spoiling the book, so I won't pick it apart. This is a much darker read than I was anticipating. Despite the cover art, The Darkness Outside Us is more of a scifi drama thriller, with an apocalyptic backdrop. My one big gripe with it is that I don't really see the need for it to be YA. There's nothing in particular about the characters or the plot that requires them to be 17.
I think there would have maybe been a little more depth and emotional nuance if it was written with an adult audience in mind. Kodiak in particular, was kind of a boring character to read, because we don't get any of his perspective and he's written to be so "stoic and cool". It took a little while to grab me, I wouldn't say the writing is the best, but I was interested enough in the plot to keep reading. I'd suggest if you're waffling, try to make it to part 2 and then decide, because the story shifts at that point.
I think there would have maybe been a little more depth and emotional nuance if it was written with an adult audience in mind. Kodiak in particular, was kind of a boring character to read, because we don't get any of his perspective and he's written to be so "stoic and cool". It took a little while to grab me, I wouldn't say the writing is the best, but I was interested enough in the plot to keep reading. I'd suggest if you're waffling, try to make it to part 2 and then decide, because the story shifts at that point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War and Medical content
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: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Excrement, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: War