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linnea1801's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
this book gave me trust issues when the first Ambrose and Kodiak died I was screaming and crying I am very glad that this is fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, War, Blood, and Torture
Moderate: Vomit and Cancer
lillianreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Murder
Minor: Suicide
renettereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.75
Oh man, what a ride! Based on the cover, this book had me thinking it was going to be some cutesy Achillean rom-com in space, and this turned into a tender and heartbreaking space thriller!
The Darkness Outside Us follows two astronauts, Ambrose and Kodiak, on opposing sides as they venture to Titan to save Ambrose’s sister. Ambrose is THIRSTY for Kodiak, and the sweet pining is both hilarious and genuinely lovely to read.
Now I can’t say too much more about the plot without spoiling it, but when people say this isn’t the book you think it is, it definitely isn’t. I had listened to this on audiobook, and around the 60% mark, I had no idea what the hell was happening.
It was so so so gripping, and I loved the characters – it’s been a while since I rooted for people with so much passion. This was cleverly written, and the audiobook narration was so well done, too! Highly recommend it for fans of sci-fi – the beginning of this especially reminded me of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary.
The Darkness Outside Us follows two astronauts, Ambrose and Kodiak, on opposing sides as they venture to Titan to save Ambrose’s sister. Ambrose is THIRSTY for Kodiak, and the sweet pining is both hilarious and genuinely lovely to read.
Now I can’t say too much more about the plot without spoiling it, but when people say this isn’t the book you think it is, it definitely isn’t. I had listened to this on audiobook, and around the 60% mark, I had no idea what the hell was happening.
It was so so so gripping, and I loved the characters – it’s been a while since I rooted for people with so much passion. This was cleverly written, and the audiobook narration was so well done, too! Highly recommend it for fans of sci-fi – the beginning of this especially reminded me of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
lisashelves's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Terminal illness, Suicide, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Murder
tacoshark's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Terminal illness and Suicide
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Grief, Medical content, Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
char42's review against another edition
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.
‘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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cancer, Vomit, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Minor: Genocide and Child death
emsuiko's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
anna_bookwormt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
five_rats_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Cancer
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Excrement, and Medical content
This book was an emotional roller coaster, I'm going to have to sit with it for a bit and when I'm done orocessing I can't wait to reread it. The big plot twist was perfectly executed, you get the exact amount of information to be able to guess, but not enough to fully know what's coming, it was a perfect mix of "Oh shit, I think x is what's happening" and "what the fuck is going on". If you like sci-fi thrillers with horror elements I highly recommend this book, what an amzing read. I listened to the audiobook and if that's your cup of tea you should give it a listen, the narrator did an amazing job voicing the main characters and his imitation of different robot voices made me giggle a couple of times! Beware of the warnings though, this book can get very heavy at times and has some content that could be triggering. The ending was absoluoltely worth the tears I cried though, 5/5 stars