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A review by okays1331
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't know what I was expecting with this book, but I did not expect this! I cannot recommend this book highly enough for sci-fi fans, humanity fans, deep personal connections fans, space exploration fans and just everyone else too.
The book opens in a not so distant future easily recognizable as something we might imagine for ourselves. The two characters are immediately people I cared. They are both operating from entirely different ideologies and backgrounds. We learn about them slowly throughout the course of the entire book as they learn each other and make their way through the challenges of a long space voyage and the stressors of a small space, limited privacy, and extreme conditions. The book is rounded out by a third character: a sentient AI who takes care of most of the normal wear and tear and provides information to the two crew members. I would have been thrilled with that, but there is so much more!
I was unprepared for how emotionally raw this book would become in places and equally as unprepared to laugh! Kodiak and Ambrose are so real with all their flaws and triumphs. They react like human beings sometimes breaking and sometimes overcoming in the beautiful way that people can. Their relationship grows so naturally into something deep, tender, and lasting. Because of this relationship, parts of this hurt so deeply I had to stop and process before moving on.
I also did not expect to be unable to put this book down. I read it straight through. Not a moment felt slow or unimportant. A steady hum of mystery and danger lurked in the background of every scene. There were moments when it felt like life or death, moments where the next clue seemed just around the corner, and moments where their relationship deepened by inches or leagues. Because of the nature of the book, there are multiple times where the reader knows more than the main characters, but still, I could not put down this book.
Slight spoilers ahead:
A little less than halfway through the story just as I was falling into the rhythm of the story and happily unraveling the mysteries alongside Ambrose and Kodiak and enjoying the tentative closeness between the two of them, everything abruptly changed. The author did an excellent job sending me reeling right alongside Ambrose and Kodiak. I heard something from the creators of the Good Place about the value of putting the "big reveal" before everyone expects to find it, and this was excellent! I literally had to get up and walk around screaming and then explain to my husband why I was screaming before sitting back down to start the next chapter.
The book opens in a not so distant future easily recognizable as something we might imagine for ourselves. The two characters are immediately people I cared. They are both operating from entirely different ideologies and backgrounds. We learn about them slowly throughout the course of the entire book as they learn each other and make their way through the challenges of a long space voyage and the stressors of a small space, limited privacy, and extreme conditions. The book is rounded out by a third character: a sentient AI who takes care of most of the normal wear and tear and provides information to the two crew members. I would have been thrilled with that, but there is so much more!
I was unprepared for how emotionally raw this book would become in places and equally as unprepared to laugh! Kodiak and Ambrose are so real with all their flaws and triumphs. They react like human beings sometimes breaking and sometimes overcoming in the beautiful way that people can. Their relationship grows so naturally into something deep, tender, and lasting. Because of this relationship, parts of this hurt so deeply I had to stop and process before moving on.
I also did not expect to be unable to put this book down. I read it straight through. Not a moment felt slow or unimportant. A steady hum of mystery and danger lurked in the background of every scene. There were moments when it felt like life or death, moments where the next clue seemed just around the corner, and moments where their relationship deepened by inches or leagues. Because of the nature of the book, there are multiple times where the reader knows more than the main characters, but still, I could not put down this book.
Slight spoilers ahead:
A little less than halfway through the story just as I was falling into the rhythm of the story and happily unraveling the mysteries alongside Ambrose and Kodiak and enjoying the tentative closeness between the two of them, everything abruptly changed. The author did an excellent job sending me reeling right alongside Ambrose and Kodiak. I heard something from the creators of the Good Place about the value of putting the "big reveal" before everyone expects to find it, and this was excellent! I literally had to get up and walk around screaming and then explain to my husband why I was screaming before sitting back down to start the next chapter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content