The Darkness Outside Us

3.75

I wasn’t super certain on the book from the start, but I quickly got swallowed by the plot and couldn’t put it down until i finished it 2 days later. Really amazing read, not just for my queer heart but also my sci-fi loving brain.

genuinely unsure if i like it or not

This book was amazing. I was immediately immersed as soon as I started listening and reading to it simultaneously. It's not like anything I've read before, it had just the right amount of existential angst along with the sci-fi and the survival element of it all. The book just kept giving as I went through it and I truly felt for Ambrose and Kodiak. As for the audiobook, the narration was just spot-on. I love James Fouhey's work on this, especially as OS, and I can't wait to listen to another book he narrates someday.

This was definitely badly marketed, but I liked that I went in blind.

I'm just glad they're happy after all of that

2nd Read:

Still incredible and the first half is still a great read even if you understand the mystery. I still don't understand quasars

This book broke me. I love it.

some of the story is a little predictable but then it goes a new direction before you know it. There is so much to this story and it’s written in the most perfect way. I cried, I laughed, I gasped and paused for a few minutes here and there to take in what Information I had just swallowed. Amazing read. Highly recommend (it’s not just romance! It’s so so much more)

I simply cannot get over how entranced i was by this book, it exceeded my expectations!! i really thought it was a cute lil YA but holy shit it was one of the most existential and beautiful books i’ve read this year 😭

For me the biggest surprise 2022. This was just very well structured and exiting Scifi. The YA category feels arbitrary and was obviously just chosen because of the age of the main characters. Not that I complain, it lead to a really nice cover instead of the default sad spaceship photo montage we usually get.

it's safe to say this book completely destroyed me

I loved this book a lot!!! The way of storytelling really spoke to me. And the way the main characters were introduced and how they showed their character was really interesting and fun. I liked how romance wasn't the main goal but felt very true. I just wished the ending was a bit longer, but that's my world building loving brain speaking.

i hate this book with every fiber of my being. that’s all.

i liked the plot/plot twist, but it was kinda tedious to get through. The start and the end were good, but the middle (especially pt 2) was not the best imo

i think this book ruined my life

4.5 stars review to come im so tired rn

spent the last hour crying and now i’m wishing there was a way to rate this higher than goodreads will allow bc this has redefined what 5 stars means to me / 5 stars if that wasn’t clear

My nerdy little sci fi heart loved this. The existential crisis of The Good Place and the emotion of any doomed love story. I liked this book a lot, especially the middle. I assumed the ending would be what it was, even if it was a little weird. It had thriller elements, but also reminded me of a Neal Shusterman book? definitely crisis inducing. and i absolutely cried.

So this book. I did not expect this. Just so you all know I mean it in a good way. I don't usually read a sci-fi book but this one intrigued me and so I read it. We are following Ambrose and Kodiak through space. They have an expedition to Titan to found Ambrose's sister. At least that is how it started but then strange things start to happen. You will cry and be sad for them, root for them and their survival. The connection between them is perfect. Basically, they are soulmates.

this book destroyed me. it's a new favorite.

This book is not what you think it is and part of me absolutely loved it and part of me never wants to read a scifi book ever again but also this book also had an almost identical plotline to another 2021 YA release I've read this year (view spoiler)[ *cough* The Ones We're Meant to Find, if you really wanted to know (hide spoiler)] honestly that is kind of unfortunate for both books but at least this one was lgbtq+

** spoiler alert ** What in the...... I.. What. This book was good. If you were looking for a gay Romance in space. This isn't it. If you are looking for a space thriller that happens to have a bit of queer romance. Then this one is for you. My brain hurts. I think fundamentally Humanity sending only two men to repopulate the human race was an odd choice but it was still an excellent read and it ties it up in the end but like.... Huh. It didn't have chapters. Which means if you read like me you will be unable to stop.

This book broke my heart and then mended it back together. I couldn't put it down, it's one of my favorites.

My brain is so much more often in shambles and less able to produce a good review after reading a book I enjoy, but I'm going to try to at least get some thoughts across. I'll start by saying this book shocked me in the best of ways. When I first picked it up, I could not have guessed it was going to go in the direction it did. At the height of the mystery, I was so invested that I had to stop reading, locate my mother, tell her all about it, and then proceed to play the audiobook so we could listen to the rest of the story together. There was so many emotions that passed through me while reading this, but ultimately I would have to agree with a review I'd seen that said the book made them feel small. I'm not one to feel any existential crises looking up at the night sky, but this book has such a way of depicting one's own insignificance and helplessness that hit me deep in my bones. But as much as this is a story of devastation and horror, it is one about resilience and hope and a reminder of how much that everyone needs someone. Now, even though I've rated this 5 stars and gone on about how much I clearly enjoyed it, there were some things I had a problem with. The first was that there was far too much emphasis placed on Federation (USA) vs Dimokratia (Russia) and it ended up being a completely unnuanced take that we have seen again and again in media: Russia bad, America good....ish. Certainly better than Russia in any case!! But we will not go into details on why either country is bad or not bad and instead just use this bit of worldbuilding to give the main characters reasons to distrust each other. Sort of. They get over it quite quickly, so the choice is even less valid. Anyway, part of the Russia-stand-in being unpleasant schtick included a scene in which Ambrose calls Kodiak backward for daring to ask if Ambrose is gay or bisexual because those labels are just so archaic and practically offensive! It's an absolutely nonsense fake-woke take. If you don't want to label yourself, that's fine, but don't put down others for wishing to use them or vilify labels as a whole. They're not only extremely useful, but very important to many people, and it's not progressive to try to get rid of them fullstop. (It is, in fact, kind of stupid.) Anywayy, these cons didn't detract in my enjoyment of the story too much, as most of the book was just about trying to figure out what the hell was going on and Fake Russia vs Fake US really didn't matter in the grand scheme of the plot. I will say the story got a little less compelling for me as it neared the end, once all of the mystery was gone, but it's still a solid read that I would definitely recommend giving a try. Oh wait, one more personal con: why the fuck was the main character so horny in a life and death situation? Wild. Plot Concept: 4/5 Plot Execution: 5/5 Pacing: 4/5 Writing: 5/5 Characters: 4/5 Romance: 4/5 Overall Enjoyability: 4.5/5