The Darkness Outside Us
The Darkness Outside Us book cover

The Darkness Outside Us

Kindle Edition

by
Price
$10.99
Publisher
Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date

Description

Eliot Schrefer is a New York Times bestselling author, has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award in Young Peoples Literature, and has won the Green Earth Book Award and the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award for Children's Literature. His novels include Endangered , Threatened , Rescued , and two books in the Spirit Animals series. He lives in New York City, is on the faculty of the Fairleigh Dickinson University MFA in creative writing program, and is the childrens book reviewer for USA Today . Visit him online at EliotSchrefer.com. --This text refers to the audioCD edition. "Schrefer masterfully evokes and maintains suspense that keeps the pages turning briskly while still taking the time to limn the two boys’ touching, moving relationship. If all of this is space opera, readers will want an encore.xa0Bravo." -- Booklist (starred review) "3, 2, 1…blastoff for mystery, adventure, and queer intergalactic bodice-ripping." -- Kirkus Reviews "[A] sexy space odyssey. Schrefer’s immersive novel combines the build of mysteries and the tension of romance, slowly unfurling an iterative story about love and attraction, destiny, and connection.xa0" -- Publishers Weekly "Schrefer does an excellent job of developing and humanizing his characters before throwing them into the swift waters of a sci-fi plot with its truly shocking and satisfying twist. Readers are sure to root for these lovable characters’ survival." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books"This deep-space survival story, with a strong gay romance and notes of horror, will appeal to fans of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Illuminae ." -- School Library Journal"Yes, The Darkness Outside Us is utterly inventive and relentlessly page-turning. And yes, Ambrose and Kodiak are seriously the hottest couple in space. But even more, this is an insightful, tender, and profound story, about the weight of history, and the power of transformation and true love." -- Deb Caletti, National Book Award finalist and author of A Heart in a Body in the World “Fiercely imaginative and desperately real, The Darkness Outside Us explores the wild expanses of the human heart. This book is a triumph.”xa0 -- Elana K. Arnold, author of Damsel, a Printz Honor Book" The Darkness Outside Us is equal parts terrifying, tender, and thrilling. I loved every word of this sharp, thoughtful look at the world we live in and the ones beyond."xa0 -- Brandy Colbert, award-winning author of Little & Lion “Absolutely brilliant. The Darkness Outside Us is a pulse-pounding thriller, engrossing science fiction epic, and heartfelt meditation on love all at once.” -- Malinda Lo, Author of Ash --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Features & Highlights

  • They Both Die at the End
  • meets
  • The Loneliest Girl in the Universe
  • in this mind-bending sci-fi mystery and tender love story about two boys aboard a spaceship sent on a rescue mission, from two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer. Stonewall Honor Award winner!
  • Two boys, alone in space. Sworn enemies sent on the same rescue mission.
  • Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor with no memory of a launch. There’s more that doesn’t add up: evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship’s operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away. But nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed—not when he’s rescuing his own sister.
  • In order to survive the ship’s secrets, Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together and learn to trust each other . . . especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive.
  • * Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of the Year * A Booklist Editor's Choice of the Year * A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book of the Year * A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults & Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Book of the Year *

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(719)
★★★★
25%
(300)
★★★
15%
(180)
★★
7%
(84)
★
-7%
(-85)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Holy Wow! I did NOT see that coming!

First, this book is not a romance. It is a sci-fi thriller that happens to have romantic elements. Please do not confuse the two.

Ambrose has woken up on board the spaceship that is currently hurtling through the solar system on the way to Saturn's moon Titan on a rescue mission. Well, hopefully, a rescue mission. Otherwise, he's going to be finding out how his sister died, and he doesn't want to believe that she's dead.

On the other half of the spaceship is Kodiak, a brooding space farer from a rival country who doesn't seem too keen on working together with Ambrose to complete the tasks provided to them by the computer's operating AI, called simply OS, and voiced by Ambrose's mother.

But over time, there are things that make Ambrose begin to question what OS is telling the two of them. Ambrose and Kodiak with have to work together to figure out what OS is hiding and what that means for their mission.

This was such a good book. The first half, taken up almost entirely by Part I, is somewhat typical of what you would expect of a space mission that has a few issues crop up until a BIG issue crops up. Suddenly, Ambrose and Kodiak aren't sure of anything anymore. The twist at the end of Part I and the beginning of Part II threw out any possibility of me putting the book down and going to bed. I had to finish listening to it, my sleep schedule be-damned. Finishing it around 3 am, and I'm glad I did. Not only was the entire journey amazing, but the ending was just perfect.

The character development for each of the major characters was very well done, as were the descriptions of their interactions and the development of the relationships. One line that made me absolutely laugh out loud was in the very beginning of Part 6 - so I won't give any context at all, because I do not want to spoil it for you, is when OS tells Ambrose to "adjust to this reality as quickly as possible." If I'd had liquid in my mouth, I probably would have spit it out just from the sheer absurdity of the request.

Listening to the audiobook was such an amazing way to experience this book. It was narrated by James Fouhey, who gave a beautiful, and at times heartbreaking, performance. If you have the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, I highly recommend doing so. If you don't, I still highly recommend you read this book. It is really good.
11 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

An amazing surprise

Stunning, terrifying, and so, so human.

The Darkness Outside Us was not at all what I expected, and I found myself having to put down the book to just take a moment and breathe.
So, if you’re just looking for the ‘gays in space sci-fi romance’ then prepare to be swept off your feet and hurtled into a pool of vulnerability and existential crisis.

We often hear the tales of space travel in terms of the glorified achievements of humankind. Another step into the universe, another step towards knowledge, and yes, it’s all true. But while we learn names, see pictures of famous astronauts, or even watch cute little videos on how to wash our hair in a no-gravity zone, we don’t always think about the loneliness, the separation, the mind-numbing realization that there is NOWHERE to go beyond the walls of the spacecraft.
The Darkness Outside Us shows us both the breathtaking and the dreadful aspects of being far away from everything we know but presents it in a very thoughtful, realistic way.
During reading, my mind kept slipping away, though not at all because it was boring, but because I was flooded with endless what-ifs, and whys, and what-would-I-dos.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes a little mystery, some philosophizing, a good old-fashioned human interaction, a bit of heartbreak (or a lot of it), and endings that fill us with hope ;)

The book was amazing, I will be thinking about it for months, possibly reread it once or twice.
7 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Unique and Thought Provoking

This book was so unexpectedly unique and thought provoking. It came highly recommended by friends and they were 100% correct. Once I started, I didn't want to put it down. It's part mystery, thriller, and even romantic comedy at times. The Darkness Outside Us is a novel about humanity, survival, and connection. It took a little bit to get my bearings and understand the world setup, but once things got rolling, I was fully invested and buckled up for the ride. I loved the relationship and character development of Ambrose and Kodiak. I did not see all the twists, dips, and turns coming, and really applaud the author for crafting the story so brilliantly. I had a few logistical questions at the end, but let me just say that my mind was blown reading this. I both read and listened to the audiobook of The Darkness Outside Us and James Fouhey did an incredible job with the narration. He conveyed so much emotion in his performance - fear, joy, pain, humor, love, etc. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to give anything away, but do yourself a favor and read this book.

Audiobook Review
Overall 5 stars
Performance 5+ stars
Story 4.5 stars
2 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Incredible Read

Wow.. I just… wow. I don’t know what to say about this. I binged this in a few hours. I’m normally quite a slow reader, so that’s somewhat of a big deal.

This book takes an abrupt turn and massive twist and left me completely speechless. For some reason this book was marketed as some sort of YA Sci-fi Romance? Yeah that’s a mistake. I really hope that more people (who may be turned off by that description) will read this anyway.

At first, after reading the blurb and starting this book, I was enjoying the “cute romcom in space” sort of thing happening. Buuuut that changes. Abruptly. And shockingly. It ends up being a book about what it means to be human. What it means to be alone. What it means to love.

I don’t really know what else to say. This is an incredible, beautiful read.
2 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

More please

This was so excellent and I can see so much potential here. The story amazing and so creative there so many aspects of the characters explored. You could do so much with this visually if you were a producer
2 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS.

This book decided to bring me to tears at like 2:00 AM

so buy it. cry about it. enjoy it.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A Very Enjoyable SF Novel

This book is a rare combination of a sci-fi novel with a gay protagonist. Rare because this is the only book I’ve read with that combination that is published by a mainstream publisher - so there are almost no grammatical errors, which is a joy to find in this age of self-publishing.

Other pluses for me, there are:

* No monster aliens
* No space battles
* No endless pages of sex

I felt this was more like an adult book suitable for a YA readers, or vice versa. And there are not a lot of characters to keep track of – primarily just two.

There are a few mysteries to figure out in this book which keeps the reader’s interest. And there are also some very poignant sections of the book, which makes for a very satisfying read.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Mindblowing, wickedly smart, humanistic, and tender

You would be forgiven if you asked yourself, a few pages in, whether this book would end up being some derivative MM romance retelling of 2001: A Space Odyssey. A ship with two humans on board hurtling away from Earth through the void of space wholly dependent on an AI. But after a few more pages, it’d become very clear that you were dead wrong.

If you’ve ever given two thoughts to mankind’s place in the universe and have even a passing interest in sci-fi, this book will blow your mind. And if you came to this book for a warm and cuddly space MM romance, it will likely scratch that itch, but moreover it will blow your mind.

Why do I say “will likely scratch that itch”? You see, this book contains an MM romance, but only because it *has* to. The circumstances of the story essentially demand it. And the queer aspects of the story are all the more remarkable for that very reason. But they are not its centerpiece.

The core purpose of this book is so much more (I wish I could elaborate, but the fewer spoilers the better). It is ingeniously crafted, well-researched, beautifully paced, incredibly fun to read, and will make you ponder the nature of humanity, of time and space, and of the life within it long after you read the last words.

I can’t recommend this book enough for all sci-fi fans, young or old, queer or straight.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Awesome, mind-bending read.

I was expecting this novel to be a lame, but enjoyable YA romance. It is certainly not lame. It doesn't read like a YA novel, especially after Part One. It's not a romance either. The Darkness Outside Us is highly enjoyable. This book leans heavy on Sci-Fi with a bit of romance. It reminded me of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, only better. Avoid all spoilers.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Wow! Just Wow!

I went into The Darkness Outside Us completely blind, except for a tweet that I saw from Kit. Now, I don’t want to “blame” anyone since that word has negative connotations to it, but a HUGE shoutout to Kit from Metaphors and Moonlight for tweeting about this book.

I’d had it on my list and remembered seeing some posts about it earlier in the year. It might have even been around the time that Andy Weir’s latest release, Project Hail Mary, came out. So I thought “I just did space, maybe later”. Then promptly forgot about it. Anyway, Kit’s post about it being one of her favorites made me think “okay, let’s try this out” and people…

Wow. Just wow. I don’t say that about a lot of books but Schrefer absolutely blew my mind with this one.

Now, it’s going to be impossible to talk about this one in any depth because Schrefer throws a ton of twists and turns into it. But it is a beautifully written, enchanting, haunting science fiction book that absolutely blew me away. The different things that happened, especially around each “part” of the book were just like “wait, did that just happen?” And Schrefer’s ability to make me fall head over heels in love with the characters is second-to-none.

Overall, I’m so so so pleased that I picked this one up as a pleasure read and I’m even happier that I read it when I did. Right before the year was over, because it was a beautifully written and haunting book that I’ll be thinking about throughout 2022.

I also want to call out the differences between the two main characters when it came to race and sexuality was interesting and refreshing. I liked that Ambrose’s side of the world had completely moved past labels – this came up a few different times and is explained really well later in the book. It was just so nice to not even have it as part of the plot, but almost as an afterthought.
1 people found this helpful

Related Books