A review by ailsaod
The Outside by Ada Hoffmann

challenging dark hopeful mysterious slow-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

4.0

 This was a bit of a slow start because I could tell things were going to go wrong but once I got past the initial disaster that kicks off the plot I really enjoyed listening to this book. This is my first proper delve into Lovecraftian fiction and I really enjoyed it. Horror is not a genre that I read because I am a wimp, but I can certainly appreciate a creepy atmosphere and inexplicable goings on! This book is not scary but if you want to be mildly unsettled and disturbed it will do the trick!

While I initially found the AI supercomputer gods a bit goofy as a concept - especially in a book about the eldritch unknown - they were well written enough to work well as an opposing force to the outside. What initially appears to be a good vs evil conflict becomes more and more muddy with neither side of the conflict being anywhere near 'good'.

Hoffmann did a great job on the characters - I am very fond of most of them (save those that deserve to be drop kicked into orbit!) and they also feel very real. Ysira wants to fix the damage she inadvertently caused at the start of the book but is clearly still overwhelmed by the situation she is in. Also I have not read a story with an autistic protagonist before and while I cannot say anything about accuracy I think it was portrayed respectfully. Tiv (who I thought for sure was going to be fridged) is lovely and I thought the romance between her and Ysira was written really well and made me a bit emotional. Ysira's mentor (whose name I can't remember because I listened to this as an audiobook) is (a little) sympathetic but ominous though mainly that was the whole 'lies' thing. The way the outside was explained to fit into what we know of physics and biology also felt worryingly realistic (though I am not a physicist so it may be a bit janky on that front if you know more about the science).
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