This is the 3rd book recently that I have read or reading that has characters with disabilities and I think that’s bloody brilliant!



This book was crazy as hell and I loved it! I mean an autistic scientist WOMAN! <-- Hell yes! Freaking robot angels and computer Gods! <-- Dude, that's some crazy stuff right there.

Praise to the Gods of the galaxy, who brought us out of Old Earth.
Praise to the Gods of the warp drive, who push at the edges of space.
Praise to the Gods of the portal, who open all doors to our bodies.
Praise to the Gods of the ansible, who open all doors to our words.
Praise, praise be to the Gods who know, whose minds are above human minds, whose knowledge has kept us alive.

ALETHEIAN MORNING LITANY



Yasira is a scientist on a space ship and she has been working on some tech that could change humanity (basically what it says in the summary) Yasira feels something is not right with what she is working on and trying to get more time before the big shin dig. BUT, as we know - people, angels, Gods, whatever, don't listen. THEN THINGS GO TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET. I mean she destroyed a space station people. <-- it's not a spoiler, it's in the summary!

Yasira did manage to get a good bit of people saved when they were in the escape boats/pods.

Then she gets yanked out of there and on another ship with the head honcho God and some angels and some freaking alien spiders. <-- it's a thing. I might never look at a spider the same again.

A skittering noise came suddenly from a junction up ahead. Yasira perked up, expecting another bot - and came face to face with an eight-foot-tall spider.

"Hello," it said - or, rather, it made giggly chittering noises, which was translated into Earth creole by an electronic device hanging from its pedicel. Spiders were not really arachnids: they were sentient aliens, ten-legged, with a spiny central body lacking spinnerets or pedipalps. It was sheer coincidence that their overall body plan looked like an arachnophobe's nightmare. "Who is this new morsel you've brought me, Elu? Is she good to eat?"



I thought that was a nice little tidbit <--No pun intended, to get you right in the nightmare department.

Anyhoo, Yasira is brought to the Gods because they want her to find a certain person and if she does they will let her go. Well..... this and that.... and so forth and so on occurred. Just read the book; it was definitely a trip!

I quite enjoyed myself in this strange world -er book, The Outside.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the Pub for letting me read a digital copy of this book.*

Mel

There’s lots to like in this book.

The world was my favourite part, a fascinating mash-up of God-level AIs and their cybernetically enhanced techno-priests versus ‘Outside’ cosmic horrors driving people mad. I loved that the world was really well established, too. It had a history and a culture around the Gods that was normalised through how characters thought about and interacted in their world. Talirr’s heresies felt real and problematic in context. The descriptions of the Outside influence and events were delicious and varied, too, really conveying the wrongness of them, especially against the shiny and sanitised God-tech setting we spend most of the book in.

Shout out, too, for all the fabulous diverse representation in this book. This is an #Ownvoices book and I found the honest portrayal of Yasira’s autism without turning it into a caricature or a superpower was a really valuable addition to the story. The presentation of the ways in which her society provided supports (in contrast to how that same society had failed another character), and her perspective and responses to moving through the stressful situations she was in were also nice touches.

The disability and neurodiverse advocacy message is clear in this but not preachy, instead using the Outside effects on people and the Gods’ (particularly Nemesis’) standard responses and perspectives to explore the ideas and moral issues.

However, I found I didn’t connect with the characters much and I’m not really sure why. Everyone had clear motivations and distinct personalities, no-one was two-dimensional, and everyone had humanising moments and depth, right down to Enga wanting part of her gear to click (“Elu said I could!”). Most characters, too, got really meaty arcs driven by their decisions and who they were. Yasira was the best example of this, but I found Dr Talirr and Akavi’s trajectories equally good. There’s technically nothing to complain about here, but I just didn’t feel it and that made reading this a bit detached – I never quite fell into the world and the story.

A super interesting read and well worth the time if you’re looking for an original space opera, excellent autism and queer rep, or all of the above.

Strong 4 stars.

The Outside is a novel with brilliant protagonist who lead quite cool life, having good girfliend and leading a very important project. But suddenly something goes wrong, the project goes BUM and Yashira finds herself responsible for death of over a hundred people and kidnapped on foreign ship by the Gods. And who are Gods if not supercomputers created by humans? They tell Yashira that the real responsibility or a failure is on her mentor Dr Tallir who is heretic and is planning to kill a lot more people. Gods ask Yashira to help them find her and if she succeed, they let her go home. But what if she doesn't?

This book was one of the most interesting things I've read this year. I really liked the idea of mechanical gods, created by human race to protect them. But is it really that way? Through the book Yashira is struggling between her faith and loyalty for her former mentor. She asks herself question: who is right and if anyone's right at all.

I really liked the characters. Yashira is brilliant, she's genius and she always wants to do the right thing no matter what the cost. I loved how she desperately tried to find the lesser evil in impossible situation. She is a real hero in the story and it is so easy to root for her.

The other character that is quite well developed is one of the Angels - Akavi – I didn't like him, but despite that I find him a really interesting person.

And the most alluring in my opinion was Dr Tallir – abused as a child, she let her anger grow and stopped to care about other people. She fights Gods, but she does it only with personal motives and there isn't any greater good in it. She is not exactly likeable, but I think that she has potential in eventual future stories in this world.

I think this book is very good. It's really reach with imagination and has many interesting conce

I enjoyed this book, about super sentient computers and the humans that worship them. Hoffmann presents an interesting concept, that makes one wonder about our future.

A really interesting read, something completely fresh and interesting, or it was to me at least. I’m loving the complete inclusivity of the books coming out now it’s so good and heartwarming to have so many books to offer to represent all of society. A great read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I think...I think this is my new favourite sci-fi? Like, ever?

There are precisely zero (0) things to hate about THE OUTSIDE. It's an exceptionally clever plot, though it never felt too over-complicated, with unseen mechanical gods and a hierarchy of half-human angels and a spreading madness that warps the very fabric of reality. The scale is massive, yet what THE OUTSIDE does best is combining this universe-shattering vastness with real human moments. Because it wasn't just the worldbuilding that blew me away; the characters were phenomenal.

The protagonist is Yasira, a young prodigy who finds herself at the centre of this struggle after her heretical mentor, Dr Talirr, goes rogue. Surrounding her is Akavi, an angel determined never to be seen as kind, and his underlings, including the too-good-for-this-world Elu and the hilariously blunt Enga. The dynamics of these two sides---led by Dr Talirr and Akavi---were particularly fascinating, because the good/bad dichotomy was never truly clear. I hated and loved them, often in equal measures...although I think deep down, I wanted *everyone* to succeed? Except maybe Nemesis? Plus, it was so refreshing to read a story about a queer, autistic heroine in SCI-FI!

As I read, I realized I had no idea what was going to happen until about 99% into the book. It never slows down, keeps twisting, and explores everything from power structures to free will. Just trust me on this: it's SO GOOD. Such a promising start to a new series (oh yes, it's a series. And you can bet I'll be getting the sequel when it releases). If you've got any inclination towards science fiction, do yourself a favour and read THE OUTSIDE. Easy 5/5 stars from me.

Whew, this is some mind-bendy super interesting science fiction! I’ve only read a little Iain M. Banks, but this kind of high concept SF with BIG AIs playing a major role in the story - Banks’s Player of Games kept coming back to me as I read The Outside (in a cool way, not a derivative way).

I really enjoyed the future setting here: the singularity has happened in the past, and now there are basically AI Gods. Humans are expected to worship/obey them, tech is restricted, there are varying levels of AI-human splicing, resulting in varying levels of dedication to the Gods. It’s a really fun sandbox to play in.

Then I really liked how the author plays with what could be called magic - but still makes it science. I can’t talk about it too much without spoilers, but it’s a mystery that kept me turning the pages, dying to know what was going on.

I really liked how neurodivergent characters were centered in this book. I also liked that we have two female autistic characters whose experiences/orientations to the world are different - it’s not like there is one autistic way to experience the world, and that’s reflected here.

This is a really original debut SF novel. I’m very curious if the author will write more in this setting (it definitely left the door open) because I would certainly read more!

I received an ARC of this Angry Robot book via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. My opinions are my own :-)

Autistic writers are severely underrepresented in SFF, despite the fact that we make up a huge proportion of the fanbase. One could make a case for autistic people being absolutely foundational in SFF--we are often the super-fans, in this genre. And yet, as far as I am aware, no autistic SFF writers are published by the Big 5. (I would absolutely love to be corrected on this--let me know if I've overlooked somebody.)

We seem to find better representation with independent presses, and Angry Robot in particular have a pretty good track record for publishing neurodiverse writers. I'm always keen to see more ownvoices autistic novels out there, though, and when I heard that Angry Robot were putting out a Lovecraft-influenced space opera featuring an #ownvoices autistic protagonist, I jumped straight on it.

Please note, this review contains minor spoilers, especially towards the end of the review.

###

"The Outside" follows Dr. Yasira Shein, an autistic scientist existing in a far-future space faring society. The setting is a good one, bordering on science-fantasy: humanity created powerful AI, who "ascended" to godhood and decided to take over. Y'know, for humanity's own good, and all that. With a rather Machiavellian flair, they legitimised their control by building a religion around it, one which draws heavily on Judeo-Christian terms (eg, angels) aspects but isn't shy of borrowing from a myriad of other influence.

It's an odd juxtaposition, especially considering the hard scifi feel to much of the narrative, but works well for both obscuring certain technological explanations, and gives a believable framework for why the general population put up with such a disadvantageous situation.

Feeding into the concept of angels, religion, and technological prayers is the darker concept of heresy (a word that invariably gives me 40k flashbacks, but that's no bad thing.) Much of the book centres on the efforts of various characters to contain the spread of heresy, in this case referring to psychological and metaphysical influences from a force that exists "outside" of known time and space (where the novel draws its title from.)

To shortcut for the sake of review, the concept of Outside is very similar to Lovecraftian lore: an existence or understanding beyond human ken, that defies the laws of physics and nature. It's tied into the idea that reality is mostly illusion and perspective, and interacting with this force has a tendency to drive people insane. Even when it doesn't, the AI gods are not keen on its subversive nature, and do their best to stomp out anything remotely heretical. Suffice to say, the setting was a huge plus for me. I have a quiet fondness for religion of any kind in a scifi setting, and a lasting fondness for all things Lovecraft inspired.

Back to Yasira, before you forget about her! I don't want to go in-depth with plot spoilers, as that's not the sort of review I tend to write. The main thrust of the conflict is that Yasira unintentionally kicks off a heretical "incident" and rather than put to death, they put her to use: she therefore becomes caught up in the gods' efforts to stomp out certain Outside influences, which they've been struggling to contain. The person at the heart of this heretical contamination is none other than Yasira's former academic mentor, Dr. Talirr.

Naturally, the gods are far from completely honest, and it quickly becomes apparent that they are more concerned with maintaining control, even at the expense of human life. The more Yasira is drawn into their schemes, the more disillusioned she becomes. On the other side, Dr. Talirr is attempting to wield the forces of the Outside to fight the gods, who are responsible for abuse she suffered as a child, and who quietly oppress the population they rule. She spends much of her time trying to recruit or influence Yasira from afar, though she has ways and means to be "present" in the novel (I'll refrain from saying too much here.)

There's an underlying nod here to the abuse experienced by autistic children who are forced to undergo ABA, which is a type of "therapy" designed to train autistic traits away in the name of making us seem more neurotypical. (If you're not familiar with this history, a quick google search on ABA and PTSD will bring you up to speed.)

Against that backdrop, you might expect Dr. Talirr to be the obvious good guy character, a sort of Han Solo esque figure who shows Yasira the "truth" about the proverbial evil empire. But in fact, Talirr is a secondary antagonist--and I think this is one of the strengths of the novel. Her history and experiences have warped her worldview, shaping her into a person who is as dangerous and twisted as the angels she is fighting, and as indifferent to the lives of other humans. Although she does have truths to reveal and lessons to teach, her cause isn't just, and her goals are unpleasant.

Because both Yasira and Talirr are on the spectrum, the novel offers an interesting and nuanced examination of a particular spectrum trait--the tendency to see issues in black and white. Talirr's tendency has been exacerbated because of her experiences, and people are either on her side or against her; right, or wrong; useful, or expendable. Challenging the gods is valid, as is Talirr's pain, but her methods and motivations are fundamentally selfish, and she lacks--or rather, has lost--the ability to consider the situation in shades of grey.

I don't really want to make this about me, but I do feel compelled to mention that learning to see situations in shades of grey has been one of the biggest challenges of my adult life re autism. It's a point of view that affects every discussion, argument, conversation, relationship, political stance, life goals, on and on. I found Hoffman's exploration thoughtful and interesting.

Yasira therefore ends up in a situation where she is offered two extremes to a very serious problem, and neither are the correct option. There are no good choices. This is on top of the other issues she faces in the novel--loss of friends, livelihood, girlfriend, and the enormous stress the situation puts her in, all of that exacerbated for someone who is autistic.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

In brief summary: The Outside's influence is spreading across a certain planet. Not everyone dies, and sometimes the effects are bordering on beneficial, but Yasira believes very strongly that it isn't fair to inflict such changes on people without their consent, and her argument for that is persuasive. Besides, the loss of life and madness experienced by others is inarguably problematic.

The gods/angels want to squash the problem in any way possible, even if that means killing thousands of people. Talirr wants to bring the gods down, even if it means ruining the lives of thousands of people.

Yasira's solution is to reject both of the extremes offered, and cobble together her own half-way point. I don't want to give explicit spoilers (leave SOMEthing for those who have read this far!) but the underlying premise of her solution is communication and connection. Allowing empathy to shape the Outside, and using communication to break gods' stranglehold. When people connect, talk, and share, they are stronger for it in a myriad different ways; not only as individuals, but politically and socially. This is a reoccurring theme in the novel (especially with the 'gone' people, who I won't get into here--talking with people who communicate in different ways from us.)

There is something fundamentally brilliant about an ownvoices autistic character choosing connection and communication as her solution, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Much of autistic life is spent trying to connect and communicate with other people, and perhaps more than many allistics, we are acutely aware of the painful need to make ourselves heard and understood. And what an empowering experience it can be to finally wield your voice. Connection is powerful--literally for Yasira, but all people everywhere, too.


WRAP UP

I did enjoy the book very much but--and here is where we get into subjectivity--my science education and understanding is pretty poor, so there was some stuff which went way over my head, especially early on. Talirr was the most interesting character to me, and I would have liked to see more of her and less of Akavi, but that's again a subjective preference. Still, the novel is overall a very strong read, especially in a sub-genre I don't often feel gripped by (space opera) and I would very much recommend it to SF fans, and especially for any autistic SFF fans who might enjoy a bit of well-deserved (and well written) representation.

A space opera-cyberpunk-godpunk thought experiment of a novel, with a neuro-atypical heroine and some ridiculously characteristic aliens-- what's not to love? Full review at <a href="https://skiffyandfanty.com/blogposts/reviews/bookreviews/theoutsideadahoffman/">Skiffy and Fanty.</a>

The Outside by Ada Hoffmann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You know those times when you're super anxious about new (to you) authors you request on Netgalley just by the looks of the cover?

Yeah, well, I think I've just found my second squeeworthy book for the year and I'm going to say just this one thing:

If there's any justice in the world, this book is going to get nominated and rise to the very top of the hopefuls for 2020's Hugo Awards for best novel.

Wow, right? Like, WHY?

It tickled ALL my hot buttons. I'm a superfan of good science, Hard-SF beautiful explorations, quantum computer AIs ascended to gods, and Outsider coolness that quacks like a Cthuhlu duck, walks like a Cthuhlu duck, and chatters with insanity in your ears with hundreds of tentacles and eyes as you just fall down the hole of imaginary numbers made real.

Oh, it has a great autistic scientist female in the lead, engaging in a cat-and-mouse chase with her old advisor who is guilty of unconscionable crimes against humanity and is a heretic of the AI gods.

Who is good and who is bad? Can she trust anyone? Is reality even what it seems?

Oh, yeah. This is the cat's meow. It has all the best features of Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire with a very different kind of story and flavor. Tentacles, madness, living alien spacecraft, altered reality, timey-wimey stuff... you name it, this has it. :)

AND I JUST EAT THIS STUFF UP. This is easily one of the two most squeeworthy SF's of the year and now I'm a life-long fan of this author.

*Squeedance* *Squeedance*

Let's get this one READ and talked about, folks!!!

I found the world building quite interesting. Humans now worship God AIs who were created by humans.

Yasira is a brilliant scientist even though she is neurodivergent. Her former mentor, Dr. Talirr, has disappeared. Now, Yasira has used some of the work she and her mentor did on her latest project. Things go badly and Yasira is now in trouble with the Gods.

Yasira is approached by an Angel and recruited to find Dr Talirr. What follows is quite a ride!

I recommend this book to anyone who loves sci-fi and i'm hoping for more books from this author!

Gods, heretics, and an autistic girl cross paths in this thrilling space adventure. Autistic genius Yasira Shien builds a reactor, that could change the human dependency on the gods, and the test run goes very wrong. Then she is recruited by Akavi the Inquisitor for the computer god Nemesis to track down a known heretic and her former mentor Evianna Talirr. Yasira is led on a search for her mentor that makes her question everything she knows including reality itself.
Ada’s universe is well built from the space station at the beginning, to planet surfaces and everything in between. Her craft shines when she is describing the areas affected by Outside and its reality warping effects. I could almost feel the distortion and maddening effects coming off of the pages.
The story changes perspectives between the two main characters though it focuses more on Yasira and her struggles to process the information that is presented to her through her autism. I liked how Ada used the autism to make Yasira feel more real and helped to identify with her and her mental struggles to keep pace with the events around her. Akavi’s character on the other hand is cold and calculating using whatever he can to achieve his goals whether it be emotions, torture, kidnapping, etc, etc. He has times that his former humanity shows through but those are brief. Evianna Talirr is a major character and is the perfect opposite of Akavi, where he is by the book she is free spirited.
Though not the darkest Sci Fi I have read, this one has dark elements to it. There is such a fear around the god Nemesis, being the one that seeks out the heretics to kill them to stop the spread of their heresies using any means available. The angels of Nemesis came across to me as a what the KGB would have been like if they had been given unfiltered access to the data that comes across the internet now.
There is also the sense of hopelessness in confronting the Outside. A force that cannot be explained or controlled where the laws of reality do not apply. The Outside is also known to cause irreversible madness in people how come into to contact with either the Outside or in some cases just the ideas and knowledge of it can led to utter insanity.
Over all this was an engrossing story of a woman’s search for the truth when she is given partial truths from multiple sides. The story has a few twists and turns throughout to keep you guessing. Highly recommended for fans of Science Fiction with a dark twist.

Scientist Yasira Shien’s new energy drive should be just what humanity needs to change its future. But she is right to feel something’s wrong, even though all her calculations appear flawless, because when it’s switched on reality warps causing a disaster. Instead of executing Yasira, the AI Gods give her the option of helping them to find her mentor Dr Evianna Talirr who has been declared a dangerous heretic. But as Yasira gradually discovers that all is not as it seems she does not know who to trust.

I have to admit I was more than a little wary of how the Gods would add to a story as a concept. But their inclusion in the narrative made sense, particularly given the way they interface with the human population and the resultant hierarchies of altered human beings who directly serve them. This creates an interesting set of social possibilities and control of human behaviour and their endeavours. This many-layered society, and its accountability to all-powerful beings who can make or break Yasira as they please, all added to the tension of this taut thriller.

There is a great deal of made up technical concepts, which formed and interesting part of the story and blended well with the thriller element of the novel.

The story also creates plenty of opportunities and space for Yasira’s personal development, as she is continually put in situations where she must venture right out of her comfort zone if she is to discover what is really going on and form her own opinions to inform her future actions which potentially run the risk of enduring even more wrath from the Gods.

I would say this is 3.5 stars. I found the concept really interesting and the book is very readable. I appreciate that the author stays just this side of making the science something not understandable. And the parts that are understandable are described as being that way, so the reader knows it’s ok to not try to make sense of it.
The only reason I say it’s 3.5 and not 4 is because it felt very long. For some reason it took me a long time to read and, even though I enjoyed it, it wasn’t a page turner.

There are so many things to love about this book. Representation is one. The main character, Yasira, a queer POC on the autism spectrum, and a badass scientist as well, The world of Gods and angels instead of AIs and cybernetic minions with a plot that still felt as personal as it did galaxy-threatening. The Outside, which has started driving people mad, and messing with the fabric of reality. If someone asked me to explain it, I might not be able to do it justice, but I loved it. Absolutely inventive and original, as well as believable that in a possible future humanity might worship a supercomputer as a god.

I will admit to it taking longer than I might like for me to connect emotionally to Yasira, but when I did, holy hell. The last third of the book was impossible to put down, and the end made me swipe frantically for more. Shoutouts to Enga and Tiv, two fantastic characters that I couldn't wait to read more about. Sign me up for book two!

First off, can I just say how impressed I was to receive a debut novel featuring an autistic central character written by an autistic writer? So often we get characters who aren’t neurotypical written by those who are and it’s hard to know how well it actually represents them.

As for the actual book:

Many fantasy and science fiction novels these days lack an truly original plot that sets them apart. "Outside" by Ada Hoffmann is NOT one of those novels. It is an utterly remarkable and unique tale. I highly recommend reading it and am really looking forward to what else comes next from the mind of this genuinely talented writer.

Because of its uniqueness, it was an intense read. The technology and world building were completely mind blowing. It was a little hard to wrap my head around at first (a glossary or index would have been great), but the more I read it the more I came to terms with this highly evolved 28th century setting. As someone who is terrified of the robot uprising, it was a little unnerving to read how well AI has wrested control of humans.

"Outside" has a fascinating plot but it often got bogged down in the details, especially at the end. I think this book could have been a lot stronger if it was a tad shorter because it’s got the bones of a unique and fantastic story. In areas it really started to get repetitive and despite what the premise suggests, not a lot actually happens. It’s a shame because the action in this was absolutely stellar.

I don’t mind slow books at all, it was just the repetition that got boring. Plus there was so much that the author hinted at and didn’t explore, or things she didn’t explore enough. If this is going to be a series then I can forgive that but if it’s a standalone novel it’s a little disappointing that so many awesome opportunities were missed. I think that certain elements were meant to go over our heads because the point in those cases was for it to be as overwhelming and unknowing for the reader as it was for the characters. That I’m fine with because it gives the book a unique mythology. It’s the missed opportunities I’m more disappointed about. Still, it was a really compelling book and I have no regrets about reading it. I definitely recommend it for other fantasy and hard science fiction lovers.

My full review can be found on my blog. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read this outstanding book.

Interesting and different world building. This is driven by characters who are also very different. There is back story driving the action. A lot of tension that builds the start of a new series. Sometimes hard to keep up with what and who and how everything is working. At the heart of the different is how what happens when people stop imagining Gods and start building them.

The Outside is a wonderful debut that is filled to the brim with provoking ideas and concepts. Hoffman masterfully weaves together a story that is both addictive and adventurous in all aspects. Highly recommended.

This original, dystopian science fiction adventure features brilliant Yasira Shien, who happens to be on the autistic spectrum and gay. I liked the main protagonist, whose autism was convincingly depicted throughout, especially when she was in difficult situations – which happened a lot, especially when everything went to hell in a handcart on The Pride of Jai. Her emotions around Tiv, her lover, are clearly strong but curiously limited in the manner in which she thinks of her and describes her – but that also chimes with her being autistic. Her mentor, Dr Talirr, also one of the main characters, is also autistic but more profoundly affected than Yasira in that she struggles to connect with anyone – except Yasira, and even then she finds it very difficult, except in a time of ultimate crisis, to reach out to her. I thought it heartening to have two major characters so atypical and I think Hoffmann has brilliantly depicted them.

In contrast to the two main human protagonists is the main antagonist, Akavi. He/It is a cyborg angel charged with preventing the Outside – a fractured quantum-like reality that twists and warps our own space-time continuum and anyone unfortunate to get caught up in it – from breaking through. And when the Outside does manifest, Akavi has the task of hushing up the whole incursion. This cyborg has been designed to interact effectively with humans, persuading them to trust and rely on him, all the while well aware that if he doesn’t sort out the problem, he is likely to be effectively killed. As he is immortal, this is a very big deal – and in comparison, human lives are of little consequence, so he doesn’t mind if a number of them are killed in the process. Although no one wants to provoke mortals into rebelling again as the last time that happened, the war was messy and killed far too many of them. Besides, the cyborg angels need humanity.

If you’re thinking this is an intriguing set-up, you’re right. Overall, I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this ambitious sci fi adventure, which effectively raised questions such as – what is it that makes us human? What is the nature of reality and how do we define it when it starts fraying at the edges? And how do we ultimately define ourselves? Highly recommended for fans of intelligent science fiction adventure featuring atypical protagonists. While I obtained an arc of The Outside from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

The Outside is a definite mind-bender, serving up shock and awe from the start. What begins as the launch of a cutting edge engine for a run-of-the-mill space station becomes a universe-altering fiasco that has far-reaching implications. The worldbuilding is top notch, slowly revealing this fascinating existence combining future humanity with Gods who run the galaxy with iron fists. It’s equal parts exhilarating space opera and scientific horror, presenting the unknown in epic fashion. The author’s originality shines through, leaving you with the compelling story of a brilliant scientist tasked with solving an impossible mystery.

The Outside by Ada Hoffmann is the author's debut novel. It is a far-future science fiction story with some really interesting world-building details and an autistic protagonist. I enjoyed it a lot.

The Pride of Jai was supposed to be humanity's greatest accomplishment—a space station made entirely by humans and their primitive computers, without "divine" cyber-technology provided by the sentient quantum supercomputers worshipped as Gods. And it was supposed to be a personal triumph for its young lead scientist, physicist Yasira Shien, whose innovative mathematics was key to the reactor powering it.

But something goes wrong in Yasira's reactor, leading to an unexplained singularity that destroys The Pride of Jai and most of the people on it—and placing Yasira in the sights of angry Angels, the cyborg servants of the Gods.

According to the angels, Yasira's reactor malfunction was the latest in a rising tide of disasters, intentionally caused to exploit vulnerabilities in the very pattern of spacetime and usher in horrific beings from beyond reality itself. They believe that the woman behind the disasters is Yasira's long-vanished mentor, Dr Evianna Talirr—and they believe that Yasira, Dr Talirr's favorite student, is the only one who can help them find her.

Spirited off to the edge of the galaxy and with her whole planet's fate, and more, hanging in the balance, Yasira must decide who to trust: the ruthless angels she was always taught to obey without question—or the heretic scientist whose plans could change everything she knows to be true about reality.

Really, the most interesting part of this story was the world-building and everything that went with it. From the very beginning, we see that humanity has spread through the galaxy, but that their level of technological advancement isn't necessarily what we might normally expect. As we learn fairly early on, this is because the gods have declared certain technologies to be heretical — in particular, anything that comes close to AI since the gods themselves are very advanced AIs. They allow people use (god-built) advanced technology such as portals, but prevent humanity from fully understanding how it works. This is the climate in which our protagonist, Yasira, finds herself accidentally building heretical technology. And not just any technology, technology that malfunctions unusually and gets a lot of people killed.

This kicks off a story in which Yasira is pulled around by powerful people with competing interests while, at first, she doesn't fully understand what's going on. Although there's a lot of dramatic science fiction (bordering on horror) stuff going on, at its core the story is about Yasira's journey of self-discovery and understanding. We see her being different things to different people and, eventually, coming to understand who she is to herself. All this against a backdrop of science fiction horror events — although I want to stress the book itself isn't horror, it contains some elements borrowed from the genre.

In the end, good books can be the hardest to review. I liked The Outside for the reasons mentioned above (though how much I can keep repeating the phrase "world-building" without straying into spoiler territory, I don't know). It also worked well as a package and, intrigued as I was by the setting, I would definitely be interested in reading more set in this world, whether or not it's about the same characters. The book is self-contained but was left open for possible "further adventures", so I'm crossing my fingers. I highly recommend this book to fans of science fiction, perhaps with a dash of horror, weird science (although it's not heavy science, aside from a few irrelevant details near the start), and moral ambiguity. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more from this author.

5 / 5 stars

First published: June 2019, Angry Robot
Series: I don't think so, but there's potential for more books in the series, which I would definitely be up for
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

I was browsing through the Netgalley archive looking for something new to read when I stumbled across <i>The Outside</i> by Ada Hoffmann. I was drawn in by the cover art of looping tentacles and a blurb that promised "cosmic horrors" and "space opera" which are two of my all-time favorite things. While I am a firm believer in judging books by covers, I had just finished the excellent <i>The Resurrectionists</i> by Michael Hicks and I was a little reluctant to embark on another Lovecraftian adventure. The brief synopsis, though, was irresistible - a book about an autistic quantum physicists who lives in a universe populated by A.I. Gods and where people talk to angels? Yes, please.

If you're expecting Cthulhu in space, you're going to be disappointed. This book is Lovecraftian in the sense that it plays with the idea that what we perceive as the universe around us is only a small part of a much bigger picture. The mad scientists (or as the AI call them, "Heretics") are the researchers attempting to peal back the skin of reality to see what lies beneath. In <i>The Outisde</i>, one of the things that lies underneath the skin of the observable universe eats a space station whose reactor was unwittingly built on the foundation of heretical science. Yasira, the scientist responsible for building the reactor, could sense that something was wrong (her boss just thought she was being autistic) with the design, but didn't realize the exotic energies her reactor produced was tentacle kibble until it was too late. With the space station destroyed along with 100 of her scientist friends, Yasira is given a choice - spend six months in quarantine with a bunch of folks who would like to kill her or accept a job from the scariest of AI gods to hunt down the mentor/teacher who corrupted her education by exposing her to heretical science.

If this sounds complicated, it's because it is, but not in an <i>I can't understand what is going on sort of way</i>, but a <i>this is the most fully realized, original science fiction universe since The Expanse</i> kind of way. This is Ada Hoffmann's greatest accomplishment with <i>the Outside</i>, she has created a living, breathing universe and filled it with living, breathing characters. The villains do more than twirl mustaches, wear dark sunglasses, and fly around in ebony ships; they express thoughts and points of view that are compelling and understandable. When Yasira finally catches up with Dr. Evianna Talirr and demands an explanation for being exposed to heretical science and her attacks on the fabric of reality, her answer is very human. The reader might not be willing to forgive Dr. Talirr's behavior, but it is hard to see the mad scientist as anything more than a tragic, broken human being.

<i>The Outside</i> ends with the promise of another book coming and it can't get here soon enough. I want to know how the AI Gods rose to power. What were the Morlock wars? Why is human technology made up of transistor tubes, while the AI can teleport across the universe? What happened to all the failed AIs that were exiled? Nemesis is obviously playing a game of thrones with the other AIs.; what is his/her/its endgame?

Lovecraftian Space Opera written by an autistic woman. Be still my beating heart.
For as much as a terrible (read: TERRIBLE) person H.P. Lovecraft was, wow I just love the monsters he created. So to read something with the same general feel, without the racism, sexism, and general awfulness? Wonderful.

Yarisa Shien lives with her girlfriend on the Pride of Jai but when the space drive that she's invented destroys the space station and a third of the people on it, that's when the story gets started. Yarisa gets swept into something much larger than herself, the gods of her universe, her old professor, and what lies beyond.

Both the main and one of the secondary characters are autistic, something that we see far too infrequently in science fiction (GIVE ME MORE SCIENCE FICTION WITH NEURO-ATYPICAL CHARACTERS PLEASE.) I was particularly interested in this book! I really liked how being autistic was just part of this character's life. It was apparent in how she handled situations she was in, and how she thought about things, etc. It wasn't only a storytelling device, something to be discussed only to further the plot on, then disappear when the situation 'didn't call for it'.
The story has autistic characters and that's part of what builds their character.
I am not personally autistic so I can't speak to how on point Ada Hoffmann's portrayal of her characters stands up. Since she herself is autistic and passionate about portraying similar characters, I'm going to assume she did a good job representing realistically and fairly.

The religious system that Hoffmann invented was particularly fascinating. Clearly based on religions of today and the past, she invented something similar enough to be understandable, but still very other. I tend to really enjoy science fiction and fantasy with creative religions, so I particularity enjoyed that part.
The Outside and the way it influences the world is what's really Lovecraftian and I loved every moment of it.
The ending is very open, so I'm really hoping that means a sequel is in the works!

Warnings:
Moderate amount of cursing, usually 'F'.
Torture scene about 3/4ths of the way through the book. Very obvious that it's about to happen if you need to skip over the scene.

This was a very interesting concept but I felt like the execution was a bit complicated yet at the same time it was the right course? I'm a bit confused on what to feel about this book since there were many things introduced with minimal explanation to half of them. Nevertheless, it felt mind opening so I enjoyed it most of the time when I wasn't confused or tired from summer courses.

What I found the most interesting in this book is the world setting. It's the first I've ever read and I really loved how natural it flowed. In the book, extremely advanced AI have become "Gods" because they have become sentient and are worshipped. They also collect human souls after they pass away and depending on the soul, they would be absorbed by a God that fit them closest.

Technology is way advanced compared to the real world since there are portals, space ships orbiting moons and so on. Despite that, humans have limited/restricted use to any of them unless it was approved by the Gods.

Now because the Gods need to absorb human souls to continue being sentient, they need human trusts to continually do so. Otherwise, humans will reject them and they will eventually go back to being normal computers. Here comes The Outside which could put all that in jeopardy. People exposed to Outside can either go crazy or become a heretic which may be able to influence others to share their views.

For the characters, there wasn't much focus on others besides Yasira, Akavi and Dr. Tallir. It was interesting to read the chapters in Yasira's point of view. I'm not very familiar with how autistic people without mental retardation act and thinks so I can't say how accurate it is. However, autism in the book isn't viewed as something bad and it is quite common actually. Moreover, this book doesn't discriminate about people's sexuality and many families are actually from the same sex or in legal polyamorous marriages.

Overall, I found the concepts introduced interesting though I felt like nothing much happened in the first half. I was more interested in the Keres than the Outside and wished there was more focus on it. The ending was great though it was a too open-ended that I felt like the problem wasn't really solved.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

This was a fabulous read! I loved that the main character was autistic, and that being on the spectrum was something that some societies (in this book) prized. How cool is that! The concept of the gods was suitably twisty and menacing, and Hoffmann tossed in some great plot twists! I've been recommending this one at my library.

Man, long time no see am I right? Let’s pretend July didn’t happen, except for all the cool books that came out. (Or June. I think I dropped the ball on June too, but don’t worry about it. Summer’s weird.)

But let’s dive into this week’s book: THE OUTSIDE by Ada Hoffman!


(Shoutout to Angry Robot and Netgalley for my copy – they own my soul at this point and I’m not even mad.)

“Autistic scientist Yasira Shien has developed a radical new energy drive that could change the future of humanity. But when she activates it, reality warps, destroying the space station and everyone aboard. The AI Gods who rule the galaxy declare her work heretical, and Yasira is abducted by their agents. Instead of simply executing her, they offer mercy – if she’ll help them hunt down a bigger target: her own mysterious, vanished mentor. With her homeworld’s fate in the balance, Yasira must choose who to trust: the gods and their ruthless post-human angels, or the rebel scientist whose unorthodox mathematics could turn her world inside out.”

My first thought? “Lovecraft, but make it GAY.” Like, we’re all aware that the man named his cat . . . that . . . and was just an all-in-all jerkwad, right? So I’m living for the idea of taking his legacy and making it super gay and super neurodivergent and all he can do it die mad about it.

(I say this knowing full well he’s already dead. What’s he gonna do, come back to life to correct me? I want him to. Just so I can put him back in the dirt again.)

There’s something refreshing about reading a story that features neurodivergency as a facet of a person, instead of their super power or their cross to bear. There’s a whole page on TV Tropes that talks about this, and while I’ve got no problem with actual neurodivergent people writing this trope, it’s exhausting to see this sort of thing over and over in media from people who see the characters of these tropes and compare them to the real-life neurodivergent people in their lives. It’s seeing someone as just a stereotype, and not taking into account the fact that they’re people, you know? Like, they’re these one-dimensional things that have one whole aspect about them worth noting, and even then it’s only worth noting if it’s something that benefits and aids a neurotypical character.

So yeah. None of that happens in this book. It’s all great. Yasira is treated with the utmost respect (mostly), and doesn’t exist to just be a weird Rain Man-eque sidekick for someone else, or a spectacle to behold like an animal in a cage. This comes from the fact that the author is also autistic, and isn’t afraid to lead up by the ear and say, “And THIS is how this actually works.”

Because we see the meldowns! We see people reminding Yasira that she has to eat, we see her picky about textures! And you know what else we see? People treating every single one of these things with the respect it deserves – no one yells at her and tells her to stop throwing a tantrum, no one makes her wear or touch things she doesn’t want to. And the moment someone breaches these regulations, we know that it’s a bad thing.

Like, straight up. Mad props to Ada Hoffman for sitting down at her computer and saying, “I’m gonna be That Guy(c),” and schooling everyone.

–

Another thing I absolutely enjoy in The Outside is the phenomenon of the Outside itself. I firmly believe that it’s got to be one of the scariest antagonistic forces I’ve read about this year. Like, this thing alters reality around you – as well as your perception of reality. That’s always been the scariest thing to me, the idea of someone changing my perception of reality against my will.

And there’s no fixing it! It’s incurable and you can’t fix it and if you’re too infected with it, you kind of die! Like!!!!!! Holy crap guys!!!

What can I say. I like the existential horror of it all. It’s my favorite kind of horror.

But all in all, these was a fantastic read. I’m only sorry that it took me this long to tell you about it.

Check out the podcast episode THIS EPISODE IS A LIE out now on iTunes!

3.5 the truth is not always there stars

En "The Outside" la autora explora el espacio y más allá bajo la mirada de una cientifica autista lesbiana, con elementos lovecraftianos aunados a una sociedad futurista donde unas Inteligencias Artificiales han ascendido al estatus de dioses encargados de dirigir el destino de la humanidad y les han llevado a las estrellas.

Esto conlleva a un planteamiento del pensamiento y como es la realidad del universo.


Yasira esta probando un nueva forma de energia creada por humanos en 2791, a diferencia de la tecnologia que es manejada solamente por los dioses (antiguas megacomputadoras que de alguna forma alcanzaron una conciencia hace mucho tiempo) , cuando se cumple su presentimiento de que algo va a salir fatal .

Es entonces que se ve separada de todo lo conocido y los angeles de Nemesis, la diosa que castiga a los herejes, encabezados por Akavi le dan la mision de descubrir el paradero de su antigua mentora y detener esta destrucción provocada por The Outside.
La verdad es que se me hizo pesado el libro, no es que sea malo, sino que hay que estar muy en onda de meterse en el tema de lo que es no realidad y toda la seudociencia que aparece por aqui, pero más que nada fue que en ningun momento consegui que me simpatizara la protagonista: Yasira. Y coincido de paso con lo que dijeron otros comentaristas que ella no parece realmente que fuera autista como se publicita tanto (pese a que la autora comparte esto). Todo el estres no es más que el que sentiria cualquiera al verse enfrentada a situaciones semejantes. Otra cosa que molesta bastante en este personaje es que a su pareja, Tiv, se refiere durante tooodo el libro como "una buena chica" en tono ironico y hasta me parece que peyorativo.

Lo que si me intersó , por otra parte en este libro , fue la idea de los dioses artificiales (aunque, vale , la idea no es que sea tan nueva puesto que los autores como Asimov ya se lo planteaban en 1950s, y varias series de los 60s ya lo ponian), pero me hubiese gustado que se extendieran más con eso. Akavi tambien me parecio un personaje interesante, al igual que como se planteaba su realacion con los su supervisora y los otros angeles bajo su comando como Elu y Enga.

Merece que le den una oportunida y a ver que les parece.


-------------------------------
original review in english:

Yasira Shien is a scientist working in a new human tech in a spacial station in 2791 when all goes terrible wrong. Now the gods and angels give her another assignment.

It is not a bad book, but in my case it made me go uphill to finish reading it. It is probably because my neurons were not on par with the pseudoscience that appears here, but in large part it was because I could not connect at any time with the protagonist: Yasira. It didn't matter to me what happened to her. What would have interested me to know more about me was about the computer system and the angels.

Supercomputers as gods is not something new in the world of science fiction. Asimov employed several of them in stories of the 50s managing Humanity. These AIs took humans to the stars to poblate other planets. They still need humans.

The Gods rewarded people when they died; that was part of the point of Gods. They collected souls and sorted them. Souls were somewhat diffuse, and even Gods couldn’t data-mine all the specific details of a single life. But souls took on patterns, and the Gods’ technology could recognize those patterns. They could discern the deepest passions that had driven a person through their life. And when the Gods chose souls to become part of Themselves, to keep Themselves running, they chose by matching the soul’s pattern to the most appropriate God. Hence Aletheia, who took the people driven by a thirst for knowledge. Techne, who took engineers and artists, people devoted to creation in its every form. And so on down the list, from Gods like Arete who took brave heroes, to Gods who took the worst of the worst.


Here the 'Angels' are the gods little helpers.

Angels themselves were another thing entirely. More than half of an angel’s brain was God-built, the old neurons burned away in favor of something immortal and impartial. To become an angel, a human abandoned everything. Went off into the sky and lived out that long life doing only and entirely the Gods’ bidding.



The Outside menace all.

Like any other aspect of the universe, the idea of Outside appears in many non-human cultures. Often this is not apparent at first glance: the requisite concepts are frequently taboo, esoteric, or situated in the guise of myth and fiction. However, any culture studied in sufficient detail will yield up a word, and often a fairly sophisticated system of safeguards and protections, for the things in this universe which are inherently incomprehensible to sentient minds. The semantics of the word chosen can be culturally informative. My favorite, of course, is the spider term: Îsîrinin-neri-înik, or that which eats reality.


-About Yasira: I agree with other reviewers that the fact that Yasira was autistic is not consistent with how she faces the events in the plot of the story, although perhaps it is intended to demonstrate on the other hand that this makes her more able to think differently from the rest or more susceptible to the Outside. Besides, it grate on that Yasira kept referring to her partner -Tiv- all the time as a 'good girl'. It's been a while since I've been mad that the media insists that all good people are idiots.

In another hand, Akavi (the angel of Nemesis) is very interesting, as well as his interactions with the oversees, Elu, and Enga (whom stole the plot a couple of times).

And the Outside, well, the mumble grumble about warped reality, and the apatic monsters in the deep, and all depends of perception were interesting too, but sort of repetitive at the end.

At the end, I sort of wished that they eliminate /SPOILER--->the evil scientist but maybe it will be a next book, I don't know<---SPOILER/

Not bad, not bad at all.

My review at the Hugo finalist Nerds of a Feather blog:

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2019/07/microreview-book-outside-by-ada-hoffmann.html

The world of The Outside is, at least at first glance, a pretty typical space opera world. Humans have colonized all sorts of planets; they are able to travel between those different worlds by using portals. However, those portals, as well as most of the advanced technologies available, are under the strict regulations of the gods. The gods are basically ascended artificial intelligences that have control over the world. To maintain that control, they need humans and more precisely: they need their souls. When you die, your soul gets absorbed by the god who suits you the most. In the worst-case scenario: that god is Nemesis, the one in charge of criminals and heretics – people whose beliefs are undermining the gods’ rule.

This notion of heresy is central to the world of The Outside and it is very reminiscent of Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire. The reality and people’s beliefs are tightly intertwined. To keep a leash on reality, the god’s have to closely monitor heresy. A lack of control can lead to odd phenomenon and disturbances caused by a power called the Outside: a force that has the ability to challenge and overrule the gods.

Dr Yasira Shien is a young scientist in charge of an ambitious project: the Tallir-Shien reactor. This is the first human-constructed reactor of that scale and, because of how important it is, the construction is closely supervised by the gods. Before the launch, Shien has a feeling that something is amiss with the reactor and she tries to stop the project. However, it’s too late and, just as she predicted, something goes wrong during the launch, causing the death of many people.

Devastated and sure that she’s the cause of the accident, Yasira is arrested by angels – augmented humans who serves the gods. They tell her that her only way to redemption is to find the real culprit. Indeed, they inform her that the science used to run the reactor is in part heretical and caused the accident. However, most of the mathematics equations are not Yasira’s but originated from her mentor: Dr Evelina Tallir. Tallir disappeared a few years ago, leaving Yasira to finish the reactor with the help of her work.

Yasira doesn’t have a choice: she has to find her mentor to prove her innocence: to the gods and to herself.




Yasira is autistic and I think it’s my first time reading about a character openly described as such in a science fiction book. I really liked how the representation of Yasira’s condition was handled: she wasn’t reduced to her disability. However, even if in this world gender, sexuality and race are not causes of discrimination (we are introduced to Yasira’s girlfriend Tiv pretty early on in the book), a lot of people treat her like a madwoman because of her autism.

This notion of madness caused by mental health, created a very interesting parallel between Yasira’s perceived madness and the madness created by the Outside. Indeed, most people exposed to the Outside go mad and start doing heretical things. However, in both cases, the perceived madness is not, in fact, madness. It was fascinating to learn more about the Outside induced madness as the story moved along. I really liked how Hoffman slowly revealed more and more about the Outside and its effects on people.

I also really enjoyed how the two sides, Tallir and the gods, were both portrayed as pretty terrible. Yasira can either choose between her former mentor, a woman who probably knowingly caused the death of hundreds if not thousands of people, and the gods - who probably did even worse. In the end, even I, struggled to choose the lesser evil of the two.

However, even if I’m having a lot of fun writing this post now and that I can really admire how clever this book is, I have to say that I struggled while reading The Outside. It’s a case of “it’s not you it’s me” but, I started this book right at the beginning of my reading slump back in June and it took me four months to finish it. It really affected my enjoyment of the story. Having said that, it’s an objectively very good and ambitious debut: it has a lot of strong points and clever ideas so I would still highly recommend it. I’ll definitely be reading other stories by Hoffman.

Four stars.




I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Angry Robots. All opinions are my own.

Science fiction of old had heroes based around the lantern jawed unflappable test pilots that started the space race. Once those perceptions start it creates multiple copycats and that creates the template. In space you are super focused and iron willed not broken by the stresses of space. But shouldn’t SF reflect everyone isn’t everyone entitled to be seen crossing into the final frontier? In Ada Hoffmann’s The Outside be prepared to meet a very different type of lead in a very inventive piece of future based science fiction.

In the far future humanity has created new AI Gods who rule the known universe and prevent people falling into bad ways. These gods reap the souls of the dead and the new pantheon has created augmented humans known as Angels to act as their avatar. They are constantly watching and their agendas unknown. Humanity is allowed some freedom and one experiment is looking at new ways of energy. Yashira Shien is an autistic scientist about to test the rules of physics in a prestigious space station watched over with her girlfriend Tiv watching on proudly. The experiment goes horribly wrong with many lives lost. Yashira expects the punishment of the gods to be fatal but instead she finds herself under the direction of the strange Angel Avaki who serves one of the most dangerous Gods. They are aware that Yashira was a student of the strange Dr Dr Talirr who seemed to have strange ideas on the wider universe – everything is a lie. The impacts that destroyed the space station are being seen across the galaxy and Talirr is a suspect. Yashira is coerced to assist the investigation and finds her old mentor is planning a truly dangerous battle of the gods and she needs to opick a side.

There is a lot to admire in this novel. The worldbuilding is fantastic – it’s a very unique set up of a world where people know the gods to be real and welcome their protection. It’s a hi technology universe with FTL spaceships, dimensional portals, AI interfaces and body augmentation all considered normal. But the threat Yashira has is something more primal and cosmic known as The Outside are forces of chaos that breach the universe and have devastating impacts on the worlds it touches including madness and destruction for the inhabitants. A compelling mix of horror and SF and the joy of the plot is working out what to do.

Bringing the sides of the conflict together we have at the centre Yashira and its really refreshing to have an autistic character as a lead. We see Yashira as a person and how they interpret the world and react to stress and have to battle to overturn their fears. Its not the first tale where we see someone learnt the world isn’t what you think it is, but this approach gives the reader a new look at the way other minds can see the world. And most people we meet don’t have any issues with that again refreshing. On both her sides whispering their worldviews we have the prickly and angry Dr Talirr a former mentor now very struck with a desire to strike back – almost shown as a dark reflection of Yashira. But in contrast we have the personality of Avaki who changes their appearance from human to alien, male to female scene by scene yet keeps a constant personality of cunning and strategy – very doggedly pulling Yashira into their game with Tallirr. Who exactly is in the right here is kept open for most of the novel and the lack of black and white morality in this universe is again compelling. My only issue was some pacing issues that I found dragged the latter half of the story while ideally I was hoping as tension ramped up that things would more quickly come to a head but there is a huge amount to enjoy here.

If you’re looking for some science fiction that is pushing the boundaries of what lead characters look like. If you enjoy inventive worldbuilding then I think this is for you and if you enjoy a touch of horror in your SF you may find this draws your attention. Definitely worth a look.