I was in the mood for some space opera, and Bradley Horner rated The Outside very highly. I didn't like it.

The book is set in an interesting future. Powerful AI "gods" rule over humanity in the role of omnipotent benefactors. Computers are forbidden technology for humans. The AIs seems to have invented all the sci-fi staples, like artificial gravity and faster-than-light travel. Brain implants, cybernetic limbs, an FTL communication network, portals, gene-manipulated shapeshifters.

It's curious that they did this, because they seem not very intelligent at all. I'm not even convinced they exist. They have an extensive hierarchy of human representatives ("angels"). Every angel has a boss and is afraid of their performance review. The boss can be petty or take undue credit.

This duality of a superintelligence that discovers artificial gravity but relies on bickering middle-managers is quite interesting. A possible explanation is the horrifying idea that an AI would become just intelligent enough to enslave humanity, but would have no motivation to go any further. We would be stuck on a level of technology not because further progress is hard or unfeasible, but because the damn AI doesn't share our desire for progress.

But I think this duality is accidental in this book. It's just a pile of sci-fi ideas. Some are original and some are interesting, but none of it seems to be there for a good reason. None of them are expanded and investigated deeply. They are all just set pieces. I mean we have a living fish that can fly through space, land on a planet, and take off from the planet. It has a room inside for passengers and a door on the side.

Unfortunately the titular Outside gets no more of an in-depth treatment. Throughout the book it remains a boogieman. Chaotic, otherworldly energies, geometries that the human mind cannot comprehend. I mean that's an okay description in a short story. But here we have the main character research this Outside throughout the book. She is a physicist. A physicist would not feel paralyzing dread when faced with incomprehensible phenomena. She would be overjoyed! Finally something outside of the standard model!

In the end I think the book is just a fun romp in a crazy colorful sci-fi setting. Flying fish, cybernetic angels, cosmic horror. Everything is just one more color in this space adventure.

I think I could be on board with that. But the plot! Everything is so silly. I've got to tell you one example!


They are looking for an extremely dangerous person responsible for destroying entire colonies with Outside energies and monsters. They have found her and put a plan in place. Two people, an angel and the reluctant main character fly there. This takes months, but still fortunately the terrorist's spaceship is right there.

The angel boards the ship and has a conversation with the terrorist. He's worried about Outside portals through which the terrorist could escape, but he doesn't see any. He has an implant to block out Outside things, so that they don't drive him crazy. He sees a big blocked-out thing on a wall, but decides it's surely not a portal. Spoiler: it is a portal.

Anyway, he's just distracting the terrorist. The main character in the meanwhile climbs on the outside of the spaceship and places a lot of anti-matter bombs. She gets busted and the anti-matter bombs presumably removed. But this was all part of the plan! The real attack is in her footprints. Her boots were coated in a substance that stuck to the spaceship's outside. It can be remotely detonated for a huge explosion.

But before they would do that, the terrorist of course goes for the portal. The angel is prepared though! He activates the self destruct on his tablet and throws it at the terrorist. Alas, too late.

I mean why didn't they just blow up the whole ship right at the start? Just throw one of those boots at it! Or bring a space fighter instead of a shuttle with two people and no guns. It's just wild, isn't it? Why was this the plan?