The Outside

By (author) Hoffmann, Ada; Cover design or artwork by Gibbons Lee
Short description/annotation:
Super-intelligent AI Gods rule the galaxy. Their algorithms determine the rewards you reap before and after death. But the Gods give and the Gods take away. And Yasira has never been good at Gods...
Description:
Autistic scientist Yasira Shien has developed a radical new energy drive on board The Pride of Jai that could change the future of humanity. But when she activates it, reality warps, destroying the space station and everyone left inside.  The Gods 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 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, literally, inside out. File Under: Science Fiction [ False Gods | Angel Inside | Autistic in Space | Here be Monsters ]
Review quote:
“The Outside is spooky, high-stakes, mind-bending Science Fiction.”
Review quote:
“The Outside is a fresh and mind-bending mix of cosmic horror and space opera, a compelling story that spans from the deeply personal to the vast mysteries of time and space. Unsettling and gorgeous, this is like nothing I have read before and the book I have been longing for without knowing it.”
Review quote:
“The Outside is a beautiful, stark reclamation of unknowable horror. Hoffman layers thoughtful worldbuilding and rich prose to build a stunning story of power, ambition and personal agency. I couldn’t put The Outside down for fear of what might happen while I was looking away.”
Review quote:
"The Outside is a powerful, striking debut, and Ada Hoffmann is an author to watch."
Review quote:
"Hoffmann has created a beautifully immersive world, an intoxicating blend of science and divinity that held me captive from page one."
Review quote:
"A stunningly imagined novel!"
Review quote:
"The Outside starts with a bang and ratchets everything up from there,"
Review quote:
"Hoffmann confidently layers morality and disability rights into a breezily told adventure that bursts with sheer fun."
Review quote:
"Ada Hoffmann’s The Outside feels like it was made to order for us"
Review quote:
"Truly operatic stuff."
Review quote:
"The Outside is a gripping examination of the battle between good and evil on a grand scale"
Review quote:
"The Outside is a science-fiction suspense novel like no other."
Review quote:
"The Outside is a definite mind-bender, serving up shock and awe from the start."
Review quote:
"Deeply embedded in sci-fi history, The Outside reimagines old stories in new, exciting, #ownvoices ways."
Review quote:
"The Outside is a fantastic debut. I can’t wait to see what Hoffman does next."
Review quote:
"exciting and gripping space opera"
Review quote:
"Readers who like an unlikable narrator will enjoy spending time in the other characters'' points of view."
Biographical note:
ADA HOFFMANN is a Canadian graduate student trying to teach computers to write poetry. Their acclaimed speculative short stories and poems have appeared in Strange Horizons, Asimov''s, Uncanny, and two year''s best anthologies. Ada was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at 13, and is passionate about autistic self-advocacy. They are a former semi-professional soprano, a tabletop gamer and an active LARPer. They live in southern Ontario with a very polite black cat.
Promotional headline:
Humanity''s super-intelligent AI gods brutally punish breaches in