The Outside

Starred review from April 15, 2019
Cosmic horror, grad school politics, and neuroatypicality meet in Hoffmann’s gripping debut, a 28th-century technotheocratic space thriller that blossoms with hope. The Shien Reactor is autistic physicist Yasira Shien’s crowning achievement: power for the first human-built space station in a universe where soul-collecting AI gods hoard any technology more advanced than vacuum tubes. When the reactor’s reality-destabilizing failure hints at interference from Yasira’s vanished graduate supervisor, Dr. Evianna Talirr, she is forcibly recruited by Akavi Averis, a prickly inquisitor serving Nemesis, god of heretics, to bring Dr. Talirr to justice. But tracking Dr. Talirr into the physics-defying Outside risks Yasira’s sanity—and forces her to decide for herself which “abnormal” lives are worth living. Hoffmann confidently layers morality and disability rights into a breezily told adventure that bursts with sheer fun. Yasira’s autistic qualities benefit her without being treated like superpowers, and her grumpy sincerity convinces readers that, even in the direst circumstances, the gently “hacked-together” future is worth saving. This beautifully smart, uncynical space opera will charm fans of Charles Stross and Lois McMaster Bujold. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Associates.

June 1, 2019
Reality is warped by Dr. Yasira Shien's reactor, destroying the Pride of Jai space station mere weeks after activation. Declared a heretic by the sentient supercomputer gods, Yasira is spared execution in exchange for tracking down her mentor, Dr. Evianna Talirr. The angels, agents of the gods, suspect Talirr's involvement in several disasters and will stop at nothing to bring her to justice. Yasira travels beyond the galaxy and back again with Akavi, an angel for Nemesis, the deeply feared god who punishes heretics, until she discovers her home planet under attack by an unknown Outside effect unleashed by Dr. Talirr. Akavi and Yasira race against time as the Outside's reality-distorting, heretical influence spreads across Jai, releasing monsters and driving people to madness. If Yasira can't unravel the science to stop the Outside from spreading, the Gods will destroy the entire planet to prevent the contagion from reaching other civilized worlds. Though Yasira, as the driving force behind the action, is sympathetic, readers who like an unlikable narrator will enjoy spending time in the other characters' points of view.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)