Cally Black’s In The Dark Spaces is an immersive sci-fi thriller that features some incredible aliens and insightful thoughts on human nature. While it’s full of action and danger, the heart of the story revolves around family, morality, communication, and love in all its forms.
Exposition is scarce, but this works in the book’s favour. At first, it’s difficult to work out what’s going on, but by the time the aliens show up, the reader is working things out at the same time that the protagonist is.
Unlike most sci-fi, these aliens don’t speak English for simplicity’s sake. Their language is made up of whistles and other bird-like sounds, and not all of their words have a direct translation. Black has carefully crafted her novel to create an intelligent species that is different from humans in their culture and values, yet are still believable as aliens. The novel creates a rich and immersive world that feels familiar and foreign all at once.
In The Dark Spaces has as much capacity to shock as it does to warm hearts. The violence and terror that Tamara experiences only makes her moments of tenderness even stronger. As a young girl living a life of secrecy and risk, the only thing that ties her to the world is her family. Her love for her blood family is what keeps her alive, but finding new families amongst aliens and humans alike force her to make difficult decisions that make us question what we think we know about wrong and right.
Tamara’s passion and loyalty drive this pulse-quickening novel, her need to survive overpowered by her need to save her loved ones. She isn’t an endlessly optimistic protagonist – she doesn’t see the good in everyone, but if good presents itself to her, she will stand by it.
In The Dark Spaces poses deeply provoking questions about where our allegiances lie and how we treat people who act differently to us. It challenges the selfishness of human nature but also shows humanity’s depth of compassion and the curiosity that helps us understand others.
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The absolutely electrifying Australian crime novel ‘The Tell’ by Martin Chatterton weaves a wickedly satisfying tale of Raze Tanic, an upper-class Sydney student whose family-run an illustrious crime ring in the heart of the Australian city. Raze has everything he could ever want, except the relationship with his father, who has been jailed in a …
Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein is a fast-paced psychological thriller with a distinct Australian flavour. One for those with a morbid curiosity, this novel is rife with dark themes and mind games, leaving you itching to uncover all of its secrets. Tash Carmody is confronted with her past when the ghosts of her childhood reappear …
Margot McGovern’s Neverland is a complex look into mental health through the lens of a mythical world that most people will be familiar with. Kit, who has repressed memories from traumatic events in her past, finds herself on the island that was her childhood home, now a facility for mentally ill teenagers. As she struggles …
Astrid Sholte’s novel combines urban fantasy and murder mystery in a setting that echoes the popular dystopian-style factions of young adult fiction, but with enough unique elements to make it stand out. The world of Four Dead Queens is reminiscent of fantasy, but instead of magic, there is strange and interesting technology that serves as …
Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series played a huge role in my love of Greek mythology – the modern take on heroes and myths make them easier for a young audience to understand, and there are plenty of Easter eggs for those who already know their myths. The Lightning Thief kicks off the series wonderfully, introducing …
Book Review – In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black
Cally Black’s In The Dark Spaces is an immersive sci-fi thriller that features some incredible aliens and insightful thoughts on human nature. While it’s full of action and danger, the heart of the story revolves around family, morality, communication, and love in all its forms.
Exposition is scarce, but this works in the book’s favour. At first, it’s difficult to work out what’s going on, but by the time the aliens show up, the reader is working things out at the same time that the protagonist is.
Unlike most sci-fi, these aliens don’t speak English for simplicity’s sake. Their language is made up of whistles and other bird-like sounds, and not all of their words have a direct translation. Black has carefully crafted her novel to create an intelligent species that is different from humans in their culture and values, yet are still believable as aliens. The novel creates a rich and immersive world that feels familiar and foreign all at once.
In The Dark Spaces has as much capacity to shock as it does to warm hearts. The violence and terror that Tamara experiences only makes her moments of tenderness even stronger. As a young girl living a life of secrecy and risk, the only thing that ties her to the world is her family. Her love for her blood family is what keeps her alive, but finding new families amongst aliens and humans alike force her to make difficult decisions that make us question what we think we know about wrong and right.
Tamara’s passion and loyalty drive this pulse-quickening novel, her need to survive overpowered by her need to save her loved ones. She isn’t an endlessly optimistic protagonist – she doesn’t see the good in everyone, but if good presents itself to her, she will stand by it.
In The Dark Spaces poses deeply provoking questions about where our allegiances lie and how we treat people who act differently to us. It challenges the selfishness of human nature but also shows humanity’s depth of compassion and the curiosity that helps us understand others.
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Book Review – The Tell by Martin Chatterton
The absolutely electrifying Australian crime novel ‘The Tell’ by Martin Chatterton weaves a wickedly satisfying tale of Raze Tanic, an upper-class Sydney student whose family-run an illustrious crime ring in the heart of the Australian city. Raze has everything he could ever want, except the relationship with his father, who has been jailed in a …
Book Review – Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein is a fast-paced psychological thriller with a distinct Australian flavour. One for those with a morbid curiosity, this novel is rife with dark themes and mind games, leaving you itching to uncover all of its secrets. Tash Carmody is confronted with her past when the ghosts of her childhood reappear …
Book Review – Neverland by Margot McGovern
Margot McGovern’s Neverland is a complex look into mental health through the lens of a mythical world that most people will be familiar with. Kit, who has repressed memories from traumatic events in her past, finds herself on the island that was her childhood home, now a facility for mentally ill teenagers. As she struggles …
Book Review – Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
Astrid Sholte’s novel combines urban fantasy and murder mystery in a setting that echoes the popular dystopian-style factions of young adult fiction, but with enough unique elements to make it stand out. The world of Four Dead Queens is reminiscent of fantasy, but instead of magic, there is strange and interesting technology that serves as …
Book Review – Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series played a huge role in my love of Greek mythology – the modern take on heroes and myths make them easier for a young audience to understand, and there are plenty of Easter eggs for those who already know their myths. The Lightning Thief kicks off the series wonderfully, introducing …