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51st out of 361 books
—
234 voters
The Edge of Darkness
by
Lissa Bilyk (Goodreads Author)
"I did not choose to become this way. This corrupted, innocent body. Who in their right mind would willingly choose this life? "
At the end of the interstellar war, Max Ryan, an unwilling cyborg living on the Rock, a notorious prison planet, is rescued and sent to live on the transport ship Eden as it travels home to Old Earth.
Max never thought she'd be doing anything other...more
At the end of the interstellar war, Max Ryan, an unwilling cyborg living on the Rock, a notorious prison planet, is rescued and sent to live on the transport ship Eden as it travels home to Old Earth.
Max never thought she'd be doing anything other...more
Paperback, 250 pages
Published
August 31st 2011
by Lissa Bilyk
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4.5 stars
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
This book is about cyborgs.
Ninety nine percent of the characters we meet are cyborgs.
DISCLAIMER: 99% is not necessarily an accurate representation of the cyborg characters in this book. I may or may not have just made it up.
But this book is about so much more than cyborgs.
It's about race and oppression and love and sacrifice and power and GAH.
You know how, in a lot of books that deal with the issue of second class citizens, the author kind of shouts at you
HEY, L...more
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
This book is about cyborgs.
Ninety nine percent of the characters we meet are cyborgs.
DISCLAIMER: 99% is not necessarily an accurate representation of the cyborg characters in this book. I may or may not have just made it up.
But this book is about so much more than cyborgs.
It's about race and oppression and love and sacrifice and power and GAH.
You know how, in a lot of books that deal with the issue of second class citizens, the author kind of shouts at you
HEY, L...more
18 likes · like · see review
view all 7 comments
Dec 04, 2011
Steph Sinclair
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Lovers of Sci-Fi
When I was a young girl in middle school I had a friend who loved to write. I'd always see her hunched over her many composition notebooks, fervently scribbling away. One day I asked her what she was writing and with a bemused look she simply replied, "Stories." This, of course, piqued my curiosity even more. Every day, I'd ask her a new question about her stories: "How do you come up with the ideas?" "What are they about?" "Are you going to get them published?" and finally, "Can I read them?" T...more
This is a futuristic deep space dystopian cyberpunk about cyborg former prisoners of war, the conspiracy they uncover on their transport ship taking them home, and the mutiny they form to save their lives. It's narrated by Max(ine) Ryan, a Filipino-Australian cyborg.
Max's name came to me out of nowhere. I wanted her to have a unisex nickname. Ryan isn't particularly Filipino, but like a lot of immigrants, her parents changed their name when they settled in Australia.
Ethan, Max's husband, isn't n...more
Max's name came to me out of nowhere. I wanted her to have a unisex nickname. Ryan isn't particularly Filipino, but like a lot of immigrants, her parents changed their name when they settled in Australia.
Ethan, Max's husband, isn't n...more
17 likes · like · see review
*turns around*
*sees reader*
WHAT!!?? You’re still sitting there?
Go buy this book… NOW !
Really.
Miss. Bilyk, I take my hat off to you.
First off, I just want to praise the cover. I am exhausted of seeing books with moody girls on the cover that have no relevance to the story. This cover is beautiful and appropriate at the same time.
I was extremely impressed by The Edge of Darkness for two reasons. First of all, I generally dislike science fiction and still managed to love this book. Second of all,...more
*sees reader*
WHAT!!?? You’re still sitting there?
Go buy this book… NOW !
Really.
Miss. Bilyk, I take my hat off to you.
First off, I just want to praise the cover. I am exhausted of seeing books with moody girls on the cover that have no relevance to the story. This cover is beautiful and appropriate at the same time.
I was extremely impressed by The Edge of Darkness for two reasons. First of all, I generally dislike science fiction and still managed to love this book. Second of all,...more
13 likes · like · see review
3.5
This book has great, great writing. I loved the writing so much that I was actually a bit disappointed.
Why isn’t this longer?
Of course, this was done for NaNo, and for something written in a short amount of time, it’s absolutely brilliant.
However, this is still a review for a book, and Lissa is my friend, but I want to be honest.
Minor spoilers coming.
I’m not quite sure yet, because I have weird tastes, but most of the time when I really like something, it has to do with the characters. If...more
This book has great, great writing. I loved the writing so much that I was actually a bit disappointed.
Why isn’t this longer?
Of course, this was done for NaNo, and for something written in a short amount of time, it’s absolutely brilliant.
However, this is still a review for a book, and Lissa is my friend, but I want to be honest.
Minor spoilers coming.
I’m not quite sure yet, because I have weird tastes, but most of the time when I really like something, it has to do with the characters. If...more
(Thanks to Lissa Bilyk over on GoodReads/SmashWords for giving me the opportunity to review this, as well as a collection of short stories.)
I very rarely read or watch science fiction. I love the idea of science being so advanced it's like a form of magic, and I'm very excited to see where space, or even time travel goes in my lifetime, but I tend to read more fantasy/young adult fiction/dystopian stuff than science fiction.
The Edge of Darkness was brilliant. It's a short story about Max, a fema...more
I very rarely read or watch science fiction. I love the idea of science being so advanced it's like a form of magic, and I'm very excited to see where space, or even time travel goes in my lifetime, but I tend to read more fantasy/young adult fiction/dystopian stuff than science fiction.
The Edge of Darkness was brilliant. It's a short story about Max, a fema...more
7 likes · like · see review
After some deliberation, I decided to rate it 3.5 stars. I have problems with it, but I disagree far more with Internet bullying.
Okay, before I say anything, I think it is worth noting that I wasn't sure whether I ought to review or not. With all the drama going on around here lately, it's easy to lose faith in the whole community and just give up. However, I believe firmly in being honest, and when you make statements like that, you better be able to back them up. So *deep breath* here I go.
DIS...more
Okay, before I say anything, I think it is worth noting that I wasn't sure whether I ought to review or not. With all the drama going on around here lately, it's easy to lose faith in the whole community and just give up. However, I believe firmly in being honest, and when you make statements like that, you better be able to back them up. So *deep breath* here I go.
DIS...more
7 likes · like · see review
This is actually a pretty gripping dystopian yarn. I really REALLY liked it. And I'm not just saying that because I know Lissa (I am her other half). This is truly an astonishing piece of work. Written for NaNoWriMo and her first attempt at the month long type fest. I am astonished by it and I am very, very proud to say I know her purely because of this achievement.
The writing style is addictive and the characters are well written and very real. The dialogue has a vein of humour in them that ap...more
The writing style is addictive and the characters are well written and very real. The dialogue has a vein of humour in them that ap...more
10 likes · like · see review
I have to read this book. I simply have to. There is no way around it.
I've beta-read for this author, and though it wasn't this book that I worked on, I'm pretty certain The Edge of Darkness is going to be just as beautifully crafted. Lissa's writing is cinematic, elegant and easy to read, and her characters flamboyant and wonderfully unique. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to already sample her work, and basically, I had better stop gushing, or I'm going to start sounding like a moron....more
I've beta-read for this author, and though it wasn't this book that I worked on, I'm pretty certain The Edge of Darkness is going to be just as beautifully crafted. Lissa's writing is cinematic, elegant and easy to read, and her characters flamboyant and wonderfully unique. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to already sample her work, and basically, I had better stop gushing, or I'm going to start sounding like a moron....more
9 likes · like · see review
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I’m not just saying that because Lissa is a GR friend.
I wanted to read this book as soon as I read the synopsis but Lissa was having problems with some vindictive friends of a fellow author who were giving her unjustified one star ratings so I asked to read the book sooner so I could give my own rating to help her out and give an honest opinion of her work.
The concept of the novel is refreshingly unique. I say unique because I’ve never read a dystopi...more
I wanted to read this book as soon as I read the synopsis but Lissa was having problems with some vindictive friends of a fellow author who were giving her unjustified one star ratings so I asked to read the book sooner so I could give my own rating to help her out and give an honest opinion of her work.
The concept of the novel is refreshingly unique. I say unique because I’ve never read a dystopi...more
I agreed to read and review this book as it was being subjected to a number of one-star ratings (unattached to actual reviews) and I felt that such treatment was completely inappropriate. I promised that I would absolutely review it honestly, and so here goes:
First off, I will not spoil anything in this review. I believe that the book has enough in it that may be worth reading that it would be inappropriate to do so.
Secondly, read the whole review. I intentionally write about the flaws first. Bu...more
First off, I will not spoil anything in this review. I believe that the book has enough in it that may be worth reading that it would be inappropriate to do so.
Secondly, read the whole review. I intentionally write about the flaws first. Bu...more
1 like · like · see review
I really enjoyed The Edge of Darkness. It is a great futuristic, dystopian, sci-fi story with a strong message about humanity (as all, or most, dystopian stories are): how flawed we are as the human race, and how much damage we do to each other, confined to this small planet.
The 'planet' these characters are confined to is a giant space ship. The characters, a group of cyborgs, and their struggles trapped aboard a space ship for many years, was really compelling.
Before I read The Edge of Darkne...more
The 'planet' these characters are confined to is a giant space ship. The characters, a group of cyborgs, and their struggles trapped aboard a space ship for many years, was really compelling.
Before I read The Edge of Darkne...more
It seems like I’m on this streak of awesome Dystopian books, and this book is no exception. I loved it! The writing was simple, and I mean that in the most complimentary ways! I wasn’t bombarded with descriptions overflowing with analogies and metaphors. The writing was to the point, and didn’t need all the extra ‘fluff’. The story itself was interesting and unique. I liked the characters and was sympathetic towards them and their situation. The ending surprised me, I wasn’t expecting it, but in...more
3 likes · like · see review
The story, the characters and the premise for this book are refreshingly original, and the root cause of this not being a four or five star book is that it is just too darn short. Let me explain.
(Authors live and die by word counts, FYI, they don't care how many pages; they care how many words, which makes sense, given that font choice, margins and page size all change how long the book is.)
Edge of Darkness clocks in just over 50,000 words. Which might sound like a lot, but really just barely s...more
(Authors live and die by word counts, FYI, they don't care how many pages; they care how many words, which makes sense, given that font choice, margins and page size all change how long the book is.)
Edge of Darkness clocks in just over 50,000 words. Which might sound like a lot, but really just barely s...more
4 likes · like · see review
I gave up at page 51. This is a review of those 51 pages. This is NOT a review of the entire book.
The Edge of Darkness grabbed me from page one; it was subversive and something I'd never seen before.
The book went downhill from there.
Before I get going, I want to say this: Lissa Bilyk can write. Her prose is clean - if a little plain - but she can definitely write. That’s why I was so surprised at how lacklustre this book is. Bilyk can write, but she makes a lot of fundamental mistakes a person...more
The Edge of Darkness grabbed me from page one; it was subversive and something I'd never seen before.
The book went downhill from there.
Before I get going, I want to say this: Lissa Bilyk can write. Her prose is clean - if a little plain - but she can definitely write. That’s why I was so surprised at how lacklustre this book is. Bilyk can write, but she makes a lot of fundamental mistakes a person...more
1 like · like · see review
Disclaimer: Although I was given the book for free by the author to review however my review below is honest 100%
Rating: 2.5 stars
For an indie self-published book it really isn't too bad. What I really liked is the concept and the world she's built, it's quite unique (then again I don't read a whole lot of sci-fi books so I'm not sure if it really is) with the whole human cyborg slave thing, the writing is decent like I really like the transitioning between human and cyborg Max, I think it was...more
Rating: 2.5 stars
For an indie self-published book it really isn't too bad. What I really liked is the concept and the world she's built, it's quite unique (then again I don't read a whole lot of sci-fi books so I'm not sure if it really is) with the whole human cyborg slave thing, the writing is decent like I really like the transitioning between human and cyborg Max, I think it was...more
Okay! The review!
This is an amazing effort for not only a self-published debut novel but also a NaNo novel! Well done Lissa!
Though it started off a little slow (the first couple of pages have a lot of "telling") after page 8 (of the 88 page version) it really starts taking off, and it just seems to get faster and faster. The action was written well and so was the (rather steamy and explicit - maybe don't let your 12 year old read this!) sex scene.
Though I felt I had a few questions about how th...more
This is an amazing effort for not only a self-published debut novel but also a NaNo novel! Well done Lissa!
Though it started off a little slow (the first couple of pages have a lot of "telling") after page 8 (of the 88 page version) it really starts taking off, and it just seems to get faster and faster. The action was written well and so was the (rather steamy and explicit - maybe don't let your 12 year old read this!) sex scene.
Though I felt I had a few questions about how th...more
Blurb:
"I did not choose to become this way. This corrupted, innocent body. Who in their right mind would willingly choose this life? "
At the end of the interstellar war, Max Ryan, an unwilling cyborg living on the Rock, a notorious prison planet, is rescued and sent to live on the transport ship Eden as it travels home to Old Earth.
Max never thought she'd be doing anything other than baking the ship's bread for the next five years. But when she uncovers a conspiracy bigger than the war that en...more
"I did not choose to become this way. This corrupted, innocent body. Who in their right mind would willingly choose this life? "
At the end of the interstellar war, Max Ryan, an unwilling cyborg living on the Rock, a notorious prison planet, is rescued and sent to live on the transport ship Eden as it travels home to Old Earth.
Max never thought she'd be doing anything other than baking the ship's bread for the next five years. But when she uncovers a conspiracy bigger than the war that en...more
This is a fast-paced and well told story. The parallels between Max's situation and the civil rights movement of the 1960s (not to mention situations like gay marriage and asylum seekers in modern society!) are clear. That Bilyk wrote such a compelling and original story in a MONTH is nothing but astonishing.
Honestly? I would have liked it to be longer, giving the opportunity of more character development and fleshing out certain parts of the story. But I still enjoyed it immensely!
Honestly? I would have liked it to be longer, giving the opportunity of more character development and fleshing out certain parts of the story. But I still enjoyed it immensely!
Jan 06, 2012
Patricia
marked it as wishlist
I heard it's great, I heard that Kira betaread another story of this author, I saw that Lissa Bilyk is a great person, I wanted to try Sci Fi anyway, so I'll buy it this year and read it. And hopefully like it. If not, you may throw tomatoes at me.
Started a shelf for books with at least one Pinoy character in them and saw in a review that the MC in this is of Filipino descent.
Sci-Fi? Kick ass female protagonist? You had me at "interstellar war."
Took me a little bit to get into the beginning, but that could be because I was reading at work. I ended up putting it down until I was ready to read it properly. Very good story with lots of originality. Once I got into the book it kept me wanting to read more and more. I was even thinking near the end .. come on it can't end this soon :oP Then another twist had the ending making more sense.
Thanks for writing an interesting story. Hope you release more over time as I would deff be buying and re...more
Thanks for writing an interesting story. Hope you release more over time as I would deff be buying and re...more
4 likes · like · see review
Snooze fest.
Jun 16, 2013
Caroline
marked it as to-read
Jun 16, 2013
Alyssa
marked it as read-maybe
Jun 16, 2013
Lizzie
marked it as to-read
Jun 10, 2013
V
marked it as to-read
Jun 09, 2013
Ms
marked it as to-read
Jun 01, 2013
Maisha
marked it as to-read
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This account is INACTIVE. To contact Lissa, please stop by her blog.
Lissa Bilyk is an all-singing, badly dancing, Honours degree educated Tasmanian sci-fi and YA author.
She lives in Australia.
More about Lissa Bilyk...
Lissa Bilyk is an all-singing, badly dancing, Honours degree educated Tasmanian sci-fi and YA author.
She lives in Australia.
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