Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Out of the Dark

3.11 of 5 stars 3.11 · rating details · 1,236 ratings · 269 reviews

The Galactic Hegemony has been around a long time, and it likes stability--the kind of stability that member species like the aggressive, carnivorous Shongairi tend to disturb. So when the Hegemony Survey Force encountered a world whose so-called "sentients"—"humans," they called themselves—were almost as bad as the Shongairi themselves, it seemed reasonable to use the Sho...more

Hardcover, 381 pages

Published September 28th 2010 by Tor Books

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Military Science Fiction Books

104th out of 212 books — 197 voters

Favorite David Weber Book

20th out of 22 books — 26 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,080)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Sep 29, 2010 Jacqueline rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: sci fi adventure fans

Shelves: sci-fi, from-work-borders

I generally really like David Weber and this one did not disappoint. There were a lot of characters to follow as usual in his stories but it was relatively easy to do. The aliens seemed fairly alien. Not necessarily as alien as others I've read but a pretty solid effort in making them "not like us psychologically". The sci fi element was well done but not a huge element in the story. Most of the action took place on Earth just a few years in the future and so most of the action revolved around f...more

like 1 like · see review

May 17, 2011 Joe rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: before-goodreads, sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 6 likes · see review

Jan 22, 2013 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have been a long-time fan of David Webber's writing. He is a very good, no, an excellent writer of science fiction. I am in the middle of reading his Safehold series with I believe the sixth book bought but not read yet because I don't want it to be over?? Yeah, his writing in that series of books is just outstanding. I seriously don't understand why anyone wouldn't like this book. The ending has a twist but so what, it's science fiction. If a writer can imagine an entire planet being conquere...more I have been a long-time fan of David Webber's writing. He is a very good, no, an excellent writer of science fiction. I am in the middle of reading his Safehold series with I believe the sixth book bought but not read yet because I don't want it to be over?? Yeah, his writing in that series of books is just outstanding. I seriously don't understand why anyone wouldn't like this book. The ending has a twist but so what, it's science fiction. If a writer can imagine an entire planet being conquered, then we can surely put up with a unique ending.
Now as for this book. It is, in every sense a science fiction book. I tend to read a lot of military science fiction. I was getting a little disenchanted with the genere because all the stories seem to be following the same theme. Humans and our capabilities are always inferior to aliens. After all, they have interstellar flight capabilities which should mean their military capabilities should be far more advanced than ours. This book takes on that kind of theme but, oh, does it twist it to pieces!

In this book we find an alien race called the Shongair looking down on Earth from their huge Empire-built starships. They have come for the express purpose of subjagating Earth and all humans. They believe that humans, when properly trained, can become useful to the Empire as a slave labor force or even as a proxy army if necessary. Of course Earth and it's human inhabitants are considered to be a primitive race or so we were when the Hegemony surveyors first visited our planet some time around the middle ages. They do not believe that we could have developed much over the intervening two hundred years or so. The Shongair have shown up just around our year of 2012 or so.

After some careful study of the current Earth civilization, they are astounded that we have actually reached a level of civilization they classify as level-two. Even then, we're still considered as backwards and not much of a threat to the mighty Shongair, who just happened to be the meanest, baddest dudes in the known galaxy! They also know that they are forbidden to actually attack a level-two civilization by the rules of the Hegemony Constitution. But they also know that the Hegemony ruling council does not have a very high opinion of Earth and humans and believe they would not object too strenuously if Earth and its humans were "managed".

So, from space, the Shongair begin a massive bombardment of all the major Earth cities and military installations. In one day, they wipe out almost a third of the human population. I'm not talking about a third of Europe or Russia or the United States, but a third of the entire world; that's in the neighborhood of over 2 BILLION people. The rest are left to starve and put up whatever resistance they can when the mighty Shongair ground forces begin their orbital descent to conquer the planet. Never in the history of the Shongair have they been defeated. In fact, they have seldom had to do much real fighting since most of the worlds they have conquered customarily gave up immediately after the devastating orbital bombardment. I mean, who wouldn't know that they have been conquered by a superior race after that kind of sudden introduction?

But Earth and humans are different. The Shongair haven't quite figured that out yet. You have to read this book to find out just how very, very different we humans are. Our final solution to the Shongair invasion caught me completely by surprise. It will do the same to you, guaranteed!

(less)

like · see review

Nov 13, 2012 Kat rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, vampires

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Military sf is not a genre I really read, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. The first two-thirds are incredibly boring, and go a little bit like this:

RANDOM ALIEN INVADER GUY felt smug about the upcoming engagement with the pathetic humans, and spent several pages thinking about why the humans were so pathetic while nothing important happened.

***

RANDOM MILITARY DUDE wasn't sure what to expect from the engagement, but because of the highly detailed and specfic information he knew abo...more Military sf is not a genre I really read, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. The first two-thirds are incredibly boring, and go a little bit like this:

RANDOM ALIEN INVADER GUY felt smug about the upcoming engagement with the pathetic humans, and spent several pages thinking about why the humans were so pathetic while nothing important happened.

***

RANDOM MILITARY DUDE wasn't sure what to expect from the engagement, but because of the highly detailed and specfic information he knew about the list of artillery, heavy machinery, and personal weaponry his rag-tag band of soldiers were bringing to the fight, which the author will now list in excruciating detail, he figured they'd be all right.

***

RANDOM ALIEN INVADER GUY died in a fiery, unexpected assault from the pathetic humans.

This goes on for two hundred and some-odd pages, and the reader starts thinking, "Oh God! Didn't anybody ever tell this guy 'show, don't tell'?" I couldn't keep any of the main characters straight, or remember their names, not even while I was actually in the act of reading the book! And I was starting to think about giving up.

AND THEN DRACULA SHOWS UP, and turns a bunch of guys into vampires, and they slaughter the remaining aliens and steal their tech, and the humans win, yay!

WHAT.

Don't get me wrong! I enjoyed the final hundred pages of the book about a hundred times more than the first two, but ... DRACULA SHOWS UP. In a dry-as-dirt capital-M Military SF novel. I can't see why any author would think that was a good idea! The military sf guys are going to be like, "WTF DRACULA, this sucks (har har)," and the Dracula fans (howdy!) are going to be like, "WHY WAS THIS NOT FORESHADOWED EARLIER?!" And there will be much capslock and angst.

Cause really. If I'd suspected a little earlier that there were going to be vampires, I would have loved this book a lot more. Vampires! Versus aliens! Genius! But structurally the book is kind of a mess, and the above-mentioned repetition just kills it for the reader. It could've been great, but as it is, I won't be putting it on my "keepers" shelf.(less)

like · see review

Sep 23, 2012 Andy rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was OK, but there were parts that I really struggled with and then the ending completely ruined the story. The first disappointment was the profanity throughout the book. I know the story is a war story as humanity faces off against the alien invaders, but it really didn't add anything to the story - no matter how "real" the author was trying to keep it. I once heard that the use of profanity is the sign of a weak mind and I think that counts double for authors. The second disappointme...more

like 1 like · see review

Aug 28, 2012 H Gilbert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ooof. Was torn on this one - it's actually a 2.5 star on the verge of a 2 star.

Kind of reminded me of a Tom Clancy book - the enemy is overpowering and unstoppable, but since our guys are just SO brave and SO much smarter they overcome long odds and thoroughly biff the evil bad guys on the snout. Them being canine derived aliens I was kind of surprised none of them got dispatched with a rolled up newspaper.

A little tired of that sort of dynamic. That's why I don't read Clancy any more - but I di...more

like 1 like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Brian rated it 1 of 5 stars

If you have this book, and especially if you haven't read it yet, just burn it now and save yourself the anger and annoyance you will experience if you insist on reading it.

The first half is actually ok, or even better than that. It's a pretty typical military action novel, with aliens thrown in so you don't have to identify with all those people you're trying to kill too closely. And hey, half the human population has already been killed off, so it makes fighting back all that more heroic right...more

like 3 likes · see review

Jul 09, 2012 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 3 likes · see review

Jul 07, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, beach-read

I like David Weber. I like how he believes humanity will always triumph over aliens. I like how he believes our military is full of heroes. Overall, I find his writing inspirational (in a science fiction kind of way).

I like that he explains the antagonist's point-of-view. I like how he analyzes the forces which drive both the antagonists and protagonists. Stuff doesn't just happen.

I don't like how few flaws his heroes have. They kill with their bare hands, take falls from thousands of feet with...more

like 1 like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Dale rated it 4 of 5 stars

A near-great but flawed epic story

Read by Charles Keating
17 hours
Macmillan Audio

Ultra-prolific author David Weber visits familiar territory in this audiobook. Weber is a master of the military-based science fiction story and Out of the Dark delivers Weber’s expertise and interest in weapons, weapons systems and military organization in spades in this near-great but flawed epic story that, according to Publishers Weekly, is actually the first book in a trilogy.

The novel Out of the Dark is based...more A near-great but flawed epic story

Read by Charles Keating
17 hours
Macmillan Audio

Ultra-prolific author David Weber visits familiar territory in this audiobook. Weber is a master of the military-based science fiction story and Out of the Dark delivers Weber’s expertise and interest in weapons, weapons systems and military organization in spades in this near-great but flawed epic story that, according to Publishers Weekly, is actually the first book in a trilogy.

The novel Out of the Dark is based on a short story of the same name that Weber published in 2010. The story begins with an alien survey of Earth (called KU-197-20) in the year 1415. The aliens are part of a multi-species alliance called the Galactic Hegemony. The aliens are exploring and documenting all habitable planets and rate all inhabited planets on a technology scale.

They find the Earth of 1415 backward technologically but decide to watch some military action in Europe. What they witness is the Battle of Agincourt between Henry V’s England and France – some of the fiercest fighting of the Hundred Years War and the site of horrific slaughter, including the killing of hundreds of French prisoners and wounded after the battle. The aliens that witness this slaughter are horrified. The member races of the Galactic Hegemony are almost all herbivores and they cannot understand the raw violence of humans and assume that humans will wipe themselves out as soon as they develop greater technology.

But, there is one carnivorous member of the Hegemony – the Shongairi a race that might best be described as dog people. The other members of the Hegemony fear the Shongairi and decide to recommend that the Shongairi colonize KU-197-20, figuring that the warlike humans and the Shongairi will keep one another occupied for a while.

By the time the Shongairi arrive nearly 600 years have passed and humans have advanced their technology at a breathtaking pace by the standards of the Hegemony. The Shongairi realize that humans and Earth are technically not eligible for colonization anymore – they are too far advanced and should be sealed from Hegemony contact until humans start interstellar travel or destroy themselves in a nuclear war, either way it’s not Hegemony business. The Shongairi decide that the rate of human technological growth indicates that humanity would be a great “client race” for the Shongair Empire and they hop to harness some of that human creativity for their own ends and an invasion of earth starts by annihilation of the capitol of every country with a Kinetic Energy Weapon or, in layman’s terms, by dropping asteroids on them. Half of humankind dies in one day.

The strong parts of Out of the Dark lie in describing...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...(less)

like · see review

May 21, 2012 Doug Dandridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

As stated by some other reviewers, I have read everything Weber has ever done, and come into each book with some expectations. At first my expectations were met. The aliens and the battles kind of reminded me of Turtledove's Balance Series. I thought the aliens were just a little to0 inept in the land battles, and a little too omnipotent when it came to their control of the planet from space. I really thought it was off the mark when he talked about the aliens having the power to turn Earth into...more

like 1 like · see review

May 04, 2012 Sara rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish, science-fiction

A warning: if you are a David Weber fan, then I will give you the same warning I give to Robert Jordan fans when they enthusiastically ask me if I've ever read the Wheel of Time: If you do not like to hear scathing reviews of an author you love, then do not read this review.

Okay, you've now had time to get away. Onwards!

I tried to like this book. I really did. The premise--as told to me by my best friend and brain-twin--was pretty awesome. I mean, who *doesn't* like a good ol' "Never, ever piss...more

like 8 likes · see review

Feb 15, 2012 Text Addict rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don’t usually spoiler books in my reviews, but this was published way back in 2010, and it is pretty much impossible to express myself on the subject of this book without talking about the surprise ending. You have been warned.

Near-future alien invasions have been done before, and this one even includes a reference to Independence Day‘s use of over-used SF tropes. It does not, however, mention the common trope of the special-snowflake status of the USA being extended (with a prominent US role,...more I don’t usually spoiler books in my reviews, but this was published way back in 2010, and it is pretty much impossible to express myself on the subject of this book without talking about the surprise ending. You have been warned.

Near-future alien invasions have been done before, and this one even includes a reference to Independence Day‘s use of over-used SF tropes. It does not, however, mention the common trope of the special-snowflake status of the USA being extended (with a prominent US role, of course) to the whole human race – that would be the narrative undermining itself. These types of books pretty much all do that, though I think if I tried I could probably find examples that buck the trend.

But that’s not really what I wanted to talk about. It isn’t the lengthy, loving descriptions of arms and armament that I want to talk about either, although the book probably would’ve been 30 pages shorter if those have been trimmed. Weber’s tendency to include long disquisitions about politics is also on display from time to time, as well.

But no, what I wanted to talk about is vampires.

See, in the last few chapters it turns out that a vampire is unalive and well and still living in the mountains of Romania. Yes, that vampire. And he’s not happy about aliens destroying most of the major cities on the planet (and a lot of the minor ones) through kinetic bombardment. He’s even less happy when the aliens (they’re called Shongairi, by the way) unwittingly decide to pick the wrong villages to collect experimental subjects from – villages he’s taken up the burden of protecting.

Yeah, so. Vampires save the human race from alien invasion. I suppose you could say this undermines the typical special-human-snowflwake alien invasion story trope, but then you probably haven’t actually read the book. I have, and it doesn’t. The epilogue is titled “Year 1 of the Terran Empire.”

In an era of Jane Austen and zombies and Abraham Lincoln as a vampire-hunter, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. But I still think Weber wrote up the proposal on a bet, and then got stuck with writing it when it actually sold. I mean, he’s got to make a living, even with the Honor Harrington series still doing so well.

But. Still. Umm. I mean, really???(less)

like 1 like · see review

Dec 30, 2011 M.B. Falcon rated it 1 of 5 stars

Spoiler review.

Aliens attack bent on conquering the earth and enslaving all humans who are expected to have Henry V level technology. Since that bit of intelligence is somewhat out of date, the aliens start by dropping rocks, killing 1/3 of the population and all major military resources. Despite all that, the humans resist credibly the unprepared aliens until the aliens loose patience and decide to kill all humans. At the last moment Dracula decides that humans are his to bleed dry and kills a...more

like · see review

Aug 07, 2011 Brett rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

David Weber has surpassed himself (if possible) with his novel 'Out of the Dark'.

A gripping science fiction, end of the world, alien invasion story that grabs readers and leaves them stunned and wrung out.

As usual for Weber, he takes us deep into the lives of the characters, making us familiar, even intimate, with them, their lives and their tools. Technical descriptions abound and the fans of of hard science fiction should love it.

The premise of cooperation and the psychology of humanity when...more

like · see review

Aug 05, 2011 Randy Reed rated it 4 of 5 stars

So I really liked this book for the first 3/4. I like David Weber in general, his Safehold series as a retelling of the Protestant Reformation is very interesting. This book likewise has much to commend it. It is the story of an alien invasion. The producers of Battle: Los Angeles, said the trick of any alien invasion story is that it not be over in 10 minutes. Weber solves this problem with interesting reflections on the different kinds of military hardware a space faring race might have as opp...more So I really liked this book for the first 3/4. I like David Weber in general, his Safehold series as a retelling of the Protestant Reformation is very interesting. This book likewise has much to commend it. It is the story of an alien invasion. The producers of Battle: Los Angeles, said the trick of any alien invasion story is that it not be over in 10 minutes. Weber solves this problem with interesting reflections on the different kinds of military hardware a space faring race might have as opposed to a terrestrial race.

And when it comes to military hardware, Weber "loves him some guns." The guy waxes poetic in detail about the firing power of RPGs, rifles, mortars, handguns, etc. Seems like I read he was actually a military historian when I was reading Safehold and it comes through in this as well. Some of that stuff made my eyes glaze over, but the battle scenes are actually quite compelling.

But the thing I liked most about this book is it made me think a lot about asymmetrical warfare. There's a lot that's all focusing on that right now. Speilberg's "Falling Skies" series, the U.S. withdrawl from Afghanistan and Iraq and the aforementioned Battle: LA, all has kind of coalesced in a cultural moment to make the merits and disadvantages of asymmetrical warfare a timely topic. If this book offers anything it offers an interesting reflection on the psychology, the problems and the tactics of this kind of warfare.

Until we get to the end. I will not spoil the ending except to say that even for science fiction it goes in a direction that is completely unbelievable so that I was left saying "_________? Really? That's how your going to solve this with ________?" Which may in and of itself point to the problem with asymmetrical warfare. It only functions when the stronger side in some way is limited either through moral conviction, fear of losing popular support or external threat. If the stronger power can completely and effectively eliminate the weaker population then there is no path to victory. In the mosquito v. the elephant, it the elephant suddenly blankets the area with anti-mosquito fog, the battle ends.

So I think this book is worth reading, but its ending is lame. But perhaps there is a lesson in that as well. I gave it 4 stars, but only because I couldn't give it 3 1/2. That's really what it deserves.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Jul 05, 2011 Procrastinador Diletante rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sempre fui fã do David Weber e foi com muito agrado que vi que ia sair um livro novo, fora das suas habituais séries. E além disso era sobre um tema que me agrada particularmente - uma invasão da Terra por extraterrestres. Aproveitando o meu aniversário e um irmão generoso, rapidamente pus as minhas mãos num exemplar em capa dura do livro.

Visto que estava de férias, comecei logo a ler, mas para meu espanto, apercebi-me que ia ficar desapontado. Apesar da invasão ter uma razão lógica para acontec...more Sempre fui fã do David Weber e foi com muito agrado que vi que ia sair um livro novo, fora das suas habituais séries. E além disso era sobre um tema que me agrada particularmente - uma invasão da Terra por extraterrestres. Aproveitando o meu aniversário e um irmão generoso, rapidamente pus as minhas mãos num exemplar em capa dura do livro.

Visto que estava de férias, comecei logo a ler, mas para meu espanto, apercebi-me que ia ficar desapontado. Apesar da invasão ter uma razão lógica para acontecer (fazendo-me lembrar um pouco esta série de livros do Harry Turtledove), os extraterrestres não são nada de especial e muitos deles só aparecem para serem mortos pelos Humanos.

Mas mesmo as personagens Humanas são pouco desenvolvidas, tendo para aí um capítulo cada para se "apresentarem" antes de serem lançadas para a acção - algo que, como seria de esperar, não falta no livro. Infelizmente nem mesmo essa acção o salva. Apesar de ter alguns combates que achei extremamente bons, estes são poucos e a maior parte da história desenvolve-se "fora do ecrã".

Como bom Americano, o autor passa umas boas páginas a descrever as técnicas que uma família de survivalistas usa para sobreviver durante e após a invasão, mas mesmo essas partes parecem ter sido um bocado "coladas" ali pelo meio.

É claro que há ainda um problema maior com o livro. É que embora seja de ficção científica, a verdade é que nas últimas páginas transforma-se num livro de fantasia (não me posso alongar mais sobre o assunto, mas bastar ler o "back cover" para se aperceberem do que se trata) e isso mata-o. A mistura de géneros até poderia ter funcionado mas o final é mais que forçado, acontecendo mais uma vez "fora do ecrã".

Enfim...li-o, tem coisa que se aproveitam e após alguma investigação até desculpei o autor, pois pelos vistos o livro é baseado num conto antigo, escrito para uma antologia.

Deve ter precisado do dinheiro e lá pegou no conto, acrescentou-lhe mais uma coisa e pimba...livro novo cá para fora. Só espero que não caia na tentação de lhe dar uma continuação e que volte é a escrever Honor Harrington.(less)

like · see review

May 19, 2011 Jay rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. For the most part, I've read this plot before, and so have you.
* Mean, selfish, petty ancient Galaxians discover Earthlings
* They bicker for a while (hundreds of years, our time)
* They decide to exploit us, and show up ... just about now, typically.
* They realize we're 'way further advanced than we should be; cuz compared with them, we so smaht.
* The decide we're inconvenient not to mention risky, and have to be "put down" before we get out of hand.
* Too late; we do.

So far so good. Webber's prob...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 16, 2011 Yael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. David Weber's Out of the Dark

The Galactic Hegemony, a very long-lived galactic confederacy of worlds, cherishes stability, especially the sort that aggressive, predatory member species tend to disturb. When the Hegemony Survey Force encounter a world whose barbarous dominant species -- their own name for themselves was "humans" -- were almost as warlike and aggressive as the Shongairi, Hegemony members whose value to the Hegemony principally consists of "taming" such barbarians or else wiping th...more David Weber's Out of the Dark

The Galactic Hegemony, a very long-lived galactic confederacy of worlds, cherishes stability, especially the sort that aggressive, predatory member species tend to disturb. When the Hegemony Survey Force encounter a world whose barbarous dominant species -- their own name for themselves was "humans" -- were almost as warlike and aggressive as the Shongairi, Hegemony members whose value to the Hegemony principally consists of "taming" such barbarians or else wiping them off the galactic map, expedience dictated using the Shongairi to render the humans a non-problem before they could become one for the Hegemony. If the Shongairi got taken down a peg or two in the process, even better.

Now the Shongairi invasion of Earth begins -- several centuries after the Hegemony Survey Force last visited it. The humans are about to be conquered by one of the most viciously efficient military forces in the galaxy, one with a long, glorious, and heretofore unblemished track-record when it comes to conquering every world they've ever attempted to invade -- or, if not conquered, then simply permanently eliminated from the galactic equation by judicious employment of an LD100 bioweapon or even Rods From God . . . maybe. Possibly. You think?

It doesn't take long before the Shongairi -- "the puppies," as the would-be human conquerees call them -- find out the hard way that not only have they misunderestimated Earth's humans, it turns out that there is more than one technologically sophisticated and very able species on Earth. One they hadn't known was there. One that simply won't take "no" for an answer when it comes to telling the Shongairi in particular and the Hegemony in general to get the hell off Earth's back and stay the hell off it. One hearkening back to 15th century Europe and the wars against the Turks . . .

With its nod to Fred Saberhagen's marvelous take on the legend of Dracula, Out of the Dark is the most delicious exploration of the question of how we would deal with an attempted invasion and conquest of Earth by extraterrestrials I've ever encountered. Above all, the shock and horror of the last surviving members of the Shongairi invasion force as, somehow, evading all their security measures and easily penetrating every barrier between them and their prey, Earth's other soldiers flow through the air ducts into the rooms where the surviving Shongairi are cowering and simply, literally tear them to shreds is worth the price of the book ten times over. At least.

Best reading time for Earthlings is at the Witching Hour -- after all, we are the heroes here, and the Witching Hour is when we're on the hunt!(less)

like · see review

Mar 14, 2011 James rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I didn't really enjoy this book.
I've loved all of David Weber's books, and I really like apocalyptic novels. But this book didn't feel like Weber. The characters were flat and he spent so much time jumping back and forth between the different locales that I had a hard time remembering who was who and what was going on. After I finished it, I found out that it was an expansion of a short story he'd written. - I've not read that short, but I could see how he cut back and forth between his new mate...more

like 5 likes · see review

Mar 10, 2011 Jday rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: k-books-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So........until this book I've always enjoyed David Weber. His Honor Harrington books caught me years ago and I've read most of that series. Now this.

The first 95% of the book is a decent, fairly standard, alien apocalypse story. Set in the very near future with likable, well developed human good guys vs. over confident, very naive alien bad guys who do a Pearl Harbor sneak attack on the Earth from space by hitting all the major cities, and anyplace remotely military related, with big rocks. Mor...more So........until this book I've always enjoyed David Weber. His Honor Harrington books caught me years ago and I've read most of that series. Now this.

The first 95% of the book is a decent, fairly standard, alien apocalypse story. Set in the very near future with likable, well developed human good guys vs. over confident, very naive alien bad guys who do a Pearl Harbor sneak attack on the Earth from space by hitting all the major cities, and anyplace remotely military related, with big rocks. More than half the Earth's population killed the first day.

Then comes the standard guerrilla warfare from our heroes. To stubborn to give up and aliens to stupid to win. Lots of good action and I only felt slightly overwhelmed by Weber's highly detailed descriptions of every piece of military equipment and weapon used by our heroes.

The story progresses nicely through all this with the humans making it very costly for the aliens, the aliens still thinking they can beat the lower tech humans, but continuing to slowly lose. The aliens finely decide its to much trouble and plan on developing a biochemical to exterminate the rest of the humans.

Now, to the part that completely ruined the book and makes me think that David Weber may have gone insane..............

Our human heroes are saved from extinction by the appearance of Drakulya, Vlad the Impaler, who has, until now, been fighting in Romania as part of a successful guerrilla group. For some reason he had forgotten who he was and has been living as a human. Once he remembers who he is he quickly sweeps through all of the remaining alien installations on the planet, killing every one of them, before hitching rides on the outside of fleeing shuttles and killing all of the aliens on the ships in orbit.

How the hell does that even make sense? I've read sci-fi vampire stories before and I'm OK with the concept, but this was completely out of left field. Very few people I know approve of a "deus ex machina" ending, but this one takes the cake.

Saying all of that, I won't give up on Weber. There's still a few Harrington books I need to finish and I'm sure he has better in him. I truly hope he doesn't try to make this a series. I for one, will NOT waste the time on a sequel.

Drakulya........really?

(less)

like 1 like · see review

Feb 22, 2011 Chris rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book was too loaded down with on the verge of cliche sci-fi tropes and the king of out-of-left-field-endings. What one amazon.com reviewer referred to as "technical fetishism" might be overlooked without these much greater faults.

The cliches: First, humanity's technological progress is unheard of compared to the rest of the galaxy. Progress everywhere but earth tends to be slow and methodical. Second, humans are (after the initial expedition watches the Battle of Agincourt) much more bruta...more

like · see review

Jan 29, 2011 Amelia rated it 1 of 5 stars

No offense meant to my brother, who got this for me, this was probably the worst book I've read in a long time. I really wanted to like this book, the premise was great and I enjoyed it in the beginning, but the redundancy was starting to be too much. I'm not too much into military fiction, so the frequent and overly-detailed descriptions of the weaponry were difficult for me to slog through. The writing quickly became redundant with the use of the same plot device when describing the attacks on...more

like 3 likes · see review

Jan 05, 2011 Iago77 rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First review on goodread...sadly its a bash :)

Not a diehard fan of military Sci Fi here ( mostly because i hardly found any good "realistic" book on the matter )but i gave Weber a shot.

First 3/4 of the book are a pretty abused " arrogant snotty aliens too narrowminded to deal with fierce, cunning, brave humane resistance" flick. Pretty similar to the Turtledove WorldWar , altough the Race is much more sympathetic then these pesky canine genocidal aliens.

As said pretty common but entertaining no...more

like 2 likes · see review

Nov 27, 2010 Benjamin Newland rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I read David Weber’s On Basilisk Station a couple years back an enjoyed it. The first of many books featuring Honor Harington, it’s Weber’s most popular series. My enjoyment of the books went down as they went up in number, but on the whole I appreciated Weber’s straightforward military science fiction.

Out of the Dark came to me, like so many books do, from the new fiction shelf at my local library. Weber’s name got me to pick it up, and the flyleaf description made the story sound interesting:...more I read David Weber’s On Basilisk Station a couple years back an enjoyed it. The first of many books featuring Honor Harington, it’s Weber’s most popular series. My enjoyment of the books went down as they went up in number, but on the whole I appreciated Weber’s straightforward military science fiction.

Out of the Dark came to me, like so many books do, from the new fiction shelf at my local library. Weber’s name got me to pick it up, and the flyleaf description made the story sound interesting: a very near future military sci-fi novel of first contact. Cool.

The novel starts with a long prologue, which is already a strike against it. Not every prologue is bad, but most of them are, and of the ones that aren’t nearly all are unnecessary. A group of aliens are observing the human race. Specifically, they’re observing a bloody medieval battle. The aliens are horrified at humanity’s violence, and appalled that the vastly outnumbered English manage to defeat the French. Now you know the whole story. It’s an interesting idea, to me anyways, but Weber gives the whole thing away before he’s even begun his novel.

It’s an interesting premise, which is the only thing that kept me reading it. What if the universe is governed by a huge consortium of races that are far more peaceful than we are? What if the aliens arrive at earth and we manage to kick their asses on the ground? It’s an odd angle, to imagine that a race of aliens might have the technology to travel the stars but might arrive at earth with only a marginal advantage, not an overwhelming one. Weber explains this in what I felt were reasonable terms given his premise. We’d end up being the terrorists, fighting an asymmetrical war with the occupying alien forces.

As I said, this premise kept me turning pages even through the plentiful scenes of exposition. It felt to me like a good 80% of the novel was either the good guys being one-dimensionally jocular with each other (including the women) or the bad guys explaining to each other in excruciating detail what they were going to do next. The other 20% was really high quality action sequences, which Weber does very well; a little heavy on tech description and jargon, but par for the course with military sci-fi. These action scenes were thoroughly enjoyable, to the point where I was tempted to skip paragraphs and pages looking for the next one.

Up to this point I’d give the novel two out of five stars, maybe two and a half if you like David Weber or military sci-fi. On page 330 a crime is committed against narrative justice and the book drops to below one star. I would break out negative stars for this thing if I could. What is this crime, you ask? Well, on page 330 of a 380 page novel, vampires arrive and kill all the aliens.
No, I am not kidding.

Nothing sets this up. There is no hint in the first 329 pages of the novel that this is a paranormal thriller. It is straight ahead, solid, predictable military sci-fi. Then, when humanity has successfully driven the aliens to the point of despair, and the aliens have decided to cut their losses and sterilize the earth from orbit, and I’m actually interested in finding out how this is going to end, vampires show up. And not just any vampires either; it’s Dracula. It’s a deus ex machina of the worst possible kind.

And this is from a reader who would probably pick up a book that sold itself honestly as vampires vs. aliens.
(less)

like 9 likes · see review

Nov 25, 2010 Perry Reed rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really should have known better.

I've read several of David Weber's Safehold series of books and they all suffer from the same problems. They're wordy and heavy on conversations and light on progressing the story. Worse, the conversations can pretty much all be grouped into two formulas: The bad guys scheming and arguing with each other, and the good guys expressing feelings of comraderie and deep friendship and affection for each other. It gets a bit nauseating and unfortunately this book suff...more

like 2 likes · see review

Nov 16, 2010 Frank Parsons rated it 3 of 5 stars

I admit it. I love military sci-fi. I especially love alien invasion stories. Out of the Dark is just that, a sci-fi earth invasion story seen primarily through military eyes. Not only that, but the dust jacket promises that earth receives some surprise help. I fell for it. I had a coupon and bought the book sort of thinking that I would likely be disappointed. But I had hope!

There's a reason people become cynical and it's based on disappointments like this book. Don't get me wrong, the writing...more

like 6 likes · see review

Nov 11, 2010 Maurinejt rated it 3 of 5 stars

3/4 of the book was a thoroughly fun read about humans vs an alien invasion bent on genocide. I am not a military sci-fi person, and I was surprised at how much fun it was. Who cares about character or subtle plots, let's blow up some aliens! And aside from the occasional monologue or internal dialogue that ran on too long, it worked beautifully. However, the ending totally lost me. It felt like Weber painted himself into a plot corner and couldn't figure out how to get out. Deux ex Machina at i...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 25, 2010 Nate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, horror

Note: Contains slight spoilers

Holy Deus Ex Machina, Batman! I like a surprising twist as much as the next fella, but really... Supernatural creatures AND interstellar invaders in the same book? Might be a bit excessive.

Anyway, aliens that act a hell of a lot like US forces in Afghanistan invade our planet, blow up most of our cities, and are then surprised when we don't kiss their asses. Apparently we're savage beasts (duh) and don't work the same, sociologically speaking, as every other race ou...more

like · see review

Nov 28, 2011 Sandy rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 1 like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 69 70 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Sequel?	10	38	Mar 06, 2013 06:05pm
Military Science ...: David Weber	3	15	Feb 27, 2013 08:38am

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Genres

Science Fiction

91 users

Fantasy

20 users

Paranormal > Vampires

16 users

War > Military

12 users

War

11 users

Science Fiction > Aliens

8 users

Horror

7 users

Space

5 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

4 users

Thriller

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About David Weber

David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.

Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.

One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name...more

More about David Weber...

Books by David Weber

On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington, #1)

The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington, #2)

The Short Victorious War (Honor Harrington, #3)

Field of Dishonor (Honor Harrington, #4)

Honor Among Enemies (Honor Harrington, #6)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Out of the Dark

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Out of the Dark

“Apparently, for some reason known only to themselves, these people... have chosen to cling to hydrocarbon-fueled power generation well past the point at which they could have replaced it with nuclear generation.” — 3 people liked it

“Vegtables, what food eats before it becomes food.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Out of the Dark
avg rating	preview: Out of the Dark Goodreads rating: 3.11 (1236 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7892754-out-of-the-dark?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316730120l/7892754.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7892754-out-of-the-dark?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Out of the Dark by David Weber[/url]

Out of the Dark

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website