Outbound [Sci-Fi Dystopian Story]

Information

Status

Completed

Year

2023

Author

Provider

• Chapter 6 - Interviews
  Apr 22, 2023
• Chapter 5 - Passage
  Apr 20, 2023
• Chapter 4 - Misappropriation
  Apr 19, 2023
• Chapter 3 - Lessons
  Apr 18, 2023
• Chapter 2 - Deal Evaluation
  Apr 17, 2023
• Chapter 1 - The Familiar Way
  Apr 16, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(2)

• Gordon AshackerRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I really think that this Universe has great potential for compelling story lines. The dynamics of a dystopian Earth resulting in desperate attempts to send colonising ships to new worlds is a grand Space Opera waiting to happen. Outbound begins this timeline and introduces some story lines and characters which will gain importance in later works, especially Amongst the Stars of Cygnus. I plan on reading all of these stories, which is the strongest recommendation I can make.......
• RznRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Outbound is a really complicated piece with a lot of characters and ideas wrapped in a strong setting (from a worldbuilding perspective) that is both familiar and unique at the same time. As a reader it is a bit overwhelming as things are not truly explained, such as the nature of the corps and the sci-fi tech. As a reader you have to handwave every logical objection you have to the plot or the action (from sabotage to punishment) to let the dystopian setting carry it through. The time in the setting is limited, and yet a pivotal moment reads like a Hollywood heist for reasons unknown. The story itself is interesting, but time and time again an advanced sci-fi dystopia feels where running out the clock is a viable strategy by 'keeping them talking'. Plenty of things feel constrained to old 2020-2030 sci-fi dystopias written back in the 70s thru the 90s where social culture and the information age is at complete odds.
  The story even goes out of its way to use the function of space travel and communications to make a point, only drawing more attention to the awkward society that exists. Though enough of the society, yet I could go on about Ben and Mike in much the same vein. The story itself is a good read without issues in prose or grammar. It is just the setting, the characters and the action itself that I have enough issues with to give 4.5 and not dock it lower. It was a fun read, but the distractions from the settings plausibility can only go so far. Though Mike's service is another issue which I'll leave to another reader.