Out of the Black

by Lee Doty

In a world made nearly perfect by man’s enlightened progress, an ancient, hungry apocalypse slithers from the shadows and onto the clean, brightly-lit streets. Though few realize anything is wrong, it’s already too Too late for the authorities to face this new threat, for science to discover a cure, for the world’s warriors to gear up to fight. It is humanity’s swan song and the fat lady’s on the stage and clearing her throat. Now it’s up to five damaged A homicide detective, a lonely nurse, a college student, his insecure girlfriend, and a methodical killer with the heart of a child. Now it is the perfect society’s misfits who must piece together the mystery and find the courage to stand together against impossible odds. Sometimes destiny falls unexpected into the most broken lives, like a careless brick fallen out of the clear black sky.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Ebooks, Cyberpunk

548 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2008

Reviews

[Leif Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the kindle edition of this book, and it was totally cheap. However, I have started to learn that when you get a book cheap on kindle, there is a reason. Seems to me that the reason is that about $6 out of every $10 goes to hiring a proofreader. If you just cut that position out of the staff, there are massive savings.

This book was a perfect example. I loved the story. It was exciting, a little funny, and it had every ingredient necessary to make a big old ass kicking plate of awesome-cake. (Think of something awesome. Anything, so long as it rocks. Well, whatever you just though of, it's in this story, and it probably ends up fighting something even more awesome while exchanging witty one-liners.) HOWEVER, it seemed like every page had at least one misplaced apostrophe or misused contraction. These would make me so angry that I had trouble enjoying even such a righteous story as this. I would fly into a punctuation rage blackout, and have to re-read the sentence to try to interpret it as if the punctuation were correct, then eventually settle down to fuming resentment, and finally tell myself that I would write a letter to someone (anyone) and give them a piece of my mind. That's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Apart from that, good fun story.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've ever read.
Best book I've ever written.
:)

Quite a few excellent reviews can be found on the book's amazon page

Enjoy!

[Dan Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit I was only half-listening to the Sword & Laser netcast when this book was recommended, and I didn't really hear much about the plot, just that this was a really good book by a new author. When it came up on my Amazon recommendations, I went ahead and bought it, again without knowing anything about the plot.

So I was a few pages into it when I thought, "Damn. I've bought a vampire book." But no! It isn't a vampire book. It is an urban fantasy novel, though. So if you don't like that kind book, suck it up, Buttercup. This one is worth reading anyway.

I won't try to synopsize the plot, except to say the narrative starts out as a lot of different strands that ultimately weave together. Doty also indulges in a little temporal back-and-forth on the narrative stream that can be disorienting, but he still pulls it off in the end.

What is best about this book is Doty's narrative style and the way he can insert light-hearted quips into the thoughts and words of his characters even as they are facing dire circumstances. I like this because I find similar thoughts occur to me under stress. Consequently, I didn't find it distracting from the book's realism. (And rest assured: this is not a funny, ha-ha sort of book. It is more a Whedon-like, Buffyesque sort of book.) Second best about the book is the way Doty crams a lot of action into the story without swamping the character development. Instead of the action being something that interrupts the character development I love, the characters' natures are revealed by the way they deal with the action.

Much as I enjoyed the book, I do hope Doty doesn't return to these same characters in his next effort. Don't fall into that trap! Branch out; stretch your wings, sir. We'll all be better off as you expand your considerable talent into different settings.

[Tammy Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

SciFi
Fantasy
Action/Adventure...with just a hint of a Super-Hero comic. Brilliant manipulation of time in a twisting plot-line that left me wanting a sequel before I even finished it.

I loved this book and absorbed it in two days. Intelligent,sarcastic humor. It seemed like every other page at least 10 Kindle readers had high-lighted a laugh-out-loud passage. (If you read a digital reader like Kindle, you can enable the high-light function to see what other people found interesting.) I laughed while on the edge of my seat, gripping my Kindle and ignoring eveything else I planned on doing this weekend.

I'm not gonna tell you about this books plot. This story was unique and the best part was not knowing what was 'supposed' to happen while speed-reading to see what does happen.

p.s. Ping Bannon is the "hawtest" Chinese-Irish, blade-using, 20ish looking, 30 something Detective I've ever had the pleasure to read.

I wish I could cuddle between Roy and Dek on the couch and eat popcorn while watching Blade Runner.

I demand a sequel from Lee Doty...lol pretty please????

[Karen Corcoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great idea, unpolished.

The best part of this novel is the witty banter... In fact I would run out and buy any TV show or video game written by this author. Then there's the fact this novel must have been written by a nerd. There are no qualms about references to LotR, Harry Potter, Blade Runner (but only the good directors cut, Hah!) MMO's, computer hacking, the list goes on and on. The 'zombies' in this book are drugged out hipsters... imagine a book where the good guys are hacking through Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton!

Is this book an amazing feat of literally brilliance... no. There are grammar and spelling errors, and the plot is almost impossible to follow at times. Is it worth the 2.99 download? Hell yes.

This is funny, with great dialogue and oddly original for a novel that spend so much time referencing other works. It's not the best published book I've ever read; but it would be, by far, the best fan-fiction I ever downloaded.

I could easily see a few good proof readers and editors turning this into a killer novel. In the meantime, I will spread the word, and try to up the downloads on this fella.

I really hope the Kindle allows books like this one to become popular. It seems like it could really open the door for new authors. As a reader I am happy to forgive some grammar for a great (and economical), story.

[Terje Kristensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I like most about the Kindle is that when I finish a book, I usually just browse through amazons suggestions for new books based on what I like, and sometimes I get lucky. And did I ever get lucky with this one.

I think it only took me about 20 pages before I saw that this was something special. I'm not completely sure what it is that makes it stand out so much, but I think it's just that it sort of combines everything I love and combines them in a perfect way.

I'm a sucker for sci-fi and fantasy, check
I'm into martial arts, check
I love getting under the skin of the characters in a book, check
I've always loved superheroes, check

But i think my favorite part of this book is following the emotional journey of Anne, and I got teary eyed more than once in the process. I guess I'm just a sucker for romance and happy endings as well.

The book start off with a bang, and keep the pace high for the rest of the book. There are a lot of funny moments and banter in the book, and the action sequences are amazing. Even though there are a lot of dark moments in the book, the characters keep their spirit high, and laughs in the face of adversity.

I will definitely recommend this book to everyone I know, and I'm waiting impatiently for the next book from Lee Doty.

[Steven · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish Out of the Black by Lee Doty. That is an extreme rarity. I got about three quarters of the way through it and then had to give up. It wasn’t worth my time.

I started it because the writing held promise. It was witty, seemed to present some new ideas. And ever so gradually the writing degenerated into constant battles from which escape was never possible, but always happened. And then there were long moments of healing, just in time for the next battle to start. Sounds like any of half a gizzilion video games.

It was supposed to blend many genres. But in the blending, it became nothing more than a hodge podge. It was so disappointing. Lee Doty, the author, holds promise. But this book was in serious need of a good editor.

Even if you have the time, I can’t recommend this book.

[Mclear3000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, though as you start into it, you quickly realize you must simply take a leap of faith you'll eventually puzzle out what on earth is happening. You will (eventually), and it's well worth every minute of the read. Laugh out loud funny, intriguing, a puzzler, and the oddest assortment of heroes and villains, make me wish every day I could cover for Mr Doty's day job so he could focus on the next book (my lack of parallelism in this unwieldy sentence notwithstanding)! And if you browse around Amazon, you'll find he's surprisingly accessible (but please stop chatting with him so he can get back to work). My new favorite author and he's only just warming up.

[Martha Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this a higher rating because I wanted to love it. This author really knows how to turn a snarky phrase. The reason I can't give it higher marks is mostly personal preference. I am not a huge fan of excessive action sequences, and this book is 90% action. It was also tough to follow at times. However, I want to read more from this author. The potential for greatness is there!There were SO MANY THINGS I LOVED ABOUT IT!! I listened to the audio and so therefore avoided the grammar issued mentioned by other reviews on this site. I may just buy the hard copy just so I can have it when he becomes super famous.

[Efthymis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice writting, good humor, complicated story.

[Daniel P · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful dizzyingly fast interwoven family tale

What starts as possibly near future sci-fi then leans sideways to dip into fantasy plus a tinge of horror while weaving a seeming did separate group into a meaningful family.

An amazing book - so good I am giving it 5 stars based on how fun and interesting it was to read. I want more from this universe - and with these people.

And I love how the way you view some of the characters may spin around so many times some from good to bad to sad then back to good with nuance as you get to know them.

Others with the realization that they seem shallow or thin at first - before you get to know them well enough and this cascades back on prior interactions and changes how you view them.

As I said - 5 stars is for the fun - this book isn't technically perfect (frequent time/perspective jumps mean the reader often suddenly has to put some thought into context to realize who/where/when the story just jumped to - maybe a bit more than healthy). But it may be that decision is intentional to serve the narrative and lead us into nuanced perspectives on who does what and why.

All I know is that it was new, unique and interesting - enough so that I am heading straight to looking for other lee Doty books as soon as I finish writing this review - that is the highest praise a book can get from me - that I need to seek out more from this author.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, you definitely get bang for your buck with this one. I think I got it for under $2 on a whim because it sounded interesting.

The type of story wasn't what I originally anticipated. I thought it was going to be some dark noir type story, but turned out to be a pretty funny fantasy urban ass kicking story.

The sense of style, witty banter, and imaginative concepts makes for a really good story. I saw some people complain about his writing and the lack of editing, but honestly I didn't see it or it just didn't bother me.

My only beef with this book is I would find myself confused with the transitions sometimes. I think this was a deliberate mechanism by the author, but I found my self having reread a page just to see if I read that right because I had no idea what was going on. But, everything does come together at some point or another which I appreciated.

The pop-culture references had me laughing ('all you base belong to us' anyone?). The action is fast paced and thick throughout the book. That, mixed with the witty dialogue makes for very few boring parts. It's a long book but you'd never know.

I'd recommend this to those who like nerdy pop-culture, witty banter, and john woo fight scenes.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished Out of the Black, and loved it! there were some spots where it kind of had some weird tie in’s with the different characters, and bring the various situations together into one story line, but for the most part it was a really fun and smart read. The author has snarky puns down to an art. I found myself laughing out loud quite often(which earned me a lot of strange looks on the train). The humor was a great tension breaker all the way to the end of the book. The style of writing that the author used to bring the story line was rather interesting, especially at the end when you could see everything getting pulled together. There was a great ‘Aha!’ moment right before the end when all the stories merged. While it is an obvious science fiction piece, it’s not a storyline that has you doubting the plausibility of what’s going on. The characters really brought you into the story, and I felt really connected to and invested in most of the characters throughout the book. I definitely recommend this to everyone – it can be enjoyed by fans and non fans of science fiction.

[Ulrikft · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is among the worst books I have [u]ever[/u] read, and that is quite an accomplishment.

1) The language is terrible, the author is unable to create emotions trough writing, so he actually writes them out in detail instead, which makes for very tedious reading.

2) The plot.. well, there isn't one really. It looks like the writer thought "Hmm.. I need good, evil and a plot twist" and set out "writing".

3) The characters are highly unbelievable, who starts pompously reciting their innermost feelings at all possible moments, especially when stressed and in life threatening situations?

4) Violent massacres every 2-3 sides, not because it drives the plot, but because it fills out pages.


DO NOT read this book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy can WRITE!!!!!

But somewhere along the way, I stopped caring about the "bad guys," which for me, were never fully realized or fleshed out. I mean it was total evil, but I just couldn't comprehend their motive and history. For me personally, a deeper back-story -- perhaps from the perspective of the antagonist itself -- would've helped. The "Harms" were horrifying . . . but seemed disconnected from the darkness emanating from the Loom.

With that said, however, the characters themselves are UNFORGETTABLE. I want to see Ping and Anne on the big screen one day -- that would be awesome! Who would play Anne, though?

I hope Doty keeps writing . . . in fact, I wouldn't mind seeing a continuation of this story if possible.

[Patiscynical · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual and surprising

This is the first book I've read from this author, so I was pleasantly surprised by it. There's swords and magick, demons and sorcerers, good cops and bad cops, a fight against evil, and a quirky phlebotomist. There are quite a few characters, so I occasionally had to check back to see who was who. And some back and forth with timelines, which was slightly confusing, but that could have just been me.
The lighthearted humor throughout the book made it more enjoyable. A couple of times I nearly decided to put it down, but I stayed with it, and I'm glad I did.
Results: there was nothing graphic to worry about. It wouldn't embarrass you to read it aloud to your grandmother. It's a fun and unusual book.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a great movie if Kevin Smith got to produce and direct it. It reminded me a lot of his movie "Dogma." It's as if you're watching the beginning of what will be a terrible disaster but the characters are so entertaining that you almost forget that many lives (and the world as we know it) hang in the balance. I loved how the characters were both amusing and serious. In fact, this entire book struck a really good balance between amusing and serious. And it kept that balance going very well from start to finish.


ETA: Is there a sequel? And if not, when is it coming? Or another novel from this author? I will have to go back to Amazon and search...

[Joe Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful, fast paced with intriguing plot. New characters are dropped in without any explanation making it difficult to mentally jump ahead in the story. It was challenging but, I enjoyed trying to guess where the story was going and whether the immediate characters were good or bad. Great read and opportunity for author to expand story line into a series and also give background on the characters. I would love a chance to read more about the recurring life experiences of these people. Treat yourselves to some edge of your chair fun with a group of characters that are anything but run of the mill. Kudos to the author!

[Brick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very engaging, lots of fun. Marvelous evocation of the woman with the big heart encumbered with an unfashionable body type and appearance, who for reasons you will discover becomes able to cope with desperate situations, and is recognized by others in the story for her largeness of spirit. Low self esteem is overcome by circumstances, so that even she is forced to recognize what a trooper she is. To accomplish this, the author whips together a froth of sci-fi, fantasy, pop culture, and tech, leavened with laugh-out-loud wit. I am looking forward to follow-on work. Kindle versions of this book now come with a sample chapter of Doty's next book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This inaugural book by Doty is full of humor, action, and connectivity-drug chaos zombies. There is also a new view of magic and some interesting twists on future technology. I would love to go to a gym where you exercise in a sensory deprivation tank by participating in virtual reality role-playing games! I listened to the audiobook, so some of the flashbacks and interruptions in the action were hard to follow, but once I understood how he was using the skewed timeline, it was easier. I look forward to his next book, and not only because he has a highly developed sense of humor!

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, talk about a fast paced adrenaline ride. This book was basically non stop action. Lee Doty has crafted a wonderful vision of magic set in the near future. The story could easily be categorized as either science fiction or fantasy. It gets pretty violent, maybe a little more than I usually care for. Regardless I couldn't put this one down. Better yet, I had almost no idea where the story was heading, which usually doesn't happen to me.

[Jay Turpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable sci-fi, urban fantasy book. The author does a nice job of character development. Dialog is fast and witty, similar to Jim Butcher. He does some very interesting things with the timelines of the different threads in the story and ties them together very nicely. I'm looking forward to his next book.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite reads of 2011. I laughed, I bored my partner quoting harlious passages referencing star wars that he didn't get. The worst part was finishing it and finding this is the debut and as yet only book by the author. Please Mr Doty, when will you publish some more stories for your fans?

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sure does keep you on your toes! It moves very quickly and jumps from character to character and present to past in mere heart beats... and it takes most of the book before you figure out what's really going on! Make sure you pay attention when you start this one. I'm thinking it might even be easier to follow in print instead of audio.

[Laura Eno · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story! The very confusing timeframe is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. Despite the time puzzle pieces tossed in the air, the story is compelling, full of thrills and twists. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just started it on my Nook. Probably will go slow while I finish the other books I'm reading... So far it seems a little surreal. I actually enjoyed the book and liked the characters. It would make a cool movie!

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had this in my TBR pile for years and finally cracked it open. The world building unfolded while the descriptions and wordplay had me perfectly picturing scenes and simultaneously cracking up. Anatole page turner!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book blew my face off. i finished it in a few days. read it! (and maybe even more importantly, buy it!)

[Jason Brackins · Rating 1 out of 5]

oh my, why did I even finish. ugh.

[Riley Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crime meets near-future sci-fi with an overriding myth that's confusing. Throw in some characters you don't care about and you've got a noble recipe that tasted like crap in execution.