Outcast – Book Review

Spoilers for Outcast throughout.

Outcast is the fourth book in Paver’s series, ‘The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’.

Truly Alone

In my review of Wolf Brother, I talked at length about my desire to shuck the weight of society and all its responsibilities.

Outcast is the nightmare version of that dream. Torak isn’t given a choice to leave on his own terms, not this time. In Outcast, he’s forced out of society and the result on his psyche is devastating.

The distinction between Torak’s desire to be free and roaming the forest alone is contrasted against his forced exile. He doesn’t have the choice to visit Renn, Bale, or Fin-Kedinn. He’s chased from end to end and made to fear humanity.

All this while being chased by the most powerful members of his society—the Soul Eater mages. It’s quite different from the idyllic dream of drifting through places untethered and confident.

In the wilderness, Torak loses his sense of self, along with what’s right and wrong. When the clans outcast Torak for his link to the demons, they began a process which would force him to act like the demon they painted him as. His hard exterior became necessary for survival.

At the end of it all, Torak realises that even though he craves solitude, he misses his friends. A couple of weeks spent alone can be nice, but a lifetime is too much.

The Moodiest Teenagers Yet

Torak is very moody in this book, and due to him being outcast we see less of the other characters than in previous books. Wolf and Renn still get viewpoints, but they’re not always around Torak to lighten the mood.

As such, this is possibly the heaviest book in the series. There are no child slaves or child sacrifices, but it’s not easy spending so much time in Torak’s head as he deteriorates.

One character who isn’t a moody teenager is Wolf. While Torak is feeling unwell and Renn is worrying about how to find him, Wolf finds the freedom to make a life of his own with the wolf pack from the end of Wolf Brother. His viewpoints don’t happen often enough, but his brief time spent with the pups and the she-wolf he fancies brings light to an otherwise dark novel.

Wolf isn’t the only one realising romantic feelings. It’s very mild, but we know that Torak and Renn are getting older when Torak gets jealous of Bale for hanging out with Renn during the clan meet. We know they’re getting physically older, too, as Renn gets the tattoo that signifies she’s had her first ‘moon bleed’.

The question going forward is whether they’re meant to be together? Torak and Renn certainly like each other, but they have so many misunderstandings and miscommunications—is it possible for them to have a functioning relationship? They have a long way to go if so.

Becoming Your Parents

 It feels inevitable that in some ways; we all become our parents. Whether we simply look like them and have to live with that horror, or whether it’s through accidental imitation. Alternatively, we spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to do better than them. Trying not to mimic their faults, but not necessarily being taught how to do that.

Parentage has always been important in ‘The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’, but I would argue never more so than in Outcast. In this book, Torak is forced to live his father’s life, but without the company of a wife that Torak’s father enjoyed.

Like his father, Torak painfully cuts the Soul Eater tattoo from his chest. Like his father, Torak has to fight against the Soul Eaters.

Torak isn’t the only one reenacting their ancestry. In this book, we discover that Torak wasn’t quite so special in having a Soul Eater for a parent, as it becomes clear that Renn’s skill in magecraft is inherited from her mother: the Viper Mage.

This secret causes a huge rift between Torak and Renn, but it also sheds a strange light on Torak’s perception of Seshru the Viper Mage. In both Soul Eater and Outcast, Torak’s perspective frequently refers to Seshru as beautiful. Often, he seems mesmerised. Perhaps this is because he fancies Renn and Seshru simply looks like a more mature version.

Renn continues to improve her skill with magecraft in this book, further proving that she is her mother’s daughter. I’m a big fan of Renn’s character, and seeing her struggle with knowing that some traits she shares with her mother can be extremely useful, but wanting to avoid becoming Seshru, was a great character arc to follow.

Final Thoughts

Outcast is probably my least favourite book in the series, but it’s still a good book and I enjoyed it more than I remembered. Torak’s soul sickness is a tough read with clear analogues to modern depression and anxiety, and while I loved Renn’s story I wish that there had been more of it.

For more reviews on the adventures of Torak, Renn, and Wolf, check out the Michelle Paver section of this blog! The next book in the series I’ll be reviewing is Oathbreaker.