Review: The Outcast

The Outcast
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Arcturus is just an orphaned stable boy when he discovers he has the ability to summon demons from another world. He is sent to Vocans Academy where the lost arts of summoning, spell craft and demonology are taught to the noble children of the Empire. As the first commoner gifted with this ability, his discovery challenges the nobility and the powers that be and Arcturus soon makes enemies. With no one but his demon Sacharissa by his side, Arcturus must prove himself as a worthy Summoner...

You guys know that I'm a huge fan of The Summoner series, it's one of my favourites, it's original, it's imaginative and it's a hell of a lot of fun! As soon as I met Arcturus in the first book I was curious about him and I have been so desperate for him to get his own book so we can get to know him better because you know....he was quite mysterious! So you can imagine how pumped I've been for this book to be released! The first thing I want to say is that you can obviously read this if you've read the main series, duh, but if you haven't read the main series yet, you could quite easily start with this book if you wanted to, without being confused! I pinky swear! 

The Outcast is fast paced from the start, and I devoured it in two sittings basically. I pretty much read half in one go and then had to force myself to go to bed. I've been so eager for information on Arcturus and his past and this book really delivers....duh. It perfectly fleshes out his background and it also shows you how alike he and Fletcher are! 

But it's not just Arcturus we get to know better...there's some familiar faces we get to know too. Like you know....Prince Harold...Lovett....Elizabeth Cavendish who's been mentioned before...and Edmund Raleigh and Alice Queensouth. You know...Fletcher's parents! There's some other familiar characters from the main series too and I loved getting to see all of them interacting, and seeing Arcturus's relationships with them. I was particularly fascinated by Fletcher's parents and it hit me right in the feels, I'm not going to lie. 

Along with the characters I actually liked, we had the unfortunate return of the Favershams...and the Forsyth's....their nasty behaviour was tempered by the fact that I know they get theirs in the main series but still. Such unpleasant people. I could make a drinking game out of the amount of times I wanted to throttle Forsyth. Especially when it was revealed how he knew about a certain thing that lead to a thing in the main series. Forever disappointed Taran didn't kill him.....I'm joking! Mostly.

Anywaaaaay, our boy Arcturus is finding out all about who he is and that he's the only Commoner who's a Summoner...until it turns out that there are others and he's not exactly a Commoner. If you've read the main series you probably know some of Arcturus's background already! If you haven't I don't want to spoil it too much! Crawley provides suspiciousness as he's clearly up to something shady and wants Ulfr's help, not that he's having any of it. Things are quite tense politically in this book, and Arcturus and his friends manage to get caught up in it all...and then things happen that I can't say because spoilers! I wasn't sure what to expect plot-wise from this book, other than getting to know Arcturus better but I have to say I was surprised by the plot we got! Don't get me wrong, Taran's a genius and I knew he was going to relate it to the main story somehow...but I wasn't expecting to get to see what we did get to see! I basically went in totally blind with all my trust in Taran to write an awesome book...which you know, he never fails to do! 

It was really fun getting to see not only young Arcturus but getting to see Fletcher's parents and Lovett and getting to know them all better and see what they where like, and how they interacted with each other and what their relationships where like. It adds another layer to the main series and I really want to re-read the trilogy now! 

You can also see how some events came about and where certain knowledge that effects what happens in the main series was learned and so on. There's so many little ties to the main series woven casually throughout the main plot. I kept gasping and shrieking whenever something popped up! It really was brilliantly done! 

The Outcast is such a wild ride, as we have a lot of rebellion and treachery and plotting and we get to see plenty of Harold and how certain circumstances with him came about in the main series! I have to say, I still hate his Dad. The old git. 

There's never a dull moment in this book...or the series actually! Vocans and the demons are just as magical as ever in this prequel, and like I said, you could easily read this before you start the main series or wait and read it after like I did, either way you won't be left confused because there's enough detail to introduce you to the world and how it all works, or refresh your memory if it's been a while since you read the main series! 

I really don't know what else to say, The Outcast was everything I was hoping for and more! Taran's writing is brilliant, his world building is on point, not to mention vivid! I loved disappearing back in to this world, it really does suck you in so you lose track of time and reality. The characters....they're so brilliantly brought to life, and Taran builds on what we already know, filling in blanks and fleshing them out even more, particularly Fletcher's parents! This is a brilliant addition to the series, and it fits so perfectly and is tied in so perfectly and it was just freaking amazing okay!? 

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