Book Review: The Blood of Outcasts by D.A. Smith
Genre(s): Fantasy
Content warning: There are many violent scenes in this book, some gore, and themes of death/desecration that might be disturbing to some.
Her clan was destroyed, her Master killed, and she was supposed to be executed. But Masako wasn’t dead, and she harbored a power within her blood, one that she didn’t fully understand. Dying, she summons a creature—god or demon, it was hard to know for certain—that promises to let her live to carry out her vengeance, but at a price. The creature has its own agenda, and she agrees to its terms.
The Blood of Outcasts is set in a fantasy world that seems to be based on ancient Japan. I’m not well versed in that mythology, but there was enough detail embedded in the story that I never felt lost or confused by some of the unfamiliar terms and references.
As a main character, Masako is heavily driven by rage. There are brief glimpses of more to her personality, but they are almost always pushed aside. Given her past and her quest for revenge, the rage seems justifiable—most of the time. There were a few instances where I couldn’t quite grasp why she became angry with one character or another, and after a while, I chalked it up to it being her personality flaw. Some readers may have a tough time relating to her, but I felt her personality fit well within the context of the story.
There is a ton of action in this book. Battles, single combat, monster fights… The fast pacing made it a relatively fast read, even though it’s by no means a short book. I do want to mention, however, that it took me a while to get into the author’s writing style. There are many short phrases, and an abruptness at times that took some getting used to. In terms of the fight scenes, I think it helped lend a sense of urgency that might otherwise have been missing.
There were some unique magic concepts featured. The “Meaters” were an interesting sort, and I wish we’d been given a little more information on them. They seem to be able to control animals (or at least wolves) and some can transform themselves into beasts. The Soshists were a bit of an enigma – they were clearly considered the enemy by Masako, but their magic was never fully explained. They seemed to be some sort of necromancers at times, but also had fire magic. And there was Masako’s blood magic, which at times was a bit disturbing.
For the most part, I enjoyed the overall storyline, but it was a bit predictable in places. For example, what I think was supposed to be a big reveal at the end between Masako and one of the other major characters was led up to from a long way off. I could see it coming, even if Masako could not.
And speaking of the end – it’s a cliffhanger. The Blood of Outcasts is listed as book one in a series on Amazon, and I hope that’s correct. While I don’t mind cliffhangers, waiting for the next installment is always a challenge… I’ll be watching for book two.
Author website: da-smith.co.uk
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