Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by egbella
Outlaw Blood by Noah J Matthews
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What an impressive debut!
I read this in only two sittings and have a lot of mixed feelings.
What I loved:
- the worldbuilding! The author clearly spent a lot of time fleshing out his story world and it shows! From the very start, I was engrossed and could practically feel the sun and sand as the protagonist traveled. The creatures, towns, mountains, names, cultures, religions, traditions, sayings, etc...it was incredibly immersive and I would love to read more books in this world!
- the writing style. The prose itself was excellent. Clear and precise, but also poetic at the same time. I found it very engaging, and enjoyed much of the description and dialogue especially.
- the author's twist on "Christian fiction". I enjoyed the worldbuilding aspects regarding The Sandwalker in particular. It was prominent, but didn't feel forced to me. The liberties taken to make it fit the world, without sacrificing the key components made sense, and I respect both the creativity and integrity. The redemption arcs were lovely.
- the general feel of the world. I'm not overly familiar with westerns, but this felt extremely accurate to the genre. Very gritty, intense, thought-provoking, and adventurous.
- the characters! There was a fun variety of side characters, and while I /liked/ very few of them, I enjoyed the mix of professions, ages, and life experiences featured. I really enjoyed scenes with Esta and Kobe in particular. Each character felt real, and as though they had families, lives, and goals all their own - not just for the sake of the plot.
What I struggled with:
- the lack of gun safety. I rarely read westerns, so maybe I'm unfamiliar with the genre's conventions, but gracious, shooting when you can't see?? There were numerous instances where I was mentally shouting at the protagonist, "be careful, you're going to shoot an innocent!"
- the repeated "made-up" swears. I'm very appreciative that there wasn't a single instance of real-life swearing, but the fictional ones were frequent enough (and you could tell what they alluded to) that I would have liked a few less. That said, I'll take fictional over real-world any day, and it probably makes sense in a western. It's a small qualm.
- the protagonist. This is also a minor qualm. I was more and more invested in Clye and his journey as the story progressed, but I can't say I ever fully liked him. Maybe that was the point! I could respect and root for him, and certainly feel for him (his guilt and grief tugged at my heart repeatedly), but knowing especially dark parts of his past and not ever seeing resolution for some of them made it hard to completely cheer for him and all of his actions.
- The length. I would have loved this book to be longer! It clipped along at an engaging pace, and I enjoyed the action, but there were such deep and thoughtful themes and potential character development that I don't feel the shorter length allowed to reach full fruition. Even more time spent diving into the character and theme exploration especially would have made certain aspects of the story even more meaningful, I think. Speaking of...
- ...the ending. I won't spoil anything, but ouch. As a fellow Christian author, I understand what the author was intending to portray, and the themes he wanted to convey, and I respect them. I do understand why the choice was made, and if the book was longer and had explored those themes even more, I think it could be truly powerful. As is, I felt a bit cheated, and I think a lot of readers might feel the ending actually negates the intended messages. Mixed feelings, and I don't hate it by any means, but I'm not sure it was necessary.
In conclusion:
If you're a fan of gritty westerns, immersive and creative worldbuilding, masterful prose, and thought-provoking Christian themes, this book is absolutely worth a try! Even as a rare western reader, I enjoyed this book a lot and am glad I gave it a chance. It's an impressive debut and I'll be looking forward to trying more stories by this author in the future! Just don't go into it expecting a fluffy unicorn-filled rainbow of happy endings...
Content to be aware of: frequent action and violence (sword fights, gun fights), mentions of alcohol and "sand"/drug-like substances, sand magic (reminded me of the Force from Star Wars), lightly-described injuries, several semi-detailed mentions of a corpse hanging from the gallows, hangings, undetailed deaths, overall heavy themes, repeated fictional swears, dysfunctional friendships and parental relationships, one kiss between a married couple (side characters).
I read this in only two sittings and have a lot of mixed feelings.
What I loved:
- the worldbuilding! The author clearly spent a lot of time fleshing out his story world and it shows! From the very start, I was engrossed and could practically feel the sun and sand as the protagonist traveled. The creatures, towns, mountains, names, cultures, religions, traditions, sayings, etc...it was incredibly immersive and I would love to read more books in this world!
- the writing style. The prose itself was excellent. Clear and precise, but also poetic at the same time. I found it very engaging, and enjoyed much of the description and dialogue especially.
- the author's twist on "Christian fiction". I enjoyed the worldbuilding aspects regarding The Sandwalker in particular. It was prominent, but didn't feel forced to me. The liberties taken to make it fit the world, without sacrificing the key components made sense, and I respect both the creativity and integrity. The redemption arcs were lovely.
- the general feel of the world. I'm not overly familiar with westerns, but this felt extremely accurate to the genre. Very gritty, intense, thought-provoking, and adventurous.
- the characters! There was a fun variety of side characters, and while I /liked/ very few of them, I enjoyed the mix of professions, ages, and life experiences featured. I really enjoyed scenes with Esta and Kobe in particular. Each character felt real, and as though they had families, lives, and goals all their own - not just for the sake of the plot.
What I struggled with:
- the lack of gun safety. I rarely read westerns, so maybe I'm unfamiliar with the genre's conventions, but gracious, shooting when you can't see?? There were numerous instances where I was mentally shouting at the protagonist, "be careful, you're going to shoot an innocent!"
- the repeated "made-up" swears. I'm very appreciative that there wasn't a single instance of real-life swearing, but the fictional ones were frequent enough (and you could tell what they alluded to) that I would have liked a few less. That said, I'll take fictional over real-world any day, and it probably makes sense in a western. It's a small qualm.
- the protagonist. This is also a minor qualm. I was more and more invested in Clye and his journey as the story progressed, but I can't say I ever fully liked him. Maybe that was the point! I could respect and root for him, and certainly feel for him (his guilt and grief tugged at my heart repeatedly), but knowing especially dark parts of his past and not ever seeing resolution for some of them made it hard to completely cheer for him and all of his actions.
- The length. I would have loved this book to be longer! It clipped along at an engaging pace, and I enjoyed the action, but there were such deep and thoughtful themes and potential character development that I don't feel the shorter length allowed to reach full fruition. Even more time spent diving into the character and theme exploration especially would have made certain aspects of the story even more meaningful, I think. Speaking of...
- ...the ending. I won't spoil anything, but ouch. As a fellow Christian author, I understand what the author was intending to portray, and the themes he wanted to convey, and I respect them. I do understand why the choice was made, and if the book was longer and had explored those themes even more, I think it could be truly powerful. As is, I felt a bit cheated, and I think a lot of readers might feel the ending actually negates the intended messages. Mixed feelings, and I don't hate it by any means, but I'm not sure it was necessary.
In conclusion:
If you're a fan of gritty westerns, immersive and creative worldbuilding, masterful prose, and thought-provoking Christian themes, this book is absolutely worth a try! Even as a rare western reader, I enjoyed this book a lot and am glad I gave it a chance. It's an impressive debut and I'll be looking forward to trying more stories by this author in the future! Just don't go into it expecting a fluffy unicorn-filled rainbow of happy endings...
Content to be aware of: frequent action and violence (sword fights, gun fights), mentions of alcohol and "sand"/drug-like substances, sand magic (reminded me of the Force from Star Wars), lightly-described injuries, several semi-detailed mentions of a corpse hanging from the gallows, hangings, undetailed deaths, overall heavy themes, repeated fictional swears, dysfunctional friendships and parental relationships, one kiss between a married couple (side characters).