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A review by dominish_books
The Blood of Outcasts by D.A. Smith
2.5
* I reviewed this title for SPFBO8, you can find my full video review here: https://youtu.be/zDl_h4ubtQ8 *
The Blood of Outcasts is a tale of bloody revenge set in a feudal-Japan inspired world. We have battling clans fuelled on generations of distrust, and one woman trying to bring them together in her quest for vengeance.
This story is told through Masako’s eyes in a first person, present tense narrative, which allows us to learn her thoughts and feelings in the moment. Her clan has been destroyed and her master killed, and she herself has been apparently executed. Rather than dying though, Masako is kept alive by a blood curse and a promise to destroy the Lord Council.
As can often be the case with a first-person narrative, I found there was a bit of an imbalance in the depth of the characters, as naturally we learn so much about Misako, but don’t get into the heads of any other characters. This means that the majority of the characters we meet aren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be.
In terms of Masako, we don’t see too much depth beyond the rage and the pride that drive her forward in this tale. We do see a little bit of history though, with flashbacks detailing the inciting incident of the story, and the moments leading up to it.
In terms of the world, we get quite an interesting one here. Those familiar with Japanese culture will recognise the feel of the world and the terminology used throughout the book. For those less well-versed, like me, there was nothing that left me scratching my head and trying to piece together what it meant, so overall I think it’s quite an accessible bit of worldbuilding.
We see some magic and mystery with oni, sora dragons, Meaters and the blood magic that Masako wields. The Meaters are interesting and the whole concept is one with plenty of potential, although I don’t think it was explored in enough detail for me, possibly because we’re seeing them through Masako’s eyes and she abhors them.
The blood magic, again is quite an interesting take, although I still don’t really know the limits of the magic or the full consequences, let alone the how and the why of it. The immediate consequences though, of how it effects Masako, do give us some of the more intense moments in the book however.
Overall, I like the general concept that we get here. The main character had both highs and lows but was at least a narrator that I could follow, and the world was quite well visualised and has potential as the series progresses.
The main thing that I didn’t get on with though, and that really impacted my overall enjoyment of the book, was the writing itself. I just didn’t gel with the overall style. I found that too many times I was coming across little two- or three-word sentences that just didn’t work for me and made for a very jumpy reading experience.
With the pacing I felt that at times we would barrel from one thing to the next without any proper build-up, and that includes within dialog, where intensity would often seem to change without adequate provocation.
So as a whole, The Blood of Outcasts had some hits and some misses for me, but the misses definitely had a bigger impact on my overall perception of the book. I can be quite picky when the writing isn’t working for me, and fixate on things that might not bother other readers, so if you like Japanese-inspired tales with rōnin and katanas slashing through the pages, definitely consider giving this one a go.
The Blood of Outcasts is a tale of bloody revenge set in a feudal-Japan inspired world. We have battling clans fuelled on generations of distrust, and one woman trying to bring them together in her quest for vengeance.
This story is told through Masako’s eyes in a first person, present tense narrative, which allows us to learn her thoughts and feelings in the moment. Her clan has been destroyed and her master killed, and she herself has been apparently executed. Rather than dying though, Masako is kept alive by a blood curse and a promise to destroy the Lord Council.
As can often be the case with a first-person narrative, I found there was a bit of an imbalance in the depth of the characters, as naturally we learn so much about Misako, but don’t get into the heads of any other characters. This means that the majority of the characters we meet aren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be.
In terms of Masako, we don’t see too much depth beyond the rage and the pride that drive her forward in this tale. We do see a little bit of history though, with flashbacks detailing the inciting incident of the story, and the moments leading up to it.
In terms of the world, we get quite an interesting one here. Those familiar with Japanese culture will recognise the feel of the world and the terminology used throughout the book. For those less well-versed, like me, there was nothing that left me scratching my head and trying to piece together what it meant, so overall I think it’s quite an accessible bit of worldbuilding.
We see some magic and mystery with oni, sora dragons, Meaters and the blood magic that Masako wields. The Meaters are interesting and the whole concept is one with plenty of potential, although I don’t think it was explored in enough detail for me, possibly because we’re seeing them through Masako’s eyes and she abhors them.
The blood magic, again is quite an interesting take, although I still don’t really know the limits of the magic or the full consequences, let alone the how and the why of it. The immediate consequences though, of how it effects Masako, do give us some of the more intense moments in the book however.
Overall, I like the general concept that we get here. The main character had both highs and lows but was at least a narrator that I could follow, and the world was quite well visualised and has potential as the series progresses.
The main thing that I didn’t get on with though, and that really impacted my overall enjoyment of the book, was the writing itself. I just didn’t gel with the overall style. I found that too many times I was coming across little two- or three-word sentences that just didn’t work for me and made for a very jumpy reading experience.
With the pacing I felt that at times we would barrel from one thing to the next without any proper build-up, and that includes within dialog, where intensity would often seem to change without adequate provocation.
So as a whole, The Blood of Outcasts had some hits and some misses for me, but the misses definitely had a bigger impact on my overall perception of the book. I can be quite picky when the writing isn’t working for me, and fixate on things that might not bother other readers, so if you like Japanese-inspired tales with rōnin and katanas slashing through the pages, definitely consider giving this one a go.