Official Review: Outcast by Marc Saville

toshilou · Post by **toshilou** » 19 Jan 2015, 17:27

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Outcast" by Marc Saville.]

3 out of 4 stars

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I give this book three out of four stars!!!

I was SO close to rating this book four stars. I think what stopped me was that there were a few parts in the book (very few) that didn't seem quite as developed as they could have been. I did a bit of research on Outcast while I was reading it, and I was interested to learn that it is actually a novelization of a sic-fi movie called Purge. Most books I've read that were based off of movies, games, or tv shows were fairly easy to spot. They read more like fan fiction and sometimes don't always have the best diction because the writer is trying to follow the movie as closely as possible. This was not one of those books. I couldn't even tell that it was meant to follow an already existing film. But if I'd focused too much on the aforementioned underdeveloped scenes, I possibly could have figured it out. Don't let that hold you back from reading this book. Worrying about a thing like that will keep you from reading almost everything. You definitely have to keep an open-mind.

I'm going to say this in my review because it's something I feel is very important that isn't included in most reviews. THIS. BOOK. HAS. TRIGGERS. Most of you who use the internet often should know what triggers are, but for those of you out of the loop, a trigger is something in media that can trigger some sort of panic attack or bad memory. That's the best way I can explain it. If you have strong triggers in what I'm about to list, then this book definitely won't be for you. This book has allot of drugs and sex in it. Some of the sex could probably even be considered rape. The sex scenes written into this book are extremely graphic. If that's something that could caused a trigger for you or something that you're uncomfortable with reading, then you shouldn't read this book.

Outcast is about a girl named Layla who lives in a society where everyone is created through genetic engineering and is programmed to perform a specific role. For any society member to think outside of what their programming allows or to feel love is to become a Stray, a fate worse than death. Layla was meant to work in her sister's BDSM salon, but on the day she was supposed to start she became violently ill. She soon discovered that she was given aversion therapy to make her incapable of fulfilling her programming and an addiction to Klava, a deadly drug, so that she could be controlled by the rebel Strays and their leader, Peta, the hermaphrodite that caused all of her problems. She was denied treatment for her addiction, thrown out of society, and labeled as a Stray. Readers follow Layla on her journey of trying to rejoin society and resisting Peta's plots to make her join his rebellion. But can she trust him?

I really enjoyed reading Outcast. I'm not usually okay with reading many graphic sex scenes. I must say that when I accepted the offer, I didn't think much of the fact that it involved BDSM and didn't expect to actually read it like I should have. It was hard to get past my initial shock at the first few graphic scenes and I was almost tempted to put it down, but once I opened up my mind and accepted it, it actually contributed to the plot line. This is a book of self discovery and breaking free of the binds set on you by the government; almost like Divergent and The Hunger Games, but not as kid friendly. I was starting to expect it to follow the same route, too. I was expecting for Layla to win in the end and for the government to be overthrown, but there was an interesting twist that changed that. I quite enjoyed that it decided not to follow the same cliched path that was starting to become a pattern in the current popular books.

Marc Saville is an EXCELLENT writer. He succeeds in making the reader sit at the edge of his or her seat and keep turning the pages to see what happens next. I recommend this book to all sci-fi lovers and to anyone open to try something new. This book was great read and I think many would enjoy it.

******
Outcast
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Kappy · Post by **Kappy** » 10 Feb 2015, 15:56

Good, thorough review. But it's not a book for me. I'm sick to death of depraved sex and violence in the real world; when I read for pleasure, I want the story taking place in a world better than this one.

Di Ferren · Post by **Di Ferren** » 18 Feb 2015, 19:49

hmmm... first, the book is a work of fiction, not faction. It neither creates nor negates your plea of "

I want the story taking place in a better world than this one".

. O.k...so you need to write a book about YOUR better world. You are not the author of Outcast.

Outcast, is a book of sci-fi. It isn't a sex manual. In this FICTIONAL BOOK, sexual content is a matter for character expression, habits and choices. Within the fictional context, certainly not

depraved

anymore than a fresco on the wall of an ancient Roman villa shocks a 21st century tourist or pictorial sexual images on a Greek urn, disturbs an archeologist or Japanese erotic shunga prints shock a collector or the book of Karma Sutra... we look into other worlds as we turn the pages in a book. We choose our themes by search inside the book and book descriptions.

In Outcast...the sex is relevant to the book ; a necessary sexual/social comment of sci-fi worlds, within the fiction. The characters became defined by many things...sex was just part of this.

MTM · Post by **MTM** » 20 Feb 2015, 00:58

KAPPY....Fine if you want to read about a better world, but why make a comment like that?

"This isn't the kind of book I want to read".

I don't comment on books I don't want to read. Or films I don't want to watch. Or art works I don't like.

gali · Post by **gali** » 20 Feb 2015, 01:34

MTM wrote:KAPPY....Fine if you want to read about a better world, but why make a comment like that?

"This isn't the kind of book I want to read".

I don't comment on books I don't want to read. Or films I don't want to watch. Or art works I don't like.

Doing that doesn't make me HAPPY KAPPY.

Why not?? I comments on both books I want to read and on those that I don't. It doesn't reflect on the reviewer or the author nor should it be taken personally, since it is a matter of taste.

There isn't a rule against commenting either way.

-- February 20th, 2015, 8:38 am --

Thank you for the nice review.

MTM · Post by **MTM** » 20 Feb 2015, 02:02

Unless you read..how could you KNOW?!

gali · Post by **gali** » 20 Feb 2015, 03:29

I know my taste by now, so I can tell by the plot and style of writing (first chapter) and attitude.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 20 Feb 2015, 04:20

Thanks for the excellent review.

Don't know why people are getting all upset, since, you know, it's a positive review... Sounds interesting!

Kappy · Post by **Kappy** » 20 Feb 2015, 13:37

MTM wrote:KAPPY....Fine if you want to read about a better world, but why make a comment like that?

"This isn't the kind of book I want to read".

I don't comment on books I don't want to read. Or films I don't want to watch. Or art works I don't like.

I made the comment because dozens of other people had read the review without posting a comment. I thought that the reviewer would appreciate a comment. Now there are 8 replies!

Di Ferren · Post by **Di Ferren** » 20 Feb 2015, 16:11

Passing a (negative comment) on a book you

don't want to read

or haven't read...is like passing wind.

That's why I think, reading the book first, is probably a good idea.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 21 Feb 2015, 04:17

Kappy wrote:
MTM wrote:KAPPY....Fine if you want to read about a better world, but why make a comment like that?

"This isn't the kind of book I want to read".

I don't comment on books I don't want to read. Or films I don't want to watch. Or art works I don't like.
I made the comment because dozens of other people had read the review without posting a comment. I thought that the reviewer would appreciate a comment. Now there are 8 replies!

Way to go. Getting it some popularity!

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 09 Apr 2015, 15:57

Kappy wrote:Good, thorough review. But it's not a book for me. I'm sick to death of depraved sex and violence in the real world; when I read for pleasure, I want the story taking place in a world better than this one.

I was thinking the exact same thing. This is a great review, but the book itself doesn't sound like one I would like. We all have our own personal tastes, and most of us are pretty certain of what we'll enjoy and what we won't (and there's nothing wrong with saying so, as long as it's done in a civil manner).

Post by **bookowlie** » 13 Apr 2015, 11:12

Excellent review! I watched Purge and didn't care for it, so I don't think this book will be my cup of tea. Still, I enjoyed reading your insightful review.