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{{Short description|Children's book by Michelle Paver}}
{{Unreferenced|date=May 2011}}
{{about||other novels|Outcast (disambiguation)#Literature}}
{{Notability|date=May 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''''Outcast''''' is the fourth book in the ''[[Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]'' series by [[Michelle Paver]]. There are six books in the series. ''Outcast'' is illustrated by Geoff Taylor.
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{{Infobox book <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->

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{{Infobox Book <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name = Outcast
| name = Outcast
| title_orig =
| title_orig =
| translator =
| translator =
| image =
| image = Outcast (Paver novel).jpg
| caption = First edition
| image_caption =
| author = [[Michelle Paver]]
| author = [[Michelle Paver]]
| illustrator = [[Geoff Taylor]]
| illustrator = [[Geoff Taylor (illustrator)|Geoff Taylor]]
| cover artist = [[John Fordham]]
| cover_artist = John Fordham
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| country = United Kingdom
| language = [[English language|English]]
| language = English
| series = [[Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]
| series = ''[[Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]''
| genre = [[Children's literature|Children's]] [[adventure novel|adventure]], [[fantasy novel]]
| genre = [[Children's literature|Children's]] [[adventure novel|adventure]], [[fantasy novel]]
| publisher = [[Orion Publishing Group|Orion Children's Books]]
| publisher = 2007 [[Orion Publishing Group|Orion Children's Books]]
| release_date = 2007
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print ([[hardcover|hardback]] & [[paperback]]), audio book ([[compact disc|CD]] & [[compact cassette|cassette]])
| media_type = Print ([[hardcover|hardback]] & [[paperback]]), audio book ([[compact disc|CD]] & [[compact cassette|cassette]])
| pages = 356 (paperback)
| pages = 356 (paperback)
| isbn = ISBN 1-84255-170-1 (first edition, hardback)
| isbn = 1-84255-170-1
| isbn_note = (first edition, hardback)
| oclc= 145935498
| oclc= 145935498
| preceded_by = [[Soul Eater (novel)|Soul Eater]]
| preceded_by = [[Soul Eater (novel)|Soul Eater]]
| followed_by = [[Oath Breaker (novel)|Oath Breaker]]
| followed_by = [[Oath Breaker (novel)|Oath Breaker]]
}}
}}
{{Portal |Children's literature}}

'''''Outcast''''' is a 2007 children's fantasy adventure novel written by [[Michelle Paver]] and illustrated by [[Geoff Taylor (illustrator)|Geoff Taylor]]. It is the fourth book in the ''[[Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]].'' It is preceded by ''[[Wolf Brother]]'' (2004), ''[[Spirit Walker (novel)|Spirit Walker]]'' (2005), and ''[[Soul Eater (novel)|Soul Eater]]'' (2006), and followed by ''[[Oath Breaker (novel)|Oath Breaker]]'' (2008), ''[[Ghost Hunter (Paver novel)|Ghost Hunter]]'' (2009), ''Viper's Daughter'' (2020), ''Skin Taker'' (2021), and ''Wolfbane'' (2022).


==Plot summary==
==Plot summary==
We find out at the start of the novel that in the previous book the Soul Eaters marked Torak with the Soul Eater symbol. This is discovered and Torak is set to be cast out from the clans, unless his own clan, the Wolf Clan, decides he is innocent. When the Wolf Clan arrives, the Leader says that his mother announced him 'Clanless'. This has never happened before, but as Torak has no clan to decide his innocence, he becomes an outcast. He leaves the clans with Wolf. Renn repeatedly tries to help him, but Torak won't let her as if anyone sees Torak they are supposed to kill him.
It is revealed that in the previous book, the Soul Eaters marked Torak with the Soul Eater symbol. When the symbol is noticed on a hunt by another boy named Aki, the decision is made to banish him from the clans; furthermore, the leader of the Wolf Clan, that of Torak's father, announces that his mother named him 'clanless'. This is unprecedented, but as Torak has no clan to defend his innocence, he becomes an outcast. He leaves the clans with Wolf. His friends Renn and Bale repeatedly try to help him, but Torak refuses, fearing for their safety, as the punishment for helping a Soul eater is death.

Torak attempts to cut out the Soul Eater mark from his chest and, thinking it has worked, he goes back to the Raven Camp and watches them. Saeunn, the Raven Clan's mage, says that there is a Soul Eater among them, so Torak flees, knowing that he is the Soul Eater of which she speaks. While in hiding, he suffers from a kind of madness called soul sickness, and attackes Wolf with fire. Meanwhile, Renn and Bale meet up and decide to find Torak and prove his innocence, even though in doing so they are breaking clan law. Renn sends help to Torak in the form of two ravens (named Rip and Rek by Torak). While Torak is recovering his reason, Seshru the Viper Mage, a Soul Eater, uses her powers to draw him to her so as to control him (he is a Spirit Walker and therefore controlling him would supply her with even greater power). Seshru is revealed to be Renn's mother.
Thinking that an attempt to cut out the Soul Eater mark from his chest has worked, he returns to the Raven Camp. However Saeunn, the Raven Clan's mage, feels the presence of a Soul Eater, and Torak flees. While in hiding, he suffers from a kind of madness called soul sickness, and attacks Wolf with fire. Meanwhile, Renn and Bale decide to find Torak and prove his innocence, even though in doing so they are breaking the law of the clans. Renn sends help to Torak in the form of two ravens (named Rip and Rek by Torak). While Torak is recovering, Seshru the Viper Mage, a Soul Eater, uses her powers to draw him to her to control his spirit-walking powers. Seshru is revealed to be Renn's mother, and is in possession of a fragment of the fire opal, a mystical artifact which controls demons, and which can only be destroyed through a sacrifice of a life
Meanwhile, Renn realizes that a giant flood is coming and encourages Torak to spread the word and therefore prove his innocence. Torak therefore tells Fin-Kedinn, and the clans flee. Torak gets into a fight with a boy from the Boar Clan, but then climbs up a tree to escape the coming flood. The Boar Clan boy hears the water coming and tries to climb the tree too, but he cannot reach the first branch so Torak jumps down to help him. Torak then finds he cannot climb back up the tree, and he and Wolf are swept away by the water. When he wakes up, all the clans are there, and when Seshru appears Torak shows the clans that destroying him will not help them in their struggle against the Soul Eaters, and they accept him back. Bale uses Renn's bow to kill Seshru, and she dies with the fire opal in hand and thus both die as one.

Renn realizes that a giant flood is coming and encourages Torak to spread the word, which would prove his good intentions. Torak tells Fin-Kedinn, the leader of the Raven Clan and the clans flee. Torak is swept away by the water along with Wolf after he helps Aki climb a tree, and passes out on a bank. When he wakes up, Fin-Kedinn prevents the other clans from killing Torak by adopting him as his son; the appearance of Seshru convinces everyone that Torak is innocent. Bale uses Renn's bow to kill Seshru, and she dies holding the fire opal, destroying its power. Later, Torak, Renn, Bale and Fin-Kedinn deduce that there is only one fragment of the fire opal left somewhere in the forest, which Thiazzi and Eostra, the remaining Soul Eaters, are both looking for.

== Reception ==
''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' provided less praise for ''Outcast'' than for previous novels in the series, noting that "the plot’s most dramatic elements [...] take a back seat to character development". They explained, "Much of the journey and ensuing confrontation [...] seems distant, filtered through Torak’s sharply felt inner turmoil". They further discussed how "the vividly interwoven natural and spiritual settings that have distinguished this series emerge in long stretches seen from the point-of-view of Wolf".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-05-01 |title=Outcast |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michelle-paver/outcast-2/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |archive-date=30 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730180500/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michelle-paver/outcast-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Booklist]]'' also reviewed the novel.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-07-31 |title=Outcast |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Outcast-Michelle-Paver/pid=2423041 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=[[Booklist]] |archive-date=29 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229033836/https://www.booklistonline.com/Outcast-Michelle-Paver/pid=2423041 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Chronicles of Ancient Darkness}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Outcast}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Outcast}}
[[Category:2007 novels]]
[[Category:2007 British novels]]
[[Category:British children's novels]]
[[Category:British children's novels]]
[[Category:Children's fantasy novels]]
[[Category:Children's fantasy novels]]
[[Category:Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]
[[Category:Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]
[[Category:2007 children's books]]

[[Category:Novels about mental health]]

[[Category:Orion Books books]]
{{child-fantasy-novel-stub}}

[[fr:Le Banni (Chroniques des temps obscurs)]]

Latest revision as of 13:24, 24 May 2024

For other novels, see Outcast (disambiguation) § Literature.

Outcast
First edition
AuthorMichelle Paver
IllustratorGeoff Taylor
Cover artistJohn Fordham
LanguageEnglish
SeriesChronicles of Ancient Darkness
GenreChildren's adventure, fantasy novel
Publisher2007 Orion Children's Books
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback), audio book (CD & cassette)
Pages356 (paperback)
ISBN1-84255-170-1 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC145935498
Preceded bySoul Eater 
Followed byOath Breaker 

Outcast is a 2007 children's fantasy adventure novel written by Michelle Paver and illustrated by Geoff Taylor. It is the fourth book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. It is preceded by Wolf Brother (2004), Spirit Walker (2005), and Soul Eater (2006), and followed by Oath Breaker (2008), Ghost Hunter (2009), Viper's Daughter (2020), Skin Taker (2021), and Wolfbane (2022).

Plot summary

[edit]

It is revealed that in the previous book, the Soul Eaters marked Torak with the Soul Eater symbol. When the symbol is noticed on a hunt by another boy named Aki, the decision is made to banish him from the clans; furthermore, the leader of the Wolf Clan, that of Torak's father, announces that his mother named him 'clanless'. This is unprecedented, but as Torak has no clan to defend his innocence, he becomes an outcast. He leaves the clans with Wolf. His friends Renn and Bale repeatedly try to help him, but Torak refuses, fearing for their safety, as the punishment for helping a Soul eater is death.

Thinking that an attempt to cut out the Soul Eater mark from his chest has worked, he returns to the Raven Camp. However Saeunn, the Raven Clan's mage, feels the presence of a Soul Eater, and Torak flees. While in hiding, he suffers from a kind of madness called soul sickness, and attacks Wolf with fire. Meanwhile, Renn and Bale decide to find Torak and prove his innocence, even though in doing so they are breaking the law of the clans. Renn sends help to Torak in the form of two ravens (named Rip and Rek by Torak). While Torak is recovering, Seshru the Viper Mage, a Soul Eater, uses her powers to draw him to her to control his spirit-walking powers. Seshru is revealed to be Renn's mother, and is in possession of a fragment of the fire opal, a mystical artifact which controls demons, and which can only be destroyed through a sacrifice of a life

Renn realizes that a giant flood is coming and encourages Torak to spread the word, which would prove his good intentions. Torak tells Fin-Kedinn, the leader of the Raven Clan and the clans flee. Torak is swept away by the water along with Wolf after he helps Aki climb a tree, and passes out on a bank. When he wakes up, Fin-Kedinn prevents the other clans from killing Torak by adopting him as his son; the appearance of Seshru convinces everyone that Torak is innocent. Bale uses Renn's bow to kill Seshru, and she dies holding the fire opal, destroying its power. Later, Torak, Renn, Bale and Fin-Kedinn deduce that there is only one fragment of the fire opal left somewhere in the forest, which Thiazzi and Eostra, the remaining Soul Eaters, are both looking for.

Reception

[edit]

Kirkus Reviews provided less praise for Outcast than for previous novels in the series, noting that "the plot’s most dramatic elements [...] take a back seat to character development". They explained, "Much of the journey and ensuing confrontation [...] seems distant, filtered through Torak’s sharply felt inner turmoil". They further discussed how "the vividly interwoven natural and spiritual settings that have distinguished this series emerge in long stretches seen from the point-of-view of Wolf".[1]

Booklist also reviewed the novel.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Outcast". Kirkus Reviews. 1 May 2008. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Outcast". Booklist. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
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