Review: The Outlands by Tyler Edwards

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well! We’re not going to talk about how I said I was going to start posting semi-consistently… in December 💀 We’re definitely not going to talk about how this is my first review in almost a year, and we’re also not going to talk about how long it took me to write this one in particular 👍

Today, I’m back with a review for a book that I’ve been meaning to read for literal months! This was my first dystopian book since October 2020, and The Outlands definitely did not disappoint. I can’t wait to share my thoughts about it with you all!

TITLE: The Outlands
AUTHOR: Tyler Edwards
GENRE: Dystopian (YA)
PUBLICATION: December 2020, self-published
PAGES: 391
RATING: ★★★★

▶︎ OFFICIAL BLURB

In the ruins of the world that was lies the city of Dios, a haven protected from the hostile environment known as The Outlands. Ruled by an oppressive Patriarch, the people of Dios are conditioned in fear. The smallest infraction could result in banishment to the Outlands, a fate worse than death.

With his make-shift family of “Undesirables,” Jett Lasting struggles to find his place in a world where drawing attention to yourself can get you killed. His very existence is considered a crime. To survive, he must avoid guards, beggar gangs, and an ever-growing tension that could drag the whole city into chaos.

Jett unwittingly becomes entwined in a plot to overthrow the government where his choices could lead to freedom or the death of everyone he’s ever known or cared about.

▶︎ TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS

Trigger warnings: murder, death of a loved one (on-page), execution, torture, blood, gun violence, ableist/fatphobic/sexist comments (challenged), bullying, kidnapping

Content warnings: 

• Sex: 1, on a scale from 1 to 5. One or two chaste kisses.
• Violence: 4, on a scale from 1 to 5. Torture, blood, injuries, murder, executions, death en masse, the whole dystopian shebang—most of it isn’t too graphic, though.
• Language: 1.5, on a scale from 1 to 5. A few made-up swear words are used pretty often.
• Other things to note: This book takes place in a dystopian society, where the very corrupt and unabashedly evil government uses a fictional religion as its motivation. The main characters engage in illegal activities such as theft to make ends meet.

Thank you so much to the author for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Outlands is a debut work of dystopian fiction that takes place in an oppressive city known as Dios, one of the few remaining havens for humanity after the disasters of the World that Was. We follow Jett and his group of fellow Undesirables, as they steal to make ends meet while facing the prejudice that comes with being members of the lowest social class in the city. When Jett chooses the wrong person as a target for his thieving, he becomes swept up into a rebellion that could bring the change he’s so desperate to see, but only at a cost that he may not be willing to pay.

I had decently high expectations when I started The Outlands, but this book completely blew them out of the water. I enjoyed this book so much more than I was expecting to. There are definitely some predictable aspects that characterize all dystopian novels, but there are also some really creative elements to the story that drew me in and kept me hooked for the last hundred or so pages.

Jett Lasting, our main character, is something of a firebrand. He’s sick and tired of being bullied into compliance and conformity, and genuinely wants something better for everyone in the city. He may be on the more naive side, but his kind heart and boldness make him a likable character who’s easy to root for. Although Jett is definitely the most fleshed-out of all the characters in the book, I also thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the members of his found family and the new additions to the cast as they were introduced, despite some being more one-dimensional than others. I took a special liking to Victor, Jett’s best friend and the leader of their little group. He’s incredibly quick-witted and possesses a level of coolheaded intelligence that makes him both straightforward and mysterious. I hope he gets more development in future books, because there is no way that I’m accepting what happened in the last chapter without more proof.

But if I have to choose between accepting the world that is and dying for a world that could be, I choose the latter.

The world that Edwards paints for the reader is petrifying, in the best possible way possible. Dios is a city of contradictions, where individuality is portrayed as the ultimate form of selfishness, but where class privilege simultaneously serves as the backbone of society. It’s a place where exceptionality is swiftly punished, but where the tyrants—a collective body known as the Patriarch—revel in the power that comes with being chosen by the heavens.

The corrupt government trope seen here is obviously not a unique creation, but there are some incredibly original aspects to the world-building that genuinely terrified me at times while reading. I don’t want to spoil anything for those reading this, so I won’t go into too much depth about the specifics, but I will say that the author does an amazing job of describing the heart-pounding fear of being deemed either too special or not special enough in this tyrannical society. It’s very apparent that he poured his heart and soul into creating this setting and fleshing it out.

The story that takes place in this terrifying society is just as fascinating. I’ll be honest, I was completely caught off guard by the direction the plot took. I was expecting something like The Hunger Games, where the ever-looming threat in the title would be the main focus of the story. Instead, The Outlands chooses to delve into the background behind the tyranny and the specifics of rallying a rebellion and waging a war, which I was pleasantly surprised by. I also relished how the focus was placed on the ideology of Dios and the psychological tactics used by the Patriarch to keep the people in check, as well as the ethics of a rebellion, instead of immediately jumping to the battle scenes.

Brotha, revolution doesn’t change the world. It just changes who runs it.

The plot in and of itself was also quite unpredictable, with some truly surprising plot twists. There were a few that I saw coming from a long way off, but not as many as you might expect, considering the sheer number of dystopian books I consumed during that phase of my life.

If there’s something that I would criticize about this book, it would be the writing. There were scenes where I felt like the emotional response from the characters was delayed, where the author could have dwelt on the emotion of the moment a bit more instead of plunging headfirst into the next plot point. Additionally, with all due respect, I definitely think the book would have benefited from an extra round of copyediting. It didn’t detract from the overall reading experience, but as a self-professed grammar freak, the grammatical errors, tense inconsistencies, and typos drove me up the walls.

But overall, The Outlands was a fantastic read! I would say it’s suitable for anyone looking for a suspenseful and thought-provoking dystopian/sci-fi novel. Highly recommended!

The Christian Connection

I think patience is a trait that’s often mischaracterized. Something that characterizes Jett is his desire for change. He sees people being persecuted and downtrodden for no other reason than that they were born into the wrong class. Is wanting change in an obviously corrupt system wrong because it’s “impatient” of us to make demands? I don’t think so. While I don’t quite agree with the methods used by Jett and the rebels in The Outlands, I think their cause is something everyone can get behind. Proverbs 31:8-9 agrees: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (NIV). Standing up against injustice isn’t impatience; patience isn’t pursing your lips and turning a blind eye to evil in the name of second chances. Patience is endurance and doggedly running the race in anticipation of the reward that waits at the finish line.

So that’s it for the review! I’m actually shocked that I didn’t forget how to write one entirely 😅 Again, thanks so much to the author for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book. (And sorry about the delay 😭)

I’d love to know what you guys think of this post—please feel free to chat with me in the comments below! Do you have any dystopian recommendations for me? What have you been up to these past few weeks?

And just a final heads-up: as much as I’d like to post consistently, I have a sinking feeling that I won’t be able to do that until my next break, which is in April. Just letting you guys know 🥲

But thanks for stopping by, everyone—until next time, happy reading! 💖