Review: The Outlander by Nolan Zaren

An epic fantasy designed for the male gaze, The Outlander: Harem Stories for Men by Nolan Zaren is an unapologetic plunge into the heart of masculinity.

Raylan feels like a ferocious wolf in sheep’s clothing, but he is harassed, castrated, and oppressed by the policy officers and judges of the System who restrain his true nature. There is also his vindictive ex-wife who bleeds him dry of every dime in child support, and has turned his kids against him. As he nears the end of his rope, he reaches out to God, begging for clarity on his life’s purpose, and a chance to unleash his full potential as a protector, warrior, lover, and hero.

Seeing the divine potential in Raylan, God delivers him to another realm, where his ability to survive will be tested on every level – by his strength, his weaponry, and his stamina in both battle and the bedroom. As his family spirals into chaos back in the real world, Raylan embarks on the quest he was destined to pursue – pure freedom to live by his own will and desire. Between zealous chats with god, flings with ample lovers, ferocious fights with horrible beasts, and a long-form arc of raining hellfire down on the System, the result is a brutish allegory for male power.

Beyond a tale of erotic escapades, this adventurous tale covers many fronts – a philosophical treatise on the downward spiral of masculinity in the modern world, an adventurous and graphic sojourn of gratuitous sex and violence, and an intergenerational drama about family, trauma, and the dangerous seeds that can be planted in our youth. The author’s political leanings and opinions on masculinity become apparent within the first few pages, so it won’t take long for readers to decide whether this is the type of heroic prose they would enjoy. For instance, the divine connection that Raylan experiences suggests that male dominion over the Earth is God’s true intention, and that devotion to God means making as many offspring as possible.

For men who long for the times when might made right and the noblest task in life meant slaying monstrous enemies, and women were only for sex and breeding, then this book will be a cathartic and pleasurable release. However, feminist-leaning readers will feel their hackles rise at the unflinching language Zaren uses throughout the text, particularly when it veers into more misogynistic, prejudicial, and condescending realms, which can be derogatory well beyond this type of male fantasy. While there is certainly a market for this style of overt eroticism and male-dominating prose, it will not be the choice for a large swath of readers, even fans of erotica.

That said, the prose reads authentically, and Raylan’s vulnerability and emotional openness are unexpected for such a testosterone-fueled novel. There may be very little subtlety in the thematic explorations of the story, which can make it somewhat predictable, but for any man hungry for carnal and hyper-masculine storytelling, this expansive novel will satisfy their appetite.