Wilderness #60

THE OUTCAST

as by David Thompson
Leisure, June 2009

The warrior was alone. After a bloody, unthinkable act, he’d been banished from his tribe. Now he was forced to survive in the wilds by himself. If only he at least had a woman… In a remote valley teeming with wildlife, he finds one. Desperate for companionship, regardless of the colour of her skin, he takes her. But this woman’s already been claimed. And her man, a wildcat named Zach King, won’t let her go without a fight – to the death.

David Thompson yet again creates a strong, powerful – yet tragic – character in The Outcast, a man who will long remain in this readers mind. David Thompson doesn’t reveal why this character is an outcast straight away but keeps hinting at his back- story thus adding an intriguing hook that ensured this reader would find this book difficult to put down. Once the reason for him being cast out of his tribe is revealed it helps explain why he kidnaps Lou instead of killing her as he first intends.

There are many humorous moments and comments to balance the more savage and heart rendering aspects of this story, such as the struggle for man and woman to understand each other’s way of thinking.

The strength of love, and the lengths that someone will go to in order to protect their loved ones is a strong element of this book – indeed the entire Wilderness series – and it isn’t just Zach who is affected with the abduction of Lou. Shakespeare is shocked by the near death of Blue Water Woman, and David Thompson (David Robbins) writes some very moving scenes as Shakespeare resists the urge to accompany Zach, in his search for Lou, and stay behind to tend to his wife.

The book is brim full of action too, as Zach attempts to track The Outcast and free his wife. The life threatening traps he has to avoid, the superbly described slide down the mountainside due to having to traverse treacherous talus. And if the battle of wits between Zach and The Outcast isn’t enough, unbeknown to either of them, death stalks them both in the form of another group of revenge seeking Indians that will cause further complications that have a savage and exciting part to play in the struggle to regain Lou’s freedom.

Does Zach manage to free Lou from her captor? That’s something I’m not prepared to reveal here, all I will say is the book has a violent and emotionally moving ending that may come as a surprise.