Review of The Outlander
Posted: 06 May 2025, 16:53
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Outlander" by Nolan Zaren.]
The Outlander by Nolan Zaren gave me, for the most part, exactly what I expected it would. As advertised, this is a story about a man who ends up with a harem full of beautiful women who are all intensely loyal to, and madly in love with, him and don’t mind sharing him. The book contains (porno)graphic sex scenes, violence, supernatural powers, and even aliens, all of which were exactly on-brand. The only part of this book that took me off guard was the extremely heavy Christian elements. Yes, you read that right. This is a Christian harem story, where the hero has the full blessing of the God of Abraham to kill all of the bad guys and plow all of the women. If that sounds awesome to you, then you are absolutely the target audience here.
The Outlander begins with Raylan, the protagonist, making his final child support payment. His kids are turning 18, which means he now has no problem leaving them to fend for themselves. He muses about his life, how he has failed, and how the world has failed him, while he travels to a mysterious cave he had discovered years earlier. The cave is a portal to another world, and now that his kids are adults, he plans to leave our world behind and start a new life on the other side of the portal. As he arrives at his destination, he hears the voice of God telling him that his quest can now begin. God affirms that Raylan is on the right path and literally commands him to kill his enemies and get lots of women.
The rest of the book is pretty straightforward. Mostly it is about Raylan, who (unsurprisingly) kills lots of enemies and gets lots of women. Raylan’s kids also have their own chapters, though, as they realize their dad is missing and set off on their own quest to try and find him. Raylan builds himself a life and discovers that God’s plan for him is far grander than he had imagined.
There are quite a few areas Zaren could improve on in this book, primarily surrounding the editing. It does not seem like The Outlander was professionally edited, as it is filled with grammar and spelling issues. The writing is fairly simplistic and tends to be repetitive, particularly in the many sex scenes. All of that being said, however, it is undoubtedly the best faith-affirming erotic novel I have ever read. It’s a really fun and funny concept with a surprisingly well-thought-out plot. If you can overlook the rough edges, it’s honestly a really enjoyable book. If you are a faithful Christian man who has fantasized about being rewarded for your steadfastness with a completely above-board harem of gorgeous women, it is overwhelmingly likely that you will enjoy this book.
So, for all of these reasons, I am happy to give The Outlander a rating of four out of five stars. The one star deduction is due to the quality of the editing. This is not the sort of book I normally read, but it does what it sets out to do pretty dang well.
******
The Outlander
View: on Bookshelves
The Outlander by Nolan Zaren gave me, for the most part, exactly what I expected it would. As advertised, this is a story about a man who ends up with a harem full of beautiful women who are all intensely loyal to, and madly in love with, him and don’t mind sharing him. The book contains (porno)graphic sex scenes, violence, supernatural powers, and even aliens, all of which were exactly on-brand. The only part of this book that took me off guard was the extremely heavy Christian elements. Yes, you read that right. This is a Christian harem story, where the hero has the full blessing of the God of Abraham to kill all of the bad guys and plow all of the women. If that sounds awesome to you, then you are absolutely the target audience here.
The Outlander begins with Raylan, the protagonist, making his final child support payment. His kids are turning 18, which means he now has no problem leaving them to fend for themselves. He muses about his life, how he has failed, and how the world has failed him, while he travels to a mysterious cave he had discovered years earlier. The cave is a portal to another world, and now that his kids are adults, he plans to leave our world behind and start a new life on the other side of the portal. As he arrives at his destination, he hears the voice of God telling him that his quest can now begin. God affirms that Raylan is on the right path and literally commands him to kill his enemies and get lots of women.
The rest of the book is pretty straightforward. Mostly it is about Raylan, who (unsurprisingly) kills lots of enemies and gets lots of women. Raylan’s kids also have their own chapters, though, as they realize their dad is missing and set off on their own quest to try and find him. Raylan builds himself a life and discovers that God’s plan for him is far grander than he had imagined.
There are quite a few areas Zaren could improve on in this book, primarily surrounding the editing. It does not seem like The Outlander was professionally edited, as it is filled with grammar and spelling issues. The writing is fairly simplistic and tends to be repetitive, particularly in the many sex scenes. All of that being said, however, it is undoubtedly the best faith-affirming erotic novel I have ever read. It’s a really fun and funny concept with a surprisingly well-thought-out plot. If you can overlook the rough edges, it’s honestly a really enjoyable book. If you are a faithful Christian man who has fantasized about being rewarded for your steadfastness with a completely above-board harem of gorgeous women, it is overwhelmingly likely that you will enjoy this book.
So, for all of these reasons, I am happy to give The Outlander a rating of four out of five stars. The one star deduction is due to the quality of the editing. This is not the sort of book I normally read, but it does what it sets out to do pretty dang well.
******
The Outlander
View: on Bookshelves