For those who have read the Ranger’s Apprentice series, the endearing characters, detailed imagery, and captivating plot in The Outcasts by John Flanagan will definitely not come as a surprise. Yet while this companion to Ranger’s Apprentice doesn’t disappoint, it doesn’t even attempt to innovate. In fact, besides the new and admittedly intriguing setting, The Outcasts simply offers more of the same.

While the characters are not identical across both series, they readily fit into the same archetypes. In both series, the main character is a fatherless, clever youth who adopts an unconventional father figure to guide him as he trains mentally and physically for adulthood. In order to make up for their natural lack of strength, both Hal and Will (the main characters) meet hotheaded yet physically dominant warriors and quickly grow into dear friends through shared experiences. And while all the characters are incredibly well developed and lifelike, their similarity turns them into nameless personalities lifted from one world and plopped into another.

One of the greatest aspects in The Outcasts is the incredible imagery and the setting. The style of imagery is just as developed and powerful as it has ever been in books by Flanagan; it brings the world to vivid life without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary details. However, the imagery is an extension of Flanagan’s captivating writing style rather than a boon specifically found within The Outcasts. The cold, harsh setting, although stark in comparison with the sunny lands in Ranger’s Apprentice, alters very little. Besides the increased value the harsh climate awards to strength, all the changes are superficial: sailors instead of rangers, boats instead of horses, and navigation instead of hunting. Furthermore, the setting solely serves a tool for leading the characters through the same basic plot line: rise, complications, victory, fall, and (eventually) redemption.

Even though the characters in The Outcasts are genuine and realistic, they are little more than spin offs of the original characters in Ranger’s Apprentice. While the enormous similarities create a powerful resonance and introduces characters that are instantly recognizable, the result at times was monotony instead of familiarity. The Outcasts has a reading level of 5.5 and is worth 16 AR points, but the original Ranger’s Apprentice series is much better and gives each character a more unique identity.