Book Review: Outlaw Planet by M.R. Carey

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Orbit (November 18, 2025)

Length: 465 pages

Author Information: Website | Twitter

There was a time when picking up a new M.R. Carey novel was almost always a safe bet for me, but admittedly his work in recent years has been more hit-or-miss. That said, this is because he’s always pushing himself to try new ideas, which I admire, even when it doesn’t always click for me as a reader. His sci-fi in particular has grown increasingly cerebral and info-dense, packed with mind-blowing concepts that I can still appreciate on an intellectual level while struggling with the reading experience itself.

Outlaw Planet is once again Carey taking a big swing at something different, this time a genre mashup blending space opera and classic Western into a story that’s ambitious and strange, interesting even if it didn’t always hold my attention. As a note, while the novel is technically set in the same universe as his Pandominion books, it works perfectly well as a standalone, and no prior knowledge is required to jump right in. The sentient, bipedal characters featured here are animal-descended beings evolved from various Earth mammals in different parallel worlds, and the plot focuses primarily on Elizabeth Indigo Sandpiper, a canid-descended schoolteacher who journeys far from home to settle in a rough fronter town on the edge of the State’s Union. But when a brutal raid destroys her home and kills the woman she loves, Elizabeth joins a rebellion force, becoming the feared and infamous outlaw known as Dog-Bitch Bess.

Alongside Bess’s journey, the novel also introduces a second thread occurring in another timeline that follows Vel Esten, a military engineer involved with a Pandominion strike team that gets stranded on an unfamiliar world whose inhabitants are being enslaved and subjected to terrible experimentation. Our two storylines eventually converge, as Bess picks up an unlikely traveling companion in the form of sentient weapon of mysterious origin. Calling itself Wakeful Slim, the “smart gun” soon proves to be both the outlaw’s most powerful and faithful ally as well as one of the most intriguing aspects of the book.

As the author gradually pulls together the connections between his story threads and characters, they reveal a bigger picture with much to say about the hardships and injustices of a world caught in a forever war. A lot of this is accomplished through the world-building, portraying the setting as a harsh product of its history marked by centuries of colonialism and slavery. Its inhabitants are described as anthropomorphic animals, though their behaviors, motivations, and personalities are so similar to ours they might as well be humans. Not surprisingly, given the book title, Western tropes also abound with an overall sense of lawlessness with bandits, gunslingers, and dusty frontier towns.

That said, the sheer amount of content to digest means Outlaw Planet is not an especially fast or light read. The pacing is mixed, with some parts coming at you fast in erratic bursts while others drag, particularly the middle stretch when readers are still trying to figure out how everything is related. During those sections, there’s not much happening on the page while big movements are unfolding beneath surface. If it weren’t for the characters, I might have thought about putting this one aside, but Bess proved emotionally engaging enough that I felt invested in what happens to her. Every time we returned to her perspective, I felt invigorated again with my interest in the story renewed. Carey does a careful and meaningful job of showing Bess’s transformation through the different stages of her journey, and her relationship with Wakeful Slim manages to become humorous and unexpectedly moving all at once without it feeling gimmicky.

In the end, Outlaw Planet didn’t always hold my attention as strongly as I’d hoped, but it made up for that with some big ideas and standout characters. While it’s not even close to being my favorite novel by M.R. Carey, it’s also a solid and memorable one from him that I enjoyed. It’s perfect for readers looking for unique genre mashups and stories that aren’t afraid to explore some heavy, uncomfortable themes. As long as you’re prepared and willing to power through some slow moving bits, this book is an adventure worth checking out.