I've read and enjoyed Nick Hunt's previous two travel/walking books, and 'Outlandish' does not disappoint. In fact, it's his deepest and richest so far, lent a new urgency by the growing spectre of climate breakdown. What I thought was a project rooted in pure curiosity turned out to be something more speculative, more fearful.

The opening section of the book is spent in the Cairngorms, among snow and reindeer. There is something a little obligatory-feeling to the descriptions of hiking and Nan Shepherd quotes, but Hunt's prose is beautiful without being pretentious. The wheel begins to turn in the Białowieża section as Hunt touches upon conflicts between loggers, locals and environmentalists, but it's in the third and fourth sections of the book - the Almeria desert in Spain, and the steppe of Hortobágy National Park in Hungary where everything truly clicks into place. To paraphrase the author, these places may be outlandish at this moment, but soon, thanks to climate breakdown, they will no longer be alone; everywhere will be outlandish.

It's a book that is as heartbreaking as it is fascinating, and there is an especially moving scene involving a birder in Hortobágy. I will not forget it. This is nature/travel writing with a deep and painful bite.

(With thanks to Nicholas Brealey and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review)

Outlandish by Nick Hunt is part history lesson and part travelogue. It is all about a love of nature and places too beautiful to put into words. Short of going there, let Nick be your virtual guide and use his words to transport you on a journey to four of the most out of the way destinations you can imagine. Destinations Scotland, Poland, Spain, and Hungary all have a unique story to tell the reader and the author acts as your host with a PhD in history and geography. I always feel smarter after reading books like this, knowing a little bit about a lot. I also like the way it made me imagine not only what the scenery looks like but also what the weather feels like. Naturally, I cheated and googled images of the place names and comparatively similar environments. As the author points out, many of the climactic zones we think we understand something about have a far more complex and diverse story that is waiting to be explored and appreciated. The average lay person or tourist probably won’t be willing to take the risks or venture as far as Nick, but could certainly learn how to plan and execute an excursion into the wilds that offers more than the usual tour bus and Travelodge conventionalities. Lastly this book does not undertake to lecture the reader about the damage that humans are doing to the environment but really encourages one to be concerned and saddened. If you are looking for a beautiful read this fills the bill.

This travel book is about the author's seeking out the more unusual places across Europe – a way to get to the extremes of the Earth while causing fewer carbon emissions. It's partly about the mental and physical approach taken when you seek out the more domestic kinds of 'here be dragons'-type situations. Except there are no dragons to be found, but there are reindeer in the Cairngorms, approached for their arctic tundra-styled geology; there are wolves, bison and more in the woods of Eastern Poland and Belarus; heck – there are cowboys in southern Spain.

I don't know why, but I found on opening this an odd feeling that I would be disappointed. Going to four places, and offering equally large chunks of writing about each, seemed a peculiar number – either three places too many or ten too few. But these mini-missions into the less-explored are in and of themselves spot on. Just the first has notable instances of the wondrous – one spell up a snowy mountainside has the author know he is irrevocably alone. With a panorama of mountains all around, all covered in the white stuff, he has absolutely no sight, sound or smell of any other member of his species, and no proof they ever existed, but for one thing – the names of the hills he's looking at on the map he has in his hand. It's a most quotable episode, made all the more remarkable by the fact the author didn't even need his passport to get to such a place.

Now I know a lot of Americans would scoff at that, the liberties they think they can take with their immense territory and their resulting ability to self-isolate in nature. But Europe is supposed to be the tinier, over-developed, wilderness-less, other-free continent. And so there is ageless woodland, and a bit of true desert in SE Spain, and there is a chunk of Hungary that the Mongolians and Kazakhs much, much further east would recognise as the steppes they call home. These regions are important, and well worth looking at – our author calls them 'exclaves' - isolated bits of one type of geology in the wrong place, mismatching with what's around them.

And, partly because they are unconnected to a bigger entity, they are all endangered. The snows are melting, the trees are getting diseased courtesy of climate change, the birdwatchers in Hungary are grim about what chance they'll have to see their goals in the future. The desert, though, that's a shoe-in for something to last, and can only expand. And when Europe gets hot enough, we're all goners. There is some ecology here that is seriously not entertaining to read about, and however much I want to tell myself not to shoot the messenger, that's hard. What we have are four novella-length snapshots of some notable places, and in having such a guide – one assumes the first and last person ever to tick off all four in such a fashion – we're only thankful someone has taken the effort to let us know what they were like before they were gone for good. Four and a half stars.

Outlandish by Nick Hunt is a wonderful collection of travels, musings, nature observations, reflections, and experiences of unique and out of the ordinary locations.

I really enjoyed this book. I was able to truly enjoy myself and escape for a few moments to unusual and off the beaten path locations with Mr. Hunt.

The author was impressive in his landscape descriptions, location choices, and his observations. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Scotland.

A great collection, learned a few things, and a great, temporary escape. Recommend for anyone that enjoys traveling, nature, and learning about unique locations around Europe.

Thank you NG and Nicholas Brealey for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

In “Outlandish,” Nick Hunt details his trips taken all around Europe to a range of frankly surprisingly landscapes and environments. In every chapter, his observant, evocative writing carries readers away on a brand new journey to a surprising corner of Europe. Several new worlds are opened up, ranging from deserts hiding out in the likes of southeast England and Mediterranean Spain to steppe grassland in Hungary that would not feel out of place at all in Kazakhstan or Mongolia. And in every single unlocked location, one is able to experience a brand new cast of local characters, interesting relevant history, and of course a unique combination of flora and fauna. On top of that, as part of the comprehensive experience Hunt also takes care to quite thoughtfully note the effects of climate change and development on these special places, and the threats they continue to pose.

The several chapters that I have consumed so far have been read completely out of order, and it's been a fantastic time taking these miniature trips and learning about these varied, amazing, and very unexpected locations. For fellow travelogue fans who are potentially still dealing with pandemic anxiety and are looking to go somewhere without leaving the comfort of their favorite reading nook, why not all Nick Hunt to guide you to several different fantastically unlikely locations?

As we stumble out of our Covid lockdowns, Hunt’s book provides fresh fodder for intrepid travelers looking for something different. He visits places that should not exist, like ab area in Scotland that would look more at home in a polar region. Along with fascinating geographical details, Hunt entertains readers with the stories of the unusual characters he meets along the way. A must read whether you are itching to hit the “friendly skies” or if you’re doing your traveling from an armchair.