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A review by casadilla12
Outpost by Ann Aguirre
3.0
3 Stars. I may be one of the few people who actually liked this book better than Enclave. The Stalker Vertex of this love triangle is still a whole lot of nonsense, and I still don't appreciate being expected to buy into the idea that he's even a for real romantic interest and that Deuce might end up with him, but I'd already written off that whole business and it didn't really factor into how I read this book.
Weirdly, I'm not here for the romance subplot (not even Fade's vertex), the action/fighting, or even the plot particularly. For me, it's the setting. Salvation is a fascinating idea. Everything in this post-apocalyptic world is filthy, desperate and cutthroat, but NOT Salvation. It's the one place where people don't know what it's like to scratch and claw for survival every day of their lives. I thought the author's introduction of religious zealotry, and how it affected Deuce's life in Salvation, was incredibly interesting, and I wish it had been further explored. I also think it was smart of the author to juxtapose the societal norms of the tunnel enclaves with those of Salvation. In the enclave, Deuce was an adult who was expected to pull her weight, and also received a certain amount of freedom and satisfaction from being a contributing member of her community. In Salvation, she's still a child: no freedom, no say. I thought it was a cool idea that the author really delved into how a person would feel if they were essentially going backwards with regards to their self-determination.
I think this book actually has something unique to offer, which I did not anticipate after reading the first installment in this series. Enclave just checked boxes. In my opinion, Outpost actually explores themes. Forget the triangle, pretend it's not there. I'm no fortune teller, but it's pretty obvious Fade is the frontrunner here. Instead read into the relationships and dynamics of this town, and how the world has changed around Deuce, and how it has changed her. I'm not saying it's groundbreaking or anything, but this book potentially has more to offer than the romance and fight scenes.
Weirdly, I'm not here for the romance subplot (not even Fade's vertex), the action/fighting, or even the plot particularly. For me, it's the setting. Salvation is a fascinating idea. Everything in this post-apocalyptic world is filthy, desperate and cutthroat, but NOT Salvation. It's the one place where people don't know what it's like to scratch and claw for survival every day of their lives. I thought the author's introduction of religious zealotry, and how it affected Deuce's life in Salvation, was incredibly interesting, and I wish it had been further explored. I also think it was smart of the author to juxtapose the societal norms of the tunnel enclaves with those of Salvation. In the enclave, Deuce was an adult who was expected to pull her weight, and also received a certain amount of freedom and satisfaction from being a contributing member of her community. In Salvation, she's still a child: no freedom, no say. I thought it was a cool idea that the author really delved into how a person would feel if they were essentially going backwards with regards to their self-determination.
I think this book actually has something unique to offer, which I did not anticipate after reading the first installment in this series. Enclave just checked boxes. In my opinion, Outpost actually explores themes. Forget the triangle, pretend it's not there. I'm no fortune teller, but it's pretty obvious Fade is the frontrunner here. Instead read into the relationships and dynamics of this town, and how the world has changed around Deuce, and how it has changed her. I'm not saying it's groundbreaking or anything, but this book potentially has more to offer than the romance and fight scenes.