Jordon
Written on Oct 20, 2017
*I received an ecopy of this book from Net Galley. This has not influenced my review.*
Vanguard is the fourth book in the Razorland series. However, the book is about completely different characters, Tegan is the main character in this book. I loved the rest of this series, it's been my favourite series since I picked up Enclave. I loved the post apocalyptic vibe, I loved that Deuce and Fade were fighting for their lives from these creatures that just wanted to eat them, I loved the fighting and the adventure. Before you pick up Vanguard, think of it as a companion novel that closes the stories of characters we met in previous books, and we learn how the world is coping after the end of Horde, rather than a continuation of the original story. I say that, because if you expect the same sort of story as the first three books, you will not get it. It is a very different story, and it is a good one.
When I picked up Vanguard I was thinking about the original three books, however I knew it would be different because of the way the third book ended. So I wasn't disappointed when there wasn't a lot of fighting, the enemy were not the monsters, the action was not the war. This story is not about survival from monsters that want to eat you like the first three books were, this story is about the future and how the world is learning to move on. It's about forging new connections, pushing past the boundaries of the old world, and learning to be open-minded. I loved that.
Vanguard focuses more on romance than any other sort of story, in fact not a lot else happens. There is the fact that Szarok is searching for new land for his people to survive on, however the main focus is the romance forming between two unlikely people. It's forbidden and un-heard of, but it's so exciting seeing it happen. However, I did feel like James and Millie's stories didn't have much of a purpose, they got on the boat with Tegan just because they wanted to, and they didn't really do much except survive. If they hadn't been in the story at all, this book still would have been told and still would have had the same outcome. I didn't mind too much about this, but I wasn't as invested in them as characters. I wanted to read more of Szarok! His chapters were a lot of fun to read.
The main thing that I loved about this story, was how it portrayed the willingness of people to be open-minded and to trust the unknown. In our world today, we need more of this open-mindedness, especially from the people in positions of power. It was really hard not to feel like the people in this book were better leaders than the ones we have in a lot of countries today. I was so excited by this and the way Ann Aguirre had shaped their world. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every characters journey, the way each story grew was exciting.
Vanguard is the perfect companion novel to this series, it finishes the untold stories of the characters we saw in the previous books, and it shows you more of the Razorland world. Tegan is a very different main character, but she is also so much more than she was in the previous books. Understanding who she really was, was one of the best things about this story. I definitely recommend this read!
Always,
Jordon
This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift