Review: Useless Addition to the Razorland Series
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 09 21, 2012
The GOODThis is amazing in a different way. It's touching. It lets you feel the more emotional side of battle:"Stone only knew his strong arms let him slam people away. He didn't want to hurt them. The idea of using this blade on someone--his stomach turned. But he couldn't help it. Stone tried, but they kept coming[...] Why won't they stop? What's the point? Stone wept as he fought until his arms were heavy and he smelled nothing but burnt meat and despair. His lungs burned raw; his eyes stung from the sweat trickling into them. His blade grew sticky, until it disgusted him to hold it."And every once in a while, you can Aguirre's signature writing style shine through, like this:"He glimpsed their mutated, monstrous features: pale skin cut with sores, yellow fangs, milky eyes, and bulging brows with sparse hair[...] Terror and revulsion wedged in his throat, but as long as feelings didn't freeze him, it would be all right. He waited until the first one ran for him, and then he wheeled, vaulting the snare, dodging right to avoid the spring-trap. The light in his hand blinded the Freaks, leaving them unable to mimic his path. Behind him, he heard the rope snap and the metallic clang, and then an animal growling in both pain and anger. He ran on, holding in his mind the deadly path they'd laid. Deviation meant death."And this (only during action scenes did it sound like something Aguirre would write):"She couldn't see how many there were, but he killed one cleanly, as if he had been practicing the movements in his head. Just as he'd said the night before: pierce, pull, pierce. His motions were economical, and he went for eyes and throats.[...] Then he killed them out of mercy, not fear, no rage in his motions, but with an awful tenderness, as if these were creatures worthy of his pity."The BADBut there are other instances I wonder if this novella has been edited at all. I think I've read the below line before in some indie novel:"That's why? Because I notice you have a mind as well as a fine, strong body?"Other than a few cool fight scenes, this is a romance story - about Stone and Thimble finally giving in to their urges once they escape the constraints of Enclave society. Unlike with Fade and Deuce, with whom it progressed normally (and very cutely)as something that was bound to happen, it felt completely rushed and forced with Stone and Thimble."'There were rules'. 'There aren't any now, except the ones we choose.'He nodded. 'That's the best part, even if the rest is terrifying.'"Their romance is, quite frankly, absolutely boring. I'd expected fireworks, not predictability."With him, she wasn't just an imperfect Builder. She could be anything with him."Okay, if we'd come to this beautiful conclusion through hard work and going through crazy stuff together and 200 pages later, then that would sound cute. Coming to this conclusion after less than 50 pages sounds rushed and just thrown in haphazardly. I feel like Stone & Thimble should have "given in to their passions" but not learned everything there is to know about a relationship so early. Maybe save that for Outpost?More lameness proceeds to fill the virtual pages of Endurance..."Don't," he begged. "You're perfect. You're you. You're my whole life."Basically, Endurance consists of Stone and Thimble having to escape the Enclave after it is attacked and destroyed by Freaks (the fun part) and while on the run, each coming to terms with the attraction he or she feels. It gets really repetitive after the first 30 pages, and even if you are a fan of the Razorland series, I see no reason to waste your time on this book.Outpost on the other hand.........*I bought a Kindle copy of Endurance to read and review honestly*