Enclave Review

TITLE Enclave (Razorland #1)
AUTHOR Ann Aguirre
PUBLISHED April 12th 2011 by Feiwel & Friends
READ May 5 - 7, 2012
BUY IT Amazon / The Book Depository

Synopsis WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first Deuce thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

I'm beginning to realise that zombie books just aren't for me. It's becoming a sad fact that the creepy, flesh eating monsters that I love in my movies and TV shows just don't translate well for me onto the written page.  Enclave was my third attempt at this type of book and I was once again very let down.  I had many issues with it starting at the erratic misplaced language to the way too convenient situations and the flippant attitude presented towards rape. 

It started out strong enough, the premise had me intrigued, but I felt that as the story went along the world building really fell flat for me.  I couldn't picture the scenery in my head and the scenes were jumping ahead so fast that I had no idea how we got to some points. My main issue with Enclave was our MC, Deuce. At the start I was rooting for her, I really was. She was a kick-ass heroine who could hold her own amongst the men of her tribe, but as the story wore on and she became a very unappealing character. I understand that she was to be presented as a very strong minded and strong willed individual but it got very tiring. Everything she thought was so one sided and if I heard her refer to herself a huntress one more time I was going to lose it.  The worst side of Deuce came out when Tegan joined their tribe. Tegan was a girl who was taken in by the topside gangers and repeatedly raped so as to carry on life as the gangers knew it. I felt for Tegan and there was a real opportunity there to draw some real emotion from the reader. Instead what we got was Deuce judging Tegan for not fighting back in her situation. Are you freaking kidding me?! From the moment I realised she felt that way it was pretty much over for me and Enclave. BUT WAIT, it got even worse! Not only did she not sympathise with Tegan at all she then started falling for the gang rapist! She did! I was utterly baffled.

Another noteworthy bother I had with Deuce was some of the language she used. She was a 15 year old girl who had been raised in a tunnel, she could barely read and couldn't write so it is safe to assume that the only schooling she had was in fighting. At one point she is questioning stalker in her mind and I quote "I waited to see how stalker replied, interested to see how deep his pragmatism ran" like really? I had to look up the word pragmatism and I'm a high school graduate. There were a few instances where the language didn't fit the story.

The speed of the novel was too much for me, as I said I couldn't figure out where some of the transitions came from. At one point two characters are at a big fight and in the next sentence they are rubbing their lips together in a dark hallway. The transition of Deuce coming out of the tunnel and living topside was another detail that I felt was poorly handled. There is no way she could have adjusted so well after living underground for 15 years. Oh, and the convenience of finding those sunglasses just sitting in the house, wouldn't those have been scavenged and used for trading long ago?

I had many issues with this novel, I didn't connect with any characters and the one that I had a glimpse of hope for never really came to the forefront at all.  Needless to say, I will not be on the lookout for the second book in the Razorland series.