Horde (The Razorland Series) by Ann Aguirre

      Horde was supposed to be the final installment of the Razorland series- well that's not quite true.  Through the grapevine, I've heard there's a fourth and final ending coming soon.  I'm not too sure, but should something come up, I'll share it in a blog post.  

    Book three showed major improvement, but still lacked the flair I was hoping for.  In Horde, Deuce not only continued battling Freaks- she formed her own branch of service!  Though there was some semblance of military presence, they weren't good enough.  Nobody wanted to fight anymore, even if it meant being overrun by the horde of freaks, now Muties.

     The fact that men and women wouldn't move until a now 16-year old stepped up to the plate was pathetic and to me, very unreal, even for a dystopian society.  That was the worst part of the book, believe it or not.  Many other aspects were an improvement.

   Tegan and Stalker were the best developed characters of the book.  Stalker, actually continued his maturity, no longer sniffing behind Deuce for love.  He realized he wasn't going to get it and also sought redemption for his previous crimes.  He turned into a scout, and performed to the utmost.  More than the then men of the many outposts... How can that be?  Tegan became, not only a fighter, she became a doctor!  Or field nurse... A Medic.  It was nice to see them grow and mature, according to their surroundings.

     Now for Fade and Deuce.  Oh boy... Fade was so vexatious, I wanted him to die.  Now let me tell you how I really felt.  I didn't like him and I almost gagged every time he begged for "Alone time".   He second guessed himself 24/7 and pretty much became a liability (even during times of No War!).  And as for Deuce, she became a monumental hero, so large even the Freaks whispered of her and her banner!

     She led men, women and children against the horde and they all fell in line.  It was unreal, listening to her give orders to grown men, some who'd been in the military.  It was a joke, but not so off that I wanted to stop reading.  It was tolerable.  The men could have been a bit more realistic without being so chauvinistic, like in book two. 

     Horde was so much better than it's two predecessors, but I still am not a die-hard Aguirre fan yet.  I'm looking to purchase Restoration, just to complete the collection, but I won't push to get it read.  I've got a TBR list to work through.

Have a great day and an even better book!