The Vanguard

Reviewed by Awesome Indies

October 17, 2014

Fraught with tension and discovery
Vanguard is the followup novel to Elle Todd’s The Elect. This book continues to follow Alison through her discovery of her powers and the ramifications they hold for both The Elect and The Vanguard. Throughout this book, the twists and revelations keep coming. This is a fast and satisfying read with no errors in formatting or editing that i could detect.

In Vanguard, Todd has accomplished something even the most talented authors often stumble over. How do you write a book where the main character is isolated and imprisoned during the majority of the narrative? How do you do this and keep the reader interested and invested? And even more difficult, how do you do this without turning it into an exercise in navel gazing. Because the characters are so well drawn, the reader is never bored. Every interaction is fraught with tension and discovery.
My only complaint about the book is that I would like to see Alison be nicer to Ryan. It’s getting difficult to believe he’s still willing to sustain on nothing more than breadcrumbs. A moment of weakness/vulnerability on her part (other than physical) would have been satisfying, but I also understand why she couldn’t let her guard down. Because of this I rate Vanguard 4.5 stars