And only until
Personally, I read the prequel with a flushed face. I did not think the second part would be built so quickly. The news of its premiere surprised me so much that my expectations, pumped by the story from number one, have even increased. The first Outpost raised the level of air conditioning from the very beginning. The end of the novel cut him off like a Kalashnikov bayonet and left him really high, without really explaining anything. I expected the two of them to take it even further, raise that level a bit, and finally do something big. Everything indicated it. I was immensely curious about the theme, the ending, and the origins of this story. I received it, but not as expected.
But from the beginning
The novel is divided into ten episodes, and these into smaller chapters marked with numbers. There are no subtitles, which works to the benefit of the climate, because it does not reveal prematurely what the reader will be treated with. The cover is a graphic design referring to the first part – depicting the heroine known from the previous part, interestingly enough, lonely. Why was the second protagonist missing? You’ll find out when you read it. The whole thing looks very nice, after all, it does not resemble the covers of other works by Głuchowski, reducing the risk of error to a minimum. There is only one typo in the text. In addition, the font is perfectly legible, even in slightly weaker light, and the book itself lies comfortably in your hand.
Sequel
The plot is a direct continuation of the story from the predecessor. We experience the fate of the heroes we remember from it. The author starts a bit around, showing us the events taking place before the first Outpost , giving us an overview of the situation from the other side and revealing some secrets. Thus, the author adds new heroes to the main axis of the story. Despite the fact that their presentation was based on the introduction described above, they seem devoid of character, depth and give the impression of being added by force. Perhaps as if they were mentioned at least rudely in the prequel ,would they be easier to perceive in two? The author also very quickly resigns from one of the protagonists of the first part, who, under the influence of events, suddenly changes his worldview for some reason. This is somewhat poorly justified and unreliable.
Climax
The atmosphere and dark history were the greatest assets of the first Outpost . As a result, the tension gradually increased throughout the novel. I expected the two of them to continue this trend, but this is not happening. The tension eases a bit at first, but then starts to rise again, but as a result doesn’t break the level of 1. The story became more mechanical. It leaves much less room for guesswork. In some places, it even seems to be artificially extended, as if the author has not fully thought out how to guide it. What was good about one is also reflected here. The chapters mentioned above end each time so that the reader has to start reading the next one. There is always some moment that causes the syndrome of one more side.
Self-read
Głuchowski’s novel is no worse than the number one, but it also did not soar to the heights and did not shock the reader with a thunderous ending to the amazing story. The tension is still high and the ending… is there. They were designed to be open. The author did not present exactly what happened, which makes it rather difficult to expect the third part. Despite this, the book is great to read. The author writes like an automaton. There are no problems with assimilating the text, and reading is not boring. Subsequent endings of chapters encourage you to not put it off even at a later time. It’s very hard to break away from it. It actually reads the same. You can see the artistry and professionalism that the author has achieved.
It’s worth it!
If you are a fantasy fan or like Dmitry’s writing style, take it blindly, but right after reading the one. Even if you consider her to be average, 2 will not fail any more because she is not worse than 1. It seems that the author focused only on the correct conclusion of the story. It didn’t go all the way like in Metro 2035 , where I collected my jaw off the floor. Outpost 2 still offers an interesting story, a few surprising twists, but without the fountains I expected.
