by Aimster (link)
Genre thriller, dystopia
Pairings Ezra/OFC, Isaac/Nikki, Jessica/Joe, Taylor/Natalie, Zac/Kate
Length 65 chapters
Status Completed (second in the New Alcatraz series)
While I should have anticipated a sequel to Escape From The New Alcatraz, I didn’t. Its abrupt ending left a perfect opening, though, and A2 picks up almost immediately afterward. Having not refreshed my memory on the original, I’m a little lost to begin with, but it doesn’t take long for me to get sucked back into the world Aimster has created.
I had complained that the first story lacked some detail and backstory, and she does make some strides here to fill in those gaps. For the first half or so, the story switches back and forth between past and present, showing how Taylor was arrested and taken to prison. We also get more information on how the family has come to live at the ranch in El Paso and developed into a well oiled revolution machine. There’s still some confusion, but given that the story is seen mostly through Taylor and Charlotte’s eyes, it works. Both of them are outsiders to this family–even though Taylor once belonged to it–and that outsider perspective works well.
As always, I find the short chapters to be a bit of a problem, especially because this fic actually covers a rather short period of time and not a great deal of action until the very end. That action ends up a bit abrupt and only sets the scene for the third story. I hope that Charlotte plays a bit more role in that, as she vanished into the background of this one, but I’m also intrigued to see how the Hanson’s story plays out–and of course, whether or not they win the titular revolution of the third story.
Review by Bethany (website)