Incarceron sets up a dystopian world unlike any I've ever encountered in the many books I've explored in this genre. In this tale spun by author Catherine Fisher, technology pervades society, but holograms mask its existence. The charade is part of government rule, which requires citizens to dress in "period" clothes and act in manner to strictly recreate a more civilized time -- a time before society self-destructed into violence, poverty and war.

But this gentile facade masks a dark secret lurking beneath the surface of this polite society - Incarceron, a vast, living prison created generations ago to contain the worst criminals and least productive members of the community. An organic machine, Incarceron is both intelligent and cruel, and has locked the dredges of the population out of sight and seemingly out of mind for years. The descendants of the original prisoners, locked away in Incarceron years and years ago, now roam its sprawling, dark depths in vicious street gangs which prey on the weak.

This is the dark existence lived by Finn, a young man who has no memory of his life before Incarceron. Though his fellow inmates allege he was born in the prison, Finn holds tight to his belief that he comes from the Outside, and is wrongfully imprisoned in Incarceron.

Topside, Claudia is the entitled daughter of the Warden, ruler of Incarceron. She wants for nothing -- but at the same time, she is a prisoner herself. She spends her days studying with her tutor, looking for answers to questions she knows she shouldn't ask -- and counting her last, precious days before her arranged marriage to a loathsome man.

Their two lives couldn't be more different, but Finn and Claudia's futures collide when each finds a mysterious and beautiful crystal key that allows them to communicate -- and opens the door to possibilities they never could have imagined.

I enjoyed Incarceron, but initially struggled to maintain interest in the characters. The plot was intriguing and the adventure didn't disappoint, but I didn't immediately care about either Finn or Claudia. I'm glad I allowed time for the story to develop, though, because I really enjoyed the twists and turns masterfully doled out by Fisher (although I must admit, I predicted the "big reveal" in the books earliest chapters.)

The blend of past and future is part of what makes Incarceron interesting and unique. I think the freedom provided by this plot device must have made the book tremendously fun to write -- in a way, anything goes! But I do wish Fisher had spent more time on her descriptions of the prison itself. The world-building would be more lush and vibrant if it were better illustrated -- Fisher leaves much of its horrors and dank to the readers' ripe imaginations.

The tangled web of action and intrigue spins to a satisfying conclusion though, and made me eager to continue the characters' stories in Sapphique, the next book in the series.

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I have heard wonderful things about this book and couldn't resist the idea of a vast living labyrinth of a prison. There is a going to be a sequel to the book called "Sapphique" that will be released in December 2010 (it is already released in the UK). This was a very good book, that I kept feeling could have been even better if we had gotten greater depth on the prison itself.

Incarceron is a living prison. Originally designed to be self-sustaining and a paradise for those criminals sent there fore rehabilitation; things have gone wrong over the centuries. Incarceron is now a pit of despair, with inmates only hoping for one thing...escape to the Outside. Finn is a boy born in the cells of Incarceron, supposedly created by the prison itself. Finn, thinks that he can remember the Outside and will stop at nothing to try and find out who he really is. Claudia lives on the Outside and is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. She hopes to escape an arranged marriage. Two keys bring the characters together. Finn tries to outwit the prison itself, while Claudia struggles to make sense of layers of intrigue at court.

Fisher has created an incredibly interesting world. The concept of Incareron is interesting, it's been done before, but it is interesting to read about it in more depth. At times it reminded me of the movie The Cube or of The Red Queen in Resident Evil. Incarceron recycles everything and decides the fate of its denizens. I loved some of the scenes in Incarceron, but couldn't help wishing that more adventures had taken place in Incarceron. I felt like Incarceron has a lot of potential as an awesome setting for numerous adventures, but that we barely got to scratch the surface of it in this book.

The book itself switches between Finn and Claudia. I have to say I enjoyed Finn's story in Incarceron much more than Claudia's. Claudia's story takes place in the Outside in a world that still has the technology of the future available but is forbidden to use it because of the Protocol of the current rulers. Because of the Protocol, society is stuck in a medieval-like courtly state. Claudia's story deals mainly with intrigue and trying to outmaneuver both her father and the Queen.

The writing for the story is pretty good, it is easy to read and a good balance of description and action. The characters are okay but characterization wasn't the books stroung point. I didn't care about any of the characters all that much. I do have to say that all of the characters were an interesting balance of good and bad, but this didn't make any of them particularly likable. The strong point of this book is really the creativity of the setting and the world.

I just couldn't help feeling like this could have been an absolutely amazing read if we had spent more time in Incarceron and less time with Claudia. I also felt like the book should have been longer and dealt with more things in detail; like how the Protocol was put into place and how the Masters got their standing. These things are discussed briefly but could be so much more interesting and add so much to the story. At times I also felt like this would have made a much better adult novel. There are many atrocities in Incarceron but in general they are dumbed down to make it safe for younger readers. I just think that this concept would have been wonderful in full detail as an adult novel...it was almost like too much had to be glossed over to make it PG.

Overall a great read and I will probably read the sequel. I just wish the idea had been filled out a bit more, because it is a fascinating idea and world. Maybe Fisher can write an adult series about Incarceron in the future.

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I'm so thankful to the reviewer above because I got a much better understanding of the book from her few paragraphs than from my attempt to read Incarceron.

I'm not a big fan of stream punk, so that put me off immediately. The characters were all right and the writing was fair, but I found the storytelling so disjointed that just about the time I was beginning to get a clue on which head I was in, which cast we were dealing with and why I should give a damn, Fisher flipped the script and I had to orient myself all over again.

I gave the book about 5 weeks to engage me. Nothing happened. I read about 15 books in between the first time I picked it up and 100 pages later when I threw in the towel and happily mailed it off.

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Reviewed by Bibliophile's Bestiary Blog at bibliophile-bestiary.blogspot.com

What an amazing world created by Catherine Fisher! This book was a prison in itself the way it sucked me in. I finished it in less than two days. The story goes back and forth between Claudia, on the Outside, and Finn, on the Inside of Incarceron. As you follow each of their stories, you learn more and more about the world this is set in. Not to give any spoilers, but it has M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" feel, but in a very good way. While you think you are guessing what happens, it suddenly changes and BAM! You find out something different. It has great twists and turns throughout the whole book and is a serious page turner. Worth a read and a place on my bookshelf! 5 out of 5 stars!

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Reviewed by Bibliophile's Bestiary Blog at bibliophile-bestiary.blogspot.com

What an amazing world created by Catherine Fisher! This book was a prison in itself the way it sucked me in. I finished it in less than two days. The story goes back and forth between Claudia, on the Outside, and Finn, on the Inside of Incarceron. As you follow each of their stories, you learn more and more about the world this is set in. Not to give any spoilers, but it has M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" feel, but in a very good way. While you think you are guessing what happens, it suddenly changes and BAM! You find out something different. It has great twists and turns throughout the whole book and is a serious page turner. Worth a read and a place on my bookshelf! 5 out of 5 stars!

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From the start I was put off by this book. I loved the summary and thought it sounded good but once I started reading, I found I couldn't connect to any of the characters, and it was all confusing to me. Very virtual reality type thing/sci-fi which really isn't my cup of tea.

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There are two kinds of great novels. There's the kind that you can't put down, an addiction running through your bloodstream, the kind that, time permitting, you inhale in one single reading. That kind would be those rare books like The Hunger Games.

Then there's the other kind of great book. This kind shakes the foundations of your literary beliefs. It haunts your dreams, your thoughts during the daytime, and may even give you nightmares. But you can't read this in one sitting, so intense it is, so much figurative weight it holds.

INCARCERON is this type of novel.

It's not a book that makes you immediately fall in love with it. In fact, in many aspects it's actually quite the opposite. Neither Claudia nor Finn are extremely likable: Claudia was raised by the Warden to be shrewd and calculating, while Finn often feels like a passive goody-two-shoes undeservingly stuck in a horrible situation. Catherine Fisher also drops readers unapologetically into her world, with the result being that you're left scrambling for something to hold onto as you struggle to adjust yourself to this confusing world full of court intrigue, secrets, and threats.

But as the story moved along, I found myself slowly being drawn in, gradually getting caught up in the parallel desperations of Finn and Claudia's stories. While the plot arc of the novel seems to move slowly, each chapter is packed full of interesting conversations or scenarios, so that, while you are able to put down the book, you will hardly lose interest. Fisher has an effortless way with words, mesmerizing and creepy at the same time.

The revelation at the end is of the jaw-dropping degree, and is what convinced me of Catherine Fisher's literary mastery. It's not often that an author can manage to string readers along, and then throw them for a completely unexpectedâand yet, if you think about it, actually quite brilliantly sensibleâloop. Fisher's storytelling experience shows in the way she weaves together this complex novel.

INCARCERON will probably best appeal to fans of high sci-fi or fantasy, as it is a difficult story to digest. But if this is the type of book you crave, then you will be justly rewarded for your time. Perhaps you, too, will be like me, and try to recommend this book to everyone you know, believing that it is a book worthy of handselling and wider recognition.

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