Helpful Score: 2
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.
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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