Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Book Review: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron (Incarceron #1)
Author:  Catherine Fisher
Publisher:  Penguin Group, 448 pages
Publication Date:  July 15, 2010

From Goodreads:
Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons.

A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists.

But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born …


Review:
Here are reasons you should read this book:

1. Such a unique and imaginative world, I don't think I've ever read anything like this.  A living, sentient prison created during a time of advanced technology to incarcerate all the criminals in the world and repair their morals to form a perfect society. Of course it went wrong and the prison is now filled with different factions who live quite savagely.  When they die, they're absorbed back into the prison and so some people are born with metal parts.  So strange. Supposedly no one can escape, but there's a legend of Sapphique, the only person ever to make it out.   

Finn is 18 years old and only remembers the last 3 years of his life.  Before that, it's a blank, but he believes he came from outside.  Claudia lives outside, and her world is just as bizarre.  Apparently there was a war and when it ended the King decided that the world (the Realm) should be as it was in the 17th century.  No technology or science (that's the Protocol).  Basically, they're living in a false history.  Although somehow people break Protocol and have technology because at one point Claudia tells someone that she knows she'll just use the washing machine, even though it's forbidden.  And there are skin wands that make you look young, and holograms, but you're not supposed to use them, but people do anyway.  Where are they getting this stuff?  Is is all stuff from before the war that people saved?  Are people currently making these things? I'm assuming there is some sort of black market, but I definitely had questions that weren't answered.  

There's never any info-dumping, it's slowly revealed throughout the book, which some people may find frustrating, but I actually enjoyed being in the dark and just reading how it all unfolds.  

2.  After a bit of a slow start, it becomes such a page-turner, and I couldn't put it down.  There's so much going on and there are so many twisty discoveries about the prison, about Finn, and about Claudia.  Some I expected, but others were complete surprises.

3.  The book is filled with complex characters (not sure who can be trusted), political intrigue and back-stabbing.

It's grim, it's dark, it's a blend of science fiction, fantasy, and dystopian.  I definitely recommend it.


Posted by:  Pam

10 comments:

  1. FYI I am really liking the new review style! Numbered lists and bullet points make reviews so much easier to read I feel like. Also, I love that you find the most obscure older books to read and share. So many of the ones you read I've never even heard of and I love that. This one sounds super weird (in a good way) and I feel like it's something I will definitely enjoy. The political intrigue and back-stabbing has definitely piqued my interest. Great review!

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    1. Thanks, I'm trying to mix it up a bit with the reviews. I can't remember where I heard of this book (I'm sure someone's blog, I really should keep track of that). And yes, this book is so strange, but so unique. I'm just amazed sometimes at what authors comes up with. I have no imagination whatsoever, so I'm impressed with what people can come up with. ~Pam

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  2. Sooooo happy you loved this one and so happy you reviewed it. I recently got this on my Kindle but wasn't too sure if I would actually get to it any time soon. This is the first review I have seen and now I can't wait to finally read this. It sounds so good. Thanks for the great review :)

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    1. Oh good, let me know what you think after you've read it. It has such mixed reviews on Goodreads I wasn't sure about it, but I really enjoyed it, it was just so different. ~Pam

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  3. I have this eARC and I'm planning on getting it read a little closer to it's release date. I'm so glad you liked it because I have been highly anticipating reading it and I hate being disappointed. Great review!

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    1. It was such a unique book, I hope you enjoy it (although it came out in 2010 according to Goodreads so maybe you're thinking about a different book?) ~Pam

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  4. Hmmmm. This does sounds intriguing. I may give this one a try sometime. It sounds like I might get kind of frustrated that some answers aren't given, but I also hate info dumping, so...Great review!

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    1. It has such mixed reviews, but if you just roll with it, you'll probably enjoy it. I appreciated how creative it was and it doesn't really follow the formula. Let me know what you think if you ever read it! ~Pam

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  5. This sounds very different. And I really enjoy stories when you can't trust anybody. Keeps things interesting. I'll probably have to give this a shot!

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    1. Let me know what you think if you end up reading it. It's such a different book (in a bizarre yet good way). ~Pam

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