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To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.
"I am incarceron, old man. You should know. It was the Sapienti who created me. Your great, towering, overreaching endless failure. Your nemesis."
OMG what a story! So, I'll just get this out here - this is not my typical book. This borders a little too much on the sci-fi side the genre and I wasn't so sure I would like this. Plus, it's disjointing when you first start - what are Scrum and Sapient something and who is Sapphique that everyone keeps spouting about?!??! and a metal forest and talking building and blinking red eyes and just..what?!?!?!
But, I just glossed over all that and just went a long for the ride. And by the time I was 100 pages in - I was hooked.
Told mainly from two viewpoints, you get to see Claudia's spoiled princess but forced "prison"-like world.
and you see the world through Finn's life - actually stuck in Incarceron. A living prison that eats it's dead and "births" new lives and things to keep the current living going.
and the story goes from there as these two worlds fight to stay seperate and two people fight to come together.
The premise is promising but the actual writing/story/characters is TERRIBLE! I don't normally not finish books but this was one that I absolutely had to put down because I couldn't bear the thought of wasting many hours finishing it. The writing is overly detailed (much like Charles Dickens, but in a really bad way considering Dickens is one of my favorite authors) and the characters are utterly unlikable. I've read quite a bit of dystopian/sci-fi/fantasy fiction and this is definitely at the bottom.
Oh, and I was listening to the audio book. The reader's voice is really annoying and she is clearly an American who puts on a British accent for when the characters are speaking. Couldn't they have just gotten a British reader for this one? ( )
I think I knew from the first page that I wasn’t going to like this. This book just wasn’t my cup of tea. The author’s writing style, the characterization, and just the story in general were all things I didn’t enjoy about this book. However this book was entertaining enough to keep me reading to the end, which is the only reason why I didn’t give this 1 star off the bat. In conclusion, this didn’t suck fat pancakes, only medium-sized ones. ( )
Great writing, a nice quick pace, and a driving plot kept me from putting this book down much once I'd started in on it. Still, it wasn't totally satisfying for me.
The dystopian world Catherine Fisher creates in the book is totally intriguing: After a violent upheaval called the "Time of Rage" the government takes control and puts all the criminals (along with the meek and the poor, I think) into a vast prison called Incarceron. Incarceron is supposed to be a utopia, but the sentient (artificial?) intelligence that controls the prison turns it into a hellish wasteland. Meanwhile, outside the prison, the elite are forced to live in a false feudal-ish era because the government has decreed that modernity and change are dangerous.
So you have a 17-year-old boy, Finn, and his motley group of friends inside Incerceron trying to get out. And you have a girl, Claudia, trying to discover the secrets of Incarceron to escape an arranged marriage to the future King. Not a bad setup.
My criticisms are largely matters of taste, I guess. None of the characters were particularly likable. Finn and Claudia were both hella angsty. And there wasn't very much in the way of humor or good feelings. If you don't mind 442 pages of dark, dreary, and tense then this will surely thrill you. As for me...I wasn't thrilled.
Another criticism, and a tiny bit of a spoiler, is that this book seems to be true sci-fi, but kind of drifts into fantasy in the end, by which I mean the conclusion lacked a logical explanation. Maybe the second book will do a better job of explaining Sapphique (I'm guessing so, since it's title is "Sapphique"). We shall see. ( )
This book would make a wonderful film, with its cinematic blend of 18th-century costume drama, mythological fantasy, and post-apocalyptic cyberpunk fun. Fisher tells an engaging story that has a bit of a Golden Compass feel to it.
However, the characters weren't compelling enough for me to consider picking up the sequels. It wasn't just that Claudia didn't interest me (I have a low tolerance for rebellious princess-types). Finn was even likable, and his quasi-mystical seizures gave a lot of texture to the story.
Yet both leads lack depth - not only do they not change during the story, but the reader knows everything there is to know about them by about page 50. In general, none of the emotional moments or reveals in this story surprised me, and there are few moments when the main characters surprise themselves. Which would be fine for many action-driven YA novels, but the narrative seems to demand a bit more that what Fisher gives us.
So, an imaginative book but not one that appealed to me as an adult reader who enjoys complex characters.
(Minor quibble: Sapphique sounds less like a trickster god and more like a Francophone feminist bookstore. But maybe that's just me.) ( )
Who can chart the vastness of Incarceron? Its halls and viaducts, its chasms? Only the man who has known freedom Can define his prison. -Song of Sapphique
(chapter 2 page 15)
We will choose an Era from the past and re-create it. We will make a world free from the anxiety of change! It will be Paradise! -King Endor's Decree
(chapter 3 page 28)
The experiment will be a bold one and there may well be risks we have not foreseen. But Incarceron will be a system of great complexity and intelligence. There could be no kinder or more compassionate guardian of its inmates. -Project report; Martor Sapiens
(chapter 4 page 42)
Finally when all was ready, Martor convened the council of the Sapienti and asked for volunteers. They must be prepared to leave family and friends forever. To turn their backs on the green grass, the trees, the light of the sun. Never again to see the stars. "We are the Wise," he said. "The responsibility for success is ours. We must send our finest minds to guide the inmates." At the appointed hour, as he approached the chamber of the Gate, they say he murmured his fear that it would be empty. He opened the door. Seventy men and women were waiting for him. In great ceremony, they entered the Prison. They were never seen again. -Tales of the Steel Wolf
(chapter 5 page 55)
There was a man and his mane was Sapphique. Where he came from is a mystery. Some say he was born of the Prison, grown from its stored components. Some say he came from Outside, because he alone of men returned there. Some say he was not a man at all, but a creature from those shining sparks lunatics see in dreams and name the stars. Some say he was a liar and a fool. -Legend of Sapphique
It was decide from the beginning that the location of Incarceron should be known only to the Warden. All criminals, undesirables, political extremists, degenerates, lunatics would be transported there. The Gate would be sealed and the Experiments commence. It was vital that nothing should disturb the delicate balance of Incarceron's programming, which would provide everything needed-education, balanced diet, exercise, spiritual welfare, and purposeful work-to create a paradise. One hundred and fifty years have passed. The Warden reports that progress is excellent. -Court Archived 4302/6
(chapter 7 page 79)
Once Sapphique came to then end of a tunnel and looked down on a vast hall. Its floor was a poisoned pool of venom. Corrosive steams rose from it. Across the darkness stretched a taut wire, and on the far side a doorway was visible, with light beyond it. The inmates of the Wing tried to dissuade him. "Many have fallen," they said "Their bones rot in the black lake. Why should you be any different?" He answered, " Because I have dreams and in those dreams I see the stars." Then he swung himself up onto the wire and began to cross. Many times he rested, or hung in pain. Many times they called on him to return. Finally, after hours, he reached the other side, and they saw him stagger, and vanish through the door. He was dark, this Sapphique, and slender. His hair straight and long. His real name is only to be guessed at. -Wanderings of Sapphique
(chapter 8 page 97)
The Years of Rage are ended and nothing can be the same. The war has hollowed the moon and stilled the tides. We must find a simpler way of life. We must retreat into the past, everyone and everything, in its place, in order. Freedom is a small price to pay for survival. -King Endor's Decree
(chapter 9 page 109)
You are my father, Incarceron. I was born from your pain. Bones of steel; circuits for veins. My heart a vault of iron. -Songs of Sapphique
(chapter 10 page 121)
The eyes in the corridor were dark and watchful and there were many of them. "Come out," he said. They came out. They were children. They wore rags and their skin was livid with sores. Their veins were tubes, their hair wire. Sapphique reached out and touched them. "You are the ones who will save us," he said. -Sapphique and the Children
(chapter 11 page 132)
As for poor Caspar, I pity those who have to put up with him. But you are ambitious and we are bout together now. Your daughter will be Queen and my son King. The price is paid. If you fail me, you know what I will do. -Queen Sia to the Warden of Incarceron; private letter
(chapter 12 page 143)
The decay was gradual and we were slow to recognize it. Then, one day, I had been talking with the Prison, and as I left the room I heard it laugh. A low, mocking chuckle. The sound turned me cold. I stood in the corridor and the thought came to me of an ancient image I had once seen in a fragmented manuscript, of the enormous mouth of Hell devouring sinners. It was then I knew we had created a demon that would destroy us. -Lord Calliston's Diary
(chapter 13 page 158)
Walls have ears. Doors have eyes. Trees have voices. Beasts tell lies. Beware the rain. Beware the snow. Beware the man You think you know. -Songs of Sapphique
(chapter 14 page 171)
We forbid growth and therefore decay. Ambition, and therefore despair. Because each is only the warped reflection of the other. About all, Time is forbidden. From now on nothing will change. -King Endor's Decree
(chapter 15 page 187)
Sapphique rode out of the Taglewood and saw the Fortress of Bronze. People were streaming into its walls from all around. "Come inside," they urged him. "Hurry! Before it attacks!" He looked around. The world was metal and the sky was metal. The people were ants on the plains of the Prison. "Have you forgotten," he said, " that you are already Inside?" But they hurried past and said he was deranged. -Legends of Sapphique
(chapter 16 page 202)
Don't defy me, John. And be on your guard. There are plots in the Court, and conspiracies against us. As for Claudia, from what you say she has already seen what she searches for. How amusing that she did not even recognize it. -Queen Sia to the Warden; private letter
(chapter 17 page 212)
In ancient statutes Justice was always blind. But whet if it sees, sees everything, and its Eye is cold and without Mercy? Who would be safe from such a gaze? Year by year Incarceron tightens its grip. It made a hell of what should have been Heaven. The Gate is locked; those Outside cannot hear our cries. So, in secret, I began to fashion a key. -Lord Calliston's Diary
(chapter 18 page 225)
We have paid the tribute of the dearest and best and now we await the outcome. If it takes centuries, we will not forget. Like wolves we will stand guard. If revenge must be taken we will take it. -The Steel Wolves
(chapter 19 page 237)
Down the endless hall of guilt My silver thread of tears is spilt. My fingerbone the key that broke My blood the oil that smoothes the lock. -Songs of Sapphique
(chapter 20 page 250)
We have put everything that is left into this. It is bigger than all of us now. -Project report; Matron Sapiens
(chapter 21 page 262)
I have worked for years in secret to make a device that is a copy of the one Outside. Now it protects me. Timon died last week and Pela is missing in the riots, and even though I am hidden here in this lost hall, the Prison searches for me. "My lord," it whispers, "I feel you. I feel you crawl on my skin." -Lord Calliston's Diary
(chapter 22 page 281)
"Where are the leaders?" Sapphique asked. "In their fortresses," the swan replied. "And the poets?" "Lost in dreams of other worlds." "And the craftsmen?" "Forging machines to challenge the darkness." "And the Wise, who made the world?" The swan lowered its black neck sadly. "Dwindled to crones and sorcerers in towers." -Sapphique in the Kingdom of Birds
(chapter 23 page 294)
Nothing has changed, or will change. So we must change it. -The Steel Wolves
(chapter 24 page 305)
Do you seek the key to Incarceron? Look inside yourself. It has always been hidden there. -The Mirror of Dreams to Sapphique
(chapter 25 page 317)
I remember a story of a girl in Paradise who ate an apple once. Some wise Sapient gave it to her. Because of it she saw things differently. What had seemed gold coins were dead leaves. Rich clothes were rags of cobweb. And she saw there was a wall around the world, with a locket gate. I am growing weak. The others are all dead. I have finished the key but no longer dare to use it. -Lord Calliston's Diary.
(chapter 26 page 329)
You chose rashly. I've warned you before. She is far too clever and you underestimate the Sapient. -Queen Sia to the Warden; private letter
(chapter 27 page 341)
Sapphique strapped the wings to his arms and flew, over oceans and plains, over glass cities and mountains of gold. Animals fled; people pointed up. He flew so far, he saw the sky above him and the sky said, "Turn back, my son, for you have climbed too high." Sapphique laughed, as her rarely did. "Not this time. This time I beat on you until you open." But Incarceron was angered, and struck him down. -Legends of Sapphique
(chapter 28 page 354)
Entry is through Portal. Only the Warden will have a key, and this will be the only way to leave. Though every prison has its chinks and crannies. -Project report; Martor Sapiens
(chapter 29 page 367)
Despair is deep. An abyss that swallows dreams. A wall at the world's end. Behind it I await death. Because all our work has come to this. -Lord Calliston's Diary
(chapter 30 page 380)
All my years to this moment All my roads to this wall. All my words to this silence All my pride to this fall. -Songs of Sapphique
(chapter 31 page 392)
He fell all day and all night. He fell into a pit of darkness. He fell like a stone falls, like a bird with broken wings, like an angel cast down. His landing bruised the world -Legends of Sapphique
(chapter 32 page 403)
You will thank us for this. Energy will not be wasted on frivolous machines. We will learn to live simply, untroubled by jealousies and desires. Our souls will be as placid as the tideless seas. -King Endor's Decree
(chapter 33 page 413)
What use is one key among a billion prisoners? -Lord Calliston's Diary
(chapter 34 page 423)
He woke and found them all around him. The old, lame, the diseased, the half-made men. He hid his head and was filled with shame and anger. "I have failed you," he said. "I have journeyed so far and I have failed." "Not so," they answered. "There is a door we know, a tiny, secret door. None of us dare crawl through, in case we die there. If you promise to come back for us, we will show you." Sapphique was lithe and slender. He looked at them with his dark eyes. "Take me there," he whispered. -Legends of Sapphique.
(chapter 35 page 434)
I have walked a stair of swords, I have worn a coat of scars. I have vowed with hollow words, I have lied my way to the stars. -Songs of Sapphique
Dedication
To Sheenagh Pugh brilliant poet, wise webmistress.
First words
Finn had been flung on his face and chained to the stone slabs of the transitway.
Quotations
(page 50)
. . . As for the arrangement we spoke of before, it is unfortunate, but great changes often require great sacrifices. G has been kept aloof from others since his father died; the people's grief will be real but short-lived and we can contain it. It barely needs saying that your part will be behind value to us. When my son is King I can promise you all I . . .
(page 142)
My dear, You will have heard the good news that your wedding is imminent. After waiting all these years, I'm sure your excitement is as intense as my own! Casper insisted on coming to escort you here--such a romantic. What a handsome couple you will make. From now on, my dear, you must think of me as your loving mother. Sia Regina
(page 307)
MARCION MASCUS MASCUS ATTOR MATTHEUS PRIME MATTHEUS UMRA
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.
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Book description
Imagine a prison so vast that it contains cells and corridors, forests, cities and seas. Imagine a prisoner with no memory, sure he came from Outside - though the prison has been sealed for centuries and only one man has ever escaped. Imagine a girl in a manor house, in a society where time is forbidden, held in a 17th century world run by computers, doomed to an arranged marriage, tangled in an assassination plot she dreads and desires. One inside, one outside. But both imprisoned. Imagine Incarceron.
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(3.69)
YA about a girl finding an underground city or underground prison
Wikipedia in English (1)
2
OMG what a story! So, I'll just get this out here - this is not my typical book. This borders a little too much on the sci-fi side the genre and I wasn't so sure I would like this. Plus, it's disjointing when you first start - what are Scrum and Sapient something and who is Sapphique that everyone keeps spouting about?!??! and a metal forest and talking building and blinking red eyes and just..what?!?!?!
But, I just glossed over all that and just went a long for the ride. And by the time I was 100 pages in - I was hooked.
Told mainly from two viewpoints, you get to see Claudia's spoiled princess but forced "prison"-like world.
and you see the world through Finn's life - actually stuck in Incarceron. A living prison that eats it's dead and "births" new lives and things to keep the current living going.
and the story goes from there as these two worlds fight to stay seperate and two people fight to come together.
I would recommend this adventure to everyone! (