I want to apologize for not being on this week! My computer was being wacky and I had SO many AP stuff to do! Never again, promise!Who: Catherine Fisher
What: Incareron
When: July 15th, 2010
Why: Hype
How: Library
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 ...
The world-building in this book had stuff I loved and stuff I hated. I absolutely loved Incareron, how it worked, the way it was alive and created half-human people out of recycled skin! That was just so creepy yet....amazing! What I didn't like, was the Outside. I didn't understand why everything had to be 'Of Era', like they'd say, and what exactly protocol was. I knew they couldn't use modern devices or something, but she never really explained why? And the Wars of Rage? Never got explained much either, just that they happened. Didn't like that.
I wasn't too fond of Claudia either, I found her a bit selfish. While she did try to get Finn out, she was mostly doing it because she believed that he was her key out of her marriage and never really did anything for just the sole purpose of doing it. She didn't understand Finn's devotion to his oathbrother (more on Keiro and Attia in a minute) and just brushed it off during the ending. Which ticked me off. Finn was super sweet and shy and didn't speak his mind until he snapped. I loved how caring he was for all things, and even when everyone told him Attia was just a stupid girl and too leave her behind, he didn't. So bonus points for him.
Keiro and Attia were the side characters on Finn's side of the story. Keiro was arrogant, cocky, and just an all-around funny sidekick. You didn't hear a lot from Attia, but I loved how devoted she was to helping Finn get out of Incareron. Jared was the main side character from Claudia's side, and I loved him. He was sweet and gentle and knew when to pull Claudia back from her wild ideas (though it says didn't work). I saw the subtle hints of a one-sided romance between the two, but as Claudia's father said, I see him more like a father to her.
Finally, the ending. Umm...I need Sapphique like NOW. Just as a sidenote, the book doesn't have romance, like whatsoever. And I kept reading. This may not sound like a big deal...but it's a BIG DEAL.
My rating? AMAZINGNESS
Happy Reading!
-Harmony
