“Only the man who has known freedom Can define his prison.”

Your hands are tied to the rusty metal cuff that has a long strong thick metal chain attached to it. You have been pulling the chain forever to be free. Pull after Pull. Still cuffed to the chains, you have no idea where you are or why this mist comes over you.

You live in a world of the past you can’t quite figure out. Constant flashbacks of your past life are coming. What do you do? How do you solve it?

Incarceron is the tale of the modern advanced prison where Finn, a prison born inmate, is trapped. His past is catching up to him. He is tied to these cuffs. He is running but his past is coming. Claudia is the girl living in the past but her future and forgotten family and secrets are coming to be reattached to her life again. Finn and Claudia have been communicating through different worlds. They both live in a whole different universe and have different ways of life but for so long or as long as Finn can remember they have been in communication. But how?

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher is a fantasy; a mysterious fiction novel. I would highly recommend it to young adults because in my view it’s a book for a young adult who loves fantasy. At the start of the book it can be confusing so I would recommended it to young minds that are in between the age of a child and an older young adult. One reason I like this book is because it has that thriller tip of the iceberg to it and a bit of that forceful imaginative touch. It makes you imagine what’s going on, not you choosing to make the scene, which I believe is really fantastic for young minds to keep their imagination open. I would rate it 4 stars.

The thrill of Incarceron will leave you at the edge of your seat and stuck to the book until morning comes.

“Where are the leaders?’ Sapphique asked. ‘In the 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.”

Welcome to Incarceron.

Lauren Yr 9

……..

“Nothing has changed, or will change. So we must change it.”

Readers are invited to take a trip to Incarceron, a prison made up as a whole world, filled with people that live throughout this land. Many forests and towns are located in this one prison, but Incarceron is not the only land that some of the citizens believe there is.

Finn is a prisoner of Incarceron, awoken in a cell but he doesn’t remember his earlier life. Believing he’s not from the prison but from outside, he has already spent three years trying to find out where he’s from. It’s a challenge that he desperately wishes to accomplish.

Claudia is the daughter of the prison’s warden, living in a world frozen in the era of the 17^th century, by law. She desires to show the people of her world the true story of a particular death. Living on the outside of the prison, she also has complications to face.

Both these teenagers are trapped in their own way, both believing they have never seen each other’s worlds but somehow they both find a way to communicate. Both wanting to accomplish their goals, they work together from their distant spaces to do so.

I liked this book because of the uniqueness. I found the point of view from both characters interesting and the book was very enjoyable to read. It was hard to put down this fascinating story. I enjoyed how Claudia and Finn communicated with each other to work together towards their goals, despite the distance between them. The settings were interesting and the story flowed well. The landscapes of both worlds were captivating and intriguing. Unfortunately, there were some parts of the novel that lacked description so it was harder to picture.

I recommend this book to advanced readers from 14 years and older. Any readers who love an adventure and enjoy journeying through incredible worlds would enjoy this book. Despite the lack of emotion in some sections, I give the novel four stars due to how captivating it is. Incarceron is a good story and I definitely recommend reading it.

Tiana A, Year 9