Incarceron - Catherine Fisher

Young Adult
Pages: 448
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: January 26, 2010

Incarceron is a prison unlike any other: Its inmates live not only in cells, but also in metal forests, dilapidated cities, and unbounded wilderness. The prison has been sealed for centuries, and only one man, legend says, has ever escaped.
           
Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, can’t remember his childhood and believes he came from Outside Incarceron. He’s going to escape, even though most inmates don’t believe that Outside even exists. And then Finn finds a crystal key and through it, a girl named Claudia.
           
Claudia claims to live Outside—her father is the Warden of Incarceron and she’s doomed to an arranged marriage. If she helps Finn escape, she will need his help in return. But they don’t realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost far more than they know.
           
Because Incarceron is alive.

This might probably be one of the most unusual fantasies I've read. This was quite an enchanting journey through the impossible and back. Very elegantly written, Incarceron brings a whole new world to life. A world of prison and royalty and science and conspiracies. A world so perfectly constructed that it almost feels historical.

Incarceron is a prison. One where nothing goes in or out. And it's alive. Also, no one knows where it is, and from the outside, people think it's a paradise. The narrating voice was extremely powerful. I love the charming way most fantasies are written. This was no exception. It feels like its not quite dystopian, more like high fantasy mixed with science fiction.The plot felt a little predictable in some parts, you can see it coming. This, and the slow pace was probably my biggest complain.

The characters were good, for the most part. I think I have something against female leads lately. This time, Claudia felt quite normal and nice, not too nice just nice, but she was kind of boring or dull for the shoes she had to fill. So many things happen to her and yet she's just there. I think she could have reacted a little more, have a stronger voice in some sense. Finn was okay. Just okay.

Overall, it was a really interesting read for people who enjoy high fantasy and intricately plotted books.

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