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optimisms's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I first read this book as a pre-teen, and I never forgot about it, but I'd forgotten enough of the plot that this time was like reading a new book for the first time. It's possible my experience was colored by nostalgia, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think it's expertly paced; I frequently felt that reading just one more page would be enough to answer all my questions. Fisher clearly takes inspiration from religious stories but absolutely makes them her own, and while I rarely like epigraphs, Fisher uses them well. The layering of the mysteries and twists is done really well, and the foreshadowing in some places is ingenious. There are only two things keeping it from a 5th star: several confusing threads were left unexplained at the end and there were multiple times were Fisher's descriptions of a scene were insufficient to allow the reader to picture it and understand what was happening.
Things I enjoyed:
1. Perhaps I'm looking too deep, but I noticed a distinct influence of religious imagery in several of the stories:
-Lucifer's Fall: one epigraph tells of a man falling for days, like an angel cast out of heaven.
- Eve in the Garden of Eden: a second epigraph tells of a woman in paradise who ate an apple that changed her view of the world.
-Daedalus & Icarus: A third epigraph tells of a man who flew with artificial wings, defying the prison and flying too high, before being struck down.
-The Moirai/Three Fates: The Wise Women, the Three Without Mercy, who act as judges in a crucial scene, are blind and have a spindle of thread which they cut when they make a life or death decision.
-The Minotaur & Theseus' volunteering as tribute: A city is threatened by a Beast that demands a human tribute each month, and the legend of Sapphique says he once took the place of a tribute.
-Incarceron is similar to Tartarus: The name even sounds similar, though that is likely coincidence. Both are prisons, constantly growing and changing and adapting to the prisoners it receives. Tartarus changes by assigning unique punishments to each inhabitant (Sisyphus, Tantalis, the Danaides) while Incarceron does so by adapting its landscape, creating new people and animals, and causing lockdowns and Prisonquakes. Most other similarities come from comparing Incarceron to Rick Riordan's Tartarus in The House of Hades, and while I'm aware of the timeline, I want to mention them anyway. Riordan's "Doors of Death" are the only way out and vanish after each use, similar to howthe keys are the only way out and they only work for one person . Moreover, Riordan's Tartarus is aware of the people moving inside it, like Incarceron, and its terrain can be compared to body parts (like skin and teeth). In the scene facing the Beast, Finn's realization that he was standing on and surrounded by Incarceron was strikingly similar to a scene in Riordan's where Percy and Annabeth realize they are walking on Tartarus' skin.
2. The epigraphs. I struggle with epigraphs because too often they are barely related to the story and are flowery or wordy or hard to follow. But Fisher writes her own epigraphs, so that they function as snippets of in-universe lore from varied sources, including "Songs of Sapphique," "Tales of the Steel Wolf," and "Lord Calliston's Diary." In addition, many tied in to the chapter's story, provided context for the two worlds, or added to the legends of Sapphique (an important figure in the story). There's not much else to say; I'm just really glad I was able to enjoy epigraphs for once.
3. Some of the twists are predictable, but I think that only helps some others be very surprising. For example, other reviews criticize the"Is Giles dead?" plot for being all too obvious, but I think the predictability of that storyline helps distract the reader from the larger mystery: Where is Incarceron? In the beginning, Claudia mentions that her spies say the Warden never leaves Court, but this is all we hear on her side about its location for over half the book. The focus is drawn to Giles' disappearance, and we miss the few clues about Incarceron's secret (the mentions of the cube on the chain, the spatial shift of the Warden's office, the impossibility of the Warden being the only one with knowledge of Incarceron's location) . Continuing with this example, some reviews have complained that Finn is obviously Giles and therefore fits the Chosen One stereotype, but I would argue that multiple characters emphasize how very unlikely it is that Finn is Giles. Some even say it doesn't matter if he is because he could be, and I, for one, am completely unsure at the close of the story . My two favorite twists were the true location of Incarceron, which was the only big thing I remembered from the first time I read it, and the Warden isn't Claudia's dad (and also he was Blaize).
Things I disliked:
1. A small inconsistency: Why do some refer to the "centuries" since Incarceron was sealed, while others say it's only been 150 years? This is not a difference between those Inside and Outside, and thus cannot be explained by a time difference; at one point the Warden says "centuries" despite Claudia's use of "150 years." And how are there so. many. people. in Incarceron if it's only been 150 years? Did they lock billions of people up? Do I just underestimate population growth rates?
2. A small complaint: The idea of the "deadly" court where everything is "a game" with plots of murder and betrayal is cliché, boring, and never actually shown to be true. The only indications of this is Evian's plan and Giles' death. Why is it so dangerous for Claudia to be there? Hopefully we'll see more evidence of this in Book 2.
3. Fisher generally did a good job describing her locations, but there were a few scenes where I really struggled to picture the action. One in particular is the scene ofescaping the fight with the Beast/Incarceron. From the moment Gildas points to a "fissure" and Attia climbs it to the moment "Blaize" "rescues" them, I was unable to see what was happening . I had no idea of the size, the appearance, the movement, the orientation of the characters. I was completely lost. This was the worst example, but there were other times when Fisher struggled to paint a picture. There were also a few times that details didn't match up. The worst example was during the ransom exchange at the spike. It's clearly stated that "Keiro pulled the woman's hands behind her and shackled them." but later, "The Maestra grasped the rail to steady herself." and "The Maestra's fingers gripping the metal links..." both of which are difficult to do with your hands behind your back.
4. There were many threads left unexplained that I'm not sure the next book will answer. These are:
-Is the Warden actually Sapphique ? This definitely could be addressed in Book 2, I'm just not confident it will be.
-Did Keiro kill the Maestra ? The book seems to be heavily leaning one way, but reading the passage where the actual event occurs seems to indicate very clearly who is at fault, and it's not him.
- Jared's illness – is he dying? what disease does he have? what are his medicines? what is wrong with him? I honestly don't know if there will be an answer to this; it was barely even touched on in this book.
-Why are some things transmittable through the keys, like Claudia's perfume?
-How did no one accidentally press the eagle's eye before the Warden told them to ? Not exactly an unanswered question, more like a small plot-hole?
-Do the skull rings work? If not, how did Attia survive? Why did Gildas die?
-What "talk" did the Warden mean when he told Jared, "I leave her to you, Master. Remember our talk."? The only interaction we saw was when trying to talk to Incarceron.
I will definitely be reading book 2, Sapphique. I may have already read part of it, back in 2012. I'm so glad I took the time to reread this book, because it was even better than I remembered, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi/fantasy, regardless of age.
Things I enjoyed:
1. Perhaps I'm looking too deep, but I noticed a distinct influence of religious imagery in several of the stories:
-Lucifer's Fall: one epigraph tells of a man falling for days, like an angel cast out of heaven.
- Eve in the Garden of Eden: a second epigraph tells of a woman in paradise who ate an apple that changed her view of the world.
-Daedalus & Icarus: A third epigraph tells of a man who flew with artificial wings, defying the prison and flying too high, before being struck down.
-The Moirai/Three Fates: The Wise Women, the Three Without Mercy, who act as judges in a crucial scene, are blind and have a spindle of thread which they cut when they make a life or death decision.
-The Minotaur & Theseus' volunteering as tribute: A city is threatened by a Beast that demands a human tribute each month, and the legend of Sapphique says he once took the place of a tribute.
-Incarceron is similar to Tartarus: The name even sounds similar, though that is likely coincidence. Both are prisons, constantly growing and changing and adapting to the prisoners it receives. Tartarus changes by assigning unique punishments to each inhabitant (Sisyphus, Tantalis, the Danaides) while Incarceron does so by adapting its landscape, creating new people and animals, and causing lockdowns and Prisonquakes. Most other similarities come from comparing Incarceron to Rick Riordan's Tartarus in The House of Hades, and while I'm aware of the timeline, I want to mention them anyway. Riordan's "Doors of Death" are the only way out and vanish after each use, similar to how
2. The epigraphs. I struggle with epigraphs because too often they are barely related to the story and are flowery or wordy or hard to follow. But Fisher writes her own epigraphs, so that they function as snippets of in-universe lore from varied sources, including "Songs of Sapphique," "Tales of the Steel Wolf," and "Lord Calliston's Diary." In addition, many tied in to the chapter's story, provided context for the two worlds, or added to the legends of Sapphique (an important figure in the story). There's not much else to say; I'm just really glad I was able to enjoy epigraphs for once.
3. Some of the twists are predictable, but I think that only helps some others be very surprising. For example, other reviews criticize the
Things I disliked:
1. A small inconsistency: Why do some refer to the "centuries" since Incarceron was sealed, while others say it's only been 150 years? This is not a difference between those Inside and Outside, and thus cannot be explained by a time difference; at one point the Warden says "centuries" despite Claudia's use of "150 years." And how are there so. many. people. in Incarceron if it's only been 150 years? Did they lock billions of people up? Do I just underestimate population growth rates?
2. A small complaint: The idea of the "deadly" court where everything is "a game" with plots of murder and betrayal is cliché, boring, and never actually shown to be true. The only indications of this is Evian's plan and Giles' death. Why is it so dangerous for Claudia to be there? Hopefully we'll see more evidence of this in Book 2.
3. Fisher generally did a good job describing her locations, but there were a few scenes where I really struggled to picture the action. One in particular is the scene of
4. There were many threads left unexplained that I'm not sure the next book will answer. These are:
-
-
- Jared's illness – is he dying? what disease does he have? what are his medicines? what is wrong with him? I honestly don't know if there will be an answer to this; it was barely even touched on in this book.
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-
-
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I will definitely be reading book 2, Sapphique. I may have already read part of it, back in 2012. I'm so glad I took the time to reread this book, because it was even better than I remembered, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi/fantasy, regardless of age.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexual assault and Terminal illness
jenna_justi2004's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and War
agustdefault's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
omg!!! im so glad i picked up this book it has one of the most unique and interesting concepts ive ever read! the pace is pretty slow and some parts can get repetitive but the world building definitely makes up for it. i could so clearly see incarceron in my head it was amazing! so excited im about to start book two
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Slavery
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