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suzemo's review against another edition
4.0
So, I started out really loving this book, and loved it a wee bit less by the time I was done. I think the main problem is that it's not a standalone, you've got to start with the next book (I don't mind series books, but I do mind if I feel like I can't stop)
There are some amazing ideas in this book that I hope get fleshed out in the next. I like the characters well enough (the Warden was actually my favorite, is that bad?).
What I really DID like (and got a chuckle out of) was the idea of the missing prince.
I hope that Sapphique closes the story out nicely so I can keep liking this book, instead of getting mad at it, as I'm prone to do to first novels when sequels don't measure up and I feel I can't leave the first book as a standalone.
There are some amazing ideas in this book that I hope get fleshed out in the next. I like the characters well enough (the Warden was actually my favorite, is that bad?).
What I really DID like (and got a chuckle out of) was the idea of the missing prince.
Spoiler
And when they do find someone that might or might not be the prince? The general idea is "eh, fuck it, that's the dude we've got so roll with it, regardless of his legitimacy." It was awesome.I hope that Sapphique closes the story out nicely so I can keep liking this book, instead of getting mad at it, as I'm prone to do to first novels when sequels don't measure up and I feel I can't leave the first book as a standalone.
bsmorris's review against another edition
5.0
What an incredible world is created by Catherine Fisher! The twist at the very end is perhaps predictable, but still sort of mind-bending, and I really enjoyed the imagery and the character development.
venpyre's review against another edition
4.0
It was certainly an experience rereading this for the first time since I was 10. I remember this being one of my favorite books for years and it holds up pretty well. There’s a certain charm to pre 2010 fantasy YA that’s a lot less slick and manufactured than what we get today.
The story and world feel self contained like...honestly, like a dnd campaign? There’s a lot of lore just kind of put out there to absorb but its somehow really refreshing to get a modern technological twist to traditional “steampunk-esque” tropes. If I had to articulate it, this book feels removed from a lot of the copy paste YA of the mid to late 2010s, like it got a foothold in right before dystopia lost its spark.
We don’t get a lot of information about Finn and his entourage, though I’m thinking perhaps we’ll see more of that in the 2nd book? As of now, they’re just kind of interesting personalities without much depth. Overall, Claudia is definitely the most fleshed-out character.
I can definitely see what drew me to this story when I was an adolescent. Also, god do I miss when YA series were allowed to be duologies instead of forced trilogies.
The story and world feel self contained like...honestly, like a dnd campaign? There’s a lot of lore just kind of put out there to absorb but its somehow really refreshing to get a modern technological twist to traditional “steampunk-esque” tropes. If I had to articulate it, this book feels removed from a lot of the copy paste YA of the mid to late 2010s, like it got a foothold in right before dystopia lost its spark.
We don’t get a lot of information about Finn and his entourage, though I’m thinking perhaps we’ll see more of that in the 2nd book? As of now, they’re just kind of interesting personalities without much depth. Overall, Claudia is definitely the most fleshed-out character.
I can definitely see what drew me to this story when I was an adolescent. Also, god do I miss when YA series were allowed to be duologies instead of forced trilogies.
betwixt_the_pages's review against another edition
4.0
"The ship cracked. The mast splintered, toppled, wood showering around them. Attia fell against him, scrabbling after a crystal glitter that slid from his shirt. "Get the Key," she yelled.
But the ship hit the back of the cube and darkness crashed down on him. Like a finger crushing the ant. Like a main mast falling."
---
I've only read a handful of books that nod toward steampunk, so I REALLY enjoyed this first foray into something a bit more set in that genre. This book kept me guessing throughout; even the reveal of the "lost prince" isn't really a reveal, but something that could, later on, be a red herring.
When Claudia discovers a secret about Incarceron, the prison her father is Warden over, she expects that breaking the lost prince out and returning to a more "normal" world will be easy. She doesn't know there are more secrets to Incarceron--and her own past--than meet the eye...
The writing and world building of this are gorgeously done. While I wish that the prison had been described a bit MORE in detail--there were some moments I found myself getting confused about just where they were in their travels across the prison--there were also plot points and reveals that I hadn't expected. A world of this magnitude takes a lot of imagination to come to life--and this book has that in full.
Some of the characters fall a bit flat of their promise--they have moments where they seem interesting, as if we're going to see something deeper of them, that never actually occurs. The focus is, as with most novels, on the main characters, though part of me wishes a few of the "sidekicks" had been given their due on the page as well.
If you're looking for a novel that is more "steampunk" than fantasy (but still manages to retain both genres, plus a little of everything else); a novel with interesting, complex characters and a habit of never quite revealing all its secrets to you--this book is for you!
But the ship hit the back of the cube and darkness crashed down on him. Like a finger crushing the ant. Like a main mast falling."
---
I've only read a handful of books that nod toward steampunk, so I REALLY enjoyed this first foray into something a bit more set in that genre. This book kept me guessing throughout; even the reveal of the "lost prince" isn't really a reveal, but something that could, later on, be a red herring.
When Claudia discovers a secret about Incarceron, the prison her father is Warden over, she expects that breaking the lost prince out and returning to a more "normal" world will be easy. She doesn't know there are more secrets to Incarceron--and her own past--than meet the eye...
The writing and world building of this are gorgeously done. While I wish that the prison had been described a bit MORE in detail--there were some moments I found myself getting confused about just where they were in their travels across the prison--there were also plot points and reveals that I hadn't expected. A world of this magnitude takes a lot of imagination to come to life--and this book has that in full.
Some of the characters fall a bit flat of their promise--they have moments where they seem interesting, as if we're going to see something deeper of them, that never actually occurs. The focus is, as with most novels, on the main characters, though part of me wishes a few of the "sidekicks" had been given their due on the page as well.
If you're looking for a novel that is more "steampunk" than fantasy (but still manages to retain both genres, plus a little of everything else); a novel with interesting, complex characters and a habit of never quite revealing all its secrets to you--this book is for you!
lindsayb's review against another edition
2.0
This was the absolute wrong book to try to test out whether I can listen to audiobooks. It was so complicated that even when I read along with the audio, which usually enhances my reading experience, I was still lost and had to page through to figure out what the heck was going on, who was speaking, what had happened the last time we heard from that character. The problem was enhanced by the reader, who made half the voices sound exactly alike with grating English accents and didn't often keep with the tone the author specified. I would have scrapped it, but when I tried reading it without audio, I kept falling asleep. I just couldn't get interested. I really liked Claudia's story at the beginning, but I didn't care for how frequently the narration switched between Finn and Claudia. It was dizzying. It got even more confusing when various characters were separated from there and the narration further branched. All the twists and turns were convenient, and the world-building was so complex that it left little room for speculation apart from it drawing on a traditional plotline. I readily got into the mindset of being passive and waiting for what crazy turn Fisher would conveniently throw in, and it soon fell into the cheap sort of hook of ending every single chapter or narration switch with a cliff hanger...to the point I had to bring this around again: "Duhn-duhn-DUHHHHN!" at each switcharoo.
Ultimately, this immediately struck me as a less compelling, more complicated version of Seraphina, or should I say, Seraphina was a more compelling, less complicated version of Incarceron. I don't doubt that there are plenty of people who didn't get as caught up in the details as I did, and who knows, had I read it under different circumstances and with more time to mull it over (it is assigned for my Teen Library Materials class, so that doesn't leave much room for taking one's time), I would have liked it better. I see most of my friends who've read it have rated it highly, so I'll just own up to missing something big on this.
Ultimately, this immediately struck me as a less compelling, more complicated version of Seraphina, or should I say, Seraphina was a more compelling, less complicated version of Incarceron. I don't doubt that there are plenty of people who didn't get as caught up in the details as I did, and who knows, had I read it under different circumstances and with more time to mull it over (it is assigned for my Teen Library Materials class, so that doesn't leave much room for taking one's time), I would have liked it better. I see most of my friends who've read it have rated it highly, so I'll just own up to missing something big on this.
jturner73's review
DNF - I’ve been flip flopping back and forth on whether or not I’m going to be finishing this but considering I started it a month ago and I’m still in the same spot I was, I think it’s time to admit defeat. I’m SO sad though! It started off SO strong! The biggest problem is that there got to be so much that could easily lift out without affecting the story that I just can’t bring myself to keep going. This book did not need to be 450 pages at all.
curlyheadreamer's review against another edition
5.0
CRAZY book, it reminded me of the Hunger Games. *Spoiler* i was eager for them to get out and I was very sad when i found out Inacreceron was a cube