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libraryladys's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't finish the book. Even though I really liked Incarceron, I just couldn't get into the sequel.
kayteeem's review against another edition
Very allegorical. I'm not entirely sure I know what "really" happened. I struggled a bit -- I didn't care about the characters equally, so pushing through the sections where the focus was on the less interesting characters was kind of a slog.
akublik's review against another edition
2.0
A disappointing sequel. I listened to the audio book version in the car; I found the narrator to be overly cheerful for the story line.
alboyer6's review against another edition
I liked, not loved, the first one and thought the world building was weak. I tried to read this one and all of the weaknesses in the first book just seemed compounded in this. For a book so long, I expected more of a description and back story for the medieval/renaissance world that contains Incarceron.
littleroseygirl's review against another edition
5.0
suspenseful, all the way down to the last page.
reddyrat's review against another edition
4.0
With Incarceron and Sapphique, Catherine Fisher created a marvelously rich, complex story that bridges dystopia, high fantasy, and science fiction. It's quite an accomplishment.
Like Incarceron, Sapphique switches back and forth between the Court and the Prison. We get to know the characters much better, especially Jared, Keiro, and Attia. The Prison and the Court are also bigger characters. We understand better how the Prison has a personality of its own and how the Court is really one big illusion. We also learn more about Sapphique, the god-like prophet who is worshiped by the people of Incarceron. Each chapter starts with a little epigraph of Sapphique's legend and Keiro and Attia essentially follow the journey that Sapphique supposedly took.
The characters in Sapphique are really not all the likeable. I admire the author for not bowing to the pressure of nice, sweet characters. A lot of people were turned off by the characters, but I had no trouble related to them, even Keiro. Fisher does a good job of showing their motivations, fears, and hopes. Keiro in particular seems evil, but you can see his underlying desperation to get out of Incarceron, his anger at being betrayed by Finn (he believes), and his fear of being a half-man. Claudia continues to act like a spoiled brat, but I thought her personality was believable given the pressures being placed upon her and always having to watch her back. Finn too seems frustrating, because he doesn't shape up to his princely image as quick as one would hope, but in reality - who would? He acts realistically for a boy as damaged as he is.
There's so much going on in this book. You have the battle to decide whether Finn is Prince Giles or whether the title belongs to a new interloper. You have Jared trying to repair the portal and also hoping to treat his illness. You have the Warden stuck in Incarceron. You have Keiro and Attia making a long journey to try to get out of Incarceron. The book switches back and forth between different stories quickly - the sections are often only a few pages. Fisher does a good job at having enough action that the book doesn't drag.
My main complaint about this book is one that I also had in Incarceron, only it was magnified in Sapphique. The book is so complicated that I felt like I didn't entirely get it. You could take that as a compliment - the book is so rich that to be properly appreciated, the book really needs at least two readings. And that would be fine if I loved the book enough or had enough time to devote two readings to Sapphique, but I don't. While I love really strong stories that require me to think, I also like being able to relax and let the book do the work for me. Sapphique was sometimes too much work.
Overall, Sapphique was a great conclusion to Incarceron. I liked that it tied up loose ends, but still left a few things open. Perhaps there will eventually be a third book. There are a lot of places Fisher could still go with this world, but I also feel like things were concluded well enough that it doesn't need a third book to finish off the plot.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Like Incarceron, Sapphique switches back and forth between the Court and the Prison. We get to know the characters much better, especially Jared, Keiro, and Attia. The Prison and the Court are also bigger characters. We understand better how the Prison has a personality of its own and how the Court is really one big illusion. We also learn more about Sapphique, the god-like prophet who is worshiped by the people of Incarceron. Each chapter starts with a little epigraph of Sapphique's legend and Keiro and Attia essentially follow the journey that Sapphique supposedly took.
The characters in Sapphique are really not all the likeable. I admire the author for not bowing to the pressure of nice, sweet characters. A lot of people were turned off by the characters, but I had no trouble related to them, even Keiro. Fisher does a good job of showing their motivations, fears, and hopes. Keiro in particular seems evil, but you can see his underlying desperation to get out of Incarceron, his anger at being betrayed by Finn (he believes), and his fear of being a half-man. Claudia continues to act like a spoiled brat, but I thought her personality was believable given the pressures being placed upon her and always having to watch her back. Finn too seems frustrating, because he doesn't shape up to his princely image as quick as one would hope, but in reality - who would? He acts realistically for a boy as damaged as he is.
There's so much going on in this book. You have the battle to decide whether Finn is Prince Giles or whether the title belongs to a new interloper. You have Jared trying to repair the portal and also hoping to treat his illness. You have the Warden stuck in Incarceron. You have Keiro and Attia making a long journey to try to get out of Incarceron. The book switches back and forth between different stories quickly - the sections are often only a few pages. Fisher does a good job at having enough action that the book doesn't drag.
My main complaint about this book is one that I also had in Incarceron, only it was magnified in Sapphique. The book is so complicated that I felt like I didn't entirely get it. You could take that as a compliment - the book is so rich that to be properly appreciated, the book really needs at least two readings. And that would be fine if I loved the book enough or had enough time to devote two readings to Sapphique, but I don't. While I love really strong stories that require me to think, I also like being able to relax and let the book do the work for me. Sapphique was sometimes too much work.
Overall, Sapphique was a great conclusion to Incarceron. I liked that it tied up loose ends, but still left a few things open. Perhaps there will eventually be a third book. There are a lot of places Fisher could still go with this world, but I also feel like things were concluded well enough that it doesn't need a third book to finish off the plot.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
farmfreshlisa's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant fantasy world! Kept me guessing all the way to the end! Wow!
villianess's review against another edition
4.0
Finn is no longer in the prison Incarceron, but the reality that he has come into is more like the prison than he thought. He is the heir to the kingdom, is he the true Prince Giles? The Queen doesn't want anything to do with him and finds a way to put doubt into the minds of the people with another heir. While Finn is trying to figure out how to get his friends out of Incarceron from the outside, Keiro is trying to find a way out from within. Keiro meets up with Rix, a man that claims to have the 'Glove of Sapphique' said to be the key to getting out of Incarceron. As Incarceron falls apart from within, the outside Kingdom is coming apart and being seem for the truth it is.
20emilyb401's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75