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Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
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Incarceron (edition 2011)

by Catherine Fisher

Series: Incarceron (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
3,5101883,621 (3.7)1 / 111
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.
Member:melydia
Title:Incarceron
Authors:Catherine Fisher
Info:Firebird (2011), Edition: unknown, Paperback, 464 pages
Collections:Read and Released
Rating:**
Tags:fantasy, audio

Work Information

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

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» See also 111 mentions

English (185)  Italian (1)  German (1)  All languages (187)
Showing 1-5 of 185 (next | show all)
Great writing, a nice quick pace, and a driving plot kept me from putting this book down much once I'd started in on it. Still, it wasn't totally satisfying for me.

The dystopian world Catherine Fisher creates in the book is totally intriguing: After a violent upheaval called the "Time of Rage" the government takes control and puts all the criminals (along with the meek and the poor, I think) into a vast prison called Incarceron. Incarceron is supposed to be a utopia, but the sentient (artificial?) intelligence that controls the prison turns it into a hellish wasteland. Meanwhile, outside the prison, the elite are forced to live in a false feudal-ish era because the government has decreed that modernity and change are dangerous.

So you have a 17-year-old boy, Finn, and his motley group of friends inside Incerceron trying to get out. And you have a girl, Claudia, trying to discover the secrets of Incarceron to escape an arranged marriage to the future King. Not a bad setup.

My criticisms are largely matters of taste, I guess. None of the characters were particularly likable. Finn and Claudia were both hella angsty. And there wasn't very much in the way of humor or good feelings. If you don't mind 442 pages of dark, dreary, and tense then this will surely thrill you. As for me...I wasn't thrilled.

Another criticism, and a tiny bit of a spoiler, is that this book seems to be true sci-fi, but kind of drifts into fantasy in the end, by which I mean the conclusion lacked a logical explanation. Maybe the second book will do a better job of explaining Sapphique (I'm guessing so, since it's title is "Sapphique"). We shall see. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
This book would make a wonderful film, with its cinematic blend of 18th-century costume drama, mythological fantasy, and post-apocalyptic cyberpunk fun. Fisher tells an engaging story that has a bit of a Golden Compass feel to it.

However, the characters weren't compelling enough for me to consider picking up the sequels. It wasn't just that Claudia didn't interest me (I have a low tolerance for rebellious princess-types). Finn was even likable, and his quasi-mystical seizures gave a lot of texture to the story.

Yet both leads lack depth - not only do they not change during the story, but the reader knows everything there is to know about them by about page 50. In general, none of the emotional moments or reveals in this story surprised me, and there are few moments when the main characters surprise themselves. Which would be fine for many action-driven YA novels, but the narrative seems to demand a bit more that what Fisher gives us.

So, an imaginative book but not one that appealed to me as an adult reader who enjoys complex characters.

(Minor quibble: Sapphique sounds less like a trickster god and more like a Francophone feminist bookstore. But maybe that's just me.) ( )
  raschneid | Dec 19, 2023 |
I read through this one really fast. I really like the parallel story lines, but I felt like some of the characters were a little under-developed. I'm still wholly invested in Finn and Claudia though, and can't wait to start Sapphique today. ( )
  wanderlustlover | Dec 26, 2022 |
This was one of those books that I really wanted to take my time reading---the writing is clean, evocative; the characters flawed and intriguing; and I didn't want to miss any of the details that might be important later. But the mystery of Incarceron is so compelling that I had to keep reminding myself to slow down, to savor the story as it unfolded. That turned out to be just about impossible...I couldn't put the book down! Someday I'd like to go back and rediscover all of the subtle touches that make Incarceron's world so vivid and engaging---and because the book pairs a suspenseful adventure with some fascinating notions about technology and the nature of humanity and its prisons, I know this is a book I can look forward to reading again! ( )
  slimikin | Mar 27, 2022 |
Solid 3 stars. There were some twists I saw coming and some I didn't. Decent dystopia. I'll put the sequel on my to-read, but I don't know if I actually will get to it. ( )
  readingjag | Nov 29, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 185 (next | show all)
 

» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Catherine Fisherprimary authorall editionscalculated
Guest, Kim MaiNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Yuen, SammyCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
(chapter 1 page 5)

Who can chart the vastness of Incarceron?
Its halls and viaducts, its chasms?
Only the man who has known freedom
Can define his prison.
                             -Song of Sapphique
(chapter 2 page 15)

We will choose an Era from the past and re-create it.
We will make a world free from the anxiety of change!
It will be Paradise!
                                                 -King Endor's Decree
(chapter 3 page 28)

The experiment will be a bold one and there
may well be risks we have not foreseen. But
Incarceron will be a system of great complexity
and intelligence. There could be no kinder or
more compassionate guardian of its inmates.
                   -Project report; Martor Sapiens
(chapter 4 page 42)

Finally when all was ready, Martor convened
the council of the Sapienti and asked for
volunteers. They must be prepared to leave
family and friends forever. To turn their backs
on the green grass, the trees, the light of the sun.
Never again to see the stars.
    "We are the Wise," he said. "The responsibility
for success is ours. We must send our finest minds
to guide the inmates."
    At the appointed hour, as he approached the
chamber of the Gate, they say he murmured his
fear that it would be empty.
    He opened the door. Seventy men and women
were waiting for him. In great ceremony, they
entered the Prison.
    They were never seen again.
                                     -Tales of the Steel Wolf
(chapter 5 page 55)

There was a man and his mane was Sapphique.
Where he came from is a mystery. Some say he
was born of the Prison, grown from its stored
components. Some say he came from Outside,
because he alone of men returned there. Some
say he was not a man at all, but a creature
from those shining sparks lunatics see in dreams
and name the stars. Some say he was a liar and
a fool.
                                               -Legend of Sapphique
Dedication
To Sheenagh Pugh
brilliant poet, wise webmistress.
First words
Finn had been flung on his face and chained to the stone slabs of the transitway.
Quotations
(page 50)

    . . . As for the arrangement we spoke of before, it
is unfortunate, but great changes often require great
sacrifices. G has been kept aloof from others since
his father died; the people's grief will be real but
short-lived and we can contain it. It barely needs
saying that your part will be behind value to us.
When my son is King I can promise you all I . . .
(page 142)

    My dear,
    You will have heard the good news that your
wedding is imminent. After waiting all these
years, I'm sure your excitement is as intense as
my own! Casper insisted on coming to escort you
here--such a romantic. What a handsome couple
you will make. From now on, my dear, you must
think of me as your loving mother.
                                                            Sia Regina
(page 307)

MARCION
MASCUS
MASCUS ATTOR
MATTHEUS PRIME
MATTHEUS UMRA
(page 308)

FIMENON
FIMMA
FIMMIA
FIMOS NEPOS
FINARA

FINN
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (1)

To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.

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Book description
Imagine a prison so vast that it contains cells and corridors, forests, cities and seas. Imagine a prisoner with no memory, sure he came from Outside - though the prison has been sealed for centuries and only one man has ever escaped. Imagine a girl in a manor house, in a society where time is forbidden, held in a 17th century world run by computers, doomed to an arranged marriage, tangled in an assassination plot she dreads and desires. One inside, one outside. But both imprisoned. Imagine Incarceron.
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