Joe Ducie

The Rig is actually an oil drilling platform that has been turned into a prison for incorrigible teens. Will Drake, who has made a career out of escaping from the most inescapable prisons in the world, has been assigned to The Rig. Almost immediately, Will runs afoul of several inmates and some of the guards as well. His cellmate, Tristan, has already been on The Rig for more than a year. Will learns early on that the electronic tracker on his wrist is going to make escape from this prison tricky; not to mention the fact that The Rig is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean and is miles away from land. However, if there is one thing that Will has learned, it is that no place is inescapable.
This book was a very interesting story reminiscent of the Lockdown series, but with a supernatural twist that shows up about half way through the book. The main characters are not unique or unusual in any way, but they are likable enough to make them people to root for. Overall, a fun adventure that can be enjoyed at any age.… (more)

After having escaped from a few juvie prisons, 15-year old Will Drake is sent to maximum security version on a remote oil rig. Will narrowly escapes a confrontation with the prison bully, and is assigned the worst possible job, mucking the pipes. However, he defends his cellmate, who in turn helps Will remove his tracking device so Will can work on his escape plan as well as discover what the privately-owned prison operator is really doing in its remote location. I liked the backstories of the characters, but found Will's character very uneven. 3.5 stars.… (more)

The first book I read by Joe Ducie was a short story that I found on Amazon for free months ago. At least, I think that was where I found it. It was called THE FORGETFUL LIBRARY, and was just a short story. I liked the Declan Hale character, and saw Ducie had this novel out, I was excited, yet it took me awhile to get around to actually getting it.

That being said, this novel, for my return to this realm, was awesome! Declan Hale has been exiled from his world, a world within the nether called Forget. I won't go into the details of why, but this story is of events that cause him to return to the event that created his exile.

As I mentioned before, I loved the Declan character, and the supporting ones, though they are not really developed in the story aside from what is needed, they help provide the main character support. Plot and build-up were great, and the pace moved quickly throughout. In fact, things moved fast enough, there were times I would have liked a bit more detail/rumination. Knowing that there is a sequel, I won't expand about wanting to know more about the background of everything, as some may be revealed in the second book. Great read!… (more)