Usually I'm not into alternate future sci fi books, but again, I was trolling for something to listen to and Incarceron looked intriguing.
Incarceron itself is a prison, and a living being, designed by the Sapienti (wise ones) in a world that was searching for peace. The prison was designed to nurture and rehabilitate the prisoners, but the outside world had no access to it – only the warden. Unfortunately, what began as a peaceful experiment turned into a living hell for its occupants.
The outside world, or the Realm, is one where, at a time of great technological advances, the king decreed that time would be stopped in the 18th century, to free his subjects from the anxiety of change. Everything revolves around using technology to maintain an image of period authenticity. Only the poor live truly authentic lives as they have no access to technology.
The story centres on Finn, a prisoner in Incarceron, and Claudia, the warden's daughter. Finn suspects there is more to the world than life in Incarceron, and Claudia, who questions everything, believes that Incarceron is not the paradise they are being led to believe it is. When Claudia finds her father's key to the prison, the two worlds meet and everything changes.
Author Catherine Fisher has created a compelling and imaginative world in Incarceron and the sequel Sapphique. They are the only two books in the series. Both are a bit eerie, but compelling. I had to keep listening to see what happened. They are not 'go to' books for me, though. Listening once was definitely enough.
Kim Mai Guest is an excellent reader with a dreamy, ethereal quality that compliments the books very nicely.
I downloaded both of these books through Library to Go. You can listen to audio samples there, or at the Random House Audio links below.
Incarceron, (11 hrs, 36 mins), Listening Library, (2007)
Sapphique, (11 hrs, 58 mins), Listening Library, (2008)
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