Sapphique

Finn has escaped Incarceron only to find that he must defend his right to the throne from another challenger. His life and Claudia's hang on Finn convincing the Court that he is the lost prince, even though he has his own doubts about being the true heir.
from penguin.com

Beth says 5 Stars...

So I loved this book... so much. It was a very different book from Incarceron, which, although I adored the first novel as well, came as a welcome surprise. I always finding it irritating when authors simply sit on their laurels and make no attempt to improve the world that they already built. Again, the complexity of both worlds impressed me. I also found it fascinating to discover more of the prison's personality. Come on; it's totally awesome when a world has its own identity and can express it to the characters. Fisher managed to pull off some very layered interplay between the worlds effortlessly and even dropped a few hints about the ending. I found the plot compelling and thought that the different threads all came together satisfyingly. I didn't see one big part of the ending coming at all, but can see how it works when I think about it.

The characters remained likable (or not) and well created. Both Finn and Claudia irritated me every once in a while, but they were fine overall. Honestly, the characterization isn't the draw of the book for me. If they were absolutely terrible the book would be still worth reading because of the brilliant world building and plot. Since they reside of the realm of the non-spectacular (in either direction) I don't care terribly much. There's enough of a connection to make me care about the outcome, but not more than that.

Overall this was a great follow up to Incarceron. I don't think that there will be a third based on the ending, but if Fisher can come up with something I know that I'm game to read it. These books are fantastic and raise interesting questions about power and its use. If you haven't read these go buy them last week because they're fantastic.
Book from Library

Incarceron

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside—she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don’t realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye, and escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know. Because Incarceron is alive.
from us.penguingroup.com

Beth says 5 Stars...

Wow. I must say that this book rocked my socks off. First of all, the concept is so incredibly fascinating. You have the self contained living prison that is Incarceron, which is mind blowing in and of itself. However, the depths of the prison have yet to be explored and I can't wait to see where they lead. Fisher didn't just stop with one amazingly crafted world, though. She just had to be an overachiever and fashion another completely separate kingdom for a world within a world. You'll have to read it to find out which is which, though. Another delightful thing is the ambiguity in the time sequence. I was never entirely sure of when the book was taking place, if it was the future, the past, or something entirely separate and loved every minute of it. The book not only kept me guessing with the story, but it made me think. It assumed that its readers were intelligent and could be taken on a wild ride without condescension. The plot moves along at a delightful pace, and manages to keep it up despite constantly switching perspectives from Finn to Claudia.

The characters were fantastic as well. They weren't the best ever, but they fit into the flow of the book perfectly. The chemistry between Finn and Claudia was perhaps not as amazing as it could have been, but it wasn't the most important part of the story. They were much more interesting as individuals in their separate worlds. They handled situations completely differently which further emphasized how for removed they were from one another.

I honestly can't wait to see where this series goes. I have no idea what can be done for the second novel and can't wait to find out. This is a refreshing fantasy that assumes intelligence on the part of the reader and most definitely does not fall into the paranormal romance genre.