Sapphique

by Catherine Fisher Narrated by Kim Mai Guest

Overview

The only one who escaped*.*.*. And the one who could destroy them all.

Incarceron, the living prison, has lost one of its inmates to the outside world: Finn's escaped, only to find that Outside is not at all what he expected. Used to the technologically advanced, if violently harsh, conditions of the prison, Finn is now forced to obey the rules of Protocol, which require all people to live without technology. To Finn, Outside is just a prison of another kind, especially when Claudia, the daughter of the prison's warden, declares Finn the lost heir to the throne. When another claimant emerges, both Finn's and Claudia's very lives hang on Finn convincing the Court of something that even he doesn't fully believe.

Meanwhile, Finn's oathbrother Keiro and his friend Attia are still trapped inside Incarceron. They are searching for a magical glove, which legend says Sapphique used to escape. To find it, they must battle the prison itself, because Incarceron wants the glove too.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2011 - AudioFile

Sapphique is a legend—the only inmate to escape Incarceron, a cyber prison vast enough for villages, ice wings, and forests yet tiny as a watch fob. Kim Mai Guest differentiates a wide cast in this plot-twisting sequel. Finn, the uneasy prince; Jared, the Sapient; Rix, the half-mad magician; Keiro, Finn’s angry brother; the warden—even Incarceron itself—become become vivid in the listener’s imagination. Female leads, such as Claudia, the warden’s daughter, and Attia, the ex dog-slave, are portrayed well but with less contrast. Guest skillfully alternates the complicated story lines of the sentient prison, with its shining red eyes, and the Realm. These two narratives—with chain gangs and steel wolves, duels and betrayals—race to a climax that satisfies yet also suggests further mystery. M.C.T. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—Two worlds collide in Catherine Fisher's sequel (2010) to Incarceron (2010, both Dial). Finn has managed to escape the brutal prison, Incarceron, but is bewildered by the outside Realm that forces Protocal—living as though they were in the 18th century—upon its citizens. With the warden's daughter, Claudia, Finn races to prove himself a prince and assist his friends Kiero and Attia who remain inside Incarceron. Unknown to Finn, Kiero and Attia are determined to find their own way out of the prison. They join forces with Rix, a magician who holds the glove of Sapphique, the first man to escape Incarceron. The technology of Incarceron is in control and determined to use the glove of Sapphique to gain human form. If it does, everyone in the prison will die. Kim Mai Guest delivers a brilliant performance that manages to keep the complex plot and multiple characters straight. She gives each character a unique voice and expands their personalities beyond the written word. While the plot lacks the punch of the first story, listeners will relish this sequel.—Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK

Kirkus Reviews

In this dark, brilliant sequel to Incarceron (2010), worlds within worlds collide to mutual destruction—or, maybe, rebirth. Finn has finally Escaped the sentient prison world with aid from the Warden's daughter, Claudia, but escape hardly means freedom. As they struggle to negotiate the poisonous intrigue of the Realm and unlock Incarceron's secrets, their allies still trapped Inside seek a rumored artifact of the legendary Sapphique. For Incarceron has gone insane and is determined to Escape itself... Breathtaking worldbuilding describes two very different dystopian dimensions with surreal splendor and cruel artifice. The price exacted upon even the humblest characters is portrayed unflinchingly; yet the selfishness, deception and treachery of every protagonist does not prevent them from being painfully sympathetic and real. Even as the steadily ratcheting certainty of impending catastrophe keeps the pages turning, the sheer richness of the evocative descriptions demands that every sentence be savored. No conventional tidy ending is offered; the bleak conclusion glimmers from only the faint hope gained by revealing the truth. Not for everyone; but for those who can appreciate the interplaying reflections of lies, myths and memory, a modern masterpiece. (Science fiction. YA)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169465280
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	12/28/2010
Series:	Incarceron , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos