Book Review : Lockdown (Escape From Furnace #1) by Alexander Gordon Smith

Lockdown (Escape From Furnace #1) by Alexander Gordon Smith

Paperback, 273 pages

Published August 3rd 2010 by Square Fish

Available Online:
Amazon $8.99 USD
B & N $8.99 USD
The Book Depository $8.41 USD
Boomerang Books $11.66 AUD

Synopsis

Beneath Heaven is Hell. Beneath Hell is Furnace.

Furnace Penitentiary: An underground hellhole. A place of pure evil with walls soaked in blood. Murderous gangs and vicious guards rule the darkness. Horrific creatures steal people away in the dead of night. And the impossible - escape - is the only hope.

Review

I usually don't say this, but...
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Lockdown. Is. Amazing!!! *inserts hardcore-fan squeal*

Being super engrossing and totally un-put-down-able, I couldn't stop reading this book, and ended up finishing it by 4 o'clock in the morning, only then did I close the book with a satisfied smile on my face and went to bed dreaming about Alex's Escape.

What I love about this book:

1. A hero with a complex personality. Alex Sawyer is a school bully, a thief and a burgular --- but never a killer. After he is accused of murdering his partner in crime Toby, he is sentenced to a life behind bars in Furnace Penitentiary, a prison of criminal teens which is located deep beneath the Earth. Alex arrives along with two other inmates, Zee and Monty, both wrongly accused of crimes they never did. When Alex sees Monty being bullied by the Skulls, he couldn't restrain his temper and lashed out to save the poor kid. He does this partly because of his guilt --- he remembered the way he used to terrorize his classmates and saw the monster which was once himself. Alex is not someone you would like at the beginning, but by the end of the novel, you will find yourself taking his side.

2. The plot was entirely unpredictable. Quoting Donovan's own words on Furnace: You'll never know what will happen until it happens. I had a great experience of exploring Furnace, with its intimidating structure, scary proprietors, gory history and horrible inmates. Never once did this book disappoint me in any way. I was literally sucked into the gruesome yet fascinating world of the Furnace where the air is hot and scarce, the atmosphere creepy and frightening and the crushing weight of freedom comes down upon you.

3. The world-building is amazing! From his capture to his developing Furnace-survival-skills to his planned prison break, Alex displays his growth both mentally and emotionally. We also observe how his mind is capable of thinking and creating ideas out of nothing. He did not plan of escape from the first moment he set foot in Furnace, but an idea started to hatch in his mind when certain possibilities open up to him.

4. The literary devices are brilliant! Let me tell you, the author is very skilled in descriptive writing - he uses figures of speech such as metaphors and personifications with an unusual grace. Through his words, I had a　vivid image of Furnace in my mind's eye - I felt like I was in Alex's mind, seeing events unfolding through a glass.

5. True friendship comes unexpectedly. Alex found his best friend in Donovan, a kid who was sentenced to life imprisonment because of accidentally killing his mom's abusive boyfriend. Alex became good friends with one of the inmates who arrived on the same day with him - a boy called Zee. I really liked how the author wrote their friendship - it felt real and genuine. They always stick up for each other although things went awry. It makes me realize that true friendship is indeed precious.

Bottomline:
Exciting, thrilling and gripping, Escape from Furnace: Lockdown will leave you with nightmares / thinking about it days after you've read it. I'm glad to announce that this book just made its way into my 2012 best books list! Can't wait for book #2!

Rating:

Note of Thanks
My deepest gratitude goes to Alexander for sending me a copy of this book for this review!

About The Author

Alexander Gordon Smith, 32, is best known as the author of the Escape From Furnace Series, made up of Lockdown, Solitary, Death Sentence, Fugitives and Execution.

He also wrote The Inventors – which was runner-up in the national Wow Factor Award – and The Inventors and the City of Stolen Souls, both of which were co-authored by his eleven-year-old brother Jamie. The first novel in his third series, The Fury, will be published in 2012, alongside an as yet untitled book for younger readers. He is the author of two creative writing handbooks, Inspired Creative Writing and Writing Bestselling Children’s Books, a number of screenplays that are currently in development, several non-fiction books and hundreds of short stories and articles.

Guess + What's Next?

I stayed up the whole night, reading a super-engrossing book, unable to pull myself out from the fictional world the author created with his genius mind. Can you guess what book is that?

Hint:

Next on my reading pile:

Return the Heart by T.K. Richardson

Paperback, 292 pages

Published July 1st 2010 by Yorkshire Publishing

What if your gift was a curse?

To a casual passerby, Lilly Paige is anything but special. As a seventeen year old, she is faced with all the complications of a teenager, but deep down there is much more.

Lilly has a gift, though sometimes it seems to be a curse. Lilly can peer into the hearts of others - their deepest, darkest secrets are there for Lilly to see - but to what end? Raised by aloof parents, Lilly has been independent her whole life, but soon she will need to rely on her friends to evade an evil that has sold her gift to the highest bidder on the black market.

Lilly and her four closest friends are immersed in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, that will not only reveal more about Lilly's gift, but also her link to an old Russian prophecy. Can Lilly and her friends escape the danger that is so close they can practically feel it? Where will their perilous journey lead them - to darkness or light?

Book Review : The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Published by Transworld Publishers Black Swan, 606 pages
Available on Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Synopsis

It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.

Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death.

Review

We were appalled when we first learned about the polygamous life practiced by the Latter-Day Saints in Utah. We were shocked and horrified, but there is no denial that we were curious about their so-called religious duty, as claimed by the Prophet who leads the people - how many wives did he have in total? And was the practice of polygamy like the Prophet said, God's will or was it merely a camouflage? An excuse for the Prophet's inability to rein his animal within?

In The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff presents a fictional tale which resonates with Ann Eliza Young's experience in polygamous marriage, although it basically tells a different story. Our protagonist Jordan Scott, is a 'lost boy' - someone excommunicated by the Church of Latter-Day Saints, all because he holds hands with his step-sister, Queenie, whom he views as a sister, confidante and friend. Later, when he is older, he learns about her mother's imprisonment, and realizes that she is accused of murdering his father. He decides to visit his mother, and later embarks on a journey to clear her name.

In between the Jordan's story, the author inserted Ann Eliza's memoir, within which some of the deepest secrets of polygamy are revealed. I have a slight feeling that Jordan's story is not the main point of the story as Ann Eliza's story takes place more often. Jordan's tale is more like a side dish to Ann Eliza's main course.

Since she was young, Ann Eliza's wit and intuition already made her question the legality of the Prophet's rule. This was what she thought when viewing a religious play, which very much opposes the other Sisters' (Brigham's many wives) reactions:

Why is Eve wearing a horse-hair wig? I didn't realize Satan knew the Scottish jig. --- page 289

Brigham's unusually huge sexual appetite and interest in young, pretty girls already made me uncomfortable, but I was even repulsed by his atrocities when I learned of his acts of incest:

He (Brigham) was known to marry more than one step-daughter. --- page 295

Ann Eliza's father, Chauncey Webb previously reacted vigorously towards Brigham's decision of making polygamy one of their policies. He claimed that he loved one person only, that was his wife and rejected Brigham's order to take another wife. But midway through, he gave up resisting and married Lydia, their house caretaker. Somewhere in his mid-years, Chauncey took three wives in a week. Ann Eliza's words expertly summarizes her disappointment in her father's actions and view on polygamy:

"... I suppose my greatest disappointment has been realizing my father, like Joseph and Brigham before him, tried to shroud his passions in the mantle of religion. He used God to defend his adultery." --- page 253

Meanwhile, Jordan's quest of rescuing her mother from a crime that she never committed was filled with unexpected discoveries. He received help from many people who later became his good friends. He also found his true love in Tom. Just to make a note, I was at first a little confused with Jordan's identity. But after some time, I realized that he was a boy.

David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife is a book that expertly reveals the lives of the women and children in a polygamous society and points out precisely how blind faith can backfire on a person's life. It also shows the power of words - especially words spoken by a man that claims to be God's appointed leader on Earth. David Ebershoff uses numerous perspectives to tell this story to provide an unbiased view on the topic of polygamy.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The 19th Wife, as it was both entertaining and enlightening in many ways. Now that I've read this book, I have a greater understanding regarding the practice of polygamy, and how it affects the society. If you're interested in learning more about polygamy or Mormonism in general, or have always enjoyed reading well-researched historical fiction, don't hesitate to pick up this book.

Rating:

Note of Thanks

Many thanks to Transworld Publishers for providing me a review copy!

About The Author

David Ebershoff is the author of four books of fiction, including The Danish Girl, The Rose City, and Pasadena. His most recent novel is the international bestseller, The 19th Wife. He has won a number of awards, including the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Lambda Literary Award, the Ferro-Grumley Award for excellence in gay and lesbian literature. His books have been translated into eighteen languages to critical acclaim.