Lockdown
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Series: Escape from Furnace (#1)
Publisher: Square Fish
How Received: review copy
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.
Buy | Borrow | Brush Off
You know, I'm going to add James Patterson's quote about Lockdown to the list of reasons why I really want to slap him sometimes. "Furnace will hook boys with it's gritty, unrelenting surprises." Really? Because girls can't enjoy a good horrific dystopian thriller.
Men. Honestly.
However, I do understand what he was saying. Because Furnace is divided up into men and women areas - I'm assuming, anyway - there's not one female character in the book. Understandably, it's harder to relate to, which is why it got a lower rating from me. The great thing about being a girl, though, is that you often have characters who may or may not remind you of guy friends or brothers or fathers and, therefore, you can relate to the book on some level, even if it's not the level you want.
James Patterson's comments aside, Lockdown is a must-read for anybody who wants to cling to the edge of their chair. It's the horror movie for those of us who are afraid of horror movies - something we can read and be thrilled and scared of as we do so, and put it aside when it becomes to much. Or, if you're like me, you plow through it to the end, hoping to outrun this nightmare, and then remember it's just the first in the series.
Thankfully, I happen to have the second one.
The best part of Lockdown isn't the characters that you meet - though, I do admit, I have a soft spot for Donovan and would really like to know what is happening to him. (Maybe I should stop writing this review and go read the second one - nah, I'll finish this first.) The best part is the completely amazing dystopian world that's been created. From the men in the gas masks (one of my friends is terrified of gas masks, and another owns one, which makes this even better) to the dogs without skin - yes, you read that right - the absolutely horrific edge that Furnace has is amazing.
Overall Rating & Final Thoughts: 8/10. Harder to connect with if you're a girl or scare easy, but if you love a good dystopian, pick this baby up.
Website Notices: Click on the links above to go to Alexander Gordon Smith's website and the Furnace website (unless you have a slow computer, in which case avoid them.) They're very well made and have a lot of great stuff.
Alexander Gordon Smith - he prefers to be called Gordon - will be here on the 15th for an interview, so don't forget to stop by to see what goes on in that brain of his.