As always with a sequel, read the following review at your own risk of spoilers!!After putting down Furnace: Lockdown - which effectively ended right on a monumentally massive cliff-hanger ending - wondering if Alex Sawyer actually, really and truly escaped from the underground prison Furnace, I simply took a deep breath, cracked open Solitary and plowed on ahead. You see, Alex has witnessed horror upon horror during his stay in Furnace and just when the possibility of escape is dangled right in front of him, he's brought back to grim reality by the evil Warden and his soulless blacksuit minions. That's right, Alex and Zee are caught and placed in solitary confinement - underneath the main prison - leaving the boys wishing for the relative comforts of their old shared cells.
Solitary confinement leaves Alex questioning his own sanity and he quickly begins to once again dream of that elusive hope of escape. When a monstrous creature who used to be a boy just like Alex opens up his cell filling his head with horrible tales of experimentation and savagery, Alex is once again determined to get out of Furnace - no matter what. He just has to figure out a way past the blacksuits, the killer dogs, the wheezers, the panic-inducing Warden, and miles of solid rock.
It's safe to say after having already read Lockdown, I was ready for the horror that can be categorized as Alex's time in prison. Like it's predecessor, Solitary follows Alex and his friends as they face death and agony time and again only to be pushed deeper into the nightmare of Furnace. Alexander Gordon Smith's intense writing effectively grabs you immediately; dragging you along in the wake of Alex's desperate flight through the depths of that horrible prison. I barely had time to catch my breath between each new harrowing discovery - but that's what makes Alex's story just so compelling. Heck, if I were a teenage boy I'd be eating this stuff up with a fork. And asking for seconds.
And once again, we are back with that same clip-art obsessed cringe-worthy cover artist. But wait you say! It's different! They used blue! And there are targets! Ohhhh... that changes everything. Sadly there is no alternate cover to soften the blow to my eyes.
Read the first two chapters of Solitary here.
series reading order:
~ Lockdown - my review
~ Solitary
~ Death Sentence
Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Bag review
book source: The Book Smugglers giveaway
******************Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Bag review
book source: The Book Smugglers giveaway
Since I haven't hosted a giveaway in quite a while (bad bloggy!) I'm going to be giving away a signed copy of both Furnace: Lockdown (my review) and Furnace: Solitary to one lucky commenter who tells me what scares you the most. That's right two signed books to one lucky commenter!
Giveaway Guidelines:
- Open to US residents only
- Must be a follower
- Leave a comment answering the question: what scares you the most?
- Include your email
- Entries must be received by midnight on January 31st
