Sapphique
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'... displays all of her usual strenth of imagination ... she is simply too good to miss.'
(Independent )'... stands out above all others. Its imaginative scale and gobsmacking finale make it one of the best fantasy novels written for a long time.'
'one of today's best fantasy writers ... a deliciously dark and scary ride.'
(Independent )'... imaginative, rich in texture and vividly realised. Catherine Fisher writes with consummate skill and depth of feeling.'
(The Bookseller )'One of this year's most striking fantasy novels'
(Amanda Craig, The Times )
PRAISE FOR THE ORACLE SEQUENCE:
'... a rich, resonant conclusion to the series.'
'Vivid, complicated, and thoroughly engrossing, this fast paced adventure keeps readers avidly turning pages until the majestic conclusion.'
(Horn Book Review May/June 06 )'... an intoxicating world reminiscent of the Arabian Nights. Highly recommended.' (The Bookseller )
'suspense is constantly built ... rattles along at a dizzying pace ... next volume please.' (School Librarian )
'A crisp, quick-moving narrative and fully fleshed out characters will keep readers hooked' (Publisher's Weekly )
'A powerful and very exciting adventure story.' (School Library Journal )
'... one of the most skilled and original writers currently working in young adult fantasy'
(New Welsh Review )'Beautifully imagined and realised, this novel of future regression is rich with strong characters, big issues and a compelling plot. It is a barnstorming piece of serious fantasy that doesn't put a foot wrong.'
(The Bookbag )'Catherine Fisher is an artist with words ... An engrossing, intricate story of an extraordinary journey undertaken by ricjly imaginative characters'
(Carousel )'a deliciously dark and scary ride.'
(Nicholas Tucker, The Independent )'a deep and sophisticated adventure story'
(Write Away )'... wholly engaging and rushes along as a breathless and nail-biting pace ... a gripping read that should enthral both young and old fans'
(Buzz )'the most cleverly comples and fascinating novel for teenagers I have read since His Dark Materials.'
(School Librarian )Product Description
Finn has escaped from the terrible living Prison of Incarceron, but its memory torments him, because his brother Keiro is still inside.
Outside, Claudia insists he must be king, but Finn doubts even his own identity. Is he the lost prince Giles? Or are his memories no more than another construct of his imprisonment?
And can you be free if your friends are still captive? Can you be free if your world is frozen in time? Can you be free if you don't even know who you are
Inside Incarceron, has the crazy sorcerer Rix really found the Glove of Sapphique, the only man the Prison ever loved. Sapphique, whose image fires Incarceron with the desire to escape its own nature. If Keiro steals the glove, will he bring destruction to the world?
Inside. Outside.
All seeking freedom.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having enjoyed Incarceron I was really looking forward to reading Sapphique because I really wanted to find out what happens to the characters and learn more about the world(s) they live in. And yet despite this, I found the book a little hard to get into at first. Largely, I put this down to a complete lack of my favourite character in the series, Keiro, for a good section at the beginning. The start of the story switches between Finn and Claudia - who didn't hold my attention all that much - and Attia. Attia's sections were more interesting and I much prefer her than the other two. Luckily, when Keiro does show up it's in true fashion to his character. It's unexpected, showy and with a big handful of arrogance. I think the reason I particularly like his character is because while the others spend most of the time talking about what they should do or complaining about what's happened, Keiro just gets on and does something - okay, maybe it's not always the right thing that he does but he takes a chance. I also think he's the most amusing - in a dry, sarcastic kind of way - of the characters.
While Finn and Claudia are probably the most obvious 'couple' in this series - and despite Attia obviously having a thing for Finn - I couldn't help shipping Keiro and Attia once they'd teamed up again. They spend half their time bickering in a way that suggests they really don't want to admit they like each other and despite the number of times they say they don't need each other, they never abandon each other.
The middle section of Sapphique picked up and there was a good combination of action and explanations, moving the story on and starting to tie things up. Towards the end though, maybe the final hundred pages or so I found the story starting to drag a little. I still haven't decided if this was that the story was unnecessarily longer than it needed to be or if it was that there was too much information so I just didn't process it all and started to miss bits. I just felt like I was reading just to get to the end at some points.
All in all, I still enjoyed the book and if you've read Incarceron you'll want to know what happens next. The series is an interesting concept but in my opinion, it wasn't executed quite as well as it could have been.
While Finn and Claudia are probably the most obvious 'couple' in this series - and despite Attia obviously having a thing for Finn - I couldn't help shipping Keiro and Attia once they'd teamed up again. They spend half their time bickering in a way that suggests they really don't want to admit they like each other and despite the number of times they say they don't need each other, they never abandon each other.
The middle section of Sapphique picked up and there was a good combination of action and explanations, moving the story on and starting to tie things up. Towards the end though, maybe the final hundred pages or so I found the story starting to drag a little. I still haven't decided if this was that the story was unnecessarily longer than it needed to be or if it was that there was too much information so I just didn't process it all and started to miss bits. I just felt like I was reading just to get to the end at some points.
All in all, I still enjoyed the book and if you've read Incarceron you'll want to know what happens next. The series is an interesting concept but in my opinion, it wasn't executed quite as well as it could have been.
Format:Paperback
Catherine Fisher left plenty of plot threads dangling at the end of sci-fantasy thriller "Incarceron." "Sapphique" picks up where the first book left off, answering countless questions and revealing more about the mysterious cyber-prison and the legendary hero Sapphique. Fisher writes beautifully, and she wraps up the story in a satisfying way.
In the Prison, Attia and her friend Keiro manage to con a crazy magician into giving them the Glove of Sapphique, a magical item that can connect a person's mind to Incarceron. However, Incarceron can only realize its ambitions if it has the glove, so it sends monsters, mayhem and death after the two teenagers -- even as it becomes to fall apart.
In the Realm, Finn is starting to doubt whether he's truly the lost Prince Giles, just in time for the queen to trot out a Pretender who looks exactly like him. Now both he and Claudia are in mortal danger, especially since Jared has become ensnared in one of the queen's malevolent plans -- which might include a civil war.
Somehow I get the feeling that Catherine Fisher was more comfortable writing "Sapphique" than "Incarceron" -- mainly because she gets to reveal pretty much all the secrets of Incarceron and its world. The biggest problem is that this book feels like it should have been split in half and published as two halves; the first and second halves are REALLY different from one another.
Once again, there's one plot set in the mechanical prison and the other in the stagnant Realm, connected but separate for most of the book. Her writing is absolutely exquisite ("They say he is making a man, out of rags and dreams and flowers and metal") and filled with starlight, silver and crumbling ruins where castles should stand. At the same time, plenty of ghastly monsters fill Incarceron, such as the ghastly multi-bodied Chain Gang.
And Fisher drives her characters all the way to the finish line in this book. Finn has to unravel his own past and discover if he truly is Prince Giles, even as he transforms from a confused moody boy into a charismatic young royal. And Jared -- who was mainly the Obi-Wan Kenobi of "Incarceron" -- gets to shine, a wise sage who is facing not only his own death but the death of his world.
In fact, Fisher brings out depths in many of the characters -- the arrogant ruined Queen, the former Warden, the spirited Attia and the completely loopy Rix. Some are limp like Caspar and the nasty little Pretender, but most are excellent.
"Sapphique" would have benefited from being turned into two books, but it's a truly enthralling second part to the story of Incarceron and the people trapped inside it. Lovely.
In the Prison, Attia and her friend Keiro manage to con a crazy magician into giving them the Glove of Sapphique, a magical item that can connect a person's mind to Incarceron. However, Incarceron can only realize its ambitions if it has the glove, so it sends monsters, mayhem and death after the two teenagers -- even as it becomes to fall apart.
In the Realm, Finn is starting to doubt whether he's truly the lost Prince Giles, just in time for the queen to trot out a Pretender who looks exactly like him. Now both he and Claudia are in mortal danger, especially since Jared has become ensnared in one of the queen's malevolent plans -- which might include a civil war.
Somehow I get the feeling that Catherine Fisher was more comfortable writing "Sapphique" than "Incarceron" -- mainly because she gets to reveal pretty much all the secrets of Incarceron and its world. The biggest problem is that this book feels like it should have been split in half and published as two halves; the first and second halves are REALLY different from one another.
Once again, there's one plot set in the mechanical prison and the other in the stagnant Realm, connected but separate for most of the book. Her writing is absolutely exquisite ("They say he is making a man, out of rags and dreams and flowers and metal") and filled with starlight, silver and crumbling ruins where castles should stand. At the same time, plenty of ghastly monsters fill Incarceron, such as the ghastly multi-bodied Chain Gang.
And Fisher drives her characters all the way to the finish line in this book. Finn has to unravel his own past and discover if he truly is Prince Giles, even as he transforms from a confused moody boy into a charismatic young royal. And Jared -- who was mainly the Obi-Wan Kenobi of "Incarceron" -- gets to shine, a wise sage who is facing not only his own death but the death of his world.
In fact, Fisher brings out depths in many of the characters -- the arrogant ruined Queen, the former Warden, the spirited Attia and the completely loopy Rix. Some are limp like Caspar and the nasty little Pretender, but most are excellent.
"Sapphique" would have benefited from being turned into two books, but it's a truly enthralling second part to the story of Incarceron and the people trapped inside it. Lovely.
Format:Hardcover
The end of SAPPHIQUE's prequel saw Finn released from sentient prison INCARCERON, but life Outside has not brought him the peace of mind he desired. Four months after his escape finds Finn still struggling with the inherent treachery and protocol required by court life. Couple that with the overwhelming guilt he feels for leaving his oath brother, Keiko, and friend, Attia, behind Inside, Finn has sunk into despair.
So deep is his depression, he's become useless in helping the Warden's daughter, Claudia, and her beloved tutor, Jared, search for a way back into Incarceron. The situation worsens when a young man who bears a striking resemblance to him challenges Finn's claim as the long-lost throne heir, Prince Giles.
Back inside the prison, Keiko and Attia search for their own means of escape: Sapphique's legendary magical glove. But Finn's prolonged absence and the increasing desperation of their situation - plagues, scarcity of supplies, entire sections of the prison shutting down - stretches their loyalties to the breaking point. As their enemies close in, each pair is in a race against time to save their very lives.
After reading both books in Catherine Fisher's duology, SAPPHIQUE emerges most decidedly as my favorite. While INCARCERON beautifully established this rich and complex world, the sequel brings more heart to the narrative. In SAPPHIQUE, we get a deeper exploration of the characters, a maturing of their perspectives, and a resolution of plot with the possibility of more stories to be mined in the future.
Reviewed by: Cat
So deep is his depression, he's become useless in helping the Warden's daughter, Claudia, and her beloved tutor, Jared, search for a way back into Incarceron. The situation worsens when a young man who bears a striking resemblance to him challenges Finn's claim as the long-lost throne heir, Prince Giles.
Back inside the prison, Keiko and Attia search for their own means of escape: Sapphique's legendary magical glove. But Finn's prolonged absence and the increasing desperation of their situation - plagues, scarcity of supplies, entire sections of the prison shutting down - stretches their loyalties to the breaking point. As their enemies close in, each pair is in a race against time to save their very lives.
After reading both books in Catherine Fisher's duology, SAPPHIQUE emerges most decidedly as my favorite. While INCARCERON beautifully established this rich and complex world, the sequel brings more heart to the narrative. In SAPPHIQUE, we get a deeper exploration of the characters, a maturing of their perspectives, and a resolution of plot with the possibility of more stories to be mined in the future.
Reviewed by: Cat
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not as good as Incarceron
I didn't enjoy this second book as much as I enjoyed Incarceron, hopefully there will be a third to conclude everything nicely.
Published 20 months ago by Mr. Jamie Mcfarlane
Excellent Conclusion
Catherine Fisher has produce a fine sequel to Incarceron and has not given into temptation of making it into the fantasy cliche of a trilogy or endless series. Read more
Published on 28 May 2009 by M. W. Hall
Sapphique
This is an excellent sequel to 'Incarceron', which must be read first. It is basically a sci-fi story in which a prison run by a super intelligent computer which has acquired... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2009 by Mrs. J. C. Hunter
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