Review for Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Sapphique (Incarceron #2)
By Catherine Fisher
Published by Hodder Children's Books
Source: Library
Library Challenge
480 pages

"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. Like Sapphique."- Goodreads

   A great sequel or conclusion to the Incarceron series although some threads are still hanging. This book held my interest and left me feeling relatively satisfied. If you have read Incarceron, be sure to pick up Sapphique otherwise you might miss out on some action!

   As I said it held my interest and intirgued me. Some characters annoyed me in  parts of the book though. Claudia for one. This was only in the beginning... she was so hard on Finn. I mean, I know he should be showing more Princely qualities but give him some time. And she would say things that irked me because that wasn't what she was thinking; what she was thinking was kind and if she would have said that Finn would have acted differently. That was one example. We are introduced to a couple new people and for good or bad that worked well. Finn I really liked in this book for some reason, even if he was brooding and scowling, that's just him. The POV's also change through this story so we get to see or rather read through a few secondary characters eyes. That gave dimension to the story. As well as Claudia and Finn, there is still Attia, Keiro, The Warden, The Prision, Jared and the Queen (ect.).

   The plot was definitely action packed, at times it was slower but conversations made up for that. It was a little predictable but the ending was sure not! (At least for me). I was still captured by the Prison and so interested that I lost myself in the events again. The world building/fantasy was great too. But with that beings said, I was sometimes confused. Some events didn't make sense and the descriptions weren't doing anything for me. Anyways, it was a strong finish to the Incarceron story, things wrapped up... not as expected. I don't know if there will be a third, it is fine as it is but it could continue. I would love to see more of Claudia and Finn. But can I have a little word with the editor? Yes, I know things can be over-looked I mean one letter isn't a biggie even a word but some of the phrasing is just wrong (not to mention quite a few spelling mistakes), next time can you double check? Thanks.

  I recommend this to those who have read Incarceron and enjoyed it because it does do the series justice. They are meant to be read together and you might miss out on some pretty hard core nail biting!

Excerpts:

Suddenly, without warning, the room tipped. It spoke. It said, My body...

Finn staggered, slamming against the desk. The sword clattered out of his hand as he grabbed at Claudia but she slid back with a gasp, missing her footing, crashing into the chair, falling back into its seat.

And before she could stand up, she was gone.

*********

And as he watched she re-emerged from the darkness, pixel by pixel, atom by atom, the reassembly of a fragmented being, all its thoughts and limbs and dreams and features, and it wasn't Claudia, it was someone else.

*********

The two of them raced across the snowy waste of the hall. On the walls the hangings were frozen in their folds. Claudia grabbed the nearest and tugged, dust and shards of ice crashing around her. "Rix! Help us!

The magician sat on the pedestal, all knees and elbows. He was rippling coins through his hands, muttering to himself. 'Heads they kill us. Tails we Escape.'

'Forget him.' Attia jumped up and heaved the tapestry down. 'He's crazy. They both are.'