Incarceron (random entry about thoughts and the name Chris here)

I hope that title turns out OK...
So Incarceron. It was kind of hard to follow, even as I was recently rereading it. I enjoyed it enough to pick up the sequel, but still didn't really understand it. Basically, the real world has chosen a time period to emulate to end strife. They chose the medieval era. I usually love anything to do with medieval, but this was a pretty dry medieval. To me, politics should not be in books. Brisingr did it well enough, but other than that, NO. Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron is betrothed to the future king, except this prince is the real prince's half-brother. The real prince died years back on a horse riding accident. Obviously, as in any book about medieval politics, any death ever should instantly be considered murder.
Now, we haven't even gotten to the only thing I enjoyed about this book. Incarceron. The living prison. Technology at it's finest, all centered around one goal: making sure nobody ever escapes. It enjoys torturing people as a side goal. Finn lives in Incarceron as something called a "cell-born." That means that Finn would have woken up, born of the (can you guess it?) prison. Incarceron seems to thrust strange abilities on cell-born humans. But Finn is convinced that he is not cell-born, that he comes from outside, and that the strange visions he sees are memories of his old life.
Kristen mentioned the lack of characters to "root for." I can think of one very important, honest character. Attia. She spent years as a slave of a crime lord, so she's tough already. Her one goal is to keep Finn safe. She does a good job too, actually going so far as to die.
Ooops. Spoiler alert. Oh. Too late.
Anyway, she let's people know that she doesn't like them, which is more than I could say for most of these characters. She enslaves herself to Finn's protection and well being. Read the book. As much as I hated on it in that first paragraph, it's a good enough book. Don't bother with the sequel. TOO MUCH POLITICS!!! HULK ANGRY! HULK bring book back to library with a formal letter of complaint.

Incarceron- Kris's Opinion

                  Our next review is going to be on Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher.


                   This book is easily one of the best books I have ever read. EVERYTHING about it is deliciously original. The author is an experienced master with several books already underfoot.

              But what makes this book stand out? For one, the characters. Each character has their own unique struggles. Finn, the character the book follows half of the time, tries to escape the cutt-throat world of Incarceron with his (Less than honorable) partners. The difference between him and many of the other main characters that I've read? He is not afraind to cut a few throats himself. The other character Incarceron follow is the daughter of Incareron's warden. Claudia has to navigate the cutt-throat world of the kingdom's polotics. She hates it, but (Unlike many female characters in her position) she doesn't whine about it. She manuevers in the same sly fashion I found Finn using.

             The setting would have to be my favorite part of the story. Incarceron is a prison. Not just a prison. A living prison. It lives to torture its inhabitants, despite what the warden had been telling the people of the Realm. The Realm is a futuristic kingdom that got stuck in history. Gears and wires work behind the scenes of the rich's homes to make them "Historically accurate and sociably exceptable". Very deceptive. Very steampunk. Very original. Delicious.

           My one complaint would be the lack of honorable characters. I'm the type of reader who needs someone to root for. Some that is like a bright, shining light of honesty. Incarceron does not have those. The story has no room for them. So, it works best for the story to not have nice people, but it sure makes me sad.

           All in all, I would say that this book is a well written, original piece. It belongs in the hands of any teenager or adult who loves to read fantasy, steampunk, or sci-fi books.


                                                                         -K

Eragon- what Kris thought

                                Yesterday, you got to read Christopher's opinion on Eragon (and his thoughts on my....uh...forceful characteristics).  So, now it's my turn.
                                 When I first read Eragon, I found it a quick read. The action was brisk and pleasant, and the secondary characters were, I have to say, memorable.

                               But notice I just said the secondary characters. The main characters are people I've seen hundreds of times as a lover of books. Eragon is a young farm boy who goes from zero to hero... In a way that had nothing to do with his personal skills. Arya is beautiful, smart, perfect Elven princess. My main problem with her is that she didn't have any flaws.  Galbatorix is the classic villian. The one with the looming fortress. The one with the oh-so-powerful magic.. Did you honestly have any doubt that he would be defeated in the end? I didn't.
                          
                                      And speaking of characters, let me talk about those names. Chris said he found them exotic and exciting. I found them painful to read. I would have to stop, go back, reread the name to try and pronounce it right, and sometimes look for a pronunciation guide.

                           I found several of the plot points very cliche. (The ending of the last book coming to mind) Murtagh's personality, betrayal, and relationship with Eragon is something else that got me on the cliche points." I'm your brother and I hate you but you're so kind to me and how could I hurt you but I'm going to kill you because I hate you so much".  And Brom being Eragon's father? Ummm...Star Wars, anyone?

                     But now for the good points. On the characters. RORAN!!! There is so much to say here!! He doesn't have magic and is successfully one of the best warriors in the book. Brom, even if he was the classic guide, was very nice to read. He is sarcastic and secretive, yet obviously caring in a way that not many mentors are like. Then, the Urgals. Big, burly, war-loving brutes. And they're good guys!! Definatley didn't see that coming. Props to Paolini for turning the tables when it comes to ugly creatures.

               As I said in the opening paragraph, Eragon is a quick read with amazing battle sequences and phenomenal secondary and tertiary characters. I would put this book in the hands of any 10-12 year old who loves to read.
                                                             -Kris
                      
                           

Chris' thoughts on - Eragon

Now, my friend Kristen didn't like this book so much. After hearing her thoughts on the book, I reread it and saw what she meant. However, I didn't think it was quite as bad as she told me. In fact I'm a huge fan of the series, and couldn't put it down after picking it up, even as I was rereading it. The book takes place at a medieval Era of an alternate world. The book seemed to really show you the ropes from the get-go, and was easy to read. Some people don't like that in a book, but I found it refreshing. It's too late to truly recall my first impressions of the book, but I think what pulled me in were the names. Eragon, Roran, Arya, Durza, to the more complicated Galbatorix (Which I only recently understood how to pronounce.) and they all have that exotic ring to them! On a closer look, More of the names made sense. For example, Hitler's idea of the perfect group of humans were those having blond hair and blue eyes. He called them the "Aryan race." In the books, Arya is an elf, burdened with the task of protecting the last free dragon egg. The author makes it known that she is extremely pretty, and a very powerful magician and sword fighter. I really liked this book, enough to go out and buy the entire series. No matter what Kristen says, (And she can be very forceful.) This book will always remain a favorite of mine.