Book Review: Sapphique

Book Review: Sapphique
Author: Catherine Fisher
Genre: Fantasy

Sapphique is the sequel to Incarceron. Continued from the last book, Finn has escaped the prison which is Incarceron, but his freedom is fleeting as soon he realises that the world he has escaped into is barred by protocol - as inescapable as the walls of Incarceron. Worse, he has left his friends Keiro and Attia behind and his guilt hangs heavily overhead.
Claudia wants to see Finn crowned but the story takes a turn when an impostor claiming that he is the real Giles fight for the throne. Claudia knows that Finn is the true Giles, but when the impostor displays the skills that Giles would have so well, Finn doubts even himself, while Claudia begins to doubt Finn.
Meanwhile, Keiro and Attia are in search of the legendary glove of Sapphique. As they search, their path is obstructed by many obstacles including monsters and magic. As they cross swords with the Warden of Incarceron and the crazy enchanter Rix, both of them realise the truth of Incarceron: Incarceron itself wants to escape.
And through the chaos, in the midst of all the havoc, emerges the ever elusive figure of Sapphique, the only person who has escaped from Incarceron and the only person the prison had ever loved.
The tense, intriguing plot that twists and turns once again proves freedom to be a complex affair as the author examines the true nature of freedom and the cost which is necessary. Once again Catherine Fisher weaves a delightful story from the same threads that made the first book worth reading.
The characters, however seemed dull as all of them a reckless, impatient, high-handed, aggressive, untrustworthy or otherwise highly flawed. For example, Kiero uses his half-mechanical physiology to excuse his own nature; he is inhuman, he says, an assertion which is later shown to be false.
As a sequel to Sapphique, Catherine Fisher has done her stuff again and produced a dark, thoughtful and interesting tale that will grip you from the first page.

Rating: 8/10
Great Book!