Sean Barrs 's Reviews > Lockdown

Now this was rather damn scary. Imagine breaking into someone’s house one night then randomly you and your accomplice are rushed by a small army of rather large men in black suits. They quickly dispatch your friend and pin the murder on you. All you wanted was a bit of loot. You’re sentenced to life imprisonment at an ominous sounding placed called Furnace, but the prison is run by the same men who framed you. When you arrive you quickly realise this place is beyond normal; it’s dark, oppressive, infested with rabid dogs and weird creatures that go round eating the inmates. The question is: how the fuck do you cope with that shit?

“Beneath heaven is hell boys, and beneath hell is Furnace. I hope you enjoyed your stay.”

What transpires afterwards is a fuel pumped narrative of blood and survival instinct. All the inmates, merely young boys, are trying to survive in this hell hole. They turn on each other, fight to be the top-dog and compete for food. The biggest, toughest and most ruthless are the only ones that survive for any length of time. The new inmates are at the bottom of the pecking order. The old timers are just trying to make it day to day, anyone could be picked off at random by the creepy black suit men, so they tend to keep their heads down and hope the newcomers are marked for destruction.

Alex is rather lucky, kind of ironic considering that he’s in some weird demonic prison run by ominous thugs, but he does have it easy compared to others. His cellmate is not a bully; he teaches Alex to keep his head down and how to play the long game. The two quickly become friends, and give each other hope. Donavan, the cellmate, has long since relinquished this: he has accepted that this is where he will die, and he tempers the rash new inmate’s want for escape. He has seen all there is to see in this place, and he knows there is no getting out

“This place isn’t a joke. It’s not some film or book or computer game where you get infinite lives. You foul up out there, then you die. It’s a simple as that”



So this became very intense. Anyone can go at any time. The survival rate isn’t very high in furnace. Inmates go mad. They try to kill each other. They devise escape plans that almost always fail. Until Alex comes along with another ridiculous and desperate idea that just may work. Prison break is the only way these boys could have any future so eventually, after swaying Donavan to their cause, it seems probable. But actually doing it is another thing when the inmates would literally murder the world for such an opportunity.

The book pushed toward this ending with frightening speed, and it really came together well. For a book like this, the ending is one of the most important aspects. And it really did deliver. It gave just enough closure for this story, but it also made me want to read the next book to see if we get any answers. I want to know exactly what (or who) is behind this prison scheme, and what they are actually trying to achieve. There will, no doubt, be some dark sinister motive behind it all.

p.s- I met this author today at a book talk at my university. He’s a real funny guy. I got a signed copy of The Fury. Very cool indeed!