Book Review: Solitary: Escape from Furnace 2

Synopsis: In a sequel to Lockdown (reviewed here) Alex Sawyer, 14, is in prison for a murder he didn't commit. He tried to escape the horrors of the underground prison known as Furnace in Lockdown, and now he must battle the nightmare that is solitary confinement. The cells open from the top through a sort of manhole cover, and they are more like coffins standing on end than cells. Alex must fight the monsters and mutants that are his captors and tormentors, including the dreaded wheezers that have gas masks sewn to what should be their faces and the vicious rat and doglike creatures that spoiled their first escape attempt.

Yeah, I read another young adult book. Sue me. The beauty of most of these are that they're quick reads and usually pretty fast-paced to keep the A.D.D. crowd's attention. This one is no exception. It's very quick-paced right from the beginning and also is soaked with blood, mucus and violence.

This time around the teen jailbird’s escape from the futuristic underground prison and experimental lab called Furnace has some frantic chases through dark caverns and tunnels and the expected face-to-face encounters with human-rat hybrids. There's lots of lurid imagery.

The "hero" is developing into a pretty sympathetic and likable character as he begins to show remorse for his past and learns what loyalty is about. The other main character I guess is the prison itself, Furnace. More is revealed about what's going on inside it's walls but the whole curtain hasn't dropped yet. There are still a lot of questions and just enough reveals that are still cloudy to keep the mind churning.

It's still a well written series too, very descriptive and captivating and actually pretty riveting. I'm eager for the next book as this one ends on another great cliff-hanger.

8/10