Lockdown: Escape from Furnace 1

There's not much to do to pass the endless days and nights in Furnace Penitentiary except wait.Wait out a life sentence. Locked away a mile beneath the surface of the earth in a cell barely big enough to lie down in. Wait in darkness so black it seems infinite.Wait for the next day of hard labor, cold showers and food that is barely edible. Wait to die.And hope.Hope that the gangs don't notice you. Don't choose you as their next victim. Don't break what's left of your spirit. And don't beat you too badly that you require a trip to the infirmary. Because that trip is always one way.Hope you're not forced to jump. Because jumping almost always ends badly. And won't necessarily end your time in Furnace. Not high enough means a trip to the infirmary. Too high and it's as if you never jumped. Get it right or you'll wish you never even tried.Hope that a fight doesn't break out that calls for a lockdown. Locked out and it's over. Quickly. But not painlessly. Because the guards will come. And their dogs. Monstrosities that will tear you limb from limb.And pray.Pray that they don't come in the middle of the night. During the blood watch. When Furnace is bathed in the glow of the red lights. When the sirens blare. And when the wheezers come, with their inhuman cries, their rusty masks and their dirty needles.Pray that it's not you they choose. Because if you're marked you'll wish you had died. What awaits you is something worse than the Skulls cruelty. Worse even than the quick and brutal end promised by the dogs.Pray for death. Because when they take you, you almost never come back. But if you do, what you've become can no longer be considered human.***Lockdown is the dark, disturbing and chilling story of the unimaginable horrors that face the young offenders that are incarcerated in Furnace Penitentiary. This fast-paced, action-packed and gruesome tale will keep readers who enjoy the macabre riveted.There is no love story in Lockdown. There is no real hope for these prisoners who may or may not have committed the crimes they are accused of. The threat from other inmates is minor compared to what the warden, the guards, the creatures with only a vague resemblance to dogs and the wheezers can do.This first book in the Escape from Furnace series introduces Alex Sawyer, who is framed for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in Furnace Penitentiary. As a backlash to the recent heinous crimes committed by children, adults are quick to embrace this form of harsh justice which locks these boys forever away beneath the ground. But what they don't know, and don't care to know, is just what cruelty awaits these kids.Alex is quick to learn that Furnace isn't like any prison he's seen on television. Failure to follow the rules can mean death...or worse. Getting injured is something to avoid at all costs. Getting sent to solitary for more than three days will break your mind. And even if you do everything right, they may still come for you.Author Alexander Gordon Smith has written a story that is exciting and terrifying and will leave readers on edge of a cliff, both literally and figuratively, as they follow the main character Alex through his induction into Furnace and his attempt to break free.The author paints a vivid picture of life in Furnace - one that is beyond horrifying. The stuff of the worst kinds of nightmares. Guards who laugh at the terror they invoke in their charges. Creatures whose only wish is to bite and rip and tear. A warden whose gaze is and depthless and soulless. And one where the darkness is far less frightening than when the red lights come on.This story is not for the easily frightened. It's not one for the squeamish. But for readers who don't mind a little bloodshed, Lockdown is an incredibly well-written, gripping and nail-biting adventure.

“Beneath heaven is hell, boys, and beneath hell is Furnace. I hope you enjoy your stay.” 14-year-old Alex Sawyer learns just this when his life takes an unexpected turn of events. Furnace Penitentiary, built for juvenile delinquents after the summer gangs went on a murder spree, is rumored to be the one of the worst. It was an underground prison shrouded in mystery. The place is filled to the brim with killers; forgotten about or discarded as trash by family members. But not all of them are murderers. Alex Sawyer is framed for the shooting of his best friend by strange men in suits, with black eyes and gas masks. Alex soon finds what horrors Furnace has in store for him, and realizes that the other prisoners are the least of his worries. For deep underground, in Furnace, there are hellish dogs with no skin, twitching creatures with gas masks stitched onto their faces, and a warden so purely evil that no one can stand to meet his gaze. These demons come to drag you away in the night, and the unlucky prisoners who are marked and taken, rarely come back. Or do they? Alex realizes that the only way he will survive Furnace, is by breaking out. An idea surfaces as Alex draws the unwanted attention of a gang, the Skulls. Finally, when he and a few unplanned guests decide they’re ready to break free, the demons come knocking and a vital member of his team is taken. Alex sees an old friend of his who was taken as well, but has turned into something different. A monster. Alex leads his remaining friends into the escape, eager to be freed, but scarred from his experiences. The small group escapes the clutches of the guards by a hair’s breath, and blow their way to freedom, but are they truly free? Or does their escape from Furnace only lead them to another obstacle, one that they might not be able to get past? Lockdown: Escape from Furnace, is a 2009 Horror Science-Fiction novel, written by Alexander Gordon Smith. Escape is a powerful theme in Lockdown, the only way Alex has a chance at life. If Alex doesn’t break free from his emotional and physical prisons, he might as well just be another robotic prisoner in the monotony of his prison. In society, there are many people who are wrongfully accused. There are also a lot of people who go free when they should be in prison, or corruption in high levels of government so the accused can’t find justice. This is shown in many books, movies, and television shows, with dystopian novels and entertainment becoming increasingly popular. Books like this illustrate the defenselessness individuals feel in societies where the corruption is rooted so deep that there is almost no hope of justice. Alex witnesses this first hand. I read this book because the thought of dystopian societies and horrible creatures appealed to me. I loved the idea of an underground prison and one protagonist who wouldn’t settle for a life of false accusations and slavery. I would recommend this book highly to any other reader because of the unique writing style, as well as the interesting storyline and multiple plot twists.Overall, Lockdown: Escape from Furnace, was a gripping, heart-pounding horror novel, which had the gears in your head turning and you sitting on the edge of your seat at the end of every chapter. The cliffhanger ending perfectly set the stage for the upcoming novels, which I hope are as much of a success as the first. I think that Lockdown was a wonderfully written, deep and emotional book, which kept some lighthearted and funny moments, to form a perfect YA novel. Alexander Gordon Smith succeeded in writing a gripping horror story! It comes highly recommended from me!

I really liked the multiple genres this book covered. It made for a fast past addicting read. Here is my breakdown:The pros:* This is my first time to read this writers work, and I have to say, I really like the writing style* This was an intense read - I think my 12 year old will enjoy this one just as much as I did (even though this book had a horror feel to it, the language was relatively clean, and there was no sex etc.) - it never felt geared towards young adults. It's just one of those books that a wide variety of readers will enjoy.The cons:* Quite pricey - I paid $7.80 for this on Amazon (it's only a 280 pages) and it's not even loanable* The ending pissed me off - I'm just not a fan of cliffhanger endingsUpon completion, I am a bit disappointed. I guess because when I pay this much for a book, I like a little more in the sense of closure when I'm finished. I'm still likely to continue on to the next book in this series at a later date though. I'm just not feeling overly eager to jump into at this time.

This series is a good one honestly i am surprised

Hubo algunas partes buenas, pero no fueron suficiente para hacerme olvidar cuán aburrido había sido el resto del libro. No creo que valga la pena leer el resto de la serie.

Action, mystery, tension and cruelty. I think these are the four words that define this book. I expected more explanations about what's happening, but I think they will come in the next books.

I stumbled across this gem by accident- I was actually researching blast furnaces(!), which perhaps betrays some kind of an indication as to what a swashbuckling adventure MY life can be sometimes lol- but I am so, so glad that I did find it.I guess I've always had a bit of a fascination about the sheer nightmare scenario of being unfairly incarcerated in some hellhole of a penal colony, wondering how I would cope if it ever happened to me (even as a guy in his early thirties, never mind as a teenager): Would I break down into this pathetic, gibbering, and possibly suicidal wreck at the sheer monumental overwhelm of it all (as I suspect I would)? Or, would a survival instinct shut off my brain to the kaleidoscope of emotions as the only coping mechanism in town?Clearly, I am not alone in that fascination, as the author (who like our young protagonist is called Alex- surely no coincidence there!) seems to be putting himself through the same dark thought experiment in writing this book and has- to this reader at least- managed to convey his thoughts and feelings about the topic... well... pretty damn brilliantly, as it goes.The dialogue between the three main characters (Alex, his older cellmate Donovan, and fellow "new fish" Zee) is top-drawer throughout: you can't help but like these guys pretty much on introduction to them, since there is something kind of "everyman" about them: each flawed in some way or another, perhaps in many ways; each 100% human. Age and gender aside, I'm sure every reader can relate to being an Alex. Every reader will know someone who is a bit like Zee. Every reader will know a Donovan. And perhaps it's the portrayal of this underlying humanity, alongside the protagonists' growing sense of reliance upon and fraternity towards each another as the story progresses (which, I confess, on many occasions left me with the much cliched "lump in my throat") that is the author's true gift here.That out of the way, if you are an adult wavering over the idea of giving this book a shot, PLEASE don't be fooled into thinking that it will be a timid read by virtue of its apparent target audience: in stark contrast, "Furnace: Lockdown" relentlessly portrays an extremely bleak picture of what prison life is like in some dystopian- but perhaps not that far-off- parallel universe, and it rarely falters at this task. That said, I must stress that (as an earlier reviewer points out) sexual violence is NEVER tackled by the author at any point (perhaps unrealistically given the nature of the topic- but also thankfully, I reckon, since the book can be harrowing enough in many other ways), so don't waver over that concern either.How to summarize? Well, I'm struggling here, so I guess I'll just cross my fingers and try fobbing you off with this:DO YOU LIKE ROLLER COASTER RIDES? THEN YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE FOR NOT READING THIS BOOK, BECAUSE IT IS- QUITE SIMPLY- ABSOLUTELY BLOODY BRILLIANT.

My son loves this book. I had to buy him the rest of the series.