incarceron

Judge A Book By Its Cover

Book Reviews and Synopses

Incarceron

Catherine Fisher

Fisher, Catherine. Incarceron. Hodder Children’s Book. London, England. 2007.

Incarceron, a New York Times bestseller is a thriller of sorts. The author, Catherine Fisher, really brings this tale to life with her descriptive wordplay. In this entrancing book, Catherine is able to express how creative she really is. This epic and enchanting story is about Incarceron, a mythical clockwork city, supposedly hidden from mankind due to a mysterious curse. This story follows the plights of the main character; Timothy.

Timothy has always had a very active imagination, or so his mother says. One day, while exploring his family’s dusty old attic, he finds a book labeled, “Incarceron.” He opens the rather large-looking novel, and begins reading. When he comes to page 122, to his surprise, an old and torn-up map falls out. He puts the book down, and picks up the map. It reads, “Map of Inc-” and cuts off. Timothy realizes it’s the map to the elusive city he’s read so much about. In his haste to present his findings to someone, he shows his mother. She promptly waves it off as nothing, and tells him to go play outside. Not discouraged, Timothy stomps up to his room, and examines the map more closely. He figures, if he wants to find this place, he must set off on a journey of his own.

During the course of the next few weeks, Timothy prepares for his journey to the clockwork town. He’s anxious to tell his mother what he’s going to do, but decides against it, for she would not allow the trip. Armed with only a compass, a flashlight, the book and map that started it all, some canned food and a bottle of water, he sneaks out of the house and into the forest in the dead of night.

Timothy travels through mountains and deserts, hills and valleys, just to get to this place. However, his journey to the supposed hidden city doesn’t go unnoticed. From every crack and corner of the forest, eyes watch his every move. He trudges onward, though worry and doubt creep up into his mind. The long and painful journey is scary. Timothy begins hallucinating, and his mental state grows worse through every day and every night. Finally, as a reward for his efforts, he reaches the city, and finds more than he expected...

A recommended read, Incarceron is a must for any and all ages. This exciting page-turner will have you glued to it. Incarceron’s plot and character designs are very well thought-out, so much that you won’t be able to put the book down!

5 out of 5 stars

Contributed by J. Rodriguez

April 3, 2012