And the lack of any romance or female presence in a young adult novel is an absolute breath of fresh air.īodie was my absolute favorite character in this book. I've always had a thing for prison escape novels. The Audible narrator is fantastic and nails the voices, accents, and urgency of the plot. While the books have always strayed slightly into the sci-fi realm, this book firmly sets up camp in sci-fi, and I would even go as far as to say the biopunk realm. To catch you up quickly, the Furnace series takes place in a below-ground youth prison in Australia in which a warped warden conducts experiments on the boys. Has Furnace created their perfect monster, or have they created their own terror they can't control?Īn amazing addition to the series that is quickly gaining attention from readers everywhere! I can't wait for the next book in the series that features Alex as a fugitive on the run from Alfred Furnace!ĭeath Sentence is the third book in the five part Furnace series. I loved the return of previous characters and the mental strength that Alex realizes he has had. Involving WWII and Nazi history within the horrors of Furnace Hell, plots are revealed and surprises are around every corner. We also learn about how Alfred Furnace invented the Nectar and his reasoning in creating Furnace Penitentiary. What Alex is turned into is a stronger and darker side of his true self. It actually does make sense once you get to book three. I finally understood the meaning of remembering your name when captured by the Black Suits. The Alex of old will be nothing but a memory and a new but stronger Alex will emerge. The Warden has decided to make Alex into one of them. He had been pulled from the flames by the Black Suits and taken to the lab - a lab that holds even more evil than we have seen so far. When we last saw Alex he was burning in the incinerator. Just when I thought Alex had no hope or strength left inside of him, the author renewed my hope in this story. His first book, The Inventors, written with his nine-year-old brother Jamie, was published in the U.K.

The endless research for these projects led to countless book ideas germinating in his head. He also started writing literally hundreds of articles, short stories and books ranging from Scooby Doo comic strips to world atlases, Midsomer Murders to X-Files. Along with poet Luke Wright, he founded Egg Box Publishing, a groundbreaking magazine and press that promotes talented new authors. He studied English and American Literature at the University of East Anglia, and it was here that he first explored his love of publishing. After experimenting in the service and retail trades for a few years, Smith decided to go to University. Born in 1979 in Norwich, England, he always wanted to be a writer.

Alexander Gordon Smith is the author of the Escape from Furnace series of young adult novels, including Lockdown and Solitary.

Lockdown escape from furnace audiobook