Death Sentence

From the Publisher

"In this third installment of the Furnace series, Gordon-Smith has pulled out all the stops. It is a tour de force of action and adventure… Honestly, this reviewer could not put this book down, having thoroughly enjoyed all of the novels in this series, and will anxiously await the release of Fugitives: Escape from Furnace 4 due winter 2012. Please continue to wow us, Mr. Gordon Smith—your books are a pleasure to read.” —VOYA

 

Praise for the Escape From Furnace series:

“Fresh and ferocious, Lockdown will hook boys with its gritty, unrelenting surprises.”—James Patterson

“Furnace is hotter than hell and twice as much  fun! Sign me up for a life sentence of Alexander Gordon Smith!”—Darren Shan, author of  the Demonata series

“This nightmarish start to a new series is unrelentingly bleak, uniquely horrifying, and strangely compelling.” —Realms of Fantasy magazine

“A great next choice for fans of  The Maze Runner,  The Grassland Trilogy. . . or Lord of the Flies . . . Recommended for dystopia, thriller, and horror fans, or anyone looking for a fast-paced, spine-chilling ride.” —Jennifer Robinson’s Bookpage

“Readers will be turning pages without pause, and the cliff-hanger ending will have them anticipating the next installment. Most appealing is Smith’s flowing writing style, filled with kid-speak, colorful adjectives, and amusing analogies. Fans of James Patterson’s ‘Maximum Ride’ and Darren Shan’s ‘The Demonata’ series will find this satisfying fare.”  —School Library Journal

“One of those leave-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat thrill rides that will grab the reader right from the start. Teens will appreciate Smith’s vivid imagery. His writing is extremely fluid, and he makes the reader feel for the characters, especially the young protagonist, Alex. Readers will be cheering him on from start to finish. Look for the sequel, Solitary, forthcoming in 2010. Readers will be anxious to see where Alex’s adventures take him next.” —VOYA

“Not for the faint-hearted, this dramatic British import is both a page- and stomach-turner. . .  The pacing is superb, building on the tension as each horror is revealed while saving the ultimate monstrosity for the cliffhanger ending.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Lockdown is a beautifully written book that builds itself up on violence, suspense, and mystery." —A YALSA YA Galley Teen Reader

Children's Literature - Toni Jourdan

Alex Sawyer exists in a world of justice gone wrong. Young men who commit crimes of varying degrees are sentenced to an underground penitentiary called the Furnace where they suffer horribly while being barely kept alive. Well, some of them stay alive in other forms, while others are mercifully able to leave this violent world in acts of unmistakable cruelty. This world is bleak, to put it mildly. Alex was framed for his friend Toby's death. He tried to escape twice, but no one escapes from the Furnace. The Warden is a malicious wrangler of a society out of control and you either join his forces or die. The young men are pumped full of a poison referred to as the Warden's Nectar and they are changed physically and mentally into killing machines. They go through painful surgeries and IV's full of nectar returning as either a Blacksuit, or if the experiment did not quite work, a Rat. With the change comes power over the weaker inmates. Throughout all of this they forget where they came from and eventually they forget who they are, names and all. Alex fights the "change" forcing himself to remember his name and with this comes the smallest bit of compassion that allows him to stay "human." As he fights this transformation he views violent images while poison courses through his veins. In one moment he forgets himself and commits an act of violence so horrific that he is forever changed; only he does not become the monster that the Warden has been expecting. In book three of the "Escape from the Furnace" series, readers are led into the pits of hell and beyond to witness the grit and stubbornness of Alex Sawyer who shows the reader that even when facing the devil one person can make a difference. Reviewer: Toni Jourdan

Kirkus Reviews

Alex Sawyer has just received his third strike, attempting to escape from the underground penitentiary known as Furnace (Solitary: Escape from Furnace 2, 2010), and is about to learn the secret origins of the prison staff.

After being surgically implanted with muscles and pumped full of the mysterious substance known as "nectar," Alex struggles to retain his humanity as his body is challenged with endurance tests and his mind is twisted by the warden's whispering. He resists but ultimately succumbs to his new interior darkness and accidentally kills an old friend before being rescued by Simon and Zee for a final daring escape from the horrific prison. With this third installment in the Escape from Furnace series, Smith strikes the ideal balance between action and introspection. Readers will feel flashes of genuine sympathy for antihero Alex, especially as he struggles against becoming the monster he has always feared lurks inside. With survival challenges, a battle and a prison uprising, the novel keeps the adrenaline level high and the pages turning. A World War II plot twist may strike readers as coming from left field, but the series has always been more about action and suspense than anything else.

One thing's for sure: There's still plenty of action still to come out of Furnace.(Thriller. 12 & up)