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Blueprint Trilogy #3
Freedom's Prisoners
At last! The explosive conclusion to the thrilling Blueprint Trilogy The Blueprint trilogy takes us to a future in which men and women are almost identical, and personal relationships are forbidden. In Book 3 of the trilogy, tensions have escalated since the outbreak. Michael and his army of rebels may have won the first battle in their fight against the Citidome authorities, but can they win a war? The Citidomes are fighting back and no-one is safe any more as RotorFighters rain down fire on defenceless villages destroying them and their inhabitants. For Suna, this is a time of difficult decisions as she struggles to adjust to life outside the Citidomes. Where do her loyalties lie? Is she capable of understanding human emotion? After an unexpected betrayal Michael and Cathy finds themselves back in Sigma-2, where Cathy must confront her worst fears. Can Joy and Harry recapture the magic of first love, or have the horrors they have witnessed scarred them forever? And do they have any chance of succeeding in the most ambitious mission the Alliance of Outside Communities has ever undertaken? Is there anyone in the world beyond the shores of State Eleven who cares enough to help? Even if there is, will they be able to do anything in time?
Freedom’s Prisoners explores betrayal, guilt, hope and endurance in an explosive conclusion to the Blueprint trilogy.
Praise for the first two books of the Blueprint Trilogy “one of the best modern YA sci-fi novels ever written” [Seregil of Rhiminee, Risingshadow]
“I enjoyed reading this modern utopia. It reminds me in some ways of 1984 and Brave New World” [Ian Blackwell, British Fantasy Society]
“I treasured Future Perfect’s closeness to reality, the nearest to realistic that you can get for a futuristic dystopian world” [Hannah Brookes]
“I LOVED this book! Read it over a period of 24 hours, hated having to put it down.” [Terry Tyler]
“will be of special interest to readers who are familiar with the YA science fiction novels written by Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. If you’ve enjoyed reading The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies, you’ll most likely enjoy this novel very much” [Seregil of Rhiminee, Risingshadow]
“Logan’s Run for The Hunger Games generation.” [Reader Comment]
Freedom’s Prisoners explores betrayal, guilt, hope and endurance in an explosive conclusion to the Blueprint trilogy.
Praise for the first two books of the Blueprint Trilogy “one of the best modern YA sci-fi novels ever written” [Seregil of Rhiminee, Risingshadow]
“I enjoyed reading this modern utopia. It reminds me in some ways of 1984 and Brave New World” [Ian Blackwell, British Fantasy Society]
“I treasured Future Perfect’s closeness to reality, the nearest to realistic that you can get for a futuristic dystopian world” [Hannah Brookes]
“I LOVED this book! Read it over a period of 24 hours, hated having to put it down.” [Terry Tyler]
“will be of special interest to readers who are familiar with the YA science fiction novels written by Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. If you’ve enjoyed reading The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies, you’ll most likely enjoy this novel very much” [Seregil of Rhiminee, Risingshadow]
“Logan’s Run for The Hunger Games generation.” [Reader Comment]
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 9, 2016
3 people want to read
About the author
Katrina Mountfort
7 books20 followersI was born in Leeds. After several years collecting qualifications, I started work as a scientist. My philosophy of life is that we only regret the things we don’t try, and my career reflects that. So far, I’ve been a civil service scientist, homeopath, forensic science researcher and currently work as a freelance medical writer. In that time I’ve lived in Liverpool, Ipswich, Norwich, London and now live in Saffron Walden with my husband and two dogs.
When I reached forty, a close friend died of cancer. It made me realize that we never know when life is going to be snatched away from us; we can’t put off our dreams forever. The writing bug that had been dormant since childhood started nagging at me. I began my first novel, Future Perfect, and finally completed it eight years later! My loves in life include my husband, family and friends, two occasionally criminal dogs, travel, music, wine, dark chocolate, Parma violets and daffodils.
When I reached forty, a close friend died of cancer. It made me realize that we never know when life is going to be snatched away from us; we can’t put off our dreams forever. The writing bug that had been dormant since childhood started nagging at me. I began my first novel, Future Perfect, and finally completed it eight years later! My loves in life include my husband, family and friends, two occasionally criminal dogs, travel, music, wine, dark chocolate, Parma violets and daffodils.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 29, 2016
In this fitting conclusion to the Blueprint trilogy, we follow Cathy and her daughters, Sun and Joy, as they battle both the city-states and their own personal battles and make sense of their place in the world.
The story is both larger in scope than the previous two episodes and more intimate. Katrina Mountfort does a good job of showing that while the world is going to chaos around you, sometimes internal personal issues still take precedent, no matter how selfish or small they may be to others compared to the grand scale of things.
There were a couple of times during the journey where I felt the needs of the plot forced the direction rather than the needs of the characters and the ending had a taste of deus ex machina, but overall this is a strong ending to what has been an enjoyable series.
The story is both larger in scope than the previous two episodes and more intimate. Katrina Mountfort does a good job of showing that while the world is going to chaos around you, sometimes internal personal issues still take precedent, no matter how selfish or small they may be to others compared to the grand scale of things.
There were a couple of times during the journey where I felt the needs of the plot forced the direction rather than the needs of the characters and the ending had a taste of deus ex machina, but overall this is a strong ending to what has been an enjoyable series.
November 29, 2016
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Before I delve into analysing and reviewing Freedom's Prisoners, I'll mention that this review is in equal parts a review about this novel and the whole trilogy, because I can now take a look at the whole story.
Katrina Mountfort's Freedom's Prisoners is a stunning conclusion to The Blueprint Trilogy. I was eager to read this novel, because I enjoyed reading Future Perfect and Forbidden Alliance. I'm glad I had an opportunity read it, because I found it immensely satisfying and intriguing. I can honestly say that it's one of the best and most entertaining young adults science fiction novels I've ever read.
The Blueprint Trilogy is a rewarding reading experience, because the author has created a terrifying vision of dystopian future and doesn't underestimate the intelligence of her readership. Although there are many new young adult science fiction novels and series out there on the market nowadays, this trilogy stands out among them as a prime example of what can be achieved when an author pays attention to writing an emotionally challenging story, creates realistic characters and has courage to write thought-provoking prose.
In my opinion, Freedom's Prisoners deserves all the praise it gets. As much as I like a few other similar kind of novels and series, I have to be honest and say that this novel outshines many of them in terms of depth, prose and storytelling. Only a few other novels are as compelling and entertaining as this novel.
Just like the previous novels, Freedom's Prisoners can be recommended to adults and young adults alike, because it will appeal to both readerships. It's an evocatively written novel that will charm its readers with a good story and interesting characters who have to deal with real problems.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- The village has a harvest festival and people are cheerful, but Suna is not content with her new life outside the Citidome. An unknown man approaches her and offers her an opportunity to return to the Citidome to work there, If she doesn't agree, she may end in a correction camp. The man is trying to find out information about Michael. Suna realises that the choice she is offered is simple: save herself, or Cathy and Michael...
- Cathy has noticed that the Citidome officials have recognised their involvement in the Outbreak and people have begun to disappear. She is pregnant again. Cathy notices that Suna is not herself and is not telling her everything (she thinks that Suna may try to return to the Citidome). When she goes to sleep and wakes up, she and Michael are captured and taken to the Citidome against their will...
- Joy looks forward to the trip towards Oxford with Harry. She and Harry think that some of the people who were freed in the Outbreak don't want to build a better society and don't think about those who are still trapped inside the Citidomes. When they hear about whas has happened to Cathy and Michael, they intend to get help from France...
This is the beginning of a thrilling and thought-provoking story that explores guilt, endurance, love, loss, fear and hope in a spellbinding way. It's a rich and rewarding story with plenty of depth.
The characterisation is excellent and impressive, because the author has created believable characters who have real feelings and serious problems. One of the strengths of this novel and the whole trilogy is that Katrina Mountfort excels at writing about what her characters feel and what kind of choices they make. She writes captivatingly about the characters' lives and continues to develop them as persons.
The author gives distinct and strong voices to Cathy, Suna and Joy, because they're all three-dimensional characters. Cathy is the village leader who is good with people. She escaped from the Citidome when she was pregnant with Joy. Her life has not been easy, but she has had an opportunity to enjoy normal life without Citidome limitations and rules. Suna has lived all her life in the Citidome and doesn't know much about life in the countryside. She doesn't get along with people, because she doesn't fit in and has difficulty reading facial expressions. Joy has experienced how rough life can be, because she has lost Ryan. Now she is dating with Harry and thinks about what the future may hold for them.
In my opinion, Suna has an exceptionally strong voice in this novel, because she has to deal with her betrayal and how she feels about many things, including the brutalities committed by the Citidome residents. She gets to witness how people behave inside the Citidome and in the countryside, and she has to decide whether she can do the Citidome's evil work or not.
In this novel, the Citidome residents have become even more brutal and ruthless than before. For example, the inmates in correction camps and correction centres are being controlled by slow-release toxins that make them more docile and less able to react in a hurry. They're nothing more than human guinea pigs.
Freedom's Prisoners contains many exciting and thrilling scenes which will impress readers and fans of the series.
What happens to Cathy after she has been captured is terrifyingly brutal. She is treated in a ruthless manner and she has to tolerate all kinds of inhuman treatment at the hands of her captors. She has no way to clean herself properly and she can't even sleep well. She also has to deal with dehydration. She is humiliated in many nasty ways.
Joy and Harry's experiences are also handled well. The author paints a vivid picture of their joys, hopes and fears. I enjoyed reading about how they felt about the different places they saw during their journey to France and how they felt about each other.
I won't reveal what Suna does in this novel, because I want to avoid writing spoilers, but I can mention that I enjoyed reading about her life. The author's way of writing about what she goes through and what she has to do will impress readers.
I like the way the author writes about love, sex and sexual situations. There's something natural about her way of exploring these matters. She fluently describes how some of the characters are attracted to each other and how they express their love.
The author's vision of dystopian future is evocative and terrifying, because humankind and society has changed a lot and people have almost forgotten what it means to be human. The Citidomes are filled with people who appreciate beauty and are willing to do almost anything to look beautiful.
There's something deeply grotesque about how Citidome residents feel about beauty and how they worship it, because normal human bodies are considered ugly and undesirable. Ugly people and those who have been captured outside the Citidomes may end up in a media freak show called Vile Bodies. In this show, pregnant women are forced to give birth live without medical assistance and people have to show off their bodies in front of others who laugh and stare at them.
The author writes well about life outside the Citidomes, because those who live in the countryside have more complex and dangerous, but fuller and richer lives. Living outside the Citidomes means that people may catch diseases and their lives may be threatened by things that wouldn't normally affect them, but no one tells them what to do and how to behave (for example, childbirth can be deadly and people may injure themselves while doing work out on the fields etc). Inbreeding may also happen unless people move from one village to another.
One of the best and most impressive things about this novel and the whole trilogy is that Katrina Mountfort has written a story that reveals a lot about human nature and what humans are capable of doing to each other. There's quite a lot of underlying wisdom in this story and also plenty of sharp commentary about our way of life and what may happen to mankind.
The story has a strong emotional impact on readers due to the author's way of writing about what kind of choices the characters make and what happens to them. This is another reason why I love this trilogy, because it's captivating to read about the characters and their complex lives.
I sincerely hope that Katrina Mountfort will continue to write more speculative fiction, because she has a voice of her own and she writes skillfully about various characters and many happenings. She has a talent for creating complex stories.
Freedom's Prisoners and its predecessors will most likely be of special interest to readers who are familiar with the young adult science fiction novels written by Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. If you've enjoyed reading The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies and find them fascinating, you'll enjoy these novels, because they're similar kind of entertainment and feature an original vision of dystopian future. These novels will also appeal to readers who love emotionally challenging and thought-provoking stories.
If you're looking for a good YA sci-fi novel to read, you don't need to look further, because Katrina Mountfort's Freedom's Prisoners is an excellent novel. Please, do yourself a big favour and invest a bit of time into reading Future Perfect, Forbidden Alliance and Freedom's Prisoners, because you'll most likely find them intriguing. There's a strongly beating human heart at the core of each of these novels that will make you fall in love with the story and the characters. They're something special for readers who love dystopian stories.
Excellent YA science fiction!
Before I delve into analysing and reviewing Freedom's Prisoners, I'll mention that this review is in equal parts a review about this novel and the whole trilogy, because I can now take a look at the whole story.
Katrina Mountfort's Freedom's Prisoners is a stunning conclusion to The Blueprint Trilogy. I was eager to read this novel, because I enjoyed reading Future Perfect and Forbidden Alliance. I'm glad I had an opportunity read it, because I found it immensely satisfying and intriguing. I can honestly say that it's one of the best and most entertaining young adults science fiction novels I've ever read.
The Blueprint Trilogy is a rewarding reading experience, because the author has created a terrifying vision of dystopian future and doesn't underestimate the intelligence of her readership. Although there are many new young adult science fiction novels and series out there on the market nowadays, this trilogy stands out among them as a prime example of what can be achieved when an author pays attention to writing an emotionally challenging story, creates realistic characters and has courage to write thought-provoking prose.
In my opinion, Freedom's Prisoners deserves all the praise it gets. As much as I like a few other similar kind of novels and series, I have to be honest and say that this novel outshines many of them in terms of depth, prose and storytelling. Only a few other novels are as compelling and entertaining as this novel.
Just like the previous novels, Freedom's Prisoners can be recommended to adults and young adults alike, because it will appeal to both readerships. It's an evocatively written novel that will charm its readers with a good story and interesting characters who have to deal with real problems.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- The village has a harvest festival and people are cheerful, but Suna is not content with her new life outside the Citidome. An unknown man approaches her and offers her an opportunity to return to the Citidome to work there, If she doesn't agree, she may end in a correction camp. The man is trying to find out information about Michael. Suna realises that the choice she is offered is simple: save herself, or Cathy and Michael...
- Cathy has noticed that the Citidome officials have recognised their involvement in the Outbreak and people have begun to disappear. She is pregnant again. Cathy notices that Suna is not herself and is not telling her everything (she thinks that Suna may try to return to the Citidome). When she goes to sleep and wakes up, she and Michael are captured and taken to the Citidome against their will...
- Joy looks forward to the trip towards Oxford with Harry. She and Harry think that some of the people who were freed in the Outbreak don't want to build a better society and don't think about those who are still trapped inside the Citidomes. When they hear about whas has happened to Cathy and Michael, they intend to get help from France...
This is the beginning of a thrilling and thought-provoking story that explores guilt, endurance, love, loss, fear and hope in a spellbinding way. It's a rich and rewarding story with plenty of depth.
The characterisation is excellent and impressive, because the author has created believable characters who have real feelings and serious problems. One of the strengths of this novel and the whole trilogy is that Katrina Mountfort excels at writing about what her characters feel and what kind of choices they make. She writes captivatingly about the characters' lives and continues to develop them as persons.
The author gives distinct and strong voices to Cathy, Suna and Joy, because they're all three-dimensional characters. Cathy is the village leader who is good with people. She escaped from the Citidome when she was pregnant with Joy. Her life has not been easy, but she has had an opportunity to enjoy normal life without Citidome limitations and rules. Suna has lived all her life in the Citidome and doesn't know much about life in the countryside. She doesn't get along with people, because she doesn't fit in and has difficulty reading facial expressions. Joy has experienced how rough life can be, because she has lost Ryan. Now she is dating with Harry and thinks about what the future may hold for them.
In my opinion, Suna has an exceptionally strong voice in this novel, because she has to deal with her betrayal and how she feels about many things, including the brutalities committed by the Citidome residents. She gets to witness how people behave inside the Citidome and in the countryside, and she has to decide whether she can do the Citidome's evil work or not.
In this novel, the Citidome residents have become even more brutal and ruthless than before. For example, the inmates in correction camps and correction centres are being controlled by slow-release toxins that make them more docile and less able to react in a hurry. They're nothing more than human guinea pigs.
Freedom's Prisoners contains many exciting and thrilling scenes which will impress readers and fans of the series.
What happens to Cathy after she has been captured is terrifyingly brutal. She is treated in a ruthless manner and she has to tolerate all kinds of inhuman treatment at the hands of her captors. She has no way to clean herself properly and she can't even sleep well. She also has to deal with dehydration. She is humiliated in many nasty ways.
Joy and Harry's experiences are also handled well. The author paints a vivid picture of their joys, hopes and fears. I enjoyed reading about how they felt about the different places they saw during their journey to France and how they felt about each other.
I won't reveal what Suna does in this novel, because I want to avoid writing spoilers, but I can mention that I enjoyed reading about her life. The author's way of writing about what she goes through and what she has to do will impress readers.
I like the way the author writes about love, sex and sexual situations. There's something natural about her way of exploring these matters. She fluently describes how some of the characters are attracted to each other and how they express their love.
The author's vision of dystopian future is evocative and terrifying, because humankind and society has changed a lot and people have almost forgotten what it means to be human. The Citidomes are filled with people who appreciate beauty and are willing to do almost anything to look beautiful.
There's something deeply grotesque about how Citidome residents feel about beauty and how they worship it, because normal human bodies are considered ugly and undesirable. Ugly people and those who have been captured outside the Citidomes may end up in a media freak show called Vile Bodies. In this show, pregnant women are forced to give birth live without medical assistance and people have to show off their bodies in front of others who laugh and stare at them.
The author writes well about life outside the Citidomes, because those who live in the countryside have more complex and dangerous, but fuller and richer lives. Living outside the Citidomes means that people may catch diseases and their lives may be threatened by things that wouldn't normally affect them, but no one tells them what to do and how to behave (for example, childbirth can be deadly and people may injure themselves while doing work out on the fields etc). Inbreeding may also happen unless people move from one village to another.
One of the best and most impressive things about this novel and the whole trilogy is that Katrina Mountfort has written a story that reveals a lot about human nature and what humans are capable of doing to each other. There's quite a lot of underlying wisdom in this story and also plenty of sharp commentary about our way of life and what may happen to mankind.
The story has a strong emotional impact on readers due to the author's way of writing about what kind of choices the characters make and what happens to them. This is another reason why I love this trilogy, because it's captivating to read about the characters and their complex lives.
I sincerely hope that Katrina Mountfort will continue to write more speculative fiction, because she has a voice of her own and she writes skillfully about various characters and many happenings. She has a talent for creating complex stories.
Freedom's Prisoners and its predecessors will most likely be of special interest to readers who are familiar with the young adult science fiction novels written by Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. If you've enjoyed reading The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies and find them fascinating, you'll enjoy these novels, because they're similar kind of entertainment and feature an original vision of dystopian future. These novels will also appeal to readers who love emotionally challenging and thought-provoking stories.
If you're looking for a good YA sci-fi novel to read, you don't need to look further, because Katrina Mountfort's Freedom's Prisoners is an excellent novel. Please, do yourself a big favour and invest a bit of time into reading Future Perfect, Forbidden Alliance and Freedom's Prisoners, because you'll most likely find them intriguing. There's a strongly beating human heart at the core of each of these novels that will make you fall in love with the story and the characters. They're something special for readers who love dystopian stories.
Excellent YA science fiction!
September 26, 2016
The third part of the Blueprint Trilogy; these are not stand alones, but if you haven't read the first, Future Perfect, yet, I envy you! The series starts in 2181, over a hundred years after the world as we know it was devastated by a pandemic. I discovered after I had read the first one that it's YA, but it's one of those YA series that can be read by any age, and some of the main characters are a fair bit older.
One of the things I really appreciated about this book is the author's clever assessment of what technology would be like nearly 200 years from now, having read other books set in the future in which the world building has been less convincing. In this third part of the trilogy we find out what life is like in France, where the new post-apocalyptic society is working out, unlike in State Eleven where it is cruelly divided into Outsiders and the citizens of the Citidomes, where life is regulated and many limitations are in place. It was really fun to read, especially as 18 year old Joy discovers so much of which she knew nothing; the old and new worlds have merged so well.
Freedom's Prisoners is an adventure, an exciting and frightening one much of the time, and quite a page-turner. The characterisation is great; it's told from the points of view of mother Cathy, who escaped from the Citidome when she was pregnant with Joy; of her daughter Suna who has lived in the Citidome all her life, and of Joy, who has only known the rough and ready, precarious but very real life on the 'outside'.
This is a terrific trilogy, not just as a story, but also because it tells alot about human nature, and about the possible (and worrying) development of some of our race's less likeable traits. Very clever and well thought out, I'd recommend it to anyone who likes these sort of books, and to those who think they don't, too!
One of the things I really appreciated about this book is the author's clever assessment of what technology would be like nearly 200 years from now, having read other books set in the future in which the world building has been less convincing. In this third part of the trilogy we find out what life is like in France, where the new post-apocalyptic society is working out, unlike in State Eleven where it is cruelly divided into Outsiders and the citizens of the Citidomes, where life is regulated and many limitations are in place. It was really fun to read, especially as 18 year old Joy discovers so much of which she knew nothing; the old and new worlds have merged so well.
Freedom's Prisoners is an adventure, an exciting and frightening one much of the time, and quite a page-turner. The characterisation is great; it's told from the points of view of mother Cathy, who escaped from the Citidome when she was pregnant with Joy; of her daughter Suna who has lived in the Citidome all her life, and of Joy, who has only known the rough and ready, precarious but very real life on the 'outside'.
This is a terrific trilogy, not just as a story, but also because it tells alot about human nature, and about the possible (and worrying) development of some of our race's less likeable traits. Very clever and well thought out, I'd recommend it to anyone who likes these sort of books, and to those who think they don't, too!
October 17, 2016
The cover of 'Freedom's Prisoners' gives you a good foretaste of what's in store in this gripping story. It's the climax of the Blueprint Trilogy and follows the lives of mum Cathy and daughters Joy and Suna as they battle for their lives, their way of life and those they love. Dramatic and compelling, I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough.
The structure of the three female narrators works very well, and I found the new character Suna particularly intriguing - and completely credible for someone who had been brought up in such an alien (to us) environment. The trilogy has a whole has a wonderful cohesiveness, with themes and characters from the first book returning in the last.
As well as being a rattling good read, the observations on the way our society could be heading are astute and thought-provoking.
As a little aside, I was rather tickled by the copyright note which mentions telepathy as a possible means of reproduction or transmission of the work, and by the disclaimer which mentions 'people living or dead, Vile or BodyPerfect.'
As you can tell, I couldn't get enough of it and read it from cover to cover!
The structure of the three female narrators works very well, and I found the new character Suna particularly intriguing - and completely credible for someone who had been brought up in such an alien (to us) environment. The trilogy has a whole has a wonderful cohesiveness, with themes and characters from the first book returning in the last.
As well as being a rattling good read, the observations on the way our society could be heading are astute and thought-provoking.
As a little aside, I was rather tickled by the copyright note which mentions telepathy as a possible means of reproduction or transmission of the work, and by the disclaimer which mentions 'people living or dead, Vile or BodyPerfect.'
As you can tell, I couldn't get enough of it and read it from cover to cover!
January 18, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this final part of the Blueprint trilogy, a thrilling dystopian tale of oppression, love and redemption. Freedom's Prisoners builds on the previous two books and takes the story to a thrilling and harrowing conclusion as we learn the fate of all the characters we have come to love during the series. A very satisfying, intelligent - and beautifully written - read and a worthy conclusion to a wonderful trilogy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews