The Prisoner

by Carlos J. Cortes

2049. Earth's prisons are shut down and all inmates placed in massive hibernation tanks. In the ten years since then, no one has broken out…until now.When prisoners check into Washington D.C.'s maximum security "sugar cube," they don't check out. Here lie suspended not just the planet's most dangerous criminals, but also half a million so-called "center inmates"—troublesome activists whose only offense is to challenge those in power. Laurel Cole was one of those inmates—and now she's on the run. After pulling off a meticulously executed escape plan, she and her team must elude the police by descending into the tunnels that run like poisoned veins beneath the city. Pursued by a ruthless mercenary who knows these sewers better than anyone, Laurel seeks help from a group of renegades who live huddled in the fetid darkness. But if she ever hopes to see daylight again—and expose the government's lies—she'll have to go even deeper. . . and the clock is ticking.

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

I write for the same reason I breathe: to carry on living.

From time to time I post snippets about myself and my work at:

http://www.carlosjcortes.com
http://carlos-odd-world.blogspot.com/
http://cortes-theprisoner.blogspot.com/
http://cortes-perfectcircle.blogspot....

Carlos J Cortes is the author of numerous unpublished novels and one of the World’s least influential people. After the dogged efforts of his indefatigable agent, his first SF thriller, Perfect Circle saw the light last year. The second, The Prisoner, another SF thriller, is scheduled for release 29 September 2009, both courtesy of Random House.

Carlos studied music, engineering, and a plethora of obscure subjects before turning his efforts to writing technical tomes on hilarious themes such as light physics, lighting science and fiber optics. Undeterred by failure when none of his published books ever reached the New York Times bestselling list, he co-wrote three books on Bridge.

The son of an absconded father and a seamstress, Carlos grew up in the streets of Madrid’s old quarter surrounded by an elite of hustlers and other intellectuals, the salt of the Earth, the kind of guys who would insist that you keep enough for bus fare after taking your wallet. These complementary perspectives and thirty years of wandering through six continents served as inspiration for his fiction work.

As a Bridge player, he overbids with imaginations, impasses his own hand and squeezes himself out of dummy, but never blames his partner.

Although he lives rough at present in Barcelona, fattening a piggybank with the loose change, he’s planning to try wooing US authorities into looking the other way so he can move to California full time.

Carlos’ woman,——fantasy writer S. J. Thomas—— collaborates on his research, edits his manuscripts, tries to knock into him the rudiments of this fiendish language and scrooges every cent she can lay her hands on to fetch her man over.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific read!

Imagine that you were forced to participate in your own demise; that you were told to "remain calm" while you prepped yourself to go headfirst into a tank that would be your coffin for an indefinite amount of time. What if your name was purposely lost due to a sociopath's personal vandeta, and you were scheduled to never leave the tank alive?

I'd reccomend this book to anyone who likes adventure in the midst of deceit and power. A group of unlikely regular visionaries take on a corporate dictatorship against impossible odds and... well you'll just have to read it for yourself.

I'll never think of sewage, or the phrase "remain calm" the same again.

[Rita Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could smell it. I could see the rats, the roaches, the "shit-cicles," the fatbergs, the nasty hair balls... I could feel the grime on my skin, and when Laurel thought she'd never be able to get the sewer off, I felt the same way--even though I wasn't really the one in the sewers.

My pulse quickened, knowing that Nikola was just a few steps behind us--er, I mean them. From the beginning to the end, the story is fast paced and exciting. The plot is well formed, and the characters are rich in depth. Carlos J. Cortes has an easy-to-follow story-telling voice that both enchants and spellbinds. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its really hard to review this book without giving too much away, but I'll do my best.
It's 2049 & Earth's prisons are shut down, all inmates placed in hibernation tanks. When prisoners check into Washington D.C.'s maximum security 'sugar cube', they don't check out. Within this new system lie not only the planet's most dangerous criminals, but also half a million people whose only offense is to challenge those in power.

After pulling off a harrowing escape, Laurel Cole and her team must elude the police by descending into the sewer beneath the city. Pursued by a ruthless mercenary,(& one of my favorite characters) Laurel seeks help from a group of renegades who live underground among the balls of fat and matted hair, the nasty floating tampons and mystery items mixed into the refuse from the city above. Will she ever see daylight and expose the government's lies?

I was hooked from the very first line and hopelessly tangled into this fast paced adventure by Chapter 2. I loved Carlos's first book, Perfect Circle, but Prisoner will be forever a favorite over everything I've read.

As I read I could smell the sewers, feel the slimy, chunky bits of nasty on my skin, even taste the air, not a good thing if you eat while reading. I can't even imagine walking through this place for real, as he did to research this book.
A nail-biter from start to finish, full of unforgettable characters, even the villain is fascinating, twists and turns that leave you breathless, this was a read I thoroughly enjoyed and a book I will definitely read again.
I would recommend this to anyone, regardless of 'favorite genre' simply as a damn good read.

I can't wait for the next one.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel should come with a caution. Once you pick it up just make sure you have time, because you won't put it down.

As a reader I usually stick to the genres I write in, simply because those are the ones I enjoy. Near future science fiction has never been one of my favorites, but this one might just change my mind. Carlos Cortes' novel is a delight to read, not only for its story but for the details within in. It's obviously well researched, from the prison tanks, to the cognac, to the sewers.

While novels are all about the plot, the plot is nothing without characters to people it. 'The Prisoner' has a great selection of characters whom you may love or hate but they are all very real and as a reader I understood their motivations.

After escaping from the 'Sugar Cube" where prison inmates are kept in tanks, Laurel Cole and two men carry a half-dead man through the sewers. You follow their journey through the stench and the filth and the terrors of pursuit. The half-dead man is Laurel's father but she doesn't know him, and he should never have been imprisoned in the first place. So who put him there?

Government corruption, love and betrayal, it's all here, not to mention the explosions.

[Michael Keyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book on many levels: I'd like to think of Carlos as a friend and as such it's both intriguing and pleasurable reading another writer's work.

The Prisoner is a quickly paced thriller set in the near future where criminals are dealt with in an innovative way. The book also offers the reader a wealth of arcane detail that fans of Frederick Forsyth will lap up, along with a beautiful, worldly wise cynicism.

If I had any criticism at all, it is perhaps that I found it difficult to believe that one of the main villains would have harboured a grudge for so long and so obsessively - but then that probably says more about my more forgiving and/or lazy nature. Harbouring grudges requires energy.

[Susan Griscom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never before have I ever wanted to cheer for a prison escape. Drawn in from the very beginning to the very end, The Prisoner takes us beyond the normal prison cell, to the depths of the sewers where you could smell and see the stench as his characters trudged through. More than just a prison break, but a yearning of a daughter to know her father and the desire of many to help restore justice and end a corrupt system. I love when a book keeps me thinking about it long after I've finished reading, as this one did.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. It's a near-future story extrapolating new breakthroughs in human hibernation efforts. It also features a great, informative treatment of big city sewer exploration and displaced persons living underground (i.e. mole people).
The story focuses on a small team that breaks out of a hibernation facility in an effort to spotlight illegal activities occurring within the hibernation facilities. These facilities have replaced long-term prison as a more humane method and the ramifications are fascinating.
Highly recommended for Doctorow and/or Gibson fans and readers who dig near-future story lines.

[J.P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm going to bend one of my rules here. I usually never give away the plot in a review. But in the case of this clunker of a book, it's justified.
It's 2049, and prisons have become "sugar cubes" where prisoners are put into suspended animation and stacked like items on supermarket shelves. You know you're in trouble when one of the prisoners is broken out by a team of three lawyers. That's right, lawyers. The characters are one-dimensional and there is no development. The plot moves at the speed of an arthritic snail. There is almost no backstory so you have no idea what's going on until at least 3/4 through the book. The subplots do nothing to enhance the story and wander like stray cattle. Five pages are devoted to the sanitary facilities of a pig farm.
The escapees are trying to get away unnoticed so what better way to do that than by setting off an explosion under a nuclear reactor for no apparent reason.
The two futuristic agencies trying to capture them bumble like low-ranking security officers on the Enterprise.
Also there are the scientific facts and parts of the plot that don't make sense: wouldn't a SWAT team with a medical officer have been a better choice to break out a very ill prisoner? How can a GPS detect people underground? How do you "slip in" a computer virus into a mainframe? Why would a rifle need an atmospheric pressure adjustment device? Is the bullet being shot to the moon?
And then there is writing like "his body sagged, as if its hayride driver had abandoned the vehicle" What the hell is that supposed to mean?
The trees used in the publication of this book died in vain.

[Giacomo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carlos Cortes has done it again. The Prisoner grabs you from the first page and starts you down a path of questioning all that we do in society--now, and what might lie ahead. The characters are deep, the plot compelling, and the suspense doesn't stop. As he did in Perfect Circle, Mr. Cortes manages to simplify the most complex technology and explain it to the reader without boring. It is an education as well as a thrill to read his books. I learned about hibernation, the economics of prisons, and lets not forget--sewers. Where would any of us be without sewers? I thoroughly enjoyed the read and was thrilled with the ending. He wrapped everything up tightly at the end, answering all the questions I had.

All of his characters were engaging, but Nikola Masek deserves his own book. What a great character! We need more novels like this. Thanks, Carlos, for the great read.

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[Sally Ling · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't complain because the blurb on the back of the book describes exactly what you get.

While the premise is very interesting, with a concept similar to one used in Minority Report, the execution of the premise and the world building left me disappointed. One significant technological change does not usually occur while all other things remain constant.

The interrelationships of the characters and their wrap up was a bit too pat to be truly satisfying; almost as if there should be a "happily ever after" in flowing script on the last page.

I felt there could have been more to create a sense of wonder at this world, including stronger characterizations, more moral ambiguity and, therefore, complexity to the story. It was an easy read, and I finished it in one plane ride but it is too fluffy for me to recommend.

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Prisoner" takes place in 2059, when criminals are sentenced to hibernation instead of prison. It's a realistic and scary future that briefly touches on the loss of privacy and more limits on freedom of speech. The first half of the book dragged, with most of the action taking place in the sewers and underground. The writing was episodic, and tried to tie in too many secondary/tertiary characters.

[Patty Jansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy guacamole! I started off reading this book with a feeling of yeah-right, let's see what this is like. It's not a subject matter that normally gets me excited (hint: there are no aliens in the book), but this book grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. Not being American, I can't vouch for the accuracy of the references to American legal and political situations, but this is a heck of an exciting read.

[C.N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tension building in the book is incredible. Opening with a scene in which a woman is being put into suspended animation for crimes she did not commit, it follows her 'death' and just esculates from there.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept, but the writing itself just didn't pass muster. The characters tended to be a bit two-dimensional, and I didn't get any connection to them at all. It could've made a great SF/thriller movie though.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just could not get into it.

[Enso · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining "prison break" kind of novel. I enjoyed the setting though, overall, it was a little predictable.

[Jodie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very visceral. Didn't really connect with any of the character.