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Lockdown (Escape from Furnace, #1)

by Alexander Gordon Smith (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2014

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Mixwell said: " I don’t know how Alexander Gordon Smith came up with the idea of a top-security, underground prison in England full of murderous guards, but it certainly sounds like a great idea. Lockdown, by Alexander Gordon Smith, is a thrilling novel that tells t I don’t know how Alexander Gordon Smith came up with the idea of a top-security, underground prison in England full of murderous guards, but it certainly sounds like a great idea. Lockdown, by Alexander Gordon Smith, is a thrilling novel that tells the story of a fourteen year old kid, Alex, who has to go to this prison, Furnace Penitentiary after being falsely accused of a murder. Lockdown is full of action, suspense, and even some humor. Smith’s mysterious world and gloomy atmosphere is fun to read about. Smith uses carefully-selected words and figurative language in his well-written sentences to keep you from having a sense of repetitiveness. The book is very well-crafted, but there are also a few major flaws.

I would say that the action is Smith’s primary goal in his book, because it is filled with exciting action scenes. In one part, Alex has to fight three prisoners at a time. He has to throw punches, evade kicks, and knee stomachs. The fights and chases are enjoyable, easily making them the best parts of the book. However the dialogue is simplistic and monotonous. Smith is able to slip in a few jokes in the conversations, but the rest of the speech are underdeveloped. For the setting, Smith doesn’t describe the underground prison clearly. He successfully creates a spooky atmosphere that makes the book really cool, such as describing the prison’s walls “soaked” in blood and skinless dogs attacking prisoners, but the readers need to guess the major setting details.

Additionally, numerous parts in Lockdown are unrealistic. First of all, there is an underground prison with maximum security that contains teenagers. Most people would think a prison like this would be built for the most dangerous criminals, not for children. Secondly, Alex seems to quickly adapt to the abusive prison environment. He has never been to a prison before, but he feels comfortable in Furnace after only about half a day. Also, some of the characters have seemingly super-human strength. In several scenes, there are guards that bend thick metal bars. Moreover, in a scene on page 108, Alex tries to outrun the guards’ violent dog. He says “I pushed myself past the fifth [floor] to the sixth [...] a howl from behind signaled that the [skinless dog] was hot on my heels [...] I flung myself to the floor below and caught onto the railing. I hoisted myself up faster than I thought possible.” (Smith 108) Outrunning killer dogs and jumping down fifteen feet, only to catch yourself with your hands and climbing over a rail in a second is a scene more worthy for The Matrix than a 14-year old Joe. I enjoyed reading it, but I couldn’t stop thinking of the holes Smith didn’t fill in.

The ending was appropriate for the story. It was a cliffhanger, but that’s acceptable considering all the action that went on in the middle. It wrapped up the book, if not the story, successfully. It gave me a feeling of satisfaction. The book didn’t have any deep themes in it and was clearly designed for pleasure. I didn’t learn any life skills from it. Smith put in many elements that I loved, such as a descriptive action and atmosphere; however, there were several problems that I couldn’t ignore. Lockdown is a good thriller and fun to read, but isn’t the rich story I expected. If you just want an enjoyable, thrilling book, this is my recommendation. But if you want a solid story with high quality elements, you can pass by this one. ...more "

Feb 13, 2014 07:48AM · see review