Review: Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

Title: Lockdown

Author: Alexander Gordon Smith

Published: 2009

Length:  292 pages

Genre:  

Thriller, Horror, Dystopia, 

S

ci-Fi

Where Found: The wonderful BookDepository 

Counts Towards: The Dystopia Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge

Summary:

My name is Alex and I'm not a killer. The framed me for murder, condemned me to life in Furnace with its punishments and pain.

I've got to get out of here. 

If I don't, it could be me the Wheezers come for.

Me who's dragged screaming from my cell.

Me who's brought back scarred, twisted and hungry for blood.

I've got to get out of here. Before they turn my into a monster.

Review:

Wow! Thats the first thing I thought when I turned the final page of Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith. My next thought was Holy Sh*t, I have to get my hands on the next book in the series. I finished this book late at night.. and I have to admit that it really freaked me out, more than most books do anyway. There were some truly creepy characters in there. There were also c

haracters I loved and characters I loved to hate. Lockdown was a mix of character driven scenes action scenes and violence. Which is a brilliant mix if you ask me. 

This book is definently not a book for the faint of heart. It was very g

raphic at times, and my heart pounded it's way trough the pages. It also has some 

psychological horror here, building up through the novel. I like that the characters feel real.

The main character Alex 

Sawyer. Alex isn’t really a bad kid, yeah, sure, 

he’s been living a life of petty crime, robbing houses with his best mate. But o

n their last fateful job, the boys are caught – but not by the police. Instead, a group of huge, fast and strong men in dark suits corners them, kills Toby, and frames Alex for the murder of his friend. Because of a no-tolerance policy for underage crime, Alex is given the harshest sentence – imprisonment in Furnace (an underground 

penitentiary for teenagers) for life, with no hope of parole. 

Once in the Furnace, Alex is lucky his cellmate, Donovan, is willing to be his friend. They also befriend Zee, another boy who was framed for crimes he didn’t commit.

Things happen that lead up to the boys planning an escape. 

There are, naturally, complications. Including other prisoners, avoiding all the prion gangs, the guards and their terrifying mutant dogs, the prison warden and Wheezers.

There is some information missing from the pages of this book. Why was Alex and others chosen and framed? 

Where do all the female prisioners go? Is there a separate chamber in the prison for them? Do we just not see them or do females not get sentenced to the Furnace?

Overall a spectacular read and a new series for me to obsess over. 

P.S I 

love that this book is British.

*Warning: if you are prone to nightmares, do not read this book before bed.