Escape from Furnace

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**Escape from Furnace**
Front cover of Escape from Furnace: Lockdown, Book 1 of the series
Author	Alexander Gordon Smith
Language	English
Genre	Young-adult fiction and or Science Fiction
No. of books	5, plus one novella
Followed by	Solitary Death Sentence Fugitives Execution The Night Children

Escape from Furnace is a series of books written by author Alexander Gordon Smith.^[1] Escape from Furnace is the US title of the series, in the UK the series is known by the shorter title "Furnace". The books are written from the point of view of teenage protagonist Alex Sawyer, and are about his incarceration in the fictional London prison known as Furnace Penitentiary. Escape from Furnace: Lockdown is the first book in the five-book series, followed by Solitary, Death Sentence, Fugitives and the series concludes with Execution. Smith followed up the series with a novella, The Night Children. The novella tells the story of Warden Cross and his meeting of Alfred Furnace, the prison's enigmatic founder, who first transformed him into a nearly immortal being.

Main characters

Alex Sawyer - The main character. He is a bully and a thief. He is framed for the murder of his best friend, Toby, in Lockdown. He is then sent to the underground prison, Furnace Penitentiary, with no possibility of parole. Within the prison, he meets other kids who were framed for murder as well. He is chased by a pack of skinless dogs but through this experience he learns the seriousness of his situation. At the end of Lockdown, Alex escapes general population with Zee, Gary, and another boy named Toby. His cellmate, Donovan, was originally included in the escape plan but was taken by the wheezers the night before. In Solitary, Alex's escape plan fails and he is put into Solitary confinement along with Zee. Almost on the brink of insanity, a boy named Simon rescues Alex and Zee and they attempt to escape Furnace again through the fire pit chimney. The plan fails once again and they are immediately sent to surgery to be turned into blacksuits. In Death Sentence, Alex becomes a blacksuit and is manipulated by the Warden with promise of power. He kills a boy named Ozzie and nearly becomes a permanent blacksuit. However, at the end, he remembers his name and with the help of all the inmates, they escape the prison from general population. In Fugitives, Alex is being chased down by police, military, and stalked by the somewhat omnipresent, Alfred Furnace. He then realizes that the nectar has evolved into a plague. Alex kills Warden Cross at the end of the book. In the final book, Execution, Alex searches for Alfred Furnace to end all the chaos and destruction. Alex and his friends are then chased by a mad scientist named Alice Panetierre. At the end of the book, Alex goes through a revelation and realizes that Alfred Furnace has been manipulated by an evil entity known simply as The Stranger. In the end of the book, he uses his new powers to stop all the blacksuits, rats, berserkers, and leviathans from killing all the soldiers. He also manages to kill Panetierre and the Stranger at the same time by infusing the Stranger into Panetierre with the knowledge that adults can't survive the infusion of the blood. In the epilogue, Alex becomes a hero and his whole story is recorded by General Hamilton.

Zee Hatcher - Alex meets Zee in the prison at the beginning of Lockdown. Zee is immune to the nectar which is why Alfred Furnace thinks that Zee would be a good candidate for a wheezer. Panetierre also realizes something special about Zee and kidnaps him in Execution.

Carl Donovan - Alex's cellmate in Lockdown. He is taken by the wheezers at the end of Lockdown, and turned into a blacksuit in Solitary. Thinking that Donovan is too far gone, Alex mercy kills Donovan by smothering him with a pillow.

Simon Rojo-Flores - He helps Alex and Zee escape from solitary confinement in Solitary. He dies in the final book, Execution when Alex decides to euthanize all the blacksuits, rats, berserkers, and leviathans with his telekinetic powers.

Lucy - A girl who assists Alex, Zee, and Simon in Fugitives and Execution. Zee and Lucy have a liking toward each other.

Warden Cross - One of the main antagonists in the series. Warden Cross controls all of Furnace. He has a strong lust for power. Initially, he was a Nazi war criminal who survived so long because of the nectar developed by Alfred Furnace in World War II. He is one of the main antagonists in the series. He is killed by Alex in Fugitives.

Alfred Furnace - He is the owner of the Furnace Penitentiary and one of the main antagonists in the series. He communicates telepathically with Alex in Fugitives and so forth, but his first and only appearance in the series is in Execution. He is over 300 years old, and survived so long because of the strangers blood. When he was young, he was framed for murdering his brother and then killed by the townspeople. An entity only mentioned as "The Stranger" manipulated him into drinking the Stranger's blood. For centuries, he traveled across Europe, creating soldiers with his nectar to build an army. However, Furnace isn't in control of his actions. The stranger is a parasite, feeding off and manipulating the host. He dies in Execution when Alex agrees to take the Stranger's blood.

Side characters

Montgomery Earl (Monty) - Framed for the murder of his sister, Monty is sent to Furnace just like Alex. At first he is aloof and shows no warmness to Alex or Zee even after they save his life but at the end repays the kindness by making them a legitimate meal using leftovers in the Furnace kitchen. He is taken by the blood watch and turned into a blacksuit. He then murders his cellmate, Kevin. At the end of Lockdown, he saves Alex from moleface and dies. Seconds before his death however, he tells Alex, "never forget your name", and this would save Alex from turning into a complete monster many times later in the series. Alex and Monty seem to be the only characters in the series who remembered their names after being turned by the nectar (excluding Warden Cross).

Alice Panetierre - Appears only in Execution and one of the antagonists in the series. Alice is a mad scientist who experiments on Alex and Zee's bodies. She insists that she wants to find a cure for the plague by experimenting on Zee but Alex realizes that all she wants is power from the nectar.

The Stranger in the orchard - An unidentifiable being who is the representation of all evil and chaos. The final showdown in the series is between "him" and Alex. In the end of Execution, he dies along with Panetierre when Alex's plan comes into place. A background is never revealed about the Stranger. The Stranger is a major loose end in the story.

Gary Owens - A psychopath mistaken initially as a hero who defeated the cruel Kevin Arnold. He becomes the new leader of the skulls after beating Kevin. He is turned into a berserker after being captured during the group's first escape plan.

Kevin Arnold - The leader of the vicious gang known as the Skulls. He is dethroned from his position as leader after being brutally beaten by Gary Owens. He is later murdered by a blacksuit-turned Monty.

Bodie - A member of the skulls who helps Alex escape in Death Sentence. He is turned into a rat by the nectar in Fugitives and dies in the same book.

Toby - Toby was Alex's best friend prior to Furnace and his partner-in-crime. During a burglary, Toby is shot and killed by a blacksuit of Furnace who is nicknamed 'Moleface' by Alex. Alex is framed for his murder.

Toby Merchant - Overwhelmed by his situation in Furnace, Toby decides to jump to death with Ashley. Fortunately, Alex promises Toby a way out of the prison and Toby backs out but dies later during the escape plan.

Sam - A blacksuit that helps out Alex and his friends in Execution. He is killed by Panetierre in the same book.

Ozzie - A boy who Alex befriends in Solitary. He is later killed by Alex in Death Sentence when Alex is changed into a blacksuit.

Pete - A boy who Alex befriends in Solitary. Although his fate is unconfirmed, he is most likely dead.

Ashley - A boy who convinces Toby to suicide with him. In the end, only he dies.

Moleface - One of the cruelest guards out of all of the blacksuits. Alex gives him his nickname as he has a large mole on his face. Moleface shoots Toby and frames Alex for the crime. Alex often runs into conflicts with him, especially during his escape. In the end, Moleface is killed by the blacksuit Monty.

General Hamilton - He helps out Alex and his friends in the end of Execution.

Jimmy - He is framed for murder along with Alex, Zee, and Monty. He appears later in Lockdown with intentions of escaping with Alex, Zee, Toby, and Gary, but fails to do so.

Carlton Jones - Zee's cellmate.

Brandon - One of Alex's friends, prior to Furnace.

The Priest from the Cathedral - A man who claims himself to be the priest of a church in Fugitives.

References

↑ "Escape From Furnace series". goodreads.com. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

External Links (Works Cited)

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