Incarceron

Finn is captive in the grim confines of Incarceron; a memory of candles and boats on a lake – convinces him he once lived Outside. And when he obtains a strange prism, he's convinced it's the key to Escape.

Claudia is the daughter of Incarceron's Warden, her privileged life is constrained by pointless protocols. She steals her father's key and discovers it's a communication device; through it speaks a desperate boy, convincing her she's uncovered a horrifying truth about the kingdom's rulers.

This is a rich complex fantasy about two very different worlds - each created in an image of perfection but with corruption at their core - and two vividly realised characters, determined not to accept such flawed versions of reality. Absorbing, unusual and thought-provoking.