On the topic of sequels, I have been eagerly anticipating the third book to the series Escape from Furnace. The series has turned out to be one of my favourite thrillers, where the bad guys are super evil and there's enough suspense to keep me biting my nails the whole way (see my post for a review of the first book in the series). For some reason, I thought the this was a trilogy -- only to discover that the fourth and fifth books are still on their way. I was a bit nervous starting this third book -- since a series that is dragged on too long can really kill the plot. I mean, for how long can a bunch of convicts run away from monsters and prison guards before all the chase scenes become the same? You keep thinking Alex and his friends are going to escape... only to find out at the end of the book they're trapped AGAIN. Having a bit of an attachment to this series, I seriously hope Smith comes up with some interesting plot twists to keep the story alive.

(Warning: this next section contains spoilers!) Death Sentence immediately jumps into the action and picks up the story right where book two, Solitary, left off. And yes, Alex is still stuck in Furnace Penitentiary, this time captured by the evil Warden and at risk of being transformed into one of the monster black suit guards.With Alex now in close contact with the Warden, we begin to learn the real purpose behind the prison. Furnace is really just a supply of subjects for experiments that strive to create a race of  humans that have no weaknesses -- creatures that have superhuman strength, do not fear or feel remorse and are only motivated by anger and hatred. Everyone who undergoes the experiments (and survives) pretty much have their memories wiped out and believe that they were created by the Warden. The ideas here aren't entirely unique -- but this doesn't mean the series won't turn out to be good.

I haven't quite finished the book yet -- but so far so good. The action has made it pretty difficult to put the book down and while this third book has revealed the most answers so far, there are still enough loose ends in the plot to keep me wondering what is going to happen next.