Furnace 3 - Death Sentence (22 page)

‘Alex,’ Zee repeated. ‘Jesus, get up. Are you blind?’

He pointed, and I followed his arm to see the first of the police cars speeding down the road, skidding to a halt before the tide of inmates spilling towards it. Zee tugged on my overalls again and this time I responded, getting unsteadily to my feet.

Then we were running, bolting into the rain-slicked streets of the city. And even though we had the prison at our backs, even though the blacksuits were far behind us, even though the loving arms of the rising sun welcomed
us into a long-forgotten embrace, I couldn’t shake the image of Alfred Furnace from my head.

He was coming for us. He would find us.

And when he did, there would be all hell to pay.

Praise for
FURNACE

‘Alexander Gordon Smith employs tight, gutsy language to tell Alex’s story …This is a punch-between-the-eyes kind of read, punishing in every sense, Gothic in its horrors, darkly claustrophobic … Readers may find the wait between volumes a long stretch.’
Financial
Times

‘An adrenaline-packed thriller for teens that grumpy boys will gulp down as escapism.’ Amanda Craig,
The Times

‘[
Furnace
] will be addictive and gripping for teenage readers who like their villains really, really bad and the fear factor ramped up high. The start of an adventure series – but not for sensitive souls.’
Daily Mail

‘Smith is a fantastic writer; the prose is sharp and focused, with descriptions that bring this alternate reality to life.’
Bookbag

‘You’d be a fool to miss out on this tense, exciting and terrifying read.’
Flipside Magazine

Other praise for Alexander Gordon Smith:

‘
The Inventors
is a great story that moves at such an entertaining pace that it leaves the reader open-mouthed with excitement, rooting for the young characters and
wishing you were just a little bit more like them yourself … this one rattles, rocks and rolls.’ John Boyne, author of
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

‘
The Inventors
is a rip-roaringly exciting tale.’
Independent on Sunday

‘
The Inventors
is a captivating story that should not be missed.’ G. P. Taylor, author of
Shadowmancer

Alexander Gordon Smith, 30, is the author of
Furnace:
Lockdown
and
Furnace: Solitary
, as well as
The Inventors
, which was shortlisted for the 2005 Wow Factor competition, and
The Inventors and the City of Stolen Souls
. He has also written a number of non-fiction books, as well as hundreds of articles for various magazines. He is the founder of Egg Box Publishing, an independent press that promotes talented new writers and poets, and is the co-owner of Fear Driven Films, a production company shooting its first feature in 2009. He lives in Norwich.

Find out more at:
www.alexandergordonsmith.com

FURNACE: LOCKDOWN

FURNACE: SOLITARY

THE INVENTORS

THE INVENTORS AND THE CITY OF STOLEN SOULS