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gingersquirrel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
3.75
This is a YA prison break thriller.
hayleybeale's review against another edition
3.0
An action thriller in the mold of The Maze Runner with a nicely diverse cast of characters. In 2025, Will Drake is a 15 year old sent to The Rig - the world's most secure juvenile detention center - but there's more to The Rig than just a prison. The set up in well-written and paced, but it all piles up a bit in the action-packed climax. See my full review here. Thanks to HMH and Edelweiss for the digital review copy.
michalice's review against another edition
4.0
When I first head about The Rig I knew I had to read it, the synopsis sounded great and the book seemed like it would be exactly the type of book I would enjoy. The protagonist of The Rig is Will Drake who sent to the Rig for 'rehabilitation', after escaping every single prison he has been placed in. The Rig is in the middle of the ocean, and each inmate wears a tacking watch to monitor their whereabouts at all times. The Rig is inescapable but Will is determined to find a way off. The Rig has funding from Alliance Systems, and everything in The Rig is supplied by them, from the trackers down to the food in the snack machines.
Michael Tristan is Wills room-mate, and this duo quickly become firm friends. They look out for each other, and also plot and scheme together. While Will doesn't set out to make friends at The Rig, it quickly becomes clear that this duo have a great friendship, all things considered.
The Rig not only has an amazing cover, but a fantastic plot, that manages to draw you in with just Will planning to escape. Hints of what is going on under the surface are placed sparsely through the pages and some are only noticeable if you make a point of looking for the hidden clues and secrets. About 2/3 of the way into the book the secret is revealed about what Alliance Systems are really doing and it wasn't something I imagined. You go from a rig with dodgy goings on, to a huge secret that literally changes lives. To have a story keep you wanting more with just a 'normal' rig and escape plans is an unbelievable feat in itself, to then have a whole new playing field open before your eyes just makes you want to read faster and find out what happens next as soon as possible.
The characters are easy to feel a connection to, especially Will and Tristan. I loved how this duo had each others backs and looked out for each other. Each one shares their hidden secret as to why they are at The Rig, and compared to others it seems a harsh punishment for their crime,
The Rig was so much more than I was expecting, and I loved the action and the suspense of not knowing what was going to happen next. The world building is fantastic with futuristic issues with the UK and technology in general. My only issue is that once the secret was revealed it felt rushed, and the last third of the book put a lot of focus onto this, and what seems like a hasty escape plan. However, overall The Rig is an unputdownable read and I would love to see what happens for these characters after the dramatic finale.
Michael Tristan is Wills room-mate, and this duo quickly become firm friends. They look out for each other, and also plot and scheme together. While Will doesn't set out to make friends at The Rig, it quickly becomes clear that this duo have a great friendship, all things considered.
The Rig not only has an amazing cover, but a fantastic plot, that manages to draw you in with just Will planning to escape. Hints of what is going on under the surface are placed sparsely through the pages and some are only noticeable if you make a point of looking for the hidden clues and secrets. About 2/3 of the way into the book the secret is revealed about what Alliance Systems are really doing and it wasn't something I imagined. You go from a rig with dodgy goings on, to a huge secret that literally changes lives. To have a story keep you wanting more with just a 'normal' rig and escape plans is an unbelievable feat in itself, to then have a whole new playing field open before your eyes just makes you want to read faster and find out what happens next as soon as possible.
The characters are easy to feel a connection to, especially Will and Tristan. I loved how this duo had each others backs and looked out for each other. Each one shares their hidden secret as to why they are at The Rig, and compared to others it seems a harsh punishment for their crime,
The Rig was so much more than I was expecting, and I loved the action and the suspense of not knowing what was going to happen next. The world building is fantastic with futuristic issues with the UK and technology in general. My only issue is that once the secret was revealed it felt rushed, and the last third of the book put a lot of focus onto this, and what seems like a hasty escape plan. However, overall The Rig is an unputdownable read and I would love to see what happens for these characters after the dramatic finale.
anxious_otter's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book for its interesting story of inprisionment and escape, but I feel that some elements of the story didn't really fit, and could've been more developed.
fictionalkate's review against another edition
4.0
Will Drake has already escaped from three maximum security juvenile detention facilities. But he’s seen nothing like the Rig. Located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean at a former oil rig, it’s not just the conditions that are brutal. With a tracker accounting for each inmates every move and guards who are crueller than the weather – it seems like there’s no escape for Will. But he’s determined. With a techno-genius for a cell mate and a girl who helps Will discover some of the secrets the Rig holds, there’s nothing going to stop Will escaping… not even the mysterious Crystal-X.
From the first page of The Rig I felt like I was watching a movie. There’s so much cinematic potential for this book. From the helicopters landing on one of the five old oil platforms now turned prison for criminal youth to the brilliant sport Ducie came up with “Rig Ball” – I felt like I could see all the action playing out like a film.
Will is a great character to let us into the secrets of the Rig. He’s street smart and practical but he’s nobodies fool. We get to find out as we read that whilst he may be an inmate of one of the world’s toughest juvenile facilities, he’s not a bad guy. That said – he can hold his own even against super enhanced bullies. There’s more than meets the eye to Will – and we get to see that as hardened as prison has made him he still cares for his family and friends. Tristan – Will’s cell mate – is an oddly likeable guy. He’s a quiet guy who just wants to do his time and get out – the opposite in many ways to Will – but he’s willing to stand up for his friends no matter the consequences to himself. I liked him. His interaction with Irene, a female detainee on the other side of the Rig, was somewhat adorable to read as it unfolded and added a little to the comic relief for what is a mostly serious novel.
The action is this novel is brilliant. There’s a lot going on and Ducie has come up with some great concepts. The idea for his magnetized lacrosse game – known as Rig Ball - is as fun as it is absolutely brutal. The trackers which not only detect location but also keep track of how much the inmates owe the establishment for their stay is an interesting design that I thought was pretty cool. The plot around Crystal-X is something that I wish was developed a little further. There’s a lot about the blue crystal that I thought had a lot of potential however it felt a little out of place. This book is suspenseful and a great contemporary thriller up until about half way though when the Crystal-X is introduced and it brought me out of the story a little. The alien mineral gave the novel a paranormal element which just felt a little odd considering the rest of what was going on.
I enjoyed reading this book. Great characters with a setting so vivid I felt like I could be there on the Rig with Will and the others – this book was a brilliant read.
From the first page of The Rig I felt like I was watching a movie. There’s so much cinematic potential for this book. From the helicopters landing on one of the five old oil platforms now turned prison for criminal youth to the brilliant sport Ducie came up with “Rig Ball” – I felt like I could see all the action playing out like a film.
Will is a great character to let us into the secrets of the Rig. He’s street smart and practical but he’s nobodies fool. We get to find out as we read that whilst he may be an inmate of one of the world’s toughest juvenile facilities, he’s not a bad guy. That said – he can hold his own even against super enhanced bullies. There’s more than meets the eye to Will – and we get to see that as hardened as prison has made him he still cares for his family and friends. Tristan – Will’s cell mate – is an oddly likeable guy. He’s a quiet guy who just wants to do his time and get out – the opposite in many ways to Will – but he’s willing to stand up for his friends no matter the consequences to himself. I liked him. His interaction with Irene, a female detainee on the other side of the Rig, was somewhat adorable to read as it unfolded and added a little to the comic relief for what is a mostly serious novel.
The action is this novel is brilliant. There’s a lot going on and Ducie has come up with some great concepts. The idea for his magnetized lacrosse game – known as Rig Ball - is as fun as it is absolutely brutal. The trackers which not only detect location but also keep track of how much the inmates owe the establishment for their stay is an interesting design that I thought was pretty cool. The plot around Crystal-X is something that I wish was developed a little further. There’s a lot about the blue crystal that I thought had a lot of potential however it felt a little out of place. This book is suspenseful and a great contemporary thriller up until about half way though when the Crystal-X is introduced and it brought me out of the story a little. The alien mineral gave the novel a paranormal element which just felt a little odd considering the rest of what was going on.
I enjoyed reading this book. Great characters with a setting so vivid I felt like I could be there on the Rig with Will and the others – this book was a brilliant read.
eokamoto's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
heisereads's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of guy appeal. Page turner. Prison Break-ish, but then a twist toward the end that I didn't expect and took the story a different direction. I think it'll be popular in my classroom. A likeable main character.