I’ve heard people rave about Karen Hancock’s Christian fantasy novels for years, but for some reason I’ve never read one. After reading The Enclave, I know that’s a serious oversight on my part.
In The Enclave, main character Lacey is thrilled to have landed a job as a geneticist for one of the most prestigious companies in the world straight out of school. Of course, she’s low man on the totem pole, and assigned all the yucky duties, like taking care of the frogs used for research. The facility is more like a compound, with all the employees living on-site and only leaving when they’re granted passes. Strange things happen, frightening events that everyone is covering up, and Lacey begins to think she’s losing her mind. Then she catches the eye of the director, and her career is put on a fast track, straight up to the man’s luxurious penthouse. After all, he’s known for his roving eye and attraction to beautiful women. One problem — all the past objects of his attention seem to be missing.
In addition to Lacey, we meet a brilliant but absent-minded geneticist with a past at odds with his geeky persona. Most fascinating of all, we’re treated to glimpses into the lives of the people living in New Eden, the underground dwelling survivors of a catastrophic disaster that destroyed the Earth’s surface.
A suspenseful sci-fi story that kept me riveted to my chair. This book has it all – suspense, drama, romance, believable technology, even … uh, I don’t want to give anything else away. The spiritual message is woven beautifully into the plot.