Enclave [Audio CD]

I know what you're probably thinking - yet another YA piece of dreck. While walking through the library a few weeks ago, I saw Enclave on shelf labeled - Staff Suggestions - and the cover intrigued me. After reading it, I have to admit it was pretty good.

Enclave is a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel set in the future. After most of mankind had been wiped out by biological warfare, humans survive in underground towns, fighting off Freaks, mutated humans possessing razor sharp teeth and claws with a hunger for flesh - human or otherwise. In one enclave located underneath the ruins of New York City, Deuce reaches her fifteenth birthday, which given the vastly shorter lifespans of humans, is an accomplishment in and of itself.

Enclaves consists of four types of people; Brats, those under the age of 15, Hunters, tasked with protecting the enclave and finding food, Breeders charged with repopulating the enclave, and Builders, who manufacture tools and weapons for the Enclave. Having just reached 15, Deuce has gone from being a brat to a hunter and is partnered with Fade, arguably the best Hunter in the Enclave, and travelling with him, gets her first glimpses of life outside the Enclave.

The book has plenty of action, character development and the world is breathtakingly described. The story is as harsh and raw as the world it portrays. While I would have preferred more information on what had happened to humanity, the novel was an interesting read. It wasn't as good as Hunger Games, but it was better than its two sequels. While I wouldn't buy the hardcover (mostly due the shortness of the book), I would recommend getting an e-book or getting a paperback whenever that comes out.

I didn’t know what I was getting into when I read this book, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It reminded me of the set up of the video game, Fallout 3. Something has happened that has wiped out most of human civilization and we are left with weird mutated ‘Freaks’ that need to be killed (or they will kill you). Separate, secluded territories are all fighting for the same goal: survival. Our main character, Deuce, is a female from one of these secluded territories and she hopes to become a Huntress – someone that protects the territory by killing Freaks. It is an honorable position to have within the social structure, but there are other options such as being a Builder or Breeder. I liked the detail of how the civilization was run day-to-day, and how both the positives and negatives were highlighted.

Of course, this book boils down to survival. There are some great action scenes involving the Freaks with lots of blood, gore, and creepiness. Every survival instinct is kicked in, and luckily, the author seems to know what she is talking about.

I liked Deuce. She was a strong character, but she was also stubborn. At first, her stubbornness was a bit annoying but she was open minded enough to consider different perspectives to alter her opinions. Fade was also a great character, but I felt a bit distanced by him. He definitely has that mysterious edge to him, so I am hoping to learn more about him in the future books.

The pacing was really well done. By the halfway point, a major plot change happened which opened up far more possibilities for our characters. Just like if it were real, as soon as the characters felt like they could relax, you knew something was about to happen.

I liked that we got some answers as to how the world got to be the way it is, but we don’t get all the answers. I am hopeful that in future books we will get more answers about what happened and what will happen. Overall, I recommend this book!

Enclave is an excellent post-apocalyptic novel. Humans live in an underground "enclave" with rigid, sometimes brutal, rules. They live in constant fear of the "Freaks" endlessly hungry, human-like creatures that will attack and eat anything-and anyone. Deuce is a young huntress within her enclave, who, with her recently assigned hunting partner, Fade, must battle the Freaks daily in order to hunt food for the members of the enclave. While she starts out believing that the strict rules of the enclave are in place to keep them all alive, and never questions them, Fade's mistrust of their authorities gradually leads her to see her world in a different way, and ultimately leads her out into a completely new world.

I really enjoyed Enclave. It is a fascinating twist on the concept of the popular zombie apocalypse, with the viscous, constantly hungry Freaks filling the role of the zombies (while we do not know where they come from, they definitely behave similarly). I found that Deuce was a well developed, strong female lead, and that she and Fade work together wonderfully. It is mostly action, with a little bit of romance and more humor than I was expecting. The references to the pre-apocalypse world are well done. Overall it was was an excellent read, and a very good start to a trilogy (the second book, now called Outpost is to be released Sept. 4, 2012, followed by Horde, release date tba)