The Enclave by Karen Hancock Published by: Bethany House Publishers (2009) 492 pages Rating: 9/10 Buy it Now:    Also by Karen Hancock: The Light of Eidon The Shadow Within Shadow Over Kiriath Return of the Guardian-King

Lacey McHenry has just taken on a job as research assistant in genetics at the Kendall-Jakes Longevity Institute, widely renowned for its cutting-edge research on the genetics of aging. Hoping to develop her own prestige as well as escaping the disappointments of her past, Lacey is excited about her future... until a freakish intruder disrupts her world. When the Institute covers up the incident, Lacey wonders what could possibly be going on behind the scenes. She enlists the help of Cameron Reinhardt, a brilliant geneticist on the staff, but he knows no more than she does.

Meanwhile, somewhere else, a very odd storyline is developing involving a hidden society of apparently genetically-advanced humans. Questions surround them: who are they? what are they? where are they? And even when are they? They believe they're the last survivors of a holocaust that devastated all humanity years ago... Is there a connection between their story and that of Lacey and Cameron? You might be surprised.

Karen Hancock excels at writing densely-plotted speculative fiction. Her Guardian-King series was some of the best fantasy of the past decade, and she's won four Christy Awards (so far). The Enclave is more of the same style.

In fact, it's almost too dense. There are details upon details, with so many characters, that at times in the early portions of the book, it's hard to keep track of everything. But it all ties in eventually, and patient readers will be well-rewarded.

There's quite a blend here of the physical and spiritual. On one hand, it seems to be a sci-fi edged conspiracy tale with plenty of intrigue and deception. On the other, it ties directly into ancient Scripture. And it's far more than the typical "scientists playing God" meme. This should be very satisfying to any Hancock fans, as well as anyone else who is interested in stories with this much depth and development.

Highly Recommended.