Arena by Karen Hancock

After reading several of Karen's other books, I must say that Arena is her best book to date, even though it is her debut novel.
Callie agrees to be a guinea pig for a new type of psychological testing because it pays well. The job: enter a psychological world and exit as fast as possible. She is given several instructions along the way, such as staying on the white road at all times and avoiding distractions. She must reach the Benefactor's Gate in order to exit the world and return to her her home.
But when she comes face to face with a human just like herself, her view of the test changes. Especially when he tells her that there is no way to reach the Benefactor's Gate. He knows because he's been trying for five years.
He eventually takes her to the group of people he's staying with, people who have also been in the Arena for a long time.
The Arena is filled with all kinds of dangers-Trogs, which are human like enemies; harries, which are like flying manta rays; and other dangers like menacing sand mites.
Callie fears she is trapped in the Arena forever until she convinces the group to scale the cliffs that lead to the Benefactor's Gate. They soon discover that reach the Gate was easier than they thought. What they find at the top stuns them.
The whole premise of the book is very original for a debut novel. Karen could have spent several books outlining all kinds of paths for the characters to take (don't get any ideas, Karen; I don't like sequels). The path she chose for her characters to take isn't the best, but it is still enough for it to be Elite.
If it were not for the end. After the characters return home, Karen makes a rookie mistake by adding an extra chapter at the end that ruins the whole book.
But there are other drawbacks to the book, such as the the perfection of most of the characters, including Callie. Also, there is an extremely predictable villain that should have been eliminated.
Also, there are too many scenes depicting the characters eating the foreign cuisine. It seems like Karen could have used those spots in the book to show off some more creativity besides eating.
All in all, it's not a bad book, and it should warrant a read. After all, what should one expect from a debut novel?
3.5 stars

The Enclave by Karen Hancock

Needless to say, I was not excited when I heard about Karen Hancock's new release, The Enclave. I was even less excited when I read what it was about: a male and a female working together in a genetic institute with a crazy scientist leading them. My excitement (if there was any at this point) decreased more when I saw the length of the book (nearly 500 pages) and read the first and last chapters (maybe I shouldn't have done that).
Throughout the first and second chapters, Hancock thoroughly overemphasizes the amount of dislike between the male and female leads. On top of that, the villain is extremely obvious at his first appearance into the plot. On top of that, there is a subplot that keeps the reader isolated from its true meaning.
All until part two.
I must say, part two is the highlight of the book. It begins the best and ends the best of any other portions of the book. But if she had stopped there, than she would have had to have written a sequel, so for that reason alone, I'm glad it's a long book. Also, the romance is not paramount in the plot up until the very end. Hancock does a good job at keeping her writing emotions at bay by keeping the two people apart for at least a reasonable amount of time.
After saying all that, I wish I could say she did everything she could with this plot. If she had done everything possible to make this book original, than it would be on the Elite List. But no. I found the very end of the book to be pretty cheesy and expected. A miracle occurs at the end of the book. I don't like miracles that make the inevitable romance convenient and easy to carry out.
However, Hancock is definitely getting better and better. If she keeps this track up, she'll be on the Elite List in no time. But she shouldn't continue this plot with a sequel. Definitely not.
3 stars