I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I was not sure of this book. IT is not normally what I read, but I have been looking into new genres and stops. This was a good story line and the characters where interesting, especially Caleb. This was a quick read and I don't want to gave away too much. I like the way the communities are set up and how they interact with each other. Makes me want to look into other things this author has written.

Set 50 years after the Great Crash the city states/ enclaves of what is left of America are in a struggle. With no electricity, gasoline or other conveniences - the people must return to the survivalist instincts of an earlier time to survive. Each enclave is self governed by a powerful few adept at using the poor. The characters were well developed and the story moves along quickly. The story had a familiar and likable feel to it because of the authentic setting. I grew up near the Catawba River near Charlotte ,N.C. The book truly shows how perilous our lives would be in a situation like this. This is an exciting read.

(A similar read is One Second After (A John Matherson Novel Book 1)
by William R. Forstchen and Newt Gingrich)

As with many dystopian novels, the world of Enclave was a militant society ruled by the strong preying on the weak. An entire section of the population was targeted for experiments to see how those in power could exploit their abilities. . .

I receive newsletters from this author and read in a recent one about the inspiration for this book. Before then, it really wasn't even on my radar to read. While I do enjoy some dystopian stories, I don't usually seek them out. Strangely enough, once I read the book, I re-read the e-mail and had to really think to see how this was tied in. Then I realized. Oh. Not what I was thinking it would be but it was there. I don't want to go into detail here - if you are interested you can follow that link to see what he had to say.

While the story wasn't what I was expecting, I enjoyed the fast-paced adventure as Caleb, Kevin and Zeke end up on an unexpected journey to rescue Caleb's childhood friend, Maddie. There were plenty of elements of danger as they were being hunted.

I found the characters endearing and was cheering for them along the way.

A number of things about this world were not explained or were not explained in great detail. For some readers, I know that can be an issue. I didn't find this to be a distraction or a detraction and was able to immerse myself into the story.

The ending did feel abrupt, but this isn't totally uncommon. The conflict was mostly resolved and the ending showed the resolution of the last part of that conflict. It appears that the author wanted to allow the reader to fill in their own details about what happened next instead of tying everything up with a neat bow. There was a preview of another book that appears to be of a similar story-line in a different part of the state, and though it doesn't indicate this anywhere, this might be the first book in a new series. I guess time will tell.

After the Great Crash, the economy was ruined. Enclaves have formed. While local governments have remained fairly strong, the federal government has become a sham. While most people want to live in peace, the governments are causing financial burdens where they can. Now, People with special abilities have surfaced, marked as outcasts, and are being hunted by the government.

In Enclave, Thomas Locke writes an engaging story that not only holds your attention and fires your imagination, it also provides an illustration of people coming together to help others.

The plot is fast paced and makes the book hard to stop reading. Every time I reached the end of a chapter, I wanted to read another one and see what would happen next. The descriptions of characters and places make it easy to imagine what they look like, and help keep that plot understandable.

Both good and bad are exhibited in the book. Some of the people want to further their standing by bringing others down, while many people try to do what is right, even when it is inconvenient or difficult. As the protagonists learn about each other and help each other, they show what it's like to be selfless and trustworthy.

I like fiction because it stretches my imagination, but when stories provide moral lessons, I think that makes them even better. Enclave is a book that does that, and does it well.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is the story of a near future in America that has been devestated by disease and bad economics. Somehow the genetics of some people have been changed and those people are now in hiding. This whole situation is vaguely developed by the author and it is up to the reader's imagination to fill in the situation in America. The story line is very interesting and has great potential but needs work.

I must admit up front that I am a fan of Thomas Locke, so I had high expectations coming in. His writing under various names, has engaged me for years.

So, when I began this book, I assumed I would be getting a dystopian thriller with a few stylistic flairs for which the author was known. This was my first mistake and why it took me a while to get into the book.

Once I realized this author, whose expansive career has covered multiple genres for teens and adults, was doing something different, then I was able to dive into the tale. I read a great deal of dystopian literature and much of it is sci-fi based with characters in peril because of something bad that has happened.

Sure, Enclave has this but, Locke, in his skill, has given us just enough of that to meet the standards of the genre. Instead of churning out another title just like the last one put out a few years ago, he has melded his ability to craft a quest story to this genre and given us something altogether new. Call it "future fantasy" if you will, but Locke's genius is to apply what he already does very well, the Hero's Journey", and give it to us in a new format.

In Enclave, it become clear that Thomas Locke truly is a Jack of all Trades.

What if the government was after you because you were as fast as a bullet or you could read minds? Fifty years ago the government performed biological experiments on humans, three generations later they are hunting them down to use their abilities for their own purposes.
The United States has horses, buggies and very few cars - people dress like they are back in the 1800s.
Caleb can see future events, and his friend Zeke can run as fast as a lion and hunt like one too!
Caleb’s father’s clan discovered a gold mine, they must keep it a secret from the government, the militia, and the police.
Kevin does not know what his gift is yet, unknowingly he has been assisting refugees with special abilities, he is discovered and sentenced to die.
Kevin, Caleb and Zeke join together to save those with special abilities ... but the government is closing in!

Imagine the US after a huge economic clash, and go several hundred years in the future when life has deterioratecd into a feudal system of enclaves, with rich leaders oppressing their subjects, most of whom are living at subsistence level. The governments start rounding up people with special gifts, who are different, who are a threat to their continued control.

I stayed up way too late a couple of nights reading this book. Locke has set a new high bar for this type of speculative fiction. It has a little of the flavor of Lisa T Bergren's Remnants series, and also reminded me a bit of John Christopher's Tripods trilogy. It is not at all like Locke's Legends of the Realm series, and it's different from the Recruits books as well.

If you enjoy science fiction/fantasy/speculative fiction, you need to read this. The writing is tight and evocative, but not highly emotional. I dearly hope there will be sequels!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

With post America in shambles, a special group of humans may be the only hope!

Caleb lives with his father in a West Virginia enclave making a living as a trader, but Caleb has a secret, he is able to sense things about other people. During a heated encountered between his father and two tribal leaders, Caleb senses that one of the leaders aims to kill his father. When he turns and yells this to his dad, the leader realizes that Caleb is what they call specials. Realizing that he can never return home, Caleb sets out to meet up with his dad along the road later to determine what he can do now. He comes upon another young man named Kevin, who has run the underground railroad for refugees to get them to safety, but the militia have cracked down on Kevin and want him to round up specials. Kevin and Caleb strike up a quick but trustworthy friendship that will set a course to change the future for all involved.

The dystopian post-apocalyptic genre has quickly become one of my favorite. It gives every author a blank canvas to create what they believe the world is going to look like in the future and many of the authors have focused solely on America. Locke chooses to use this same approach and has a little bit of supernatural tied in as well. Human experiments mixed with a plague causes devastation throughout the country. Now most people live in enclaves with some townships remaining a mega power centers. Locke has never disappointed me with the quality of his writing. He always comes up with new ideas, especially in his future worlds. They are always action packed and the short chapters really move the books along. I’m looking forward to the characters getting developed during the next books to see how they flesh out more. If you need a new series to end your year, grab a copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

While Enclave seems a bit slow at the beginning, I thought it was worth the read..

The story is set in a future where the easy lifestyle we have now is in the past. It's referred to as the big crash in the story. Life has become basically a wild west type of existence. People live in Enclaves and trade with other Enclaves. Caleb has been tasked with secretly selling his Enclave's gold. While they need the money from the gold, if other Enclaves found out that they had it, they would invade and try to take it for themselves.

Caleb's trip starts out badly when he shows that he is a "special" to the wrong people. Specials are people with powers. They are feared in general and have to hide their powers. The story follows the adventure and problems that befall Caleb, his best friend, and a friend they met along the way.

There was a lot of buildup to a very abrupt ending. I am hoping there will be other books set in this world with these characters. I would love to know what happens to them next..

I really struggled in reading this book. I kept reading small pieces and trying to make all the story lines coincide, but it was a lot of work and slow. I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounded amazing, but in the end it was a lot of work, a lot of confusion and very little fun in reading it.

I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

In the book Enclave, author Thomas Locke writes about life 50 years after the Great Crash. America is now controlled by different regional factions. Caleb and Kevin become leaders of a group of refugees known as Adepts who have special abilities. While I like Thomas Locke this book was a bit confusing at times. And the book just ended with the start of a battle.
However, I do look forward to the continuing adventures. I would recommend this book! I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a very good premise but it was hard to follow as the story progressed. I stuck with it and was glad that I did. I enjoyed the story but as I said, it really was a bit confusing.

I struggled to read this book. In the end, I skipped around a bit to understand the story, but for me this book was a bit too slow of a start to keep my attention. I know it was meant to build to the layered plot later in the book, but when I put it down 3 times before I hit the 15% mark, I knew it would be a struggle for me. I wanted to like this book, but I wish there was something that made me more compelled to read earlier in the story.

The first chapter was promising, really hooked me. unfortunately, after that I just got confused. The writing was strange, I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on in certain scenes, and it really read like a rough draft.

Enclave is an enjoyable science fiction story. Author Thomas Locke keeps characters at the heart of the story, even while exploring superhuman possibilities and strange new places.