Enclave (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: basket relay, garden dome, last safe place, Brother Benedictus, Sargent Whitemore, Teddy Regan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Enclave Kit Reed. Tor, $25.95 (368p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2161-9

In this gripping dystopian satire, ex-marine Sargent Whitmore has a plan to make millions while protecting children from the self-destructing modern world. He turns an old Mediterranean monastery into a combined impenetrable fortress and school, and enrolls 100 filthy-rich children, most of them already well-known for legal troubles, drug problems and paparazzi run-ins. Once there, everyone is cut off from the outside world, fed only canned news stories about wars and natural disasters. When things inevitably go horribly wrong, young hacker "Killer" Stade, physician assistant Cassie, drug and sex-crazed Sylvie and monastery-raised orphan Benny all attempt heroics, but remain deeply flawed. Reed (The Baby Merchant) displays unflinching willingness to explore all the facets of all of the characters, and her refusal to paint anyone as a simple villain makes this far more than a typical disaster novel. (starred review) -- http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6617549.html?q=Kit+Reed+++Enclave

Review

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this gripping dystopian satire, ex-marine Sargent Whitmore has a plan to make millions while protecting children from the self-destructing modern world. He turns an old Mediterranean monastery into a combined impenetrable fortress and school, and enrolls 100 filthy-rich children, most of them already well-known for legal troubles, drug problems and paparazzi run-ins. Once there, everyone is cut off from the outside world, fed only canned news stories about wars and natural disasters. When things inevitably go horribly wrong, young hacker "Killer" Stade, physician assistant Cassie, drug and sex-crazed Sylvie and monastery-raised orphan Benny all attempt heroics, but remain deeply flawed. Reed (The Baby Merchant) displays unflinching willingness to explore all the facets of all of the characters, and her refusal to paint anyone as a simple villain makes this far more than a typical disaster novel. (Feb.)
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"Her prose is seasoned with zesty turns of phrase. A feast of entertaining food for thought. It's nourishing, tasty - and leaves you wanting more.”  --The Associated Press on Thinner Than Thou

“Reed’s visionary tale is brilliant, though at times painful to read.  The main characters all come to realize their strengths, who they are, and what is really important.”  --Booklist on Thinner Than Thou

“[Kit Reed is] always incendiary.”  --Vanity Fair

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Product Details Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (February 3, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0765321610 ISBN-13: 978-0765321619 Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #372,839 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #3 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( R ) > Reed, Kit

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
basket relay, garden dome, last safe place, alpha patient, secret boyfriend, infirmary doors, case mod

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Brother Benedictus, Sargent Whitemore, Teddy Regan, Sylvie D'Estart, Assembly Hall, Chef Pete, Departure Day, Mount Clothos, Brother Sixtus, Sheela Mortimer, Zander Birch, Killer Stade, Nurse Cassie, Mel Dratch, Marla Parsons, Order of the Day, Dave Bogardus, Steve Joannides, Grand Silence, Liturgy of the Hours, Coach Askew, Thank God, World of Warcraft, Monkey Zero, Engine of Death

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	87% buy the item featured on this page: Enclave 3.4 out of 5 stars (5) $19.48
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews 5 star:    (0) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 3.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars satirical allegorical thriller, February 3, 2009 By  Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    Former marine "Sarge" Whitemore renovates Clothos, an isolated island that once was a Benedictine monk monastery. The only survivor from the religious order is elderly lay brother Benny. After the reconstruction is completed, Sarge offers a deal to affluent parents with troubled youngsters. In exchange for an exorbitant amount of money, he informs them that he can save their dissolute off spring from themselves and the ugly world. Give him their kids so his "hermetically sealed private school" can "keep them safe". The response from bone weary emotionally shot adults is incredible as bidding wars over obtaining one of the hundred seats begin. Sarge collects the chosen hundred; tosses away their gizmos and on Destination Day takes them to the remote isle that the unhappy kids scornfully call Mount Clothos. Nothing works in accordance with the plan as the physician is a drunk, kids hack into the computer room, Benny hid an ailing friend whose illness has pandemically spread amongst the residents, and then there is the rest of the staff and the ghost. Ironically in spite of his martinet throwback drill instructor persona, Sarge is not the champion of this intriguing story line. Instead the teens led by peer Killer Stade are the heroes as they fight to stop the virus spread and the mob mentality of the staff and faculty. Quite frankly adults are condemned (worse than in Wild in the Streets) as miscreants who fail at the ecology, at raising their kids, and at saving those stuck at the isolated island. Fans who appreciate something off beat will enjoy this satirical allegorical thriller that claims the boomers and Gen X as pathetic losers with the present teen generation the only hope to save the planet from its elders. Harriet Klausner 4.0 out of 5 stars In Your Face, End of Days, October 23, 2009 By  Christina Paige (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    What begins as a ferocious satire becomes a tribute to resiliency and the spirit of Semper fi. Sargent Whitemore is a marine veteran of numerous wars in a time when many people truly believe it's the end of days. Part guardian, part con man, and in search of personal redemption, Sarge has started a school for the notorious children of the rich and famous. Ostensibly, this isolated enclave on Mount Clothos will be a Noah's Ark to keep these precious darlings safe through the world's death throes; but Sarge knows that some parents will pay any price to get certain embarrassing offspring out of the public eye. "Killer" Stade a 12 year old hacker who used explosives to off one of his teachers - he never told anyone that the creep was a pederast. Teddy's a younger-son European prince who has grand mal seizures - that casts a dangerous shadow on the reputation of the royal blood. Zander/Alexandra Birch is an unhappy transvestite. Sylvie and her posse are the girls who are famous for being infamous, and with references to hotel fortunes, movie roles, scandals, multiple marriages and shaved heads, it's fairly obvious who served as inspiration for these characters. 100 kids are herded onto a mountaintop into a fortified former monastery, with no access to the internet, or outside communications of any kind. Except Killer figures Sarge has to have a private link to the outside world, and he is determined to find it; and the last Benedictine resident on the mountain never mentions what killed all the former monks; and Sarge recruited all his permanent staff from the ranks of the desperate, and not all of them are reliable. Killer and Teddy inadvertently let a monster virus infect the computer base, just as a plague is carried up from the catacombs. Now they are truly isolated, unless Killer can turn his skills to practical use against a binary enemy; and they'll die in droves unless the alcoholic doctor climbs out of his bottle. The huge surprise of Enclave is the author. Kit Reed is not the 26 year old marine I expected to see after reading five chapters. The bio-pic on the dust jacket shows an elderly New England teacher with parchment skin and eyes that are a Venn diagram of sharp and wise. She must have picked up her street slang from her students. She has previously been nominated for both the World Fantasy Award and the James Tiptree Award. 4.0 out of 5 stars A Poe tribute?, September 16, 2009 By  Michael G. Kellar (South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Unless I miss the point, this novel seems like nothing less than "The Masque of the Red Death" expanded and re-imagined as a science thriller. Read in this context, I quite enjoyed the story.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars I found this book unreadable. Maybe it's over my head, but despite the interesting premise, the characters were repulsive and the writing was more like a plot summary. Read more Published 2 months ago by LeeAnn Balbirona 4.0 out of 5 stars Nowhere to Run but the Next Page. . . Kit Reed's books are like the Academy in Enclave: They look like safe places to escape for a while. Until you're sealed in. And the walls start closing in. Read more Published 3 months ago by Orph Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765321610
• ISBN-13: 978-0765321619
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #372,839 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #3 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( R ) > Reed, Kit

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars satirical allegorical thriller, February 3, 2009

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Former marine "Sarge" Whitemore renovates Clothos, an isolated island that once was a Benedictine monk monastery. The only survivor from the religious order is elderly lay brother Benny. After the reconstruction is completed, Sarge offers a deal to affluent parents with troubled youngsters. In exchange for an exorbitant amount of money, he informs them that he can save their dissolute off spring from themselves and the ugly world. Give him their kids so his "hermetically sealed private school" can "keep them safe".

The response from bone weary emotionally shot adults is incredible as bidding wars over obtaining one of the hundred seats begin. Sarge collects the chosen hundred; tosses away their gizmos and on Destination Day takes them to the remote isle that the unhappy kids scornfully call Mount Clothos. Nothing works in accordance with the plan as the physician is a drunk, kids hack into the computer room, Benny hid an ailing friend whose illness has pandemically spread amongst the residents, and then there is the rest of the staff and the ghost.

Ironically in spite of his martinet throwback drill instructor persona, Sarge is not the champion of this intriguing story line. Instead the teens led by peer Killer Stade are the heroes as they fight to stop the virus spread and the mob mentality of the staff and faculty. Quite frankly adults are condemned (worse than in Wild in the Streets) as miscreants who fail at the ecology, at raising their kids, and at saving those stuck at the isolated island. Fans who appreciate something off beat will enjoy this satirical allegorical thriller that claims the boomers and Gen X as pathetic losers with the present teen generation the only hope to save the planet from its elders.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars In Your Face, End of Days, October 23, 2009

By	Christina Paige (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What begins as a ferocious satire becomes a tribute to resiliency and the spirit of Semper fi. Sargent Whitemore is a marine veteran of numerous wars in a time when many people truly believe it's the end of days. Part guardian, part con man, and in search of personal redemption, Sarge has started a school for the notorious children of the rich and famous. Ostensibly, this isolated enclave on Mount Clothos will be a Noah's Ark to keep these precious darlings safe through the world's death throes; but Sarge knows that some parents will pay any price to get certain embarrassing offspring out of the public eye. "Killer" Stade a 12 year old hacker who used explosives to off one of his teachers - he never told anyone that the creep was a pederast. Teddy's a younger-son European prince who has grand mal seizures - that casts a dangerous shadow on the reputation of the royal blood. Zander/Alexandra Birch is an unhappy transvestite. Sylvie and her posse are the girls who are famous for being infamous, and with references to hotel fortunes, movie roles, scandals, multiple marriages and shaved heads, it's fairly obvious who served as inspiration for these characters. 100 kids are herded onto a mountaintop into a fortified former monastery, with no access to the internet, or outside communications of any kind.
Except Killer figures Sarge has to have a private link to the outside world, and he is determined to find it; and the last Benedictine resident on the mountain never mentions what killed all the former monks; and Sarge recruited all his permanent staff from the ranks of the desperate, and not all of them are reliable.
Killer and Teddy inadvertently let a monster virus infect the computer base, just as a plague is carried up from the catacombs. Now they are truly isolated, unless Killer can turn his skills to practical use against a binary enemy; and they'll die in droves unless the alcoholic doctor climbs out of his bottle.
The huge surprise of Enclave is the author. Kit Reed is not the 26 year old marine I expected to see after reading five chapters. The bio-pic on the dust jacket shows an elderly New England teacher with parchment skin and eyes that are a Venn diagram of sharp and wise. She must have picked up her street slang from her students. She has previously been nominated for both the World Fantasy Award and the James Tiptree Award.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Poe tribute?, September 16, 2009

By	Michael G. Kellar (South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Unless I miss the point, this novel seems like nothing less than "The Masque of the Red Death" expanded and re-imagined as a science thriller. Read in this context, I quite enjoyed the story.