Enclave by Thomas Locke
Enclave by Thomas Locke is a dystopian novel set in a future fractured America after a Great Crash causes disorder and Rule of Law to fall apart. Set primarily on the southeast, Caleb, the main character, must let go of the past and embrace courage to become the leader he is destined to become.
First, to establish a bit of the world building for this dystopian society, it has been roughly a hundred years since the Great Crash. As a result, there are communities, small and large, that are considered enclaves or townships. The larger areas, like Charlotte and Atlanta are Townships that are run by mayors and are essentially little fiefdoms and the people not much more than serfs with the regulations and oppression many experience. Further out, motorized vehicles are scarce and most of the mobility and trading done among enclaves happens via horses and wagons. Reminiscent of the wild west, deputies, sheriffs, and various gangs tend to populate the in-between places. In addition to the time and setting, Caleb, along with many others are considered to be “specials” or “adepts.” Prior to the Great Crash, the government experimented with genetically modifying embryos. As a result, some people developed special abilities. As the story unfolds, suits from Washington are now showing up throughout the areas to round up and detain those with special abilities. Their aim and purpose is not entirely clear.
As the story opens, Kevin is a well-known and well-regarded deputy. Following in his father’s footsteps, he has excelled beyond expectation and was allowed to join at a young age. Kevin and his mother, Abigail, also have been working behind the scenes running a portion of an Underground Railroad to help oppressed people escape certain enclaves and get entry into others. As a result of his work, Kevin is discovered and he and his mother must flee before they are killed. On the run, Kevin and Abigail have a fortuitous meeting with Caleb, his father, and his friend Zeke who are traders from the Catawba enclave. Caleb is on his way to Overpass to sell their wares and to begin to make plans on brokering a deal to help Catawba that has uncovered an untapped gold vein in their region.
Caleb and Kevin are central to the storyline, along with Zeke, Caleb’s best friend with special ability that allows him to scout and hunt without ever being seen or heard, and Maddie, Caleb’s girl who recently moved to Atlanta, also a special with the ability to communicate with Caleb via thoughts and mental connections. Caleb is also a special with the ability to sense the future. As the story unfolds, there are others that come along and Kevin leads them to rejoin with Caleb after he leaves for Atlanta. As they are on the run, they must travel rough terrain and trust complete strangers to keep their secret and to help them. In the end, they all join in Atlanta and work out a plan to save Maddie and others who have been held hostage by soldiers and the local university campus. From there they rest and recharge to then take on Charlotte, a ruthless enclave/township, with a desire to re-establish Rule of Law and all the other ideals and values that founded the American Nation to begin with.
Noteworthy quotes and mentions:
“A group of elders believes these young people with their special talents are heralds of the Second Coming” (27).
Caleb’s father reassures Caleb after his secret is revealed to others. Caleb has to leave the enclave, and his father encourages him that he would not “be able to hide this gift [his] entire life” (39).
“We have lost sight of our greatness. We have plunged into a new dark age without any idea of what that actually means. Our only hope, our one possibility of lifting ourselves free of this tragic time, lies in remembering the best of who we once were and striving to regain what we have now lost” (47).
“What if everything you have lost, everything you count as error, was in truth meant to prepare you for what lies ahead? What if you were required to lose it all in order to gain something far greater?” (52).
On page 65 there is a reference to some rogues who “hunt out the pretty women –the younger, the better” and then “feed them to the hotels”, which is clearly a reference to sex trafficking, but that is not the wording used.
On page 128 there is a conversation between Kevin and Carla where she relays some of the history of the Great Crash and the “research on human embryos". She also asks Kevin if he is a “believing man”. He responds that he isn’t sure but that he knows his mother was.
“He did not fight the fatigue. He simply shouldered it as yet another burden” (170).
Overall, I think this story would definitely appeal to older boys and anyone who likes the dystopian genre. A bit of wild west meets science fiction, with a little mention of God’s providence in joining groups of people together for a purpose, along with no profanity or inappropriate scenes and suggestions, will make this novel a great option for young adult readers. The way the story ends, it is unclear if there will be a sequel, but I personally would like one. I enjoyed the characters as well as the plot line. There are few areas undeveloped and relationships that were forged and the narrative never returned to those establishments, so it does come across as a few loose ends without a sequel. Nevertheless, there is much to like about this novel, and I consider it worth adding to your teen read list if dystopian is a genre of interest.
