Arena by Karen Hancock

About the Book

Callie Hayes is living a life of fear and disillusionment when she volunteers for a psychology experiment that promises to turn her life around. As her orientation proceeds, Callie becomes frightened by the secrecy and evasion she encounters. When she demands to be released from the program, she is suddenly dropped into a terrifying alien world and into a perilous battle between good and evil. With limited resources and only a few cryptic words to guide her, Callie embarks on a life-changing journey. Will she decipher the plans the Benefactor has established for her escape, or will she succumb to the deception of the Arena?

My Review

Karen Hancock was definitely ahead of the times with this book. Wow.

Originally published in May 2002, the author was about ten years early in literary trends with this epic story. I can see why the publisher reprinted this book in the here and now, and I am so glad they did.

This is one of those books you don’t want to read too many reviews on ahead of time. It is a lot of fun to discover right along with Callie who’s who and what’s what. Very little is as it appears and there are major mind twists and intricate epiphanies included. Such an incredible adrenaline rush, that is not to be missed!

My only word of caution is that this book is definitely for the young adult age group or older. There is a lot of violence, intense mental anguish at times, and attempted rapes. There is a lot of depth in this book too and it well compensates the reader for any scenes that may not be as comfortable to read.

Definitely a book that proves it’s timeless nature…. relevant and poignant in the past, present, and even for the future.

Buy it Here

Bethany House sent me the above book for review purposes. They will allow me to keep the book. I have no other connection to and have received no other compensation from Bethany House.