Callie Hayes' participation in a psychology experiment becomes a terrifying entrance into an alien world she must escape. Acclaimed fantasy with deep spiritual meaning. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

There are disappointingly few good SF novels for the Christian market, and Hancock's intense debut is an excellent though edgy contribution to the genre. Callie Hayes is a frustrated artist with a colorless life; she earns minimum wage raising rats for laboratory use. When she volunteers for a seemingly harmless psychology experiment, she's unexpectedly thrown into a frightening and alien world. The narrative is a loose allegory of the Christian life: provided with a "field manual" (the Bible), Callie must navigate the "Arena" to return home. She hooks up with Pierce Andrews, and together with a ragtag group, they battle the mutant "Trogs," who delight in raping, torturing and devouring their victims. However, Elhanu (Christ) soon appears in disguise to help. Some CBA readers may be disturbed by the novel's many rapes and attempted rapes, as well as its occasional stomach-turning descriptions (e.g., human bones with the marrow sucked out). Hancock's characters struggle believably with sexual feelings and passion, something that's often handled poorly or ignored in CBA fiction. Characters are multidimensional, although one borders on caricature (SF 's typical buxom, long-legged, weapon-brandishing blonde), and the sporadic Scripture verses seem out of place. To her credit, Hancock admirably dashes most of the reader's preconceptions about the plot as the story progresses through a series of twists, turns and well-paced developments. If this book is any indication, the future should be bright for this promising novelist. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

If you've read Mary Doria Russell's marvelous The Sparrow (1993), you'll have a sense of what first novelist Hancock is trying to do in Arena. Her heroine is a mousy little loser, Callie Hayes, who finds herself transported to an arid alien world, the "Arena." Here Hancock works out a progression of faith by trial somewhat like Pilgrim's Progress, except that in most such allegories the characters move from vice to virtue like stick figures. By contrast, Hancock carefully develops Callie and the man she eventually falls in love with, the brooding, transported cowboy, Pierce. Perhaps because Hancock is a wildlife biologist, her landscapes and alien creatures sing themselves to life, and her theological argument, while certainly Christian, is quite subtle. Hancock hasn't turned in another Sparrow, but she can take her place in the wave of fine science fiction coming from evangelical presses these days. John Mort. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.