The Sanctuary: the gripping must-read thriller by the Sunday Times bestselling author

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Cards are played close to the chest and little is given away. We sense a growing need for Ben to act, but he does not seem immune to the spell of the great man. Our questions are, eventually, answered and we sense just how close Ben comes to a very different story. The Sanctuary has made a big splash in the reading world, and it’s clear to see why. As an imaginative dystopian thriller, Andrew Hunter Murray’s book has an incredibly enthralling premise and a good few mysteries that should keep a reader invested throughout their time with the story. The Sanctuary is a dark tale, warning of man’s desire to play god and exploring the impact our actions can have on those around us. As is my wont, this is another hairdresser read. I need something to lose myself in, once the small talk has finished.

No shade, but this was better than I expected! I read it on a whim because it was mentioned on No Such Thing as a Fish, and really, I thought it was good! Murray is a writer and researcher for the BBC panel show QI, as a member of the team known as the " QI Elves". He co-hosts the spin-off podcast series No Such Thing as a Fish in which he and three other QI Elves – Anna Ptaszynski, James Harkin and Dan Schreiber – share their favourite facts from the week. Murray wrote and co-presented the podcast's spinoff television series No Such Thing as the News. He currently hosts " Drop us a line" as part of the Club Fish podcast. Murray's debut novel, The Last Day, a dystopian thriller set in a future where the Earth has stopped spinning, was published in February 2020. [3] Film and TV rights for the novel have been sold to Stone Village Television. [4] His second book, The Sanctuary, was published in May 2022. [5]This was an addictive read and I loved the dystopian twist, this is a new genre for me and I fully lost myself in this book. Mind, my main criticism stems from the Richard Osman pull quote on the cover, which calls this a "thriller." This set up a certain expectation about content and especially pacing, which is where the novel let me down. Without that quote, there would have been no expectation and no confusion. But listen, that aside, I see what Murray is trying to do, the questions he's asking his reader to consider, and I respect it. Murray does a very good job of creating his setting. Although it seems the book is set in the future, it's a future that is already very recognisable. Climate change has progressed, though not yet to the worst predictions, and extinctions are becoming more and more commonplace. Although it would appear that the society is well on the way to becoming fully dystopian, it hasn't yet. However, the divide between rich and poor has increased, again quite recognisably, with the ordinary people living in cramped conditions in the overcrowded cities, while the wealthy live in luxury in closed villages outside. Pemberley, Cara's employer, is the creator and owner of most of these villages, and while it's not totally clear, it seems this may be where his wealth comes from. The place is also not specified, but feels very like Britain, with Ben living in what seems like it's probably London, and the Sanctuary being set in the north, probably off the coast of Scotland. So there's a real feeling of familiarity about both time and place, but the differences are enough to produce a sensation of unease caused by the feeling that we’re heading there fast. First off, Andrew Hunter Murray has certainly created a believable and vivid dystopian sci-fi world. Not only does he tap into the very real fears of our current climate crisis, highlighting how the divide between rich and poor could play out in the future, but he does so in a way that still feels unique. The idea of isolated Villages living in their own bubbles away from the troubles of the world is eerily believable. Di Filippo, Paul (10 February 2020). "There's no shortage of novels about what happens when the Earth stops spinning. 'The Last Day' may set a new standard". The Washington Post . Retrieved 5 March 2020.

Unfortunately the plot doesn't really live up to the excellence of the setting. Pemberley is a cross between cult leader and the kind of billionaire that we are increasingly seeing in real life who use their ridiculous wealth to carry out extraordinary experiments, with no real democratic or governmental control over them. In Pemberley’s case, he has decided that if humanity is about to bring about its own extinction, he will use the Sanctuary as a kind of Noah's Ark, but one where he is the supreme and sole ruler and where the normal rules of morality and ethics don't necessarily apply. Both mad science and cultish leaders have been done many times in dystopian fiction, and I'm afraid Murray doesn't really bring anything original to it. My biggest problem was that it didn't capture my attention, so I was mostly bored, which also meant that my attention was drifting (mostly listened to the audiobook - the author did a great job narrating it!). I didn't really like the main character either, and wasn't particularly interested in the mysterious island.Superb writing but a disappointing twist 🙄 and climax and weak ending. It was almost one of the best books l've read this year but the last 20% wasn't as great. Interesting concept though. I found this to be a slow read (but I enjoyed it none the less) up until Ben reaches the island, then it’s full steam ahead

I live in London, in a small flat with large bookshelves, and I'm already working away on the next novel idea...The most divisive part of The Sanctuary we can imagine other readers having is Hunter Murray’s style of writing. He certainly carries a distinctive style, but it’s one that some may find a little eccentric when compared to other authors.