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

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I felt there was very little mystery, really, but this is slightly spoilery, I suppose, so don't read on if you don't want any spoilers! I really struggled with Pemberley's goal too. He was obviously a very intelligent man, who had a lot of vision in some ways, and achieved a lot, but his main goal made zero sense to me. 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]

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. Our main character is Ben, a painter, whose fiancée has been working for millionaire philanthropist John Pemberley at his remote island, known as The Sanctuary. Increasingly concerned at the hold this place seems to have on Cara, Ben takes himself on a journey fraught with danger to make his way to the island. The journey to the island is a harsh and challenging one and when he does arrive, Ben discovers that the community on the island is a secretive one and they do not welcome uninvited visitors. Longman, Will (19 October 2017). "Andrew Hunter Murray interview - How to improvise a comedy based on Jane Austen's work". LondonTheatre.co.uk . Retrieved 14 April 2020. Outside novel-writing, I work for the TV show QI, as one of the 'Elves' finding out Quite Interesting facts about everything under the sun. I also co-host the podcast No Such Thing As A Fish, and write jokes and journalism for Private Eye, Britain's leading satirical magazine. No Such Thing As A Fish has also led to a spin-off TV series, No Such Thing As The News, and three books co-written with my colleagues on the show - the Book Of The Year 2017-19.

Finished this book so at least that’s something. I usually return half way through if I’m not into it but this just didn’t do it for me at all. 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. 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.

Quite honestly a brilliant book which, like all the best dystopian fiction, makes us question our own world by showing us another world that is going slightly awry in ways not dissimilar to our own. Very many shades of H.G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau and the classic movie Logan’s Run. Overall, this was a book that held our attention and we did enjoy it. But, compared to other dystopian works we’ve reviewed such as Hanna Jameson’s The Last, it just didn’t strike the same sort of punch enough for us to say we ‘ loved’ this book. Andrew Hunter Murray has a very cool, detached, almost period writing style - combined with the dismal setting (it's never really explained how we get from where we are now to this miserable future) made the first act difficult to engage with - but the whole feel of the book changes with the second act when the action moves to a private island - the sanctuary of the book's title. This is an apparently utopian society, constructed by the billionaire behind the Villages. Ben manages to get to the island (half-killing himself in the process) to see his fiancée who works there - he expects to hate the place, but initially he finds it beguiling. Lots of emphasis on the villages vs the city though I still don’t really understand why or what the purpose of the villages are. I get it’s a rich vs poor thing but it doesn’t really make sense.

Ben is looking forward to meeting up with Cara, but she writes to say that she intends to stay on the island, he sets out to find her. We then follow his journey across a blighted land, as the book touches on environmental change, wealth being in the hands of the few, while the many work to service the needs of those in the villages. Ben’s desire to reunite with Cara is harder to understand as their relationship doesn’t seem particularly close or warm. Then, as the novel progresses and secrets are revealed, it was difficult to really know where the author wanted the plot to go.

It’s a decent enough plot but the delivery was poor, it’s some kind of dystopian future however nothing is explained - there’s just vague references throughout to the planet declining and animal extinction. This aspect of the book would have been more enjoyable if there was a proper explanation of what had happened and what is going on. Hunter-Murray is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. His writing style is articulate and educated, whilst remaining easy to read (and easy to lose yourself in). This book took a totally different turn to what I was expecting! Really enjoyable, stayed up late to finish it as the story was so tense towards the end.' Read more DetailsThe 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. As is my wont, this is another hairdresser read. I need something to lose myself in, once the small talk has finished.