SANCTUS - REVELATION OR DEVASTATION?: A GUEST REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 GIVEAWAY ENDED
SANCTUS 

REVELATION OR DEVASTATION?

BY SIMON TOYNE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

INTRO: If you are a fan of top-notch conspiracy fiction that keeps you up late nights turning pages—if the bestselling novels of Steve Berry, James Rollins, Dan Brown, Raymond Khoury, and Chris Kuzneski make your heart race faster—then remember the name Simon Toyne! Already a smash instant bestseller in the United Kingdom (“Intriguing and engaging…[with a] relentless pace” The Sun) Toyne’s Sanctus is, quite simply, one of the most extraordinary conspiracy thriller debuts in many years. In this electrifying, nonstop adventure, a young newspaper reporter, driven by the memory of her lost brother, uncovers a dark secret nurtured for 3,000 years by blood and lies by adherents of an ancient, unknown religion in a Vatican-like citadel hidden away for millennia from unwelcomed prying eyes.

One man’s sacrifice shocks the world . . . 

One woman’s courage threatens a conspiracy as old as humankind . . .

And some will do anything—anything—to keep their secrets in the dark.

Sanctus

A man climbs a cliff face in the oldest inhabited place on earth, a mountain known as the Citadel, a Vatican-like city-state that towers above the city of Ruin in modern-day Turkey. But this is no ordinary ascent. It is a dangerous, symbolic act. And thanks to the media, it is an event witnessed by the entire world.

Few people understand its consequence. But for foundation worker Kathryn Mann and a handful of others, it’s evidence that a revolution is at hand. For the Sancti, the cowled and secretive monks who live inside the Citadel, it could mean the end of everything they have built. They will stop at nothing to keep what is theirs, and they will break every law in every country and even kill to hold it fast. For American reporter Liv Adamsen, it spurs the memory of the beloved brother she lost years before, setting her on a journey across the world and into the heart of her own identity.

There, she will make a discovery so shocking that it will change everything. . . .

PRAISE FOR SANCTUS:

“If a thriller has to be one thing it’s thrilling, and Simon Toyne’s Sanctus is thrilling with bells on….A roller coaster ride through a dark world of conspiracy and betrayal.”
—Paul Christopher, author of The Templar Conspiracy 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Simon Toyne has worked in British television for twenty years. As a writer, director, and producer, he has worked on several award-winning shows, one of which won a BAFTA. He lives in England with his wife and family. Sanctus is his first book and the first volume of the Ruin trilogy.

On Toyne's website he writes, "I’ve been hooked on thrillers ever since I picked up my dad’s dog-eared copy of Alistair MacLean’s ‘The Satan Bug’ and discovered there was more to life than Paddington Bear and Roald Dahl.  But the journey towards actually becoming a writer of such stories was a gradual one.

At first I wanted to be an actor, until a degree in English and Drama at Goldsmith’s College in London made me realise I really didn’t.  Actors told other people’s stories.  I wanted to tell my own.  So now I had a new dream.  I wanted to write screenplays and direct films." TO READ THE REST OF HIS INTERESTING "BIO" ON HIS WEBSITE, GO HERE!

GUEST REVIEW:

It is always a pleasure to welcome Steve Capell as a Guest Reviewer. I should be jealous as his reviews always garner the most comments but I can't be because I am his biggest fan and understand why this is. Steve is a voracious reader and lives with his wife in the Kansas City Metro area.

Sanctus begins with a monk that dives off a cliff overlooking a mountainous citadel in southern Turkey.  This is no run of the mill suicide but an emblematic act. The entire world now is questioning the reason for the suicide and more importantly what is truly being hidden from the world inside the mysterious citadel that claims to hold a historical sacrament for safe keeping. Most of the world seems mystified about the latest events, but a charity worker, Kathryn Mann, and a handful of others recognize that this event is what they have been waiting for. The monks of the citadel fear with so much world attention on this suicide that their secretive life is in jeopardy and the leaders of the citadel will do anything and everything to keep that from occurring. 

My thoughts

This is a brilliant novel that kept me intrigued through all 484 pages. I am always amazed when I read a book of this quality and find out that this is the author's first book. The one thing I especially enjoyed about this novel is the amazingly rich descriptive language. I would compare this novel as one of best novels that I have read 2011 when it comes to descriptive language. With Simon Toyne's imagination coupled with his descriptive writing Sanctus is brought to life. I found chapter three to be my favorite chapter for descriptive writing ... in this amazing chapter Toyne gives life to a black wind  as he describes how it blows through the Taurus mountains. Character development is another strength that Toyne brings to the reader. The characters are very much real both the good ones and the evil ones.

So the real question is what didn't I like about this novel ... only one thing -- the ending. I found the ending to be a something that left me whispering to myself, "Surely this isn't the end." I found Sanctus to be a well written novel and truly a page turner, but the ending didn't deliver the punch that I was looking for. Will I read the next book in the series -- I am looking forward to reading the next book and I hope that Toyne keeps delivering with his strong writing style and really delivers a knock out punch for the ending.

I have given this novel a 4 out 5 rating.

Who should read this novel.

Anyone that loves a thriller with religious fantasy component will find Sanctus to be the perfect novel to read in 2011. If you like novels that are rich in descriptive language then this novel will more than satisfy that appetite.

In accordance with new FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers I am disclosing the following: The publisher provided this book and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Thank you once again, Steve, for this fabulous review!

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO CHELSEY AT WILLIAM MORROW/

HARPER COLLINS, I HAVE THREE COPIES OF

THIS FIRST VOLUME IN THE RUIN TRILOGY

TO GIVE AWAY TO THREE LUCKY WINNERS!

  

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