In a disintegrating and lawless near-future, a young man journeys north to a mysterious island owned by one of the world’s wealthiest men—and finds an entire new civilization waiting for him.
Ben is a painter from the crowded, turbulent city. For six months his fiancée, Cara, has been working on the remote island of Sanctuary Rock, the private estate of millionaire philanthropist Sir John Pemberley. Now she has decided to break off their engagement and stay there for good.
Ben travels to the island to try and win Cara back. After an arduous journey, he finds himself compelled to stay. But as Ben begins to traverse Pemberley’s kingdom, he begins to uncover the truth of the apparently perfect society the enigmatic Sir John is building. Is Sanctuary Rock truly a second Eden, as he claims—or a previously undiscovered level of hell?
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“There is a pang of generational angst at the heart of the book—a sense that the younger generation have been excluded from the ordinary society-building that their parents’ generation took for granted, and that…there might be somewhere they could go and start afresh and belong. Unfortunately, unless you are a billionaire or fancy drinking the Kool-Aid, there really isn’t—so put your feet up and escape with this book instead.”
— Radio Times (London)
“A stunningly original thriller set in the world of tomorrow that will make you think about what’s happening today.”
— Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on The Last Day“Wonderful: boldly imagined and beautifully written—the best future-shock thriller for years.”
— Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on The Last Day“Its intelligence and bravura characterization will have you turning page after page. A fabulous achievement.”
— Stephen Fry, actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, and author, on The Last Day“This is a smoothly written, thought-provoking tale about aging societies and wealth inequality, with an effective shocker of an ending.”
— The Guardian (London)“Literary touchstones include H. G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau and, of course, Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Pemberley’s daughter, Bianca, makes a superbly compromised Miranda). The plot is about eco-Nazis, obviously, but the considerable pleasure of this novel is in the getting from here to there.”
— The Times (London)“Murray’s disturbing eco-thriller keeps its readers spellbound until the final chilling twist.”
— Daily Mail (London)“A thoughtful, impressive science fiction thriller.”
— Pop Science Books“A brilliantly clever thriller by a brilliantly clever author.”
— Richard Osman, New York Times bestselling author“Imaginative and intriguing. The Sanctuary sucks you in and doesn’t let you leave until the very last page—and a final revelation that left me thinking late into the night. Andrew Hunter Murray is a young writer to watch.”
— Anthony Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author“A really great book. I was rapt with it and it was so tense, and as a reader you’re trying to work out what the hell is going on.”
— Richard Herring, stand-up comedian and writer“Gripping, unsettling, and original.”
— Tim Harford, Sunday Times (London) bestselling author“A disturbing and atmospheric dystopian novel, rich in imagination and stylishly written. I was totally immersed in this story that has themes around climate change and the future of humanity on a decaying planet. Totally absorbing.”
— Paul Burke, Crime Time FM“Absolutely brilliant. I’m thinking it should be made into a movie!”
— Zoe Ball, radio and television presenter“A suspenseful read with a dystopian theme.”
— Kirkus Reviews“Near-future thrillers don’t come much better than this stellar effort from Murray…This fires on all cylinders.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“A novel that pulls you in immediately and doesn’t let go until the last page.”
— BooklistBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Andrew Hunter Murray, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Last Day, spent fourteen years as a writer for the BBC show QI. He also cohosts the spinoff podcast No Such Thing as a Fish, which has been downloaded 450 million times, toured the world, and spawned three bestselling books and a BBC Two television series.