Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Sanctuary  By  cover art

The Sanctuary

By: Raymond Khoury
Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In the powerful new thriller from the author of the international bestseller The Last Templar, a geneticist and a CIA agent on a deadly quest to find the most dangerous book in the world discover a secret that has destroyed everyone in its path for centuries.

Naples, 1750. In the dead of night, three men with swords burst into the palazzo of a marquis. Their leader, the Prince of San Severo, accuses the marquis of being an imposter, and demands to know a secret only the marquis harbors. In the fight that ensues, the false marquis escapes over the rooftops of Naples, leaving behind a burning palazzo and a raging prince now obsessed with finding his quarry at any cost.

Baghdad, 2003. An army unit on a routine mission makes a horrifying discovery: a state-of-the-art, concealed lab where dozens � men, women, children � have died, the subjects of gruesome experiments. The mysterious scientist they were after, a man believed to be working on a bioweapon and known only as the hakeem � the doctor � escapes, taking with him the startling truth about his work. A puzzling clue is left behind: a circular symbol of a snake feeding on its own tail.

As the power of the symbol comes to light, revealing the centuries of destruction left in its wake, one unsuspecting woman stands at the center of a conspiracy that could change the world forever.

In the masterful hands of international bestseller Raymond Khoury, The Sanctuary delivers the same rapid-fire suspense and provocative scholarship that made The Last Templar a coast-to-coast blockbuster.

©2007 Raymond Khoury (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Khoury] follows up the thrills of The Last Templar with...more thrills." (Tampa Tribune)

"A high-octane rollercoaster ride of thrills and spills...Khoury is a screenwriter and the novel’s tight construction and hyper-fast pacing owe an obvious debt to that discipline." (The Irish Mail on Sunday)

"Fresh and exciting...Khoury makes the conspiracy feel utterly believable and imbues his characters with infectious passion for finding the truth. A surefire hit with fans of conspiracy-based historical thrillers." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Sanctuary

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    151
  • 4 Stars
    179
  • 3 Stars
    129
  • 2 Stars
    39
  • 1 Stars
    20
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    102
  • 4 Stars
    67
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    98
  • 4 Stars
    64
  • 3 Stars
    37
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Kept my interest!

While I enjoyed the author's last work, The Last Templar, I wasn't wild about it. The Sanctuary though, was one of those books that I just couldn't put down! Lots of action--all believable, and lots of interesting historical facts sprinkled throughout. My only complaint was the extremely poor editing job done throughout the reading. Many times there were noises indicating where the reading had been edited. In a few places a phrase was repeated twice--the original take was not fully removed in the editing. Indeed, in one place, the recording jumped to the end of the book every time I I tried to play it from that point. I had to skip over a few minutes of recording in order to continue with the story. In all of the hundreds of Audible recordings I've listened to over the years, this is the ONLY one where I've encountered a bad editing job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

I have to admit I was expecting a little more, and in the beginning this book seemed very promising. But by the middle I couldn't wait for the book to end. The biggest problem was technical, the audio recording was poorly done... the edits were rough and I found that certain paragraphs would repeat themselves, or there would be "pops" and abrupt changes. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if these technical problems weren't present. I have over 2-3 years (2 per month) titles from Audible, and this is the only one I've ever been disappointed with.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Pass on this one

This one is just overwritten. The plot is one fairly predictable narrow escape after another with too much filler in between. And the filler itself is overwritten. The result is just a very long listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Just Okay

The story starts off promising, but soon you realize this is no more than the equivalent of an action movie that has lots of action and not much depth as a story. Very disappointed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

not the best book for audio

This story has two parallel timelines, with the story moving back and forth between the two. Its OK for reading, but makes the audio version hard to follow. Naration is also a bit plodding, and Richard Ferrone is one of my favorites. Even he is having trouble distinguishing the high points from the filler. Unless you are an avid Khoury fan, I'd pass on this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • MJ
  • 10-25-10

Bad editing, okay story.

The truly awful editing really makes this novel hard to listen to. There are no less than 2 locations were the reader tells the editor/producer to take it from a previously read point in an effort to read it differently. It doesn't help that the author through this and his previous book The Last Templar can't seem to find a thesaurus his characters only chortle never laugh, giggle, or chuckle and that the only mood he knows is dour. This novel too seemed to miss a lot of the interesting tidbits that The Last Templar had and is more Indiana Jones light. I will say other than that I was entertained but I didn't have to listen to it and felt fine with stopping it and listening to music instead of this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Average read

The first half of this book is really slow...almost gave up on the story but the second half is above average for this genre. The story was line was good in that it tells of the discovery of an ancient secret that could change society. However, the author missed a golden opportunity to explore in more depth and detail how the future would be changed. Instead, he chose to fall into a good, but common series of events common to action novels.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Fast Paced

This well-paced book kept your interest from beginning to end. Even though some flashbacks were obscure and could not be connected to the main plot, they were short and did not hinder the story line. The characters were well-drawn even though their motivation was sometimes in question. Still an a very readable book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Sanctuary

I loved the book. This book makes you think and then surprises you at the end. I would recommend this book. Enjoy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Sanctuary

Pretty cool! A different take on finding the fountain of youth. Makes you wonder what you'd dedicated yourself to, were you to have several centuries to live.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!