The Sanctuary

By: Raymond Khoury

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins

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)

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.

Good book. Bad editing

It was one that I had to really listen to some as not to get lost. The story was good but the editing could have been better

Terrible playback

While listening, noticed a high frequency of skips and cut off words. Very frustrating as I pay hardcover prices and a monthly membership fee so I don’t have to listen to poor quality YouTube versions of the same book

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.

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.

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.