Book Bling-Elizabeth Alsobrooks

Review of Sanctuary by Paulene Creeden

10/11/2013

In a heart-racing thriller described as Falling Skies meets The Walking Dead, Jennie struggles to find a safe place for what’s left of her family. But it seems as though there is no place sacred, no place secure. First the aliens attacked the sun, making it dimmer, weaker, and half what it used to be. Then they attacked the water supply, killing one-third of Earth’s population with a bitter contaminate. And when they unleash a new terror on humankind, the victims will wish for death, but will not find it…

When the world shatters to pieces around her, will Jennie find the strength she needs to keep going?

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Review

This is one of those Apocolyptic novels that is marketed as YA and probably has a huge twenty-something fan base since the main character is a college student. But any age group will enjoy this novel.

As with many end of the world novels the young heroine struggles with her faith, and is taken in with her little brother by a minister and his wife, so there is a mild Christian theme to the story. Quotes from Revelations work well to tie the themes together.

Creeden has put a bit of a spin on the whole Zombie epidemic, adding Aliens as the deliberate impetus for the deadly disease. The characters are realistic and solicit empathy. Sci-fi, zombie or dyoptic fans will enjoy this read. It's a fast read, with a tinge of gore that horror fans won't notice much, but readers under 13 should probably avoid.

The only real problem I had with this book is a lack of credible motivation or final outcome. The aliens polluted the water, and dialed down the sun so the popular looking for a new planet because their home planet has been destroyed motive doesn't work. Having the enemy populace kill each other off after they're already dead is an economic even diabolical plan. That part worked for me.

I suppose finding out the Alien plans or motivation is for a later book. It clearly wants to be a book 1, but I didn't get the closure I expect from any story, whether it is a series or not.

Book Bling gives this novel 4 Stars!

Meet the Author

Pauline Creeden is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. In her fiction, she creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.