Book Review: Sanctuary

[Vanessa Tilley]

Book Title: Sanctuary
Author Caryn Lix
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror


Sanctuary is a young adult science fiction novel that centers around our teenage female heroine Hannah Walsh who is serving as a prison guard on the space prison Sanctuary owned by Omnistellar Concepts. Sanctuary is full of teenagers who have superpowers so they are locked up to keep the people of Earth safe. Everything is running along smoothly until the Sanctuary pick up a distress signal that changes everything. Hannah ends up captured by some of the superpower teenagers and tries to plot her escape until it turns into a fight for survival when unexpected visitors board the prison.

I am in awe of the author's ability to capture the imagination and use such vivid imagery that it brings her vision to life. Caryn is able to bring you right onto Sanctuary so you would be able to navigate all the levels of the prison on your own. She also does an amazing job describing all things alien such as their physical description, their ship, and the capsules that they appear to be sleeping in.

Not only does Caryn bring you into the world of Sanctuary, she also has created such amazing and well-developed characters. Each character has a unique personality and you can relate to each one on some personal level. Hannah is a wonderful female lead who has a strong sense of duty and loyalty but she is not afraid to question all that she has been told by Omnistellar once meeting and talking with the prisoners. I can relate to her indecision and feels of betrayal by letting go of all that you have been brought up to believe in. Mia would have to be my favorite though because she is sassy, short-tempered and not afraid to do the difficult tasks. She may have a hard exterior but she also has a soft side that I admire. I appreciate that Caryn creates characters that have flaws just like all of us.

I really enjoyed Caryn's take on aliens and I found the plot involving the aliens to be a bit unique. I like the idea of the aliens sending probes to infect humans with alien DNA and then returning years later to take the infected human's children who have essentially become alien incubators. Once taken by the aliens, the humans are then put in a gel substance while they transform into the aliens.

Finally, I especially enjoyed the ending and look forward to the next book in the series. I like that Caryn makes you think about what is right and wrong when the teens argue over what to do. Do you kill the remaining aliens on the ship or let them? Do you get help from Earth knowing you will be arrested again or do you run? Not easy questions to answer on a good day.

I like to think of this book as X-Men meets Alien. I would highly recommend this book to any fans of science fiction!