| Title | : | Sanctuary (Nomad, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 282 |
| Publication | : | First published August 17, 2015 |
In the Day of the Nomad, oceans flooded the continents, the earth split open and poured darkness into the skies. A mass extinction event as the Earth hadn't witnessed in more than two hundred and fifty million years, the planet flung into a radical new orbit around the Sun.
Jessica Rollins survived, hidden away in a mountaintop in Italy, and has made radio contact with other survivor groups scattered around the wrecked globe--but the destruction is only just beginning.
The key to humanity's survival may lie in a backpack she recovered from her father, in the data he collected more than thirty years before as Harvard's preeminent astrophysicist. Information he died trying to protect.
His final words to her circle around and around in her head...survive, no matter what.
But at what cost? And what is Sanctuary?
Sanctuary (Nomad, #2) Reviews
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Second 'Nomad' novel, after Nomad's messing up the solar system. Now even more stereotypically cartoon-like, the protagonist gets herself into the absurdest situations, dies and resurrects in the most incredible way, and all the good ones manage to survive and the bad guys finally face their inevitable justice = death. What a stereotype-packed thing! Mather hasn't won many points on this one... I simply read it because I wanted to know where he takes it. If there's a third one, I'll happily give it a miss.
The one point it gets is for the fast pace, I read the whole novel in about 4 hours. -
So THAT'S where Roger went!
It's a good book, written by a good writer but I lost all belief in the plot. The world survives a DOUBLE black hole drive-by but the pockets of humans left here and there STILL manage to keep current wars going?! And all within a month of the almost total destruction of the planet and its population?! Nope. Not doable! Not believable.! In fact, book two was a waste of time. Unreal...and not in a good way. But three stars for some good effort.
The author should have spent less time explaining astrophysics in book one and more on the people, especially Sanctuary people, and how they were going to survive a new Earth. Racing around Italy in subzero weather, creating pages of prepper drool lists so the characters could keep chasing each other over political crap of the old world??? Nope.
And though Mather's IS great with sci-fi, I would venture that he has not trekked far in the actual Arctic - in January! But, I have! -
Good follow up
I enjoyed this and it was action packed. My only complaint is with series in general. Everything now days are books setting you up for the next. There is a lot of detail that could have been omitted to advance the story a little further than where it ended. I can see several new story lines and where they will go. I'm in it for the long haul but I get frustrated trying to keep track of all the series I'm engaged in. A good read but a blip on the overall saga. I would recommend but sometimes feel it's more satisfying to be able to binge read a series from start to finish. Gbash -
This novel starts a few days after Nomad left off. The action is non stop, twists just keep coming. Not only is our group struggling to survive the elements that were unleashed by the catastrophe but they are trying to avoid getting captured and or killed. Jess is developing further as a character, and I find that I like her more and more. This book is fast paced and engrossing. You can't help but fall into the story. If you enjoy end of the world stories I suggest you pick up Nomad and finish it off with Sanctuary.
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3.5 stars. I'll probably read the next one if there is a next one.
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One of the best !!!!
Because its a four books series and all my reviews will pretty much the same for each of them, I’ve decided to write one review for all and copy / paste it to all four after I complete listening to the complete series.
One of my favorite ever the Author Matthew Mather is really awesome when it comes to science fiction.
The same talent he used with Nomad that for sure, truly a masterpiece a beautiful series but for an unknown reason it feels like it’s missing one more book to finish the series, its just feels incomplete.
Choosing the Narrator: Keith Szarabajka was without a doubt perfection.
And without a doubt this
Series
Got my full recommendation !
Oded Ostfeld. -
Awesome narrative. Keeps you wondering about the unraveling of events from start to finish.
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Intrigue and political greed infest the end of the world. Who didn't see that one coming? Just kidding, it's actually a well crafted little mystery set amongst a frozen hellscape as earth is stretched and pulled into chaos after the binary black holes pull a fly by faster than Maverick past an Admiral's daughter.
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The McGuffin of the laptop in the first one continues into the second. It barely worked in the first one (there is a global extinction event coming, and we are supposed to believe that global cabals all want this laptop on the event - which the author makes clear cannot be stopped, altered, or anything. The purpose of the laptop is left "mysterious." It truly acts as a McGuffin.
In the second one, the world going after the laptop continues, but we learn that it is because one man doesnt want people to find out he lied - in what is now a post-apocalyptic world where everyone is starving and walking towards cannibalism. That's like saying I'm on death row, and worried about someone finding out I have overdue library books.
It just doesnt work.
I needed a brainless "driving" read, but this was poor enough that I wanted to turn it off. It went full "Die Hard 4" and literally had an Everyday Joe (Jane in this case) jump out of a plane she has pointed towards the bad guy's hideout to use as a bomb, when her parachute gets caught on the wing, and she deploys her backup, when the plane explodes behind her and throws her into the air. Not some superhero, just a woman who served in the military.
It also had a plot point where they had to get new spark plugs for a diesel engine that had failed (diesels dont have spark plugs). And this book (like so many others, especially but by no means exclusively those written by non-Americans) makes the protagonist a Marine, and then has her call herself a soldier. For those not at all familiar with the military and inter-branch animosity, that's like calling a soldier (only the Army has soldiers) a "sailor." It takes you out of the story. Call a Marine a soldier in real life, and you will probably be corrected.
It's bad. -
Not as good as the first one. It more of the same and more never ending storytelling. I really wanted to like it but it was just okay. I am not sure I will be back for round three and the characters like the story are pretty forgettable. It only gets 2 stars because I did finish the novel and it did keep me entertained but only because I love to read and still had a small high from the first one.
Like another reviewer I am getting less entertained with never ending storylines with never ending sequels and really want some closure in a book. -
Plenty of action, yes, but the entire story made irritatingly little sense. There is no reason at all for anyone to be chasing Jess, period. Her father's data could be of absolutely no use at this point; what is already in motion certainly can't be stopped. Oops. Just destroyed The Plot.
In addition, what the hell is the story with Masarra? How does any part of this plot make sense? -
Honestly I was excited to follow Jess on their journey. Then I noticed getting bored, unable to follow who was where and how they got there.
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Amazing story! Original and thrilling all the time! Can't wait for next book...
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this is leagues better than nomad. there are still a few things that frustrate me (like how mather does that thing in sequels where they recap the first book; like john connolly said, what are you doing reading books out of order?), but surprisingly, i can find more positive things to say - but we'll go ahead and get my major issue out of the way: i appreciate that massarra and the levantine council are very explicitly stated to be a peaceful group working with a myriad of people across the middle east, but there was that weird part where she seemed to defend ISIS. maybe the wording used was just off and made it seem that way, but it was just weird to me that she's framed as a good person (which she is) but then there was... that. still, it was nice that there was a clear distinction made that islam is a religion of peace ("The Laventine movement was started to begin again the discussion of what Islam means, the peaceful side. We wanted to bring our people together.") it made me SO happy to read this, but again, the 'defense' of ISIS was super weird. but that's really my only issue with the book.
as for the positives: the writing is so much better than nomad. very crisp and concise, with powerful imagery. i enjoyed the characters a lot more than the first book; they felt much more real and relatable. i even found myself growing fond of gio and jess romantically, but i just really want them to communicate more in book 3. they have a good basis for a relationship but they NEED to vocalize their issues and feelings better (particularly jess; i know she's still suffering from things in her past, and hopefully she's able to have that Growth that she deserves because gio IS good for her and i'd hate for their relationship to suffer because of things going unsaid and being misinterpreted). all the plots come together nicely in this book, weaving tightly together in a way that was sorely lacking in its predecessor.
i'm just really impressed! this is good sequel! i hope book 3 keeps that momentum and earns a 4 or 5 star rating -
This was a quick enjoyable read with a fun adventure. It wasn't exceptional or fantastic, it didn't break any new ground really, but it was well-written enough (few typos) and exciting enough to give a good bit of entertainment and keep me reading the story to see what will happen next (which includes the sequels to follow). It's true, as many have said, that the main character's resilience and ability to defy death is a bit too unbelievable. Nonetheless, she clearly struggles with all the damage she takes (even if she always has enough energy to engage in whatever high-octane action scene is going to come next), and overall, her ability to withstand that much damage isn't so ridiculous that it distracts often from the story moving forward. As a post-apocalyptic book, it's not especially memorable, probably because none of the characters are especially likable nor does the setting have all that much character and probably also because none of the "apocalyptic" events are described with enough scope to really make them amazing. I did enjoy the closer introduction of the secret societies towards the end of the book, as I felt like that breathed new intrigue into what was otherwise just a well-paced (but average) survival thriller. So, overall, a well-enough written book and exciting enough to be entertaining, but not the sort you're going to keep thinking about over and over for days or weeks after you put it down.
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"Sanctuary" is the 2nd book in the "New Earth" Series by Matthew Mather. I love science fiction and while this book is well written and held my interest throughout, it reads more like a novel of survival and intrigue. The science part is the overall theme about the earth experiencing a near collision from a small binary black hole, and the resulting catastrophic changes that occur. That is where the survival part of the story comes in. I'm still a big fan at this point but then the intrigue part kicks in.
The intrigue is provided by various players who are all trying to retrieve the data that our hero is carrying with her. The mysterious data was compiled by her eminently famous and now dead scientist father. It apparently has immense value to the various people that are trying to kill our hero, her friends, and each other.
In my opinion, all the machinations of the good guys, bad guys, and guys of unknown intent are unnecessary. The near destruction of the planet and all the resulting devastation should be plenty of fodder for a good story. Especially if the focus of the story were to extend beyond Italy to other parts of the world where there must be many other survivors.
If I sound as though I don't like the book, that is not the case at all. I gave it 4 stars because the story-telling alone deserves more than 3 stars. The writing is great and I am going to start "Resistance", the 3rd book in the series, right now. -
DNF
I don't know but this second book in the Nomad series really didn't take off for me. I listened to the audible release of this book with Keith Szarabajka as the narrator. I didn't really like his narration style and that took a bit from the book.
The part of the book that I did read (approx. 60%) was plodding as Jessica Rollins and her fellow survivors try to go south where there is a better chance of surviving the oncoming ice age. They discover a survival camp/bunker for billionaires one of whom is looking out for Jessica because of the laptop she is carrying and the information it contains. There really isn't any tension happening here since, well, the world just suffered an extinction-level event.
What troubles me, is that given the condition of the world, what could the laptop possibly contain that would be of any help now? One of her crew is working for a crime lord and is intent on getting his hands on the laptop for him. Yawn.
I could not finish the book. Between the narration and the plodding storyline, I went on to something else. -
After poor old Planet Earth has been cracked, scorched and kicked out of its orbit in NOMAD, Matthew Mather switches the focus in SANCTUARY to the challenges of surviving the planet’s sixth extinction-level event. A small, mostly Italian group – led by a one-legged American college dropout, daughter of a celebrity astrophysicist – struggles to escape “the embrace of the frost-world” (p231) and capture by a self-interested global syndicate that may have had prior knowledge of the Nomad catastrophe. Mather is a good enough writer to impart strong images and plausible details into what basically is an Arctic-climate survival story that would have made Shackleton blanch. He also keeps the pages turning with plenty of action and intrigue. Less physics here than in NOMAD, more fleeing and fighting.
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I really like escaping into the action and excitement of a Matthew Mather novel and I love survival stories but I was rather disappointed in this second novel of the Nomad series. The world has just suffered from a potential world ending event and these characters are killing each other over some old floppy disks and a laptop. Really??? It would have been more believable if they were fighting over a can of beans. The main characters were developed in the first novel of the series, Nomad, but there was no expansion of their personalities or their relationships in this book.
In spite of the flaws, I still finished the book because I wanted to know what happened next. I suppose that’s the true test of a novel’s readability. -
Sanctuary is the continuing story of survivors after a catastrophic Astronomical event. I expected the main character, Jessica, and her companions Giovanni and young Hector to succumb to the elements and the evil forces hunting them many times but they always manage to survive. The story is convoluted, filled with twists that I didn't know were coming, and in places reveals human nature at its worst. Thankfully it isn't as much a love story as it is a story of determination to overcome both natural disaster and evil. When I started reading Nomad I didn't know it was a series but now that I've started I suppose I will have to see the story through.
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The previous book in this series, Nomad, had a good plot and the characters were interesting. I liked reading it and and felt the story was pretty compelling.
With that in mind I moved right along to this, the second book. Unfortunately this second book was kind of disappointing. Too many plotlines and the same old same old. They were stuck out in the elements struggling to survive. It just seemed to drag on and on and much of it did not make sense. This book is just a post apocalytic, survivalist story with little to no science. The author could have just written one book with epilogue of what happens after nomad.
