Absolution

Sanctuary #3

by P.J. O'Brien

In Book 3 of the Sanctuary series, the last of the prosecutions relating to the coup attempt are winding down. Civil liberties are restored and there is a renewed movement to end mandatory marriage and to abolish the monarchy. Master Tehv, the son of the assassinated king, leaves the palace ostensibly to assist at his uncle’s training camp for the kinetically uncoordinated. His real reason is to avoid his Little Parents, whose political machinations he blames for his father’s death. His cousin, Prince Nor, goes to work in a transportation company after his younger brother is crowned instead of him. He busies himself tracking a mysterious stranger, who is described alternately as a champion for justice and a coldblooded terrorist. Meanwhile, a convicted mass murderer plots one last series of hits from his deathbed. As the palace-born cousins look for love and a new life in the commoner world, a war breaks out in neighboring countries that spills over into Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary series is a set of stories told episodically over the course of ten years. Over time, they were combined into books for easier tracking and distribution. Although background information is repeated periodically throughout the books to help those who haven’t read the earlier portions, many find it best to start from the beginning book, "Surviving Sanctuary" and then go on to "Grave-climbing" before beginning this one. Of course, you're always welcome to dive in at any point you wish. Sanctuary is a very welcoming, if imaginary, place. The series itself is a speculative ethnology set in a culture where alternative ways of looking at things are encouraged, if not outright necessary for survival.

1052 pages, ebook

First published November 28, 2012

About the author

O'Brien, a somewhat optimistic rurally-raised resident of a northeastern US city infamous for its gritty hopelessness, is primarily a reader.

She was challenged to write a genre-bending mystery after losing an argument with ducks about the inevitability of violence. She dreamed up a country founded upon the ideals of fairness and peace, and then added characters that had to abide by the framework of their culture. They were given the traditional provocations to fighting (e.g. limited resources, invasions, religious & ideological differences) as well as some natural horrors that plague people. The characters were allowed to evolve on their own and respond to crises as they saw fit. They had only to be true to their culture, retain essential elements of modern humanity, and be charming when not dealing with threats that could potentially end the world as they knew it.

After four books, they felt they had fully addressed the most essential questions of suffering, violence, love, and happiness, and still retain their sense of humor. And did they? That’s for you and the ducks to decide. The author has turned back to reading, which is what she’s happiest doing.

You can find the books at any digital bookstore that supports the standard epub format, e.g. Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Nobles, Smashwords, etc. (You can download a free 70% excerpt of each book from Smashwords.) Because of some philosophical differences with 'Zon, they're not sold via Kindle but they could be read on one if gotten from booksellers that offer a compatible mobi format version.

Reviews

[Audrey Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remain fully immersed in this chronicle of life in Sanctuary, a fictitious and totally fascinating country. This book spans the months between September 2004 and the end of 2005. It begins with the aftermath of an attempted palace coup (which occurred in Book 2, Grave Climbing) and builds up to warfare between two of Sanctuary's neighbouring countries, which bleeds into Sanctuary itself. But there is way more in the narrative besides "historical" events. Each chapter focusses on one or more of the dozens of characters as they participate in the larger events and negotiate personal issues. The reader witnesses births and deaths, awkward courtships, and episodes of really funny banter among siblings.
I appreciated that events from the previous two books are revisited in this one, as reminders and confirmations that I really had followed the overarching story. The list of characters at the end is also useful. This book also provides a closer look at what is involved in becoming a Master. (Masters are martial arts specialists who serve as combined security, police, and military for the country. Many of the main characters of the books belong to this group). Their training is probably similar to what practitioners of martial arts experience in the real world, but since I have limited (like almost no) knowledge of that, I admit to guessing. It was interesting to read about the struggles of one of the younger characters in this area, though.
While some issues raised in the first two books are resolved in this one, there are many questions that remain unanswered, which means I will be reading the fourth and final book in the near future.
I enthusiastically recommend the entire series to readers who like long, immersive books.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trying to write a review of a book like this is a bit like trying to review the middle one-third of [Insert Favorite Epic Here]. For starters, it's not really a stand-alone thing, it's one of two middle volumes in a sprawling four-volume novel that spans a period from 1985 through the mid 2000s and involves hundreds of named characters.

This volume begins just about where the previous volume left off, finishes up a significant chapter in Sanctuarian history, and then starts to follow the lives of the younger generation. The reader really has to know going into the book a lot about who's who and what happened before. There is so much in it I'd hardly know where to begin, and there's not much point in trying to summarize.

Having said that... This is a worthy pillar in Ms O'Brien's monumental edifice. You should start with volume one, Surviving Sanctuary, and proceed through volume 2, Grave-climbing. By the time you get here, you'll have the prerequisites for understanding and enjoying it.

And when you get a couple chapters from the end, by all means buy the next volume, Waterloo Sunset because this one is sort of a cliff-hanger...

When I review independently published works like this, I usually mention things like editing and formatting. The formatting is good, and the editing is excellent. There are very few typos, most of which most readers would never notice.