Sanctum

Asylum #2

by Madeleine Roux, María Nazareth Ferreira Alves (Translator)

Dan, Abby y Jordan siguen traumados por el verano que compartieron en Brookline. Mientras intentan seguir adelante, hay alguien que está decido a mantener el terror vivo, y les envía fotos inquietantes de una vieja feria, estilo circense. Además, Dan recibe una lista de coordenadas que señalan casas antiguas en las cercanías del asilo, y está convencido de que la única forma de terminar con esa pesadilla es regresando al Colegio Preparatorio New Hampshire para seguir las pistas.
Pero cuando él y sus amigos vuelven con la excusa de pasar un fin de semana como potenciales estudiantes, descubren que las fo-tos no solo son reales, sino que en el campus se está celebrando la feria, luego de muchos años sin llevarse a cabo, coincidentemente con Halloween.
Mientras los chicos escapan de sus anfitriones para visitar los lugares que figuran en la lista, descubren un secreto mucho más oscuro de lo que habían imaginado. El alcance de la violencia y el misterio supera todas las expectativas. La trama criminal crece con cada pista seguida. La sangre, también.
En esta excitante secuela de Asylum podrás encontrar fotos vintage de ferias y circos, que te ayudarán a experimentar la historia de estos tres jóvenes que viven enredados entre el pasado, el presente y las alucinaciones.

¿Qué es Sanctum?
Una trama que te llevará al borde de la desesperación. Y de la locura...

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy

344 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2014

About the author

New York Times Bestselling Author of the ASYLUM series, Allison Hewitt Is Trapped, Sadie Walker Is Stranded and the upcoming House of Furies series.

MADELEINE ROUX received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.

Born in Minnesota, she now lives and works in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had the creep factor cranked just about all the way up! I was paranoid even taking my dog out tonight for her pre-bedtime potty. I didn’t feel like I would get answers until the last few pages, and even then, it seemed much simpler than I was expecting.

Also, I read that the 1.5 novella actually shouldn’t be read until after this book, and I CAN see why, but it didn’t ruin anything for me. The ending to 1.5 was vague enough that you didn’t know what happened.

All in all, a great creepy series so far!

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Después de haber adorado Asylum y haber sido incapaz de leerlo por la noche porque me daba muy mal rollo, esperaba que Sanctum fuera un libro igual de espeluznante y que me mantuviera enganchada a la historia de Dan... pero no fue así. Sanctum me decepcionó un montón.

Sanctum empieza con Dan, Abby y Jordan volviendo al lugar que los traumatizó el verano pasado. Quieren encontrar respuestas y cerrar el ciclo que les ha causado pesadillas, paranoias y alucinaciones. Sin embargo, cuando llegan allí, todo se vuelve peor. No están encontrando respuestas, sino que se están planteando aún más preguntas que antes... preguntas a las que, por supuesto, no obtendrán respuestas. Dan entra en una espiral obsesiva por descubrir todo sobre el pasado y su homónimo loco, pero se encontrará con que las cosas iban mucho más allá de un sanatorio mental y experimentos malintencionados.

En este segundo libro, siento que Madeleine Roux nos empieza a abrir un arco completamente nuevo y que poco se relaciona con los inicios de Asylum. Entran en juego fuerzas políticas, engaños a pueblos enteros y grandes sectas constituidas siglos atrás.

Quizá Sanctum me decepcionó un poco porque no me esperaba el rumbo que iba a tomar la historia, con sectas muy al estilo de The Following y demás. Llegó un punto en el que el ritmo iba tan lento y los personajes no descubrían absolutamente nada, que me desinteresaba por completo en lo que estaba pasando.

¿Quiere esto decir que no leeré los siguientes libros y los companions? No, claro que los leeré, pues si hay algo que tiene Madeleine Roux es que sabe hacer unos finales espectaculares. Es por esas últimas páginas que redimo un poco a Sanctum, así que vamos a ver qué deparan los siguientes libros.

[Caitlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sanctum, a holy or sacred place- what could be more sacred than possessing the power of your own true thoughts? Sanctum. It is both lock and key.

Actual rating: 1.5 stars. I absolutely despise giving such a low rating and a harsh review for a book I received as an ARC. However, it is in exchange for my honest opinion. Right? So here it goes:

Oh, the potential that this series had- and the complete disappointment that it was...

Sanctum continues Daniel Crawford and his two friend's journey to discover why they have had bad dreams and hallucinations since leaving the college over the summer. Dan's old roommate is now in a mental hospital, and upon asking to see him, gives Dan a code to follow that sends him on a wild goose chase to find his answers.

I have a lot of questions for the author on why she did what she did in this book. My biggest one is "WHY was so much wasted on rushing??" We had creepy houses being found, broken into, and searched...and we get two pages for each house?! What a totally missed opportunity. There was little-to-no description of these creepy places. They went in, smelled mold, found what they were looking for. That was it. I want some detail! I want to be scared of these houses. I want descriptions, creepy old findings, memories left behind from the owners from long ago. Why? Why? Why?

That brings me to the biggest "miss" in this book. It was rushed. Just like the first book, it went from one finding to another with no information, characterization, history, etc. to the story. We knew nothing about VERY key players in this story. It was just like they met Daniel and we were expected to know who they were, or why they were the way they were. Another hugely missed opportunity.

There was information that wasn't kept straight in the book. For example: Dan lied to his parents about where he was going for the weekend. He said he was going to Jordan's house. He instead went back to the college for prospect weekend. He feels bad about lying. Guilty. Then, just as a random blurb- he gets a text from his mom saying "Hi honey, how is campus? Behaving yourself?" Not like he got caught in his lie, but as if that was the story all along. I am hoping these many mistakes are only because I have an ARC, and these conflicting parts of the story will be fixed before print.

Also, just as with Asylum, these characters could not pass for 18. 14 at most. They were not believable characters. Also along to those lines: why were they never scared? You are telling me these "kids" just witness a live lobotomy, walk away, go hide in a basement, one decides to take a nap, and the other actually responds to someone saying "okeydokey"? No one was ever terrified. No one ever cried.

What the heck happened with Dan and Abby's relationship?? It is mentioned often in the beginning- then forgotten about. Mentioned one paragraph later on...then just *poof* - never mentioned again. When they parted at the end "I'll be in touch." Really? So does that mean the relationship is over?

It was entirely aggravating that everything they were looking for, and all the answers sought, just would "coincidently" fall into their hands. For instance: they start receiving pictures of a creepy carnival. They have no idea why. Then wait!!! The very same creepy carnival that they are looking for falls right into their lap! It just so happens to be at the school the same weekend they are there. Perfect. Amazing. Or when they go from house to house according to the code, and they just so happen to find what they are looking for in the first 30 seconds, even when they had no clue what they were looking for! Astonishing! They find a house full of old mail bags. I mean FULL. As they are being chased away, Abby happens to grab just three letters from a stack to take with her. What a coincidence! One of the three letters (out of 800,238) just so happens to have the answers they are looking for! A little more creativity and waiting in this department would have been great. Like I said before, this book was very rushed. It totally ruined the whole feel of the book.

Then why the 1.5 stars? I gave the book an extra 1/2 star simply because I actually continued reading to find out what happened. I actually was curious. I didn't want to stop because I wanted answers. Yet, I couldn't wait for the book to end.

Great (no, AMAZING!) idea for these books. Great covers. The books just were not that great. Hoping to see something new and improved in the future from this author. The creativity is present, but the aspects of a great book are just not there.

*I received this advanced reader copy from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in this series is good but this one is heaps better! Twice as scary (although still not really scary at all) and just fast-paced enough to keep you constantly turning the pages to find out what happens next. Normally I enjoy my horror books with a little more horror but this was beautifully creepy and kept me intrigued the whole way through. And I had forgotten how much of a cliffhanger it ends on! Well not really a cliffhanger but it leaves room for more and has me itching to pick up the third book!

[Pinky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was this supposed to be a horror novel? Honestly, I didn't feel that way, it never gave me the creeps. I was so disappointed and I hoped that this series would get better. When I first saw this series, I thought that it would give me more scares. I thought it would be creepier than the Mara Dyer trilogy. But unfortunately, I was never scared. There were so many negative reviews but I wanted to read it anyway.

One of the reasons I didn't enjoy this novel was the writing style. For some reason, I wasn't really comfortable with it. All the dialogues and connections between the characters were so fake. The parts that were supposed to be funny, didn't make me laugh. The parts that were supposed to be scary, didn't scare me. I feel that the writing style didn't fit for this book.

Another reason is the plot, it was very week. I wasn't interested in the story because of how boring the plot became. The book was slow paced, and I just didn't enjoy it. I even tried reading at night, with my night lamp, but this novel wasn't scary. One of my favorite Booktubers explained how they didn't enjoy the book. I don't know why I read it, even after all the negative reviews.

The first book was also disappointing, but I was hoping that this book series would get better. But it never did, it just got worse. I didn't hate the characters, but I didn't love them either. I like it when I can relate to the characters, but I didn't. I felt that the main character, Dan, was selfish. He always got what he wanted and he gets jealous easily. The romance wasn't needed in this novel either.

I really wish I liked this book, but I didn't. Although the summary sounds epic, it isn't that interesting. But I guess this book isn't meant for me. Others may enjoy this book, but I definitely did not. This book just wasn't my cup of tea. I just kept reading because I hoped that it would get better, but it never did. I am lucky that I didn't get into another reading slump...

[Elle_bow 🩷 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, not as much as the first one but it was still a good read. Although I did feel a bit confused about the story at some points, like I had trouble wrapping my head around it. I also think this book would’ve been a good end to the series as a whole so I don’t really know what is going to happen in the next book.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Después de leer la primer historia corta que nos prepara el terreno para este libro, no sabía que esperar de él, el misterio más relevante era nuevo y la historia del primero pasó a un segundo plano, cuando yo esperaba que desentrañaran más sobre el enigmático asilo psiquiátrico y todo eso, los nuevos personajes me agradaron pero el giro que tomó casi al final no del todo, de todas formas puede más la curiosidad y la esperanza de que al fin nos develen las anheladas respuestas para terminar la saga.

[Macarena Yannelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro fue tan entretenido como el primero, un poco menos escalofriante porque todo comienza a tener un matiz más "real" pero lo disfrute igualmente.
Reseña completa en Gracias a los libros.

[Melissa Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhh I'm so happy to say that this sequel didn't have the "sequel curse" on it. It was just as good as the first.

Let's go back to the first book really quick....Asylum is where we first meet Dan Crawford, Abby and Jordan. 3 unlikely teens to meet and become fast friends. Dan a History buff, particularly interested in psychiatry. Abby the artist and Jordan the math genius. They all meet in New Hampshire over the summer for a college prep summer course. They quickly find out bad things happen at this old asylum. People start getting hurt. They find weird stuff in the old warden's office and basement. They also find out that illegal experimentation has been going on in the bowels of the asylum. Horrible experiments.

Now lets fast-forward months later. Dan and friends are having daily nightmares of there stay at the asylum. They are hearing things, feeling things that aren't real. One day Dan gets a letter from his old roomie's mom. Dan goes to meet Felix at the hospital and Felix gives him information leading to a "treasure hunt". Dan lets his friends know and off they go on a secret mission back to where it all began. They think if they follow the clues Felix have left them then maybe they'll be able to sleep at night. Maybe the nightmares will go away. What they find out is even more mysterious.

I have to say...I was somewhat disappointed in the first 50 or so pages. I thought it was moving too slowly. When does the mystery happen? But once the snowball started it didn't stop. The mystery was super creepy, totally awesome and I can't believe for once I actually kind of figured out the ending. Kind of. Speaking of endings...this is not a duology. There will be more books in this series. A 3rd book should be coming out next year 2015 along with another novella. So excited I bought these books :D

P.S. The ending, not a cliff hanger per say, but it definitely keeps you thinking about the future and the possibilities :D

Happy Reading!!

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

***

So, I think the flipped table pretty much sums up my feelings, but I figure I out to give an explanation.

First off let me say that I wasn't in love with the first book, but I was interested enough, and curious enough, to continue. The first book did have some tense bits, and quite a few unanswered questions which I was hoping would be addressed in the follow-up.

Well, some of them were answered, but I found myself wishing I could go back and leave them open instead, 'cause I sort of hated the answers - as you might be able to tell from the whole table flipping thing.

In brief, this book was a hot mess. I felt like it was trying to put in as many "scary" things as possible, whether or not it made any sense to do so.

The creepy carnival aspect, for instance, was not nearly as part of the story as the blurb might lead you to believe, and I'm not convinced it was necessary at all. The only reason it's there is to serve as an introduction of the young warden to hypnosis, but there were other ways that could've happened.

And yet, despite it playing so minor a role, we encounter several carnival photos throughout the book, from various sources, and it seemed mostly an excuse for Roux to include the photos.

(Which, speaking of, the photos in general felt more out of place in this book. In the first book the photos served the story pretty well, but in this one I got the distinct feeling Roux had found photos first, and then tried to write them into the story in often convoluted and nonsensical ways.)

In addition to the carnival, there's a secret society with creepy masks and rituals, and we're meant to be left unsure of who to trust, but it's pretty freaking obvious from page 1 who's who.

(Ok, that might not be entirely fair. Maybe page 10.)

And, lastly, there's the whole mind-control/brainwashing/CIA thing going on (which, in fairness, is connected to the secret society thing, but, again, seemed an entirely irrelevant side point).


The characters were meh in this installment, losing what little life and personality they had from the first book, and, as I said, the new characters were painfully predictable. The "romance" between Dan and Abby seemed even more forced and pointless. (Of course, part of this is that they don't seem to really have anything in common, and I'm not sure, aside from Dan's sorta insta-love in the first book 'cause Abby's hot, what is drawing them together at all. I mean, yeah, there's the surviving crazy shit together thing, but this does not seem for real relationship make.)


The pacing was off, and while there were a few tense moments (thus the half star), most of it was pretty boring and plodding. I know several reviews who agree with some of my points still loved the ending, but I wasn't impressed with that, either.

But, of course, by then I was more focused on how stupid everything was, and how disappointed I was that a seeming ghost story had become something more psychologically oriented - and in such a stupid way, to boot.

And, unfortunately, I can't really get into it without getting into spoilers, so...


*** SPOILERS ***


So, we find out that the Warden wasn't obsessed with curing his patients, even via unconventional means, but that the "real story" is that he wanted to control them via a combination of drug therapy, hypnosis(!), and, if that fails, surgery (i.e. lobotomies).

Yes, he wanted to control the perfect brain-washed soldiers - and, in fact, managed to hypnotize Reyes, the villain of these books, who, in turn, seemed to have most of the town under her sway.

Yes. The entirety of the town that we see are all under her sway - doing things, up to and including killing people, including their own people - and against their will.

Because hypnosis.

Because that's how hypnosis works, of course.

But, then again, there is that magical amulet that the Warden got from the carnival hypnotist - thus the tenuous carnival aspect.

And Reyes lures Dan and Co back to town, and puts on a Carnival, to try and jog his "memories"* because she thinks he'll figure out the trick to breaking the hypnosis that she couldn't figure out.

Because of his connection to the Warden.

Because, apparently, Dan can be hypnotized to have the memories of another fucking person, because they're blood related.

Jordan and Abby and Felix and Dan were all hypnotized in the first book, which explains some of their odd behavior (and, theoretically, also why this behavior is never called out and just completely dropped as a plot point, as well).

And, apparently, there's a password - one single word, when said out loud, breaks the hypnosis... which, while not a completely common word, is still, somehow, a word that no one in this town had ever heard said out loud in all this time.

(By the way, I'm presuming the "said out loud" part, because that would explain why reading it didn't break the hypnosis on Dan or Abby, though it's never explicitly stated.)


Also, Reyes is an idiot.

For one, she wants to know this word to break the hypnosis on her - but doesn't consider that other people are in the room whom she has hypnotized and once this word is uttered their hypnosis will also break, which could put her in a world of danger, since these people are not going to be too pleased with her.

Also, she somehow managed to hypnotize Dan into having someone else's memories, and forcing him to hold a knife to his own throat and even break skin (iirc), but she doesn't just hypnotize him to a) not work against her and b) just answer her fucking questions?

I mean, she does make it so that he can't hurt her - so why not just take it the extra step and make it so he doesn't constantly fight against her? That does seem to b within her repertoire.

Of course, Dan doesn't know the secret word and couldn't give it, anyway, but it still makes no sense for her to leave him with the free will to fight her mentally, if not physically. (You could argue that hypnosis can only do so much, and normally I'd agree with you - but, then again, the ENTIRE FUCKING TOWN!)

*ahem*

So, yeah, what started off as a potentially decent ghost story, though without the greatest of writing, turned into complete and utter drivel.

Because hypnosis.


***


This is easily the most angry I've been at a book this year, which I believe wins this book the dubious honor of being my Worst Book of the Year.




***


(And don't ask me why I wrote out, and bolded, the word "spoilers" only to then haphazardly use the spoiler tag. I don't know. It makes no sense. Nothing makes sense any more... this book has broken my brain.)

[Alylally⛰️⛺️⛈️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank goodness I'm done. I'm actually so surprised I made it to the end. Almost DNF'd lol.

→ I don't think this author is for me. The writing is so boring and the characters have no personalities.

→ I understand it's YA, but YA has been done way better than this before.

→About 60% into this book everything was just getting absurd like the author had a wheel called "plot twists and outcomes" and just spun and spun and spun. So scattered. Wouldn't recommend.

But hey at least one good thing comes of this, I can unhaul these books and make more room on my shelf! 💃🏼

[Gelodevs · Rating 5 out of 5]

What better way to scare us than clowns.
Review to come

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sanctum is the sequel to the book Asylum in the Asylum series, a YA Horror collection.

I really enjoyed reading the book, I thought that the carnival scenario throughout the story held my interest and circuses do interest me when things aren't quite as they seem. Dan, Abby and Jordan all reunite in this book which takes place again at the Brookline Asylum. All of three of them have received in the mail photographs that send shivers up spines. To solve the mystery of what actually these photographs mean, they all travel back to the place that still has its secrets. Plus, it's also Halloween and Halloween is meant for more thrills.

The ending was extremely thrilling, still the haunting pictures across the novel do paint a picture of what an Asylum looks like and also circuses from the past. Again, due to the graphic detail in some places, this is not a novel for young readers or the fainthearted. A great follow-up!

[Samantha Pedroza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could not put these two books down. This one definitely creeped me out more than the first. It was fast paced and the three main characters are loveable! I did think the circus would play a bigger roll in the book and have more of a mystery to it but I found it to be simple and almost unnecessary. There were still more unanswered questions and holes but other than that I enjoyed myself. The idea of a cult terrified me and although I saw it coming im glad one character pulled thru so to speak. Great book can't wait for the next

[maria ✦‧₊☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS BOOK BLEW MY MIND!!

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це цікаво, але на 5 зірок мені не вистачило якоїсь напруги чи щось на кшталт. Плюс під кінець мене друзі Дена трішки підбісили, у них там вбили людину і вони хотіли повідомити про це в поліцію, але знають що хтось може керувати свідомістю людини, і замість того щоб засумніватися чи це так, то його друзі вирішили, що 100% поліція не під якимось гіпнозом і що їм можна довіряти, ага😀 в результаті їх зазомбовані поліцейські зловили 🤦🏻‍♀️ Кінець багатообіцяючий, бо ота антагоністка наче не вмерла, бо тіла не дістали, і щось з Мікою не дуже зрозуміло.

[Melanie (TBR and Beyond) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Silence gave the shadows and the darkness power”

It wasn't nearly as good as the first but it was still a decent little ghost story/mystery.

This book picks up a couple months after Asylum. The main characters from the first novel are back together again, after being distant during their time apart. They come together again because they all receive photos with cryptic messages and they decide they need to go back to the school and try to solve the mystery of what is going on.

I read this book right after I read the first one and enjoyed the read. I've read a lot of adult horror, and regularly watch horror films, so I feel that I'm not really the right person to say if this is scary or not. I do not scare easy and I didn't find this to be even creepy, by my standards. I think it does have some parts in it though that were thrilling. Sanctumwas pretty well-paced, it did drag in a coupe of spots but nothing too bad. I loved seeing the characters all back and some new cool ones added. The ending is definitely the highlight of this one for me. I liked that Roux planted some good red herrings for us, and I didn't completely figure out the ending.

My biggest complaint about this book is actually the photos and carnival story line (probably the first time I've ever said that and I hope it's the last). The carnival was talked about for quite a bit in the beginning and ended up not having much to do with the story at all. Since the carnival story didn't come into play that much, the photos were kind of useless. To be honest, I almost felt like they were thrown in there because carnival themes are fairly popular. The photos were cool, but half the time I didn't really see what they had to do with the story, huge disconnect there for me. I would have given the book a higher rating if not for that.

First installment of this series, I gave four stars. This one I gave three - I hope I don't go any lower by the next installment. I will finish up the trilogy. It's worth it so far for me.

[Irene ➰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

"You see things you shouldn't be able to see.
You know things you shouldn't be able to know."

The first one was slightly better than this one, especially with the photos.
I enjoyed this book a lot either way but that touch of creepiness that the pics should add, was kinda lost in the sequel.
In fact I found the pics a little too disconnected sometimes...

The adventure of our trio Dan, Abby and Jordan continues, with new people and a new mystery!
It's not scary at all if you're wondering BUT if you like the genre I think you'll probably like it!

There's a mix of everything, but is all well detailed and easy to understand, the plot is not complicated and the mystery is easy to follow.

This is another case of book that is pretty hard to put down thanks to the short chapters where you want to read more and more to discover what the heck is happening and how the story evolves.

Smart idea to put the secret society and add that plot twist toward the end, I liked that!
We have a lot more details about the past and finally it's possible to put more pieces together.

Like the first book, it could end like that, no sequel needed, but we know that there's still one book missing and I'm curious to read one more adventure, hoping the photos will make everything look creepy again like they did in the first one!

[Imaydahjr · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9 stars

‎اتمام
۲۸/مـرداد/۰۰
۲۳:۴۰
‎این جلد هم مثل جلد اول ترسناک نبود برای من
‎نکنه کلا ترسناک نیست و من در اشتباه بودم؟😂✋🏼
ولی از جلد قبلی قشنگ‌تر و ماجرای بهتری داشت😁

[Megan Gattone · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this is the second book in the series. At times, I think the second book is the best book in most trilogies. Here's why -- They have the most information. They spend the most time with the characters you love from the first book.

In the first book, you get to know the people in the book. In the second, you get to know the people more because the auther is trying to tell who they are. That is what happened this in second book.

Abby, Jordan, and Dan are back at Brookline..... they are scared and they don't know what they are getting themselves into going back there.
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An asylum is always something that people want to stay away from, but what about when you think of the old ones. where people were not taken care of properly??
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Not everyone was crazy. Well, to Daniel Crawford the Doctor, they where. It's pretty crazy to think about and even more crazy to read.

This book has read life pictures in it to give you a visual on what you are reading.

They (main characters) go back to Brookline to see Abby's Aunt. When they meet her, she is not what she was the last time they saw her. This put bad taste in everyone's mouth. This woman was a victum and is now acting differently.

Is the town haunted??
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Or is something or someone putting a spell on the entire town?
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Many people believed they were doing the right thing... Because Daniel Crawford conditioned them to do what he wanted them to do.

I ready to read the last and final installment of this series. Who is with me?

[s · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars.

Well I liked this way better than the first book. This book was more gripping and interesting to read than the last one. Though it was not creepy or horrific at all for me. I was hoping there would be more horror and creepiness, but eh whatever.

When Abby, Jordon, and Dan start receiving creepy photos and Dan visiting Felix, they must go back to the campus and get this shit done with once and for all so they can move on with their lives.

I feel like this book would have been better if it was written in first person. I didn't really connect with the story or the characters. Sadly, I couldn't bring myself to feel anything for them. They were dull and boring. Dan was just meh. Abby was meh. Dan and Abby's relationship was meh. Jordon was just such a useless and petty character. I felt like he served no purpose in any of the books.

I did like the mystery of the Warden and how other things were connected.

Overall, this was an okay read, nothing special or scary.

[Fatemeh Bahrami · Rating 3 out of 5]

″ چه چیزی مقدس‌تر از در اختیار داشتن قدرت افکار واقعی خودت است؟ ″

اول از همه، بذارید به طراح جلدش هزاران آفرین بگم بابت این طرح چند پهلو: «نور، کلید و ردا.» مرحبا!

حالا بریم سراغ داستان... نقطه‌ی قوت نویسنده، قلم جذابشه. تو کتاب رو به اختیار خودت باز می‌کنی تا بخونی، ولی بستن و کنار گذاشتنش دیگه به انتخاب خودت نیست. و من ربط این موضوع رو به داستان خیلی می‌پسندم!

این جلد جامع‌تر و قوی‌تر بود. داستان با این ادامه مشخصا راه خودش رو از بقیه‌ی قصه‌های تیمارستانی پر از روح و جن جدا می‌کنه. چون همون‌طور که شرور داستان به علم و منطق اعتقاد راسخ داره، نویسنده هم سعی می‌کنه پاش رو از مرز منطق بیرون نذاره. اینجا ما می‌فهمیم چرا پایان جلد قبل انقدر به‌نظر ″روی هوا″ بود یا چرا فلان شخصیت، یهو توهم زد. نویسنده خرده‌نون واسه شخصیت‌ها می‌ریزه و اونا هم خیلی خوب دنبالشون می‌کنن. فلش‌بک‌ها، بک‌استوری‌ها، اکثراً درست و به‌جا استفاده شده بودن، فقط چندتا باگ داستانی این وسط بود که حسابی اذیت کرد و نذاشت به کتاب امتیاز بالا بدم.

به‌هرحال، اگه دنبال یه داستان معمایی می‌گردین که یقه‌تون رو بگیره و نذاره زمینش بذارین، یه سری به تیمارستان و ″رئیس کرافورد″ جذابش بزنین.

پ.ن: بله، این داستان ابدا ترسناک نیست. :)

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Asylum a couple of year ago and I thought it was okay. I didn't love it but I couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like. I feel the exact same with Sanctum.

I'm really not sure what about this book I didn't like. It wasn't the writing style but kinda was, it wasn't the characters but it kinda was, it wasn't the plot but it kinda was. It was just an overall... good.
I felt like as a critical reader, I had to turn off the critical part of my brain so I could get though this book. A lot of the things that happened just happened to move the plot along. It felt really planned and well thought out. I felt somethings could have been written differently and maybe a little bit better. The whole plot felt a little like a cheap horror movie. That's not a bad thing but it wasn't really for me.

I never really got into the characters. They were very normal and a little plain. Again, not a bad thing. It just wasn't for me.

Overall, Sanctum is a good read. It's not one of my favorites but there's really nothing wrong with it. A lot of people compare this series with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (and rightly so. It's remarkably similar) and I personally like Miss Peregrine's a million times more.
If you're looking a quick read, this series is a good place to start.

[Savannah (Books With Bite) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanting another scary read for this Halloween, I thought a take a dive back in the asylum.

Plot: This story still follows Dan and his crazy past or rather his relatives. This time it circus time. With more crazy people telling Daniel things and Daniel following his past, things get crazier and crazier.

Circus: This time Daniel is being stalked with old creepy circus photos. There were a few that made the hairs raise on my arm. Seriously creepy. I like how well the plot tied into the circus and the experiment that Daniel was doing in the past. We learn more about why he is doing it and for what purpose.

Ending: The ending ends still creepy and leaving room for more. I would’t mind reading more into what Dan is becoming. It seems that the further I got into the book, the less Dan became Dan and was becoming Daniel. I’m curious to know what is going through his head.

This is a great story for this time of month. A good creepy read and a fun plot to follow, the reader is entertained plenty. Sanctum is awesome.

[Nima Kohandani · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کتاب برای من هیجان کتاب 1 رو نداشت اما من به کتاب 1 دادم سه و به این کتاب دادم 4، چرا؟

چون داستان بسیار بهتر، مرموزتر، گره های داستانی قدرتمند تر و در یک کلمه داستان قوی تر بود

هرچند پایان جلد به طرز عجیبی عجولانه کار شده بود و کمی از پایان"درست" به دور بود پس نمره ام رو کاهش میدم به 3.75

باید دید خانم روو در جلد سوم دقیقاً چی داره رو کنه

البته پایان تا حد زیادی درست بود اما کمی، فقط کمی، لنگ می زد و میتونست بسیار بهتر باشه

خوشحالم که جلد یک اینقدر در راستای اهداف جلد دوم و دقیق بود

[Kristin Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have given this 4 stars because it scared me enough to make me want to sleep at my parents since my husband and kids were at the deer lease for the weekend lol

Wow, this is the second one in the series. And because I wasn’t expecting it to be all that great I didn’t bother reading the first one since I didn’t have it. But believe me I went bought the first and third one today. I’ll read the whole series. Perfect creepy book for October.

I thought this was going to be like paranormal, and I’m glad it wasn’t, but it ended up being something crazy evil and believable.

If you like lobotomy stuff, this book is for you! Just WOW!! But now I’m going to pray for the lord to give me peace and sweet dreams.

-12:01 am, from mom and dads guest room as a 28 year old adult/woman/wife/mother lol

****EDIT TO ADD THIS****
I was so paranoid all night after I finished it I barely slept. And my mom DID scare me when she snuck in my room asking if I want breakfast lol!

Parameters for reading the next two books: only read during the day, and not before bed if I’m at the scary parts lol

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Since whatever we’re about to do will probably get us killed, I want to go on record now saying I was right about the boat shoes,” Jordan whispered.

Jordan’s my favorite. He had me laughing throughout this book.

Now, I have to admit I read the first book a long time ago and I wish I would have reread it before reading this one. I was confused almost the entire time. I usually don’t like when authors repeat EVERYTHING that happened in the previous story, but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more hints. I couldn’t even remember what Dan looked like and I wasn’t reminded either. At least I knew what Abby and Jordan looked like.

A plus, were the pictures. Quite a few of them gave me the creeps.

Thankfully, toward the end it did get more interesting and intense, but I do wish there would have been more time spent in the creepy houses!!

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Sanctum, a holy or sacred place. What could be more sacred than possessing the power of your own true thoughts? Sanctum. It is both lock and key."

Interesting 2nd installment of the Asylum series. It did a great job of intermingling creepy descriptions and spooky old circus photos. The combo made for an entertaining story.

[Diana Torales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primer libro leído del 2016!
Reseña: http://lecturasdediana.blogspot.com.a...

[مسیح بی شفا · Rating 3 out of 5]

از نظر داستانی در سطح همون جلد قبلیش بود،ولی اصلا هیجان جلد قبلی رو نداشت
گویا نویسنده به شدت موقع نوشتن،بی حوصله بوده
و فقط منم که احساس میکنم برای نوشتن این کتاب از هری پاتر الهام گرفته شده؟