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Sanctuary
An edge of your seat hard SF adventure as colonists on a new world find that nothing is what they expected and that travelling to a distant star is far more dangerous than they’d ever imagined... (5,300 wds)
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
27 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 17, 2017
About the author
Allen M. Steele
236 books423 followersBefore becoming a science fiction writer, Allen Steele was a journalist for newspapers and magazines in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Missouri, and his home state of Tennessee. But science fiction was his first love, so he eventually ditched journalism and began producing that which had made him decide to become a writer in the first place.
Since then, Steele has published eighteen novels and nearly one hundred short stories. His work has received numerous accolades, including three Hugo Awards, and has been translated worldwide, mainly into languages he can’t read. He serves on the board of advisors for the Space Frontier Foundation and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He also belongs to Sigma, a group of science fiction writers who frequently serve as unpaid consultants on matters regarding technology and security.
Allen Steele is a lifelong space buff, and this interest has not only influenced his writing, it has taken him to some interesting places. He has witnessed numerous space shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center and has flown NASA’s shuttle cockpit simulator at the Johnson Space Center. In 2001, he testified before the US House of Representatives in hearings regarding the future of space exploration. He would like very much to go into orbit, and hopes that one day he’ll be able to afford to do so.
Steele lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, Linda, and a continual procession of adopted dogs. He collects vintage science fiction books and magazines, spacecraft model kits, and dreams.
Since then, Steele has published eighteen novels and nearly one hundred short stories. His work has received numerous accolades, including three Hugo Awards, and has been translated worldwide, mainly into languages he can’t read. He serves on the board of advisors for the Space Frontier Foundation and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He also belongs to Sigma, a group of science fiction writers who frequently serve as unpaid consultants on matters regarding technology and security.
Allen Steele is a lifelong space buff, and this interest has not only influenced his writing, it has taken him to some interesting places. He has witnessed numerous space shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center and has flown NASA’s shuttle cockpit simulator at the Johnson Space Center. In 2001, he testified before the US House of Representatives in hearings regarding the future of space exploration. He would like very much to go into orbit, and hopes that one day he’ll be able to afford to do so.
Steele lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, Linda, and a continual procession of adopted dogs. He collects vintage science fiction books and magazines, spacecraft model kits, and dreams.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 12, 2023
A Bit of a Snooze.
The narrator or should I say captain of the Lindbergh and the other occupants are all alighting on a new planet. For now they will call it the Tau Ceti-e.
They have checked out the oxygen and hydrogen levels, the level of gravity and other factors that are necessary.
Everything appears to be working well until it isn’t working well.
Pretty dull in the beginning, but it does pick up at the end.
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
The narrator or should I say captain of the Lindbergh and the other occupants are all alighting on a new planet. For now they will call it the Tau Ceti-e.
They have checked out the oxygen and hydrogen levels, the level of gravity and other factors that are necessary.
Everything appears to be working well until it isn’t working well.
Pretty dull in the beginning, but it does pick up at the end.
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
June 5, 2017
A strong 3 stars for this SF short story, free online at Tor.com. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Two generation spaceships arrive at their destination, the planet Tau Ceti-e, after a long journey from Earth. The story of what happens next is told through extracts from the remains of the logbook of the Starship Lindbergh, as the captain of the ship and others log entries discussing what they find on this planet, where they hope to settle and make a new life. Their orbital survey confirms that the planet is habitable by humans, although they unexpectedly find that there is an indigenous civilization there. That civilization is very low-tech, however, and Captain Yvonne Greer doesn’t anticipate that they’ll have much trouble with them, and in any case there’s no practical way of going back, or elsewhere. So they find a large uninhabited island where they hope to settle, and send down survey teams to explore on a short mission. When the teams return, things start to go wrong.
“Sanctuary” is an absorbing SF tale of planetary exploration and the unexpected events that can happen, despite the best-laid plans. I liked the plot, as far as it went, the writing and the setting. There are a couple of amusing medical and scientific glitches pointed out by readers in the comments on Tor.com, but my main issue with the story is that it ended too soon, with too much left hanging. I very much wanted to know what happened next, so much so that I embarked on my own exploratory journey, looking for more stories or perhaps a novel in this universe that “Sanctuary” would be just the introduction for. So far nothing but, like the humans who land on Tau Ceti-e, I haven’t entirely lost hope yet.
Two generation spaceships arrive at their destination, the planet Tau Ceti-e, after a long journey from Earth. The story of what happens next is told through extracts from the remains of the logbook of the Starship Lindbergh, as the captain of the ship and others log entries discussing what they find on this planet, where they hope to settle and make a new life. Their orbital survey confirms that the planet is habitable by humans, although they unexpectedly find that there is an indigenous civilization there. That civilization is very low-tech, however, and Captain Yvonne Greer doesn’t anticipate that they’ll have much trouble with them, and in any case there’s no practical way of going back, or elsewhere. So they find a large uninhabited island where they hope to settle, and send down survey teams to explore on a short mission. When the teams return, things start to go wrong.
“Sanctuary” is an absorbing SF tale of planetary exploration and the unexpected events that can happen, despite the best-laid plans. I liked the plot, as far as it went, the writing and the setting. There are a couple of amusing medical and scientific glitches pointed out by readers in the comments on Tor.com, but my main issue with the story is that it ended too soon, with too much left hanging. I very much wanted to know what happened next, so much so that I embarked on my own exploratory journey, looking for more stories or perhaps a novel in this universe that “Sanctuary” would be just the introduction for. So far nothing but, like the humans who land on Tau Ceti-e, I haven’t entirely lost hope yet.
June 24, 2018
➽ Free SF short from Tor.
This is a journal type thingie. A pretty cool journal type thingie, if I might add. About space colonization spaceships and stuff. Which is, you know, pretty cool and stuff. And I'm not usually a huge fan of, you know, space colonization spaceships and stuff. But this wasn't, you know, entirely crappy and stuff. So maybe you should, you know, read it and stuff. Perhaps.
This is about space colonization spaceships, by the way. In case you didn't know. The space colonization spaceships I might have previously mentioned get to planet Tau Ceti-e andthings get kinda sorta downhill from there lots of fun stuff happens.
Delightfully boisterous times ahead. And you know what? Our resident space pilgrims end up having such frolicking good times on Tau Ceti-e that it almost makes me want to become aJetson colonist when I grow up. Almost. I mean, there aren't Clueless Barnacles to ruthlessly rule over on Tau Ceti-e, are there? Thought so. Ergo, staying in the Mariana Trench I am. It's good to be an undersea dictator and stuff.
.
This is a journal type thingie. A pretty cool journal type thingie, if I might add. About space colonization spaceships and stuff. Which is, you know, pretty cool and stuff. And I'm not usually a huge fan of, you know, space colonization spaceships and stuff. But this wasn't, you know, entirely crappy and stuff. So maybe you should, you know, read it and stuff. Perhaps.
This is about space colonization spaceships, by the way. In case you didn't know. The space colonization spaceships I might have previously mentioned get to planet Tau Ceti-e and
Delightfully boisterous times ahead. And you know what? Our resident space pilgrims end up having such frolicking good times on Tau Ceti-e that it almost makes me want to become a
.
May 18, 2017
Journal from a colonization ship.
http://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctua...
http://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctua...
May 18, 2017
Well this was fun. A bit terrifying, but fun. Could be a great intro for a nice Sci-Fi series. Here's hoping for more.
June 5, 2021
Read at Tor.com
*Re-read 6/5/2021
A creepy colonization tale of an exploratory team that suddenly faces a harrowing fate by an unknown virus the crew calls The Rot. Told in first person thru daily Log/Journal Entries, the crew's situation goes from expectant wonder to that of tense fright. Even though the ending was left up in the air a bit, it was a great way to leave the reader guessing.
*Re-read 6/5/2021
A creepy colonization tale of an exploratory team that suddenly faces a harrowing fate by an unknown virus the crew calls The Rot. Told in first person thru daily Log/Journal Entries, the crew's situation goes from expectant wonder to that of tense fright. Even though the ending was left up in the air a bit, it was a great way to leave the reader guessing.
May 18, 2017
I will say that I have never read anything by Allen Steele. I only read this short story, because it popped up in my regular Tor.com emails and I gave it an instant read.
The story structure built on operational status reports works very well. The shift in the stye due to the major plot point was also well done. The story itself felt like something that could easily be produced by Black Mirror etc. Its a solid story.
Two points of note:
For a short story displayed from a technical/military-esque viewpoint, I literally laughed out loud when i read..
"The idea of a plastic breathing tube ((spoiler removed)) while still in someone's esophagus makes me shiver."
That makes me shiver too.. why are they trying to help someone breath by placing the tube in the esophagus that leads only to the stomach? (lol) I'm pretty sure you'll wanna put that tube in the trachea.
And my last point (and this is a spoiler!! do not read further unless you have read the story)..
I was expecting the approaching ships to have 'indigenous people' on it who would turn out to be other space-faring colonist that were also marooned by the Rot. Alas, the story ended before first contact.
I will be making the effort to find and read some more of Mr. Steele's work. :) But once again, Tor.com has provided access to another quality story.
The story structure built on operational status reports works very well. The shift in the stye due to the major plot point was also well done. The story itself felt like something that could easily be produced by Black Mirror etc. Its a solid story.
Two points of note:
For a short story displayed from a technical/military-esque viewpoint, I literally laughed out loud when i read..
"The idea of a plastic breathing tube ((spoiler removed)) while still in someone's esophagus makes me shiver."
That makes me shiver too.. why are they trying to help someone breath by placing the tube in the esophagus that leads only to the stomach? (lol) I'm pretty sure you'll wanna put that tube in the trachea.
And my last point (and this is a spoiler!! do not read further unless you have read the story)..
I was expecting the approaching ships to have 'indigenous people' on it who would turn out to be other space-faring colonist that were also marooned by the Rot. Alas, the story ended before first contact.
I will be making the effort to find and read some more of Mr. Steele's work. :) But once again, Tor.com has provided access to another quality story.
May 31, 2017
This was a very good short story. Kind of the lady or the tiger ending. I hope there are more stories in this world, I want more! Five stars, recommended. :)
May 18, 2017
Great story available free from Tor. Two starships carrying colonists in stasis are in orbit around a planet known only as TC-e plan their landing and ready for the awakening of the colonists when tragedy strikes. Terrific read told through the starship log entries. Riveting sci-fy!
http://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctua...
http://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctua...
October 20, 2025
A colonial mission to take over a distant planet goes awry, leaving the colonists to discover something about themselves.
A fascinating short story that combines science fiction with a philosophical question.
A fascinating short story that combines science fiction with a philosophical question.
September 4, 2017
That was an unexpected delight - Alan Steele still writes the best damn space colonisation fiction I've read.
The crew of the twin ships Lindbergh and Santos-Dumont have arrived at their objective - an earthlike planet, which they very shortly find may not be as empty as they were led to believe.
The author himself also popped up in the comments to mention that this has inspired him towards further exploring this story - very exciting, because while this absolutely works alone, it would also make a phenomenal start to a new series.
Found (for free!) here: https://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctu...
The crew of the twin ships Lindbergh and Santos-Dumont have arrived at their objective - an earthlike planet, which they very shortly find may not be as empty as they were led to believe.
The author himself also popped up in the comments to mention that this has inspired him towards further exploring this story - very exciting, because while this absolutely works alone, it would also make a phenomenal start to a new series.
Found (for free!) here: https://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctu...
December 10, 2021
An edge of your seat hard SF adventure as colonists on a new world find that nothing is what they expected and that travelling to a distant star is far more dangerous than they’d ever imagined…
Sanctuay by author Allen Steele is a sci-fi short story I read on Scribd, but it is also available for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctu...
Two generation starships are in orbit of what seems to be a human-habitable planet. They didn’t expect to find an indigenous population already there, but as they can’t go back they try to make the best of it. And with them being ‘primitive’, how hard could it be?
I wouldn't mind reading a full-length novel about this adventure.
Themes: Tau Ceti-e, colonists, primitive cultures, the Rot.
4 Stars
Sanctuay by author Allen Steele is a sci-fi short story I read on Scribd, but it is also available for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2017/05/17/sanctu...
Two generation starships are in orbit of what seems to be a human-habitable planet. They didn’t expect to find an indigenous population already there, but as they can’t go back they try to make the best of it. And with them being ‘primitive’, how hard could it be?
I wouldn't mind reading a full-length novel about this adventure.
Themes: Tau Ceti-e, colonists, primitive cultures, the Rot.
4 Stars
May 18, 2017
Clever and fun. Curious what happens next, though I feel like there are clues.
Some funnier moments than I expected. Regarding what to name this new world: "He suggests a “best name” contest, but I think not. I’ve met some of the expedition’s wittier colonists; if it were up to me, they’d remain in biostasis for a while."
Some funnier moments than I expected. Regarding what to name this new world: "He suggests a “best name” contest, but I think not. I’ve met some of the expedition’s wittier colonists; if it were up to me, they’d remain in biostasis for a while."
May 21, 2017
une petite nouvelle pour planter le décor sous forme d'un journal décrivant la catastrophique arrivée sur ce "nouveau monde" de deux astronefs de migrants humains La rencontre annoncée avec une vie extra terrestre n'est pas celle que l'on croit
On reste sur sa faim(peut-être est ce le premier chapitre d'un livre ?)
Merci à Carol pour le lien sur Tor
On reste sur sa faim(peut-être est ce le premier chapitre d'un livre ?)
Merci à Carol pour le lien sur Tor
May 28, 2017
An excellent sci-fi short offered for free on Tor.com by award-winning author Steele. Many years ago I read his Orbital Decay and enjoyed his writing style. Here, Steele offers us a scary tale told through ship logs, of two star ships' exploration of a planet and its consequences. A cautionary tale, and a smart one, too. Very well done.
February 9, 2018
I read this to get a feel for the authors style of writing before committing to “Arkwright”. I agree with many of the reviews that it is a strong Sci-fi story, it’s a little more science heavy than I typically read or enjoy, hence the 3 star rating. With that being said I will commit to”Arkwright” and I hope that I enjoy it!
June 25, 2020
This short story is not, as some reviewers have thought, a one-off. There are more recent stories on this planet, about the descendants of the doomed spaceships and the Cetans. I've read a series of them in Asimov's mag in the last couple of years. This story gives the original background for those, so it kind of put things into context for me.
May 28, 2017
Read this on Tor.com and bought the e-book because I needed to know what happens next - was very disappointed to discover this was the whole thing and not just a preview! Too intriguing to end where it did. :)
April 21, 2018
Outstanding science fiction, right up there with Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, although a touch of Frank Herbert's kookiness. I very much look forward to reading the full-length novel that arose from this story-concept.
November 17, 2017
A to the point cautionary tale of these times.
June 19, 2017
Really enjoyed this - hoping for a series!
July 23, 2017
An enjoyable hard science fiction story, following two colonist spacecrafts on their way to Tau Ceti. As the passengers get slowly awoken from long term stasis (made necessary by the long distance between the Sun and the Star, and by the maximum limit of speed) the crew realize that the planet is already inhabited... and there is not enough fuel to go back. The story is enjoyable, even if the plot elements have been already seen before.
October 23, 2017
A short read but an excellent one from the ever reliable Allen Steele.
May 5, 2018
A quiet story that gets very suspenseful and ultimately turns into a real thinker. Would defo read a part two or as a novel.
March 29, 2019
Great little story. Would be great if it was extended into a full novel.
September 19, 2019
Nice little Hard SF disaster story.
September 25, 2019
Great story but so short. Left me wanting so much more!
April 22, 2020
I really enjoyed this short story. Starts with a pretty standard premise - planetary colonization, and has a nice little twist. I had a smile on my face at the end of this.
February 18, 2019
“Sanctuary”, a superb ‘short-short’ SciFi story by Allen Steele. Two colony starships on a one-way trip, with thousands in cryo-sleep, arrive at their destination across the galaxy. A TOR.com original. 27 pages. Five DESPERATE Stars. (RBSProds)
May 7, 2020
Very nice short story! Such an original idea and well written in the form of log entries! It's a shame it's so short.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews