THE SANCTUARY

An island thrives on a planet in crisis.

The world is slowly dying. One species after another is becoming extinct, and the last elephant has died. In this cheery world, portraitist Ben Parr is engaged to Cara Sharpe, who’s currently working on Sanctuary Rock, an island off the mainland. He earns his living by painting portraits of folks in wealthy enclaves called Villages—whenever he’d drive away from them, “the aura of money disappeared from the land, ray by ray.” But on the island is the ultimate Village, secretive and exclusive. Ben and Cara regularly exchange letters until she writes that she’s not coming back. Well, this is no good. Cara and his painting are Ben’s whole life, so he decides to go get her from this island to which no ferries go. He borrows a boat and nearly kills himself in the crossing, a brave act for one who says that “cowardice always was a weed scattered through the underbrush of my character.” A clinic cares for his wounds and asks who he is because he doesn’t belong there. He meets the super-wealthy Sir John Pemberley—just John, please—the man in charge. The island is almost completely disconnected from the mainland and will soon cut the final cord. Then they expect to survive and thrive while the rest of the world does neither. But all Ben really wants is to find Cara. Where is she? And what’s really happening on the island? Why is everyone so young? How did they eliminate rats, thus allowing seafowl to flourish again? The interesting answer matters more than just to birds. Ben is loaded with angst, but he paints and writes well, occasionally using curious words like rejectamenta and rugose. Will he ever find Cara—alive? One false note: “The very worst acts in history have been committed by men acting for the good.” Oh, really? Like Auschwitz?

A suspenseful read with a dystopian theme.