William Morrow, September 2011
You're an ambitious first-time writer. Quit your job and move your family from England to a cold French home along with an idea for a novel. Abandon that initial idea and formulate a new, more ambitious one. Mix in elements of Dan Brown, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, John Grisham, Robert Harris, Stieg Larsson, and James Patterson. Come back home after seven months with one-third of a novel and a plan for a trilogy.
Impossible? No, that's just the way Sanctus came to be. Published in the United Kingdom in April 2011 and now out in the United States, its rights have already been sold in 40 countries and translated into 25 languages amid great hype. It is sure to be a major motion picture for it is written in a style that immediately lends itself to a screenplay. Toyne's 20 years of experience as a television writer, director, and producer shines through in the construction of the plot.
You're an ambitious first-time writer. Quit your job and move your family from England to a cold French home along with an idea for a novel. Abandon that initial idea and formulate a new, more ambitious one. Mix in elements of Dan Brown, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, John Grisham, Robert Harris, Stieg Larsson, and James Patterson. Come back home after seven months with one-third of a novel and a plan for a trilogy.
Impossible? No, that's just the way Sanctus came to be. Published in the United Kingdom in April 2011 and now out in the United States, its rights have already been sold in 40 countries and translated into 25 languages amid great hype. It is sure to be a major motion picture for it is written in a style that immediately lends itself to a screenplay. Toyne's 20 years of experience as a television writer, director, and producer shines through in the construction of the plot.
The hype is justified. Sanctus is a compelling read that pulls the reader into its world, making the unbelievable seem entirely credible. The plot is fully developed and unfolds at a relentless pace that will not let go. An ancient Christian monastery, the Citadel, one that predates the birth of Christianity and extends to the beginning of time, harbors an ancient "Sacrament" so secret that only the most select, the Sancti, among the monks is permitted to know what it is. Keeping it underground (literally in this instance) is the paramount function of the Sancti, and they will do anything - anything - to ensure the outside world and even their fellow monks do not discover the Sacrament. The secret has been kept inviolate for thousands of years.
When Brother Samuel, one of the Sancti, scales the mountain at the Citadel and stands on top with his arms outstretched as in a cross, then flies off the precipice to his death in full view of the world on CNN, the monks set into motion an effort to recover his body. Murders ensue and secrets are revealed while the forces of good and evil struggle with one another. The lines between good and evil are blurred and few are who they seem to be in this scintillating religious conspiracy thriller. There are spies among the monks and spies among the police. What is the Sacrament? Why so secret? Why are the monks willing to kill - even one another - to preserve its secret?
When Brother Samuel, one of the Sancti, scales the mountain at the Citadel and stands on top with his arms outstretched as in a cross, then flies off the precipice to his death in full view of the world on CNN, the monks set into motion an effort to recover his body. Murders ensue and secrets are revealed while the forces of good and evil struggle with one another. The lines between good and evil are blurred and few are who they seem to be in this scintillating religious conspiracy thriller. There are spies among the monks and spies among the police. What is the Sacrament? Why so secret? Why are the monks willing to kill - even one another - to preserve its secret?
Sanctus is set in the fictional city of Ruin in Southern Turkey, an appropriate setting since it is so close to Cappadocia, an area in central Turkey that was home to early Christian communities. They lived in mountain caves which contained their monasteries and churches and painted marvelous religious paintings on the walls long before the Western world was painting in the round. Yet, this thriller is very modern.
It is set in the present, a time when research by scholars such as Bart Ehrman has questioned certain elements of the traditional Christian cosmogony and biblical stories. It is one of these elemental stories that relates to the Sacrament and the necessity for safeguarding its secrecy. As one character says to his daughter, "I told you of specific and deliberate inaccuracies. There is still much in the official Bible that is true."
It is set in the present, a time when research by scholars such as Bart Ehrman has questioned certain elements of the traditional Christian cosmogony and biblical stories. It is one of these elemental stories that relates to the Sacrament and the necessity for safeguarding its secrecy. As one character says to his daughter, "I told you of specific and deliberate inaccuracies. There is still much in the official Bible that is true."
Sanctus is the most riveting novel I have read this year. Toyne wanted to write a bestseller and has succeeded in spades. It has all the elements. The writing is superb. The central character and her back story are convincing. The multiple plots are skillfully interwoven. The level of mayhem and murder seems to be just right. The contrast between the brotherly love among the monks and that among the central characters is finely drawn and contributes to the deeper meanings of this excellent first novel. And, because it is the first in a trilogy, one wonders where the revelations at the conclusion will lead.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
