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Danger lurks in the shadows...A place where the brave tread warily... Jack Walker has returned from the rescue of his girlfriend with a small band of survivors. Their harrowing journey from the Middle East included a stop at the CDC where they learned vital information about the ferocious new species that hunt at night. The night runners dominate the landscape and a world turned upside down by the sudden death of billions. With humanity on the brink, the small group must carve out a sanctuary against the nightly onslaught from night runners on the prowl for food. They must enter into darkened buildings in search of supplies; darkened buildings that are now the domain of the night runners.

Danger lurks with each step and death lies in waiting for the unwary. Jack and the group must stay one step ahead of the game; a game where the night runners continue to adapt to this new world. Will his training and instincts be enough? Will this last remnant of humanity make it through this next phase of survival?The shadows await... beckoning.

©2012 John O'Brien (P)2014 John O'Brien

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 24, 2011

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About the author

John O'Brien

42 books281 followers
John O'Brien is a former Air Force fighter instructor pilot who transitioned to Special Operations for the latter part of his career gathering his campaign ribbon for Desert Storm. Immediately following his military service, John became a firefighter/EMT with a local department. Along with becoming a firefighter, he fell into the Information Technology industry in corporate management. Currently, John is writing full-time.

As a former marathon runner, John lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and can now be found kayaking out in the waters of Puget Sound, mountain biking in the Capital Forest, hiking in the Olympic Peninsula, or pedaling his road bike along the many scenic roads.

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5 stars
596 (46%)
4 stars
460 (35%)
3 stars
185 (14%)
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32 (2%)
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12 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for AudioBookReviewer.
949 reviews164 followers
November 19, 2015
My original Sanctuary audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Have you heard of the term used when describing a book that is not the first in the series, called Sequel Syndrome? Meaning that the latter book suffers from either a lack of direction or is less intense than the original series opener.

John O’Brien has found a way for this term to not even come close to describing Sanctuary, Book 3 of the A New World series. Because this is by far the best story line yet!

While many of the characters in the first two books could be described one dimensional or shallow. I think that was because they really only had one thing on their minds, their immediate survival. O’Brien was able to bring so much more emotional intrigue to many of the survivors from the previous books. For example, Jack Walker, our main protagonist, group leader, goes through so much this time around. At one point I thought he was just going to give up.

Sanctuary picks up almost right after we leave the gang in Return. Now what is the group to do? Not live the apocalypse out in an airplane, that’s for sure. Now they must find somewhere for a, um, sanctuary. Much of this book was was spent securing a location, gathering supplies and making an action plan for the future. With many excellent highly entertaining military style skirmishes. Building up for future books, I can see why this series has been able to go on for as long as it has.

One of my favorite parts of this book was a quite shocking death in the party. Proving again, much like Glenn did in the Walking Dead, that no one is safe. This even sends Jack, especially, in to an emotional tailspin. Followed by an even stronger determination and resolve.

Then there is the issue of the seemingly smarter than the rest Night Runners. Sending picture messages to the others in him pack to tell them what to do. The one who thinks he would be able to talk, but the others of kind would not be able to understand. Parts of this book are even told from this ones POV. I loved every second of it, it makes me giddy when the zombie becomes the story teller.

So much was set up for the next book, I am really excited for what might be coming.

If you have listened to the first two books, you will have to listen to Sanctuary, because, so far it is the best in the series. TOns of action and violence, just they way I like it. Several heartfelt moments. Plus a highly unique twist on the standard zombie, which I think has a lot to offer us in the coming books.

This was hands down the best performance, that I have heard, by Mark Gagliardi. He was able to evoke so much emotion, he made me feel Jack’s pain and furry. Just when I thought that was over, and I started to get used to the story unfolding, he did it again. I have been choked up by very few narrations in the past and when it does happen, it is a sign of brilliant performer. In just three books he Gagliardi has become so much more confident and his range continues to increase. I am going to go stalk other books he has worked on.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.
Profile Image for Cjpines.
42 reviews1 follower
July 8, 2015
/sigh...

The books are interesting enough to keep me reading but at the same time very poorly thought out and puzzling that they have such a high rating.

My biggest issue being the lack or realism...yeah yeah I know it's a zombie apocalypses book but the physics of sunlight aren't going to change just because of that. For some reason every building they enter at high noon on a hot and sunny day is pitch black. Not just the armory and big retail store or a mall but every one. PLUS...Not some of it, like the handful of rooms that may be at the center but all of them, every room. Even ones that they point out have windows...windows with the most amazing blackout curtains ever made.

Ok, lets pretend that makes sense. Early survivors taped up blankets or something. So what do you do when you enter a building that may have crazy infected people that die in the sunlight like a vampire, into a room with several windows covered my those magic curtains? Oh you let the door close, sending the place into total darkness and use your night vision goggles...or you can use the logic of a 5yo and figure out that you put something to hold the door open and then pull down every magic curtain so the room is well lit! Even IF the UV in the building or house is not enough to kill the infected it would hurt them and give you full vision with the mark 1 eyeball.

For that matter...lets say you are going to enter an office building and all the windows are covered with those magic curtains...why aren't you busting the windows and clearing the curtains from the safety of the sunlight out side?

Yeah and supply runs? Why are you raiding stores where light is an issue rather than houses? I live in an old house that has less windows and a more closed off design than most homes...and on a sunny day (like every day in these books so far) I don't need a light on in any room but the bathroom till sunset. So raid the houses and don't waste ammo and risk lives.

Have a real NEED to raid a warehouse that (for some reason) doesn't have any skylights? Raid it in force, bring a fire engine ladder truck and cut holes in the roof with the saw they ave right on the engine.

The mistakes the characters made in the first book were reasonable, it was a new crazy world but as the books progress they are less and less acceptable.
Profile Image for John Drawdy.
47 reviews
May 12, 2018
Why does he describe every bullet impact in great detail? After the first half dozen times, we know how the bullet bounces around inside a skull. If I have to read about the minute detail of a bullet hitting a night runner again, I may put one in my own skull.

The storyline is good and there is a very emotional part that would normally qualify this book as 4 stars despite the yawn of detail with the bullets. However, the author uses a very cheap trick (spoilers ahead) by having a “dreamed” or “precognitive” death of one of the main characters. This is insulting to the audience and lazy writing. It takes away credibility from future death scenes as we can probably assume they are also bullshit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brett Grossmann.
486 reviews
July 5, 2018
Solid and entertaining. It’s just missing some polish and editing to grab it more stars. Lots of time lost in the book to flight descriptions. Bad decisions are made when the story needs one. It’s glaringly obvious when something is about to go bad cause of the stupidity of characters spikes unaturally
561 reviews2 followers
November 19, 2018
The story just keeps getting better and better

It's hard to believe it's possible but each story in this series keeps improving on the last, with new twists and turns and more action. The characters are great and this book was well written.
Profile Image for Cindy.
18 reviews1 follower
March 5, 2019
This series gets better as I go. On to book 4!
Profile Image for Shellie Brewer.
193 reviews11 followers
April 8, 2019
Loved it

Best series ever I can't stop reading this series! It will be hard when it's over these characters are like friends.
Profile Image for Corinne Marshall.
323 reviews7 followers
July 16, 2019
I love this series and I think it is very well thought out. It just gets better as you read on. The characters are strong and likeable. Lots of action and also humorous moments. Well worth a read !
Profile Image for Jessica Kayuha.
107 reviews5 followers
January 4, 2013
This series keeps getting better and better. I am SO glad I found it. And it is quite a departure from the fluffy chick-lit romance series I finished right before I started it!

These books just feel real to me. And while that's sometimes detrimental to fiction, in this case it is what is making this series so good. I will admit to sometimes glossing over the numerous mentions of bullets tearing through skulls, and fragments of bone and brain being splattered everywhere, as they are a bit too numerous. And it really isn't a squick factor, it's just repetitive and redundant in my opinion.

The author's personal experiences are very obviously integrated into the combat sequences, and they just feel so very real. Jack never feels like a superhero. He is just a very well trained military man, and has plenty of faults along with his abilities. I think the level of detail, excepting the bullets/brains descriptions, is spot on. It's not at a Tom Clancy level of tedium for sure.

I love getting more and more glimpses of other perspectives. Especially when they show an event that has occurred with Jack from that different perspective. Yes, I know the outcome and the tension is less, but it fleshes out those other characters, and offers more insight into the world outside of what Jack is telling us.

It feels weird even referring to the night-runners as zombies. I keep telling my friends about this series, and calling them vampire zombies. I am hoping to eventually get more insight into what happened with the flu and the vaccine to actually cause the transformation, but I do at least already love that it seems plausible.

I can't wait to read the rest of the books, but I know that when I finish the most current I'm going to be dreading the wait until the next one comes out!




Profile Image for RJ.
2,044 reviews10 followers
October 3, 2015
Much to do as our survivors try to put everything together for their sanctuary. They pick up another survivor when they arrive back in Washington State (Olympia Airport?). There's also the McChord AFB which is mentioned several times. Jack's planned sanctuary is a deserted Cabela's store where he anticipates supplies, housing, electricity via generators, and safety. Must be the Cabela's in Lacey, Washington along the I5; NE of Olympia or SW of McChord. They split up into multiple groups/Humvees and head out to scavenge supplies. Jack's boy Robert is coming into his own with quiet confidence. I'm hoping nothing happens to him. Jack does lose one of his children, Nick, while saving one of the soldiers from a Night Runner (they decided on a name for the infected). Construction of the sanctuary proceeds on schedule, sort of, inside and out. A wall around the compound begins to take shape using concrete retainers procured from highway projects and construction yards. Our Captain Jack is learning how to pilot a helicopter as well, which will come in mighty handy in the future. So far, the day still belongs to the survivors while the night reverts to the Night Runners. There's a Walmart Supercenter just to the SE of Cabela's on the other side of I5 and a large gun shop to the south. I wonder if they'll ever check out those locations. A Safeway Store is mentioned, which is further east & south on Highway 510, but there are much better opportunities in that area; Home Depot, Costco, and Grocery Outlet. The pseudo-killing of Robert was a cold-blooded trick; really had me going. Was it a premonition on Jack's part? At any rate, they didn't go in to Safeway. On to book four.
215 reviews
November 25, 2015
There are minor grammar and typographical errors that should have been caught by the editor. The 'night runners' are nearly believable - far more so than the typical 'Zombie'. Nevertheless, the author disappoints me by including impossible attributes like telepathy. Throughout the series thus far, he has also presented the idea that normal soldiers can sense when they're being watched because of an 'energy' . . . to which I say baloney! I think the story had a few tactical mistakes as well. For instance, why would he bring the helicopter back to an area where the monsters are drawn to attack each night due to the presence of the food? Wouldn't that be a big risk for destroying the helicopter? In my opinion, there is a significant vulnerability that all these smart soldiers should have jumped at immediately. Their enemy must hunt a dwindling resource for food. They must kill to survive, but their numbers are out of balance with the available food supply. Therefore, the night runners need to range farther for food every night - but they have to find shelter before the sun kills them. I would think the soldiers would immediately jump to the safer strategy of setting snares, bear traps, pits, mazes, and other methods of letting the sun kill the night runners so that the soldiers wouldn't have to risk their lives and deplete their ammunition. At the end of this book, the author does actually let them come up with land mines. To my mind, this new species is doomed to extinction when all their food lives in the sun, but a few minutes exposure will kill them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Annie.
938 reviews31 followers
April 17, 2016
FINALLY JOHN!! You broke through my Icy little heart...lol Just kidding I am a softy...This book finally bonded me to this group and made me decide to continue this series, or at least move on to book 4....I cried for Jack....and when he had that premonition near the end, I screamed for him...and I was like...Yep...you dragged my heart in...lol Each book gets better and better...so if you have any doubts people...keep going...because I have a feeling this series is going to be fantastic from here on out....3rd book really was the charm for me!

What I see when I take a mental look at this series so far is a man who really cares about others, and has a will to save people and survive...his family is important to him, and if he brings you into his circle, you are now his family...I see a man who will do whatever it takes to save what is left of humanity...But I fear that the night runners will not only be who this group will have to end up defending themselves against here pretty soon...But Other survivors..as that's what is ALWAYS the MOST dangerous thing in the Zombie Apocalypse!

Also a little side note...the Night Runners seem to be coming back into there humanity a bit mentally...VERY INTERESTING!! I gotta see where that goes...especially with the kids mom...she was kind of kidnapped wasn't she???
9 reviews
July 2, 2020
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this series. The author has a new take on the viral zombie genre. The only things holding it back are the unnecessary flashbacks that grind the plot to a halt and the constant need to write the exact same scene twice from the point of view of two different characters. Enough already! I found myself skipping whole chapters as soon as I realized I was reading the same scene... again. I’m sure I wasnt the only one.
The character make unrealistic and crazy decisions that would have gotten them killed in the real world yet somehow always turn out right for them.
Having said that as I read this I kept thinking to myself why did they have to build their sanctuary right in the middle of a busy urban corridor that was chock full of infected night runners. Wouldn’t it have been better if they chose to clear one of the many large islands close by and build a base there? They could have destroyed any bridges and slowly secured the island. They could have built a runway for airplanes and the C130 and gone over to the more urban areas during the day for supplies. I mean that is what I would have done. But then again living on a secured island without the constant fear of getting eating wouldn’t have made for an interesting story I guess.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2013
1. What did you like about the book and what could of been better?
Like the last two I loved it, conveying multiple emotions such as hope, sorrow, and accomplishment even though you were never their. When they finally finished the sanctuary it gave me inspiration to be a better leader in life.

2. What kind of diction/ syntax did the author use?
Still formal trying to keep the military way of life infused into the book, but went back to the way the first book was by not over glorifying violence too much. Their were a couple scenes were it was like a last stand no hope situation were the main character was still able to survive.

3. What was the overall message of the book/ moral dilemma?
Survival of the fittest.
8 reviews
July 2, 2012
Let me start by saying I did enjoy reading this book but some parts made me feel like it was more of a chore to get through than a desire. I don't know if it's just me, but I some time find this author's writing tedious. Sometimes the details that are explained and the thought processes of the characters are hard to get through. In this particular book, I also found the additional pages spent on going through the same experience but from the perspective of a different character irrelevant. It felt more like filler at times.

With all that being said, I do enjoy the books in this series and find that the author's ideas are new and fresh in a genre that has seen a lot of repetition.
Profile Image for Sara.
23 reviews
April 30, 2014
Another excellent book by O'Brien. What I especially like about this one is how the main characters become more vulnerable and "human". A few events in the story act as a reminder that nobody is completely safe in this new world. In addition, the reader learns a little more about the Night Runners. These new insights open the door to the possibility of some very interesting twists in future books in the series. This book was difficult to put down, but thankfully, there are more in the series to enjoy!
Profile Image for Jett Cat.
122 reviews7 followers
May 24, 2013
I know it is repetitive to say the same thing, but I really just enjoy these! Keep it comming! On the edge here!

I love this series! Normal people, okay maybe they are far more witty than I am, but I wish I had thier smarmy come-backs!

Anyways, way fun, emotional, sorta zombie infected / omega man type ragers who make life hell for our heros!

I reccomend this series for anyone who likes witty, well written post apocalypse, zombie, or adventure stories!
Profile Image for Netanella.
4,460 reviews12 followers
September 20, 2014
First paragraph: “Are you still alive? I need help.”

The third installment of the zom-poc thriller "A New World" was a tad bit slow for my taste, not as well done as the second, but still engaging. Jack still kicks some serious zombie behind, as evidenced by the apartment rescue of his ex and her twerp of a boyfriend, but the rest of the story fell a little flat for me.
Profile Image for Pauline.
61 reviews
July 9, 2014
I would recommend anyone who enjoys the zombie genre to give this series a look. Slightly different take but realyy enjoyable.
Love reading John's books as the storyline just pulls you in and this one was no different !
Another book that I was unable to put down until it was finished.
Keep them coming !
36 reviews1 follower
May 3, 2014
Keep it coming!

so far it doesn't look like I will be taking breaks between books. it's full of everything, action, suspense, chaotic events, love and death. love the story line, can't get enough!
Profile Image for Sheila K.
52 reviews
January 1, 2013
This is book three in The New World Series. I still like this series, even with the gore and blood. I am looking forward to book four.
6 reviews
March 23, 2015
Less boring than the first two, but not enough to make me read the remaining books in the series.
1 review3 followers
June 14, 2014
It's a pretty awesome read. I've become slightly addicted to John's A New World series. I'm on book 9 right now, A New World: Reckoning.
Profile Image for Jesse.
68 reviews
March 18, 2015
A New World: Sanctuary (A New World, #3)
by John O'Brien (Goodreads Author)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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