SANCTUARY

SANCTUARY                                            GARY SVEE
Posted:  Aug. 21, 2014

Gary Svee's Spur Award-winning novel of a town caught at the edge of hell -- and the lone man who came to set things right. There was much to fear in Sanctuary, Montana. Small, poor, and brutal, it was a place people fought to leave, not one they sought out. Most men tasted the bitter bile of the place and moved on -- until one day, one man came to stay.

He arrived by train -- a tall, slim man in a dark suit and a preacher's collar. But this preacher was no angel of mercy. He drank whiskey, gambled, and faced down hard men in the street, wielding his belt like a whip of righteousness. And his dark eyes seemed to seek the secrets in the townspeople's souls -- their hidden desires, their vilest thoughts and most shameful acts. He would soon know everything, for he was the dark form of both unholy vengeance and blessed salvation. He was Mordecai....
And God help those who would stand against him.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is a reissue of this book and I am glad it is. I found this to be a very enjoyable and quick read. I don’t think I would have come across this western any other way. It starts off with a man arriving at the train station in Sanctuary Montana, and he is unlike most men who wear a preacher’s collar. He drinks whiskey with the men in the saloon, plays cards and unlike the men in town he stands up for the outcasts of the town. They are really the ones that make the story, it is like he knows about them before talking to them, but yet the same prejudices still exist to this day. Looking down on the poor, making fun or being a bully, hiring someone from a different place then not agreeing with their teaching and making them out to be the devil. The story lines in this book are still prevalent as ever. As the men watched a grown man bully a young Indian boy, it is no different than a child being bullied at school and adults not doing anything about it. This is not a long book it can be read fairly quickly but for me it was a powerful book and excellent writing. I am glad that open road media released this book. I got this book from net galley.