Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Another great book from Hugh Howey. I couldn't put it down. Liked the story, liked the characters, liked the world.
strong language
strong language
Howey's latest post-apocalyptic novel is completely different to the "Wool" trilogy and yet there's a lot of familiarity in the concept and some of the characters. A distant future in a land covered in sand, where water is scarce and "diving" in the sand to find long lost artifacts is a good way to make a living.... And as in the best stories, the world is introduced at the same time as there's a major discovery upsetting the status quo... This is essentially the story of one family (told from the perspective of all members of it) and how their lives are upset by the change in their world.
It's gripping, has amazing world building, and you can really empathise with all of the characters... but if it has one flaw, it's the ending. Things were building up to so much more and then the "climax" happens off page. I would have preferred the book to end on a cliffhanger one chapter sooner and then we'd have found out what happens next in a sequel....
It's gripping, has amazing world building, and you can really empathise with all of the characters... but if it has one flaw, it's the ending. Things were building up to so much more and then the "climax" happens off page. I would have preferred the book to end on a cliffhanger one chapter sooner and then we'd have found out what happens next in a sequel....
Strange plot work, turning into no real plot. It's exciting and a page turner but didn't engross me the way his Wool series did.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Some rather improbable bits of technology, but it was a fun read overall.
Ugh. I could not finish this.
This book made me so sad, because I absolutely loved the Silo trilogy. Sand, however, was a chore to sit through - however much of it I did. The starting concept - the world is buried in sand and there's these sand divers who, you know, dive in the sand, is real neat - but this both isn't explored enough, and can't save the rest of it.
Incredibly awkward, unlikable characters and dialogue, unbelievable dialogue moreover, and just... I don't even know, I'm just so disappointed with it. It leaned fairly heavily on huge chunks of clunky, expository prose or dialogue, whereas the Silo novels, information was given to you fairly gracefully. Like, the little footnotes explaining what all the different bloody words for sand mean? "Sand that has collected on one's glasses" "Sand that has collected in one's shoe" "Wet sand", like really? We know what "mush" means, and even if it means something specific, the readers are probably intelligent enough to figure out that when referring to sand, mush means wet (MUSHY) sand. Oh, the mother owns/works in a brothel? Better have reams of sappy bullshit about how hard her life is. Better have the daughter flashing back to when she was nearly raped. Please. If I gave a shit about any of these characters, maybe that would have been emotionally effective in any way.
So no, I do not recommend Sand. If the book couldn't grab my attention in a way that didn't annoy and exhasperate me by page 270 then I doubt the last 100 pages would change my mind.
This book made me so sad, because I absolutely loved the Silo trilogy. Sand, however, was a chore to sit through - however much of it I did. The starting concept - the world is buried in sand and there's these sand divers who, you know, dive in the sand, is real neat - but this both isn't explored enough, and can't save the rest of it.
Incredibly awkward, unlikable characters and dialogue, unbelievable dialogue moreover, and just... I don't even know, I'm just so disappointed with it. It leaned fairly heavily on huge chunks of clunky, expository prose or dialogue, whereas the Silo novels, information was given to you fairly gracefully. Like, the little footnotes explaining what all the different bloody words for sand mean? "Sand that has collected on one's glasses" "Sand that has collected in one's shoe" "Wet sand", like really? We know what "mush" means, and even if it means something specific, the readers are probably intelligent enough to figure out that when referring to sand, mush means wet (MUSHY) sand. Oh, the mother owns/works in a brothel? Better have reams of sappy bullshit about how hard her life is. Better have the daughter flashing back to when she was nearly raped. Please. If I gave a shit about any of these characters, maybe that would have been emotionally effective in any way.
So no, I do not recommend Sand. If the book couldn't grab my attention in a way that didn't annoy and exhasperate me by page 270 then I doubt the last 100 pages would change my mind.
I thoroughly enjoyed this - though not as much as the Wool/Silo series. Very imaginative.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed the first three quarters of this book --- The story is interesting and not the same old plot I've read a million times before. I also liked the author's writing style. But the last quarter of the book sort of dragged a bit, and then didn't really 'end' for me. Still worth a read though.