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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
While the concepts of Sand and Wool are similar in nature, the two stories are very different in feel. I enjoyed it well enough, but I prefer Wool. I don't mind the harsher language of Sand, but I sometimes was distracted by the storytelling itself. Sometimes Howey seemed to be trying too hard to write beautiful or poetic prose, and that took me away from the story. My overall opinion may change if he releases more stories in this universe. Right now, the ending left me unsatisfied. I wasn't sure if he planned to write more to answer some of the questions of what happened before and after the timeline in Sand. I would recommend Sand to other Hugh Howey fans, but I wouldn't recommend it to a new reader. I'd steer them to Wool instead.
The writing was solid and all I love in Hugh Howey. Loved the characters. That ending though!? Had there been a sequal, then fine. Realised that there were only 2 minutes left of the audiobook and felt cheated in a way. Too bad, because HH is one of my favorite writers.
Exceptional book. I liked Wool a bit better. The story was too short, and I hope he makes a sequel or two, I think it could turn out great. Howey is a very precise writer, and one of my newer favorites.
Disappointed by this Hugh Howey novel, it started so well but it left too many questions unanswered and it got too soppy by the end. Wasted potential IMO. 2.5 stars
I didn't love this as much as I loved wool I hope this is the beginning of the series and the sand universe much like wool was followed by the shift series to explain the development of the silo world and answer a lot of the why questions I'm not sure what Mr. Howdy has in the works for the Sand universe but I believe it has the same potential as wool once many if the nagging questions are answered.
After all I'd heard about Howey's Silo series, I thought I'd finally crack open one of them-- but decided at the last second to grab Sand instead. Suffice to say, Sand was such an perfect read for me that I'm currently burning through the Shift Omnibus.
Sand is a book that is never content to let you know everything, even when you get a peeking glimpse of the bigger picture; the point of view shifts around more than you would expect, and by the end of the book you'll wonder who the main character really was or for whom that right was most deserved. The technology in the book is immensely interesting as well-- the concept of wetsuits that will never get wet but instead can move sand around them, called divesuits, enable most of the plot of the book's first half, and while exactly how they work is never fully disclosed, you'll still wonder what it would be like to dive beneath the sands.
This incredible technological achievement is juxtaposed with an unforgiving landscape devoid of anything else remotely futuristic, resembling an immense desert that only eventually reveals itself to be a familiar landscape, inhabited by people whose treasures are all simple relics from a more prosperous time. To say any more would be to spoil one of the most engaging moments of the book, but if you're anything like me, you'll figure out what's going on long before the first deep, breathless dive.
IF YOU LIKE: desert wastelands, Fallout, Mad Max, wandering nomads, reluctant heroes coming of age, and/or very grounded Sci-Fi.
IF YOU DISLIKE: Descriptions of claustrophobic situations-- seriously.
Sand is a book that is never content to let you know everything, even when you get a peeking glimpse of the bigger picture; the point of view shifts around more than you would expect, and by the end of the book you'll wonder who the main character really was or for whom that right was most deserved. The technology in the book is immensely interesting as well-- the concept of wetsuits that will never get wet but instead can move sand around them, called divesuits, enable most of the plot of the book's first half, and while exactly how they work is never fully disclosed, you'll still wonder what it would be like to dive beneath the sands.
This incredible technological achievement is juxtaposed with an unforgiving landscape devoid of anything else remotely futuristic, resembling an immense desert that only eventually reveals itself to be a familiar landscape, inhabited by people whose treasures are all simple relics from a more prosperous time. To say any more would be to spoil one of the most engaging moments of the book, but if you're anything like me, you'll figure out what's going on long before the first deep, breathless dive.
IF YOU LIKE: desert wastelands, Fallout, Mad Max, wandering nomads, reluctant heroes coming of age, and/or very grounded Sci-Fi.
IF YOU DISLIKE: Descriptions of claustrophobic situations-- seriously.
I lose myself in Howey, wrapped up in the excitement and desperately hoping my characters will live to the final full stop.
Intrresting story, just after shaft trilogy a lil bit disappointing as started slow but all ended so quick and just felt that it could be much more.. more action and fight.. Still enjoyed thought, different world, its issues!