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jeffreypfisher's review against another edition
4.0
Didn't appreciate this as much as the Silo series, but still a good read, imaginative worldbuilding, and intricate plotting. Its sequel going into the TBR pile next.
kauffman_85's review against another edition
4.0
It was a run easy read. These really isn't much depth to it, but it was exciting. It reminded me far too much of the movie Waterworld. I enjoyed the Dust series significantly more.
badcanadian's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a big fan of Howey and have enjoyed everything of his I've read. No disappointment with Sand. Engaging characters, intriguing storyline, creative premise.
pjmcgovern's review against another edition
4.0
Howey creates another interesting world in sand and tells another great story. He also keeps us wanting more leaving any questions unanswered and open to your imagination. Good read.
jonjas's review against another edition
4.0
Really well-written, it moves along quickly and the characters feel real. My biggest complaint would be the lack of background- obviously it’ll be explained later in the series, but when nothing is explained I’m left wondering “ok, but why is it like this?” You can’t help but ask how such an improbably world came to be, and it takes you outta the story a bit.
It’s also a bit too fast-paced at points. There’s plenty of description, that’s not what I mean- it’s more that you’re whisked from one exciting event to another with no time to catch your breath. It’s all action, and fun as that is- you want some build-up at a certain point. That and (spoiler).. you know the main characters will make it out ok. It’s kinda a thing with a lot of fiction of this ilk, no one wants to kill off a protagonist, but it also makes things feel somewhat inevitable.
On the positive side- Howry does well in sneaking some very real social commentary in there. Idk if it’s intended, I shouldn’t say “sneaking” as if he isn’t just writing what he knows of humanity- but the way the social classes work, the rich lording over everything, that one asshole (spoiler) turning on his people for a spot at the table- it all feels very real, very reflective of our own world. It’s never overwhelming or out of place.
Very well done book, overall. Might have to read the rest of the series in the future.
It’s also a bit too fast-paced at points. There’s plenty of description, that’s not what I mean- it’s more that you’re whisked from one exciting event to another with no time to catch your breath. It’s all action, and fun as that is- you want some build-up at a certain point. That and (spoiler).. you know the main characters will make it out ok. It’s kinda a thing with a lot of fiction of this ilk, no one wants to kill off a protagonist, but it also makes things feel somewhat inevitable.
On the positive side- Howry does well in sneaking some very real social commentary in there. Idk if it’s intended, I shouldn’t say “sneaking” as if he isn’t just writing what he knows of humanity- but the way the social classes work, the rich lording over everything, that one asshole (spoiler) turning on his people for a spot at the table- it all feels very real, very reflective of our own world. It’s never overwhelming or out of place.
Very well done book, overall. Might have to read the rest of the series in the future.
mudder91's review against another edition
4.0
Used this book for week 4: A title that doesn't contain the letter "E".
reneefeelspeace's review against another edition
5.0
More please!
I love a good dystopian sci-find and Hugh Howey has done it again. How any publishers passed over his writings is beyond me. I was hooked with the Silo Sagas and can't wait to read more from Mr. Howey.
Even with the shortness of this story he writes each character so well that you can't not know them and still writes a complete storyline that moves or possible "flows like sand" effortlessly with dunes and valleys all intriguing, never boring.
I love a good dystopian sci-find and Hugh Howey has done it again. How any publishers passed over his writings is beyond me. I was hooked with the Silo Sagas and can't wait to read more from Mr. Howey.
Even with the shortness of this story he writes each character so well that you can't not know them and still writes a complete storyline that moves or possible "flows like sand" effortlessly with dunes and valleys all intriguing, never boring.
sarahjbaker's review against another edition
3.0
Aside from the authors obsessive need to create an entirely new vernacular for sand, dependent on where you find it, this is a really good book. A definite 3.5, possibly even a 4, but it felt incomplete... as though there had to be a part 2, but there doesn't appear to be one. Still I am new to the post-apocalyptic genre so I might read some more and reevaluate.
cait_s's review against another edition
4.0
Divided into five sections, and meant to be read separately. If you found them like I did, as an omnibus, it's up to you.
Sand covers everything. It seeps into buildings, covers clothes, even ends up in the mouths of the people living in it. Deep down, the sand hides whole cities--and the current towns, ramshackle and desperate, are slowly being swallowed as well. Some people, divers, make their living fighting back against the sand, reclaiming the treasures it hides.
The story follows a family, mostly focusing on the siblings, Palmer, Conner, Rob, and Victoria. Their father abandoned them, walking out across the sand, and each has found their own way to cope--from anger to sadness. Each works to take a little life back from the sand, and when they become entangled in a mystery under the sand, they might lose more than one member of their family.
A bleak landscape, and a pretty bleak life for the characters, but there's hope there, and plenty of adventures. Little fights, and big ones--and there's some impressively big badness looming over the horizon, running under the first few books, and then exploding onto the page in the last ones.
Each ending is a good pause, and the last one an ending flourish. Howey doesn't tend to tie things up in a bow, and he doesn't with this book either. But the ending is well worth the read, a quick and effective emotional punch.
Sand covers everything. It seeps into buildings, covers clothes, even ends up in the mouths of the people living in it. Deep down, the sand hides whole cities--and the current towns, ramshackle and desperate, are slowly being swallowed as well. Some people, divers, make their living fighting back against the sand, reclaiming the treasures it hides.
The story follows a family, mostly focusing on the siblings, Palmer, Conner, Rob, and Victoria. Their father abandoned them, walking out across the sand, and each has found their own way to cope--from anger to sadness. Each works to take a little life back from the sand, and when they become entangled in a mystery under the sand, they might lose more than one member of their family.
A bleak landscape, and a pretty bleak life for the characters, but there's hope there, and plenty of adventures. Little fights, and big ones--and there's some impressively big badness looming over the horizon, running under the first few books, and then exploding onto the page in the last ones.
Each ending is a good pause, and the last one an ending flourish. Howey doesn't tend to tie things up in a bow, and he doesn't with this book either. But the ending is well worth the read, a quick and effective emotional punch.