A review by awesomelybadbooks
The City of Sand by Tianxia Bachang

3.0

Two grave robbers in Shanghai assist a group of academics - Professor Chen, Hao Aiguo, Little Ye, Chu Jian, and Sa Dipeng - as well as a Chinese-American, Julie Yang, to find the lost city of Jingjue where the academics hope to unlock the mysteries and Ms. Yang hopes to find her father who went in search of the lost city only to not return. Our grave robbers - Tianyi and Kai - with the help of their human map named Asat Amat brave the heat of the desert, the threat of dehydration, sandstorms, and an overwhelming sense of impending doom that may or may not be due to an evil force that has kept the lost city hidden and that senses the approaching group seeking out the secrets of Jingjue. I have gone back and forth with my feelings on this book. On one hand, it's an interesting read. On the other hand, there is something very, very dry about this book that, at times, made me want to stop reading. I think that, maybe, something got lost in translation from its original language to English? It felt as though something important was missing that I can't quite put my finger on. It wasn't a bad book, but it didn't inspire me to pick up the second one.