Sand

Not as good as the Siloh books but pretty good. Definitely worth reading if you liked/enjoyed Siloh saga.

4 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
In a dystopian future, a population scrabbles out an existence in a dustbowl Colorado, diving through the sand dunes to find the treasure of a vanished civilization.

Review
I had the great misfortune to start this series in the middle, with sequel Across the Sand. It not only disrupted my enjoyment of that book and made it harder to read, it has now done the same for the first book – I found it hard to remember what had happened in that book versus what was happening now.

All that said, this was very well written, very engaging, and an interesting concept. It's got a very similar feel to Wool, with a different setting, and feels like it could fit in the same world.

Oddly, there seem to be only two books in the series so far. Clearly more are intended, and I look forward to reading them – this time in the right order. I recommend the two Sand books so far.

A young adult-esque dystopian adventure story of 4 siblings struggling to live in a sand covered world. Great characters and lots of inventive action slightly let down by longer bits of not much. 3.5 rounded down.

initial review, jan 2017:
5 stars
This is my second time reading Hugh Howey. I started with Wool, which was just breathtaking. Sand is almost as good. I absolutely could not put this book down. It tells the story of a family and their struggles in a world covered with, well, sand. There are plenty of unexpected twists and wonderful characters, and it is an overall amazingly well-written story. Recommended for anyone who likes sci-fi, immersive fiction, or just darn good books.

reread review, dec 2022:
3 stars
I lowkey regret re-reading this. I still loved Wool on a re-read, so I figured Sand would be in the clear. I wasn't going to pick it up until I started Across the Sand and realized it followed the same characters. I couldn't find a proper plot summary and I still had the first book on my kindle, so I figured a re-read would be fine. I just did not vibe with it as well as 2017 Sarah did. The writing itself was fine, I just didn't find it very compelling.

I also feel... weird about Vic's character. Her personality consists of 2 things: 1. she's a badass sand diver and 2. she was raped at the combination bar/brothel her mom now works at. She ends the book by sacrificing herself to destroy their oppressors. There are THREE brothers -- two of whom are interchangeable -- and yet the woman has to sacrifice herself, after being sexually assaulted of course. Not to mention how thankless these children are to their mother. The entire family is abandoned by their father and when their mother is forced to support them by becoming a sex worker, instead of being grateful these kids... completely resent her for it. And it's implied that Vic's feelings toward her mother are colored by what happened to her at the bar/brothel. She has no sympathy for the fact that her mother is regularly abused by patrons.

Okay, I didn't realize how passionately I felt about that. I just feel that the women in this book were not treated well at all. I am looking forward to seeing how the story progresses in the sequel, but my hopes are not as high as they were before.

Interesting and exciting. Plenty of action and the story goes pretty quick.

This was a pleasant, swift read, but when I had read most of the pages, but felt like I was missing more than half the plot, it somewhat felt flat... The ending seems rushed, or mostly setup for a sequel. Looks like there isn't one coming; this is all there is at the point. That's disappointing. The world was odd, somewhat fascinating, but felt a bit like a facade without much depth.

Story: 5 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 8
Prose: 6

A disappointment after The Silo trilogy. The concept is interesting, but the story simply isn't compelling and the pacing is weak. Wool readers will quickly figure out how Howey invented this setting.
Certainly will not forget sand diving though.

Executive Summary: While not as good as [b:Wool 13453029 Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349614200s/13453029.jpg 18979356] I'd put it about on par with [b:Shift 17306293 Shift (Silo, #2) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379003176s/17306293.jpg 23965619] and [b:Dust 17855756 Dust (Silo, #3) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369522849s/17855756.jpg 24576986].Audio book: Karen Chilton is a fine but mostly unexceptional reader. However I listened at 1.3x speed, which I don't normally do, so that may played into it slightly.She's clear and easy to understand, but didn't really add or detract from the story itself.Full ReviewIn his first book book since finishing his Silo trilogy, Mr. Howey does a good job creating another interesting post-apocalyptic world. However, I'd like to see him write a different type of story next as post-apocalyptic stories really aren't my thing.In this one the world is buried under sand and water is scarce. The daring and (maybe a bit crazy or stupid) use specialized equipment to dive deep under the sand and recover anything deemed valuable to be traded for money and supplies and just to get by.The story is once again split up into multiple parts. The early books seems to each focus on a single POV, while the later ones jump around between them. All of our POV characters are from the same family. The children ranging in age from 10 to late 20's I believe.The oldest, Vic (short for Victoria not Victor) is probably my favorite though all of her younger brothers are interesting in their own right.It's a dangerous world full of thieves, murders and revolutionaries. Like his Silo books, the central story is a bit of a mystery. What happened? Why is the world buried under Sand? And on a smaller scale, what happened to the father of kids who walked off into the desert one night 10 years ago and never returned?This was a short and enjoyable read. As it's post apocalyptic it's more on the dark side so I'm reluctant to call it “light”, but it can certainly be called an easy read. There isn't a ton of depth here, but it moves along at a quick pace. I'd say if you enjoyed his previous books you'll likely enjoy this one as well.3.5 Stars.

Hugh Howey has done it again! He has created another desolate dystopian world and sucked me right into it.

I have made no secret of the fact that I loved the Silo Trilogy, so it was with much trepidation that I started to read Sand. I was concerned that Mr. Howey might let me down. That Wool may have been a fluke, and my appreciation of the author may be tarnished. Not the case I am happy to report.

Sand tells the story of four siblings who live in the post-apocalyptic state of Colorado. An endless desert has buried the ancient world, and their people barely survive in the harsh wasteland. They work hard for every drop of water, and live under constant threat of terror attacks in their lawless society. The siblings (Victoria, Palmer, Conner and Rob) are all somehow involved with the dangerous job of sand-diving (I thought of it as deep sea diving, only through sand) where they scavenge items from the old world for resale. One day Palmer is approached by a band of outlaws who claim they have discovered the mythical city of Danvar buried deep beneath the dunes. Palmer, along with the rest of his family, is about to stumble on a truth that will change their perception of their entire world.

This is a fast-paced, highly engaging, very readable novel. The prose is not poetic or flowery, and Howey moves the action along swiftly and with purpose. His description of the sand and sand diving were particularly successful. Just as the Inuits purportedly have various different terms for snow, so do these people have numerous terms for sand – showing just how important it is in their lives.

The sand diving scenes were surprisingly realistic. I felt my own lungs gulping for air as the characters had to make their way through the sand without being buried alive – I took deep breathes after each dive. His explanation of the dive suits and the diving process were really good too. Though in reality it would be impossible (I think), Howey makes it plausible.

Some negative comments have been made about the world-building part of this novel. There is no completely satisfactory explanation as to how the world became this way (though it is attempted towards the end), however, I have a feeling there may be another book in the works, and our questions will be answered. Hugh Howey will not let us down!

There is a reason Hugh Howey made it from Indy to traditional... he is good at what he does.

Wow. Can Hugh Howey get any cooler? I couldn't put sand down and may have liked it even a pinch more than the Wool Omnibus. But that may just be because it's fresher in my mind.