Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of The Book of Sand by Theo Clare.

This book had so much promise, but I was underwhelmed by it. I had on a few occasions wanted to give it up, but persevered and finished the book.

The first part of the book is two distinct and very different worlds where we are introduced to the main characters. In the second part of the book we have a better understanding of the two worlds and how they impact on each other. I also felt that the book was far longer than it needed to be.

In the first part, we meet Mackenzie, who comes across quite self indulgent. She manages to convince a teacher to drive her to the airport for her to fly across the country to meet a stranger. While I appreciate that the book explains why Mackenzie travels across the country to meet Newt, it doesn't feel believable.

Mackenzie and Newt both end their term on Earth to return to the Earth as they know it. There is a celebration that they've managed to find each other on Earth, but no storyline to fully explain why it wasn't possible before.

For such a long book, it lacked substance through most of it.

I feel awful for writing a less than positive review as the author has since passed away.

An accomplished, powerful and complex novel encompassing multiple genres including science fiction, literary fiction, fantasy, adventure and mystery, while exploring philosophy, religion, spirituality, and the meaning of life and death.

A small group of people are navigating a hostile world of shifting sands searching for the Sharkpomt and safety. They not only have to contend with other families who are seeking the same goal and using the same scarce resources, they also have to protect themselves from the terrifying creatures who roam the desert at night.

McKenzie Strathie is an ordinary teenager with an ordinary life and an obsession with sand and the desert. Finding a lizard in her bed leads to revelations which leave her questioning everything she thought she knew and determined to uncover the truth.

I can see myself returning to this book again and again to immerse myself in these worlds and fully appreciate everything the author has achieved here.

I just couldn’t get into this one and have tried a few times. I will be once again putting it to one side and may try again later….. again

I found this book tough going.

Took me a long time to read but I'm glad I kept going with it.

Thought provoking, it is a novel that I actually after finishing it, I fell like you should take your time with it.

There's a lot of detail within and it's worth reading at a slower pace to truly appreciate what each chapter holds within it.

Written under a pen name for Mo Hayder and author I have read many times and became very fond of Birdman. A substantial book so not for the faint hearted, focuses on 2 split worlds, present and past and in particular a girl from present day called Mackenzie. Set in a sandy environment I found the story a bit confusing at times but the 2 worlds do converge at which point things become clearer. This book is part of a series, I am a bit on the fence whether I will continue the series.

The Book of Sand follows two supposedly unconnected stories. One - a young girl in our world's version of America. Two - a family living in a desert somewhere that doesn't appear to be in our world. They are striving to find something to help them, before they themselves are hunted down.

Where to start with this one! I confess, I nearly gave up after 30 or so pages. I didn't feel invested, but I'm glad I persevered because this became fascinating. Very weird, and at times jarring, but I ended up fully into it. I needed to get to the end. I'd recommend to anyone who fancies something a little different.

Many thanks to Theo Clare, NetGalley, and Randomhouse UK for this copy.

I had such high hopes for this book, but honestly, I dnfed it at around 30% because I couldn’t really get into it. There were so many questions within the plot and storyline, and coupled with the dual narratives, I struggled to follow and fully immerse myself.

Maybe I’ll try again some day because I’ve seen some pretty good reviews on it.

After a slow start to adjust to the two timelines I was soon totally engrossed in the worlds occupied by both parties. One a present time USA full of modern technology and all that goes with current living issues. The other a world of sand, hardship and desolate villages. As the book reveals itself to the reader we begin to understand the more of the reasons behind what is happening in both dimensions. The characters start to reveal their traits, their nuances dragging the reader further into the fantasy as it unfolds. The images the words build up of the desert world make it easy to close your eyes and imagine the heat and the fear that accompanies every waking moment there. It’s a tale of courage, strength and the compassion that a family unit going through intense hardship can endure. The novel is a wonderful creation that takes the reader on a journey into fantastic fiction. One that will thrill and charm , one that will leave you at the end wanting yet more of the same. That is to be lost in the amazing imagination of an extremely talented writer. If you enjoy the M R Carey series of books that start with The Book Of Koli then you will certainly enjoy this book. Just park what you think you know on the sofa and dive into the pages of this book and enjoy a wonderful journey into an alternative realm.

A good book and a great setup for further in the series. I loved the dual timelines and was kicking myself when it was revealed how they were related. But be prepared to be confused, very very confused. Usually, I enjoy a bit of 'figuring out' in my reads but, honestly, I had no clue what on earth was going on the majority of the time.

I am not a huge lover of Sci Fi Books , but this one did sound interesting so I thought I would give it a go! It is quite an unique story about Faith & what Future life could be if it shifted through different Dimension's at various stages of their existence, while also fighting for what they rightfully deserve within the various Parallels. But I will confess I struggled & did not fully enjoy the book ,just not my genre , but we all need to continue to try different ones . #NetGalley ,#Goodreads, #FB,#Instagram,#Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

It is a hostile and unforgiving world. The family are desperate to find something near or in water. They battle against the constant need for water, the frequent stand storms and the night times. They cannot give up on their quest as another family may find it and then it is all over......whatever that means. Mackenzie Strathie is struggling with life in Fairfax County, Virginia. Why are things not as they seem? Is her life as it seems?
This book is made up of two seemingly unconnected threads. It took quite a while for the two threads to develop enough to come together - in the most unexpected way. I really didn't see that coming!
This is a clever, well written science fiction book which is definitely unusual. Not quite like anything else I have read. I got very involved with the characters who are well constructed. The plot was good and the story moved on at a good pace. It was a good read and I very much enjoyed it.
In fact it is only the ending that caused me any disquiet. I didn't feel it quite worked. Don't get me wrong, I am not sure how I would have ended it but there was something slightly lacking. It was just a bit disappointing. However there is a distinct opening for a sequel so perhaps that will dissipate this feeling.
Well worth a read and I will definitely be keeping my eye open for a sequel.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

The world building was immersive and the characters engaging. The first half has you trying to solve the mystery of how the two storylines connect and then there is a shock and the answer starts to reveal itself. Masterfully written, this novel will reel you in and hold you enthralled as the layers of story are revealed. Highly recommended.

I loved this. It's high-concept fantasy and not everything is explained. I had so many questions about the world that were left unanswered. I just decided to go with it, however, and soon was utterly immersed in the strangeness. The world-building is wonderful - rich and believable.

I was immediately drawn to this novel when I found out is was written by Mo Hayder. This was a complete left fielder, compared to Mo’s normal crime/thriller novels.

This is a dual storyline, one following Spider and his family who are trekking through a desert, trying to find an object that they have no knowledge of - either it’s whereabouts, what it is or what it does. All they know is that they have to find it, before another family does.

The second follows Mackenzie, a young girl in Virgina who is obsessed with the desert. Highly intelligent, her parents have high hopes for her until she seems to start losing her grip on reality.

Despite weighing in at over 600 pages, I flew through this book, completely immersed in the stories. My fascination was more for Spider’s timeline, but as things moved on and the two stories started to come together, I realised I was hooked on this book.

This book is vivid, it is strange, it is a high definition movie waiting to happen! I just hope that book 2 has already been written and is waiting to be published.

An excellent read for anyone who likes dystopian or sci-fi novels.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘥 is full of details and interesting stories surrounding each of the characters, and it can’t be rushed. I’ve always been a fun of detailed and atmospheric reads, so I’ve enjoyed this one a lot.⁣
⁣
In the beginning I really had no idea where the story was going, but ever since beginning pages I was already drawn into the main story - initially split into two narrations, one following Spider in a weird post-apocalyptic almost world full of deserts and sand, and other, following Mackenzie, a teenage girl obsessed with deserts. ⁣
⁣
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘥 feels slow paced, although a lot happens in a short period of time. But the reader only slowly uncovers what’s happening as we follow the journey of all characters here, setting up a great beginning to a longer series.

This is a very interesting book, it surprised me and whilst not my normal type of book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The book has two, seemingly unrelated, timelines, one follows a ' family' who are living in a very harsh Dune-like desert environment. They are not blood relatives and each member of the family has a different background and each experiences isolated recollections from their past lives. The other follows a young girl living in a world the reader would understand, she is different and doesn't really connect with her family.

I kept trying to tie the two perspectives together, looking for links that did not seem to exist. However, there is a moment when that changes and it completely changed my experience. This may be jarring for some readers, but I enjoyed it, it was different, very unexpected and added to my enjoyment of the book.

The author, Mo Hayder, sadly died recently, far too young, and I have read her crime novels, which I enjoyed. This was quite the departure, but I really enjoyed it.

I would recommend this book, and I enjoyed it so much I purchased the beautiful Waterstones exclusive edition, with the lizard sprayed edges (very apt).

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what I like about this book as it is a mixed bag of stories that are entwined together.
A rather slow start in the first half of the book and it takes it time to reveal the back stories of some characters but it doesn’t give anything away - it keeps you wondering ‘what’s going on??’

The second half of the book was definitely more engaging, it’s feels more fast pace and we kind of get a glimpse of the ‘plot’ but it is unpredictable, so you’re in for a good turn of surprises.
There are many themes running through this book some works better than they others and one of them that I think the author had succeeded in is the ‘found family’ and the friendship. There are themes such as life after death, religious and almost dystopian survival of the fittest etc etc. It can feel a little jumbled up at times, and could feel rather disjointed.
One of the things I did not enjoy so much is that there are just too many characters and they’re all being told in a third person, sometimes we would see a glimpse of certain interesting characters but they would disappear for the next 4 chapters.. then they would come back again but you’d still get a very small glimpse of their characters, so it gets a bit confusing.
Over all it took longer than expected to finish this book, I must admit I got a little bored during the first half and had to pushed myself through and I’m glad I did.

I reviewed this book for a blog tour.

http://ramblingmads.com/2022/01/11/blog-tour-the-book-of-sand-theo-clare/

I love a dystopian; the world is ending, kind of book and The Book of Sand by Theo Clare didn’t fail to deliver. Written with a parallel timeline, Mckenzie is a teenager, living in the present day in Virginia in the USA. Spider (I couldn’t work out what age Spider was supposed to be), is living in a parallel universe somewhere in a desert, which comprises various countries, states and cities from around the world. He is surrounded by his desert family and they are on a mission to discover the Sarkpont and although they aren’t sure what that is; they know that other families are searching for it too. They also know that if they don’t find it, their quest is over.

We flit back and forth between Mckenzie and the family in the desert, both linked in some way, although it’s a while until we discover how. Seemingly, Mckenzie’s life is just that of a normal teenager’s, although she appears to have some psychotic episodes. So at first I wondered how this fitted into a fantasy novel and it’s a good chunk of the way through before we discover how the stories merge.

The Book of Sand was fairly lengthy, but it didn’t seem like it. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t wait to find out how everything linked together and how it was going to end. Some people may not like this book because of the length, but I couldn’t wait to pick it up, hour after hour, day after day, until I’d finished it. If you’re into fantasy and sci-fi, then I think you’ll enjoy this. Apparently it’s the first in a trilogy but as Mo Hayder (Theo Clare) sadly passed away last year, I’m not sure whether we will see any further books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Book of Sand by Theo Clare.

This book was a very different read to my normal read, it was very good to read something so different.....2 stories in 1 book, it did take me a bit of time to get my head round the 2 stories and to not mix them up, but i did like the way the book flowed and the stories told x