The Book of Sand is an unusual book that takes the reader on a trip through purgatory somewhat akin to navigating the circles of hell in Dante’s Inferno. It begins with two seemingly divergent narratives, one involving a teenage girl who thinks there is some mystery involving her father and the CIA. That one takes place in D.C. In the modern era. The other narrative takes place in a desert environment where constructed “families” or tribes made up of diverse people are in a race with other families to find the Sarkpoint, that is, if they survive the unforgiving environment and the Night djimmi who are ready to devour anything. It is a strange world these people find themselves in, sort of a metaphysical gameboard where they attempt the impossible. Although perhaps not for everyone, the story I filled with fascinating characters and an oddness of a world that defies all rules. Quite an interesting read.fantasy-all read-have29 s Josephine PennicottAuthor 8 books63

I know I am deathlessÂ…

Walt Whitman, ‘Song of Myself, 20 – from The Book of Sand

This was never going to be an unbiased review as I was friends with the author of The Book of Sand. Even though I rushed to preorder, I was tentative about reading it when it arrived. Would it be too distressing because of ClareÂ’s recent death in 2021? As a huge fan of her Jack Caffery gritty crimes and standalone novels under her pseudonym Mo Hayder, would I be able to enter the world of her fantastical fiction?

I needn’t have worried. The Book of Sand is a joyful reading experience. I devoured it over a few nights and truly didn’t want it to end. It can’t be compared to any of Clare’s previous work as it stands on its own unique legs and roars. Clare could have continued writing her Jack Caffery dark crimes – she was top of her game – but this series demanded to be birthed and it’s obvious by its exuberant tone that she loved creating it.

The story is set between two seemingly disparate worlds. The Cirque is a sand world where the Dormilones, a group of individuals of varying ages, incomes and faiths from different places on Earth (Sri Lanka, Stockholm, Paris, Jaisalmer, Great Britain) connect with the disconcerting feeling they already know each other. The Family arenÂ’t biologically linked but have been summoned to the Cirque on a quest to discover the Sarkpont under the guidance of the mysterious Mardy. Mardy informs them they have twelve chances and twelve Regyres without revealing much more information. The group face all the challenges of a sand desert as well as the sinister and dangerous Djinni who hunt on the second night (known as the Grey Night) when the family have to ensure they are safely enclosed. Other family groups are also competing for the Sarkpont and are prepared to fight to the death to win. Failure to locate the Sarkpont after twelve tries will result in a consequence so horrible the Dormilones team leaders cry when Mardy reveals it to them. Time is different in the Cirque. Days pass there as years pass on Earth. Travellers known as Scouts are sent out to different time periods back to Earth. No Scout knows what country or year they will arrive in when they transition to Earth. The only constant they have is that they will always die there and will return to the Cirque. Scouts can pass each other on the street in Earth and not recognise each other. Balzac is mentioned as naming the Virgule in the Cirque. When he was in Earth, he was driven mad, possibly by his vague memories and connection with the Cirque.

The second world is set in contemporary America in Fairfax County, Virginia, the home of teenager Mckenzie Strathie, a high achiever who feels alienated from her family and peers and is haunted by longings for the desert. A lizard appears in her bedroom, a woman in a sari talks to her from a tree, and a high school science fair experiment involving the lizard goes disastrously wrong. Then a stranger texts her that he too can see the lizard when nobody else can. Mckenzie is taken to a therapist but begins to suspect the motives of the people closest to her. The dual worlds begin to snake together in a surprising twist.

I love the visual images shimmering through the book. Spider, head back screeching in triumph into the hot desert air, his petticoat blowing around him as he rides his Sandwalker. Mardy, in her bobbly pink cardigan covered in cats. Desert sunsets and sunrises with their brilliant colours ranging from the grey-pink of a dead rose petal into clear shocking blue.

The sand world, an eerie distorted mirror world of Earth, has McDonalds, deserted petrol stations, a can of Sprite Zero suddenly appearing. Meals of kangaroo haunches, mutton, ears of corn, sheep cheeseburgers, date wine and a bong filled with ganja. ItÂ’s a strange and terrifying visual weave of dreams and consciousness.

The Djinni, or as Amasha calls them – the hungry ghosts – are malevolent and mysterious. Their faces are described as small, fat and pink, a white human baby; they are stick-thin, white and much taller than human beings. They rip bodies to pieces in seconds when they encounter them in the Grey Night. Some of the Dormilones believe even uttering their name summons trouble. They are the fallen angels of this world. “God ye shall know, yet falleth the Angels so fast.”

Cross Alice in Wonderland with a Tarantino movie and The Hunger Games and you still canÂ’t come close to describing The Book of Sand.

Clare first told me she was writing a book vastly different to her dark crimes in 2017, when we met up Avebury, UK. I excitedly wanted to know what it was about and she laughed in her mischievous way. ‘It’s weird,’ she said. It is indeed wonderfully weird – and wonderfully clever.

all the best fantasy, The Book of Sand examines major life questions – faith and religion, who we are and where we go when we die, the inner knowing that the world we inhabit is not our true home and the blood tribe we are born to may not be our true family. Death is not an end but a transition that happens repeatedly.

At the time of writing, Clare had no idea her own death was so tragically near but there are so many references to transitions and other states of consciousness throughout the book that itÂ’s impossible not to think a part of her being knew.

Readers of her graphic crime books wonÂ’t be disappointed with the energy and heat of her fight scenes. There are severed ears, scalpings, unexpected shocking deaths, mutilations and one of the characters (no spoilers) dies a very sad death. I actually had to skip those paragraphs as I couldnÂ’t cope with it.

When I reached the end, I had expected to be emotional. The tissues were ready but instead I felt a deep peace. I couldn’t stop smiling. I was – and will always be – awed by her vision, courage and talent. I’m so relieved to hear Clare finished other books in this dynamic series and I can’t wait to rejoin the Dormilones as they continue their quest.

The Book of Sand is dazzling, lyrical, surreal and a beautiful legacy to ClareÂ’s legion of fans by a brilliant, totally original gutsy woman.

15 s Peter Baran648 47

Embed a mystery in your book and you may snag a reader for the whole journey even if they are increasingly suspicious of where it might be going, what it might mean - and of course the hazard of the modern multi-book deal - you never really solve it at all. The Book Of Sand starts with two concurrent stories. In one a diverse mix of travellers - The Family - are trapped in a weird desert, hiding at night from Djinns and trying as a group to find a slippery goal before their time is up. They go from city to city, despite some of those named cities being on different continents (you can't get from Phoenix to Dubai over a salt lake in a day). In the other story a young American girl McKenzie is having strange visitations by a mystery lizard, and feels out of place with everyone with a hankering for the desert. The two stories do inevitably intercept each other, though not in a way that answers any questions meaningfully.

The Book Of Sand really only kept me with it to see if those questions got answered, and illicited a few exasperated utterances from me too. I'm pretty wary on anything excessively spiritual going on, and here there are moments where people say things "all the earth religions had something in them" and you have me calling for a point of order. Also the McKenzie story (the overtly YA one here), fades out for the second half of the book leaving the seemingly more exciting desert plot, but that seemed indifferently realised to me, not least how the artificiality of its real world settings worked. There is an aspect of the wonder regarding the reincarnation aspect of the storyline, and how it might actually work, that left me cold - it ends up working out for the overarching plot but I would feel there was more to it than living whole lives for minor bits of information.

In the end The Book of Sand didn't work for me, and whilst there were plenty of things I d about it (a very good camel in particular), its spiritual subtext was never going to work for me. Whatever it all ends up being about I fear will not justify such an expansive overarching plot architecture and the versions of the characters that exist at the end of the story were not enough to keep me interested. If you are invested int he mystery it'll probably work for you, and I think there are definately things here an older YA audience might connect to, but I;m checking out.12 s bookishcharli 680 119

As we all know I love a good dual timeline book! This one starts out with Spider and his family, though they arenÂ’t related but theyÂ’re a group of people who consider themselves a family, as they are trekking through a desert in the sand trying to find an object which could be anywhere in the desert. In the second timeline, Mackenzie, who lives in Virginia, has an immense fascination with the desert, so much so that lizard creatures often visit her which is increasingly worrying for her family. One night Mackenzie wakes up to find a sand lizard in her bed, but by the time sheÂ’s convinced her parents to come and look at it, itÂ’s gone. It does reappear a few more times but it seems that only Mackenzie can see the lizard, no one else. Her parents start to think that she might need some kind of help when all of a sudden a stranger sends Mackenzie a message saying that they have seen the lizard as wellÂ…. So what does this all mean? How are these two different characters connected, and just how do their stories fit together? Well, youÂ’ll have to read the book to find that out!

This is one of those books that is so vividly written you can see the whole plot play out in front of your eyes while reading it, the new world the author has weaved is one full of run down and ruined cities around the desert. I would absolutely die for a movie adaptation of this one in the future! I reading dual timeline books because you almost get two stories in one, and I love to see later on in the book how those two stories merge together to become one. Although this book is a bit on the chunky side, coming in at over 600 pages, I felt the plot moved very quickly for me as I didnÂ’t notice a lag in my attention while reading. This is one id recommend for sci-fi fans!

Thank you to Century books for gifting me a proof in exchange for my review.arcs11 s Adrian Dooley415 128

This one wasnÂ’t for me sadly. The duel storyline in the first half of the (overly long) book held my interest to see where it would go but that ended half way though the book. The thing was I found the storyline that only lasted half the book more interesting than the main one.

The book is way to long for what it is. Over 600 pages, it was very close to a dnf for me but I persevered. The world of sand was interesting at first but as the book wore on I quickly grew tired of pages of descriptions of ruined cities and buildings etc.

most sci fi/fantasy novels there were some pretty deep philosophical questions being explored but they were lost in the mire of monotony.

IÂ’m sure some will really this one but as I said, not for me at all. Apart from not doing it for me, the 600 page length was totally unnecessary. The bloated format only added to the boredom ultimately.


Thanks to the publisher for the ARC though Netgalley. 10 s Dannii Elle2,118 1,705 Want to read

I've just found out about both this book's existence and that it is penned by my favourite thriller writer, Mo Hayder, who tragically passed away earlier this year. That fact, combined with the incredible synopsis, has me so eager for this book's publication!2024-tbr from-publisher kindle-tbr9 s Jo Sé217 10

I gave this book 2 stars because, quite frankly, I feel guilty giving 1 star to a book that seemed, to me at least, to be the author, who died in 2021 very quickly after a 2020 diagnosis of Motor Neurone disease, trying to come to term through her writing, with her pending mortality. I really feel for both Clare and her family for these tragic set of events, but I couldnÂ’t finish this book despite getting within 100 pages of the end.

In the need to hide information for later reveals, nonsensical things happen. 2 of the family in the sand world are chosen as the heads of the family, or Futatsu, and are held behind to be spoken to privately from the rest of the family. Spider walks into the room to find the female crying and the male throwing up in a sink, he asks what made them react that and they say ‘you don’t want to know’, end. Spider doesn’t query a normal human would, in this situation he’d demand an explanation, but Clare needs to hide all this for…reasons, and this happens over and over, leaving me pulling my hair out. It gets so bad we enter ex machina territory, with Yma having 2 crystals that ‘sweat don’t activate’, what the hell?! No more is said about them, until I assume, the moment at the end they’re needed.

There’s one character, Hugo, who’s constantly seen as the outsider, with different characters using the same word for him, entitled. Yet at no point does Hugo do anything wrong, say anything wrong, he’s just treated dirt for no reason. He’s screamed at at one point when he brings a lizard for food when they’ve just slaughtered most of their livestock, why? The only reason is Yma thinking how he’s still an outsider, still entitled, , how would she get that from this situation? Any normal person would be thinking ‘why has Elk just screamed at someone trying to help the family?’.

Then thereÂ’s the utterly nonsensical scouts. Two people are chosen at a time to go back to the real world as scouts, yet they donÂ’t remember a thing when they go back to the real world, just vague memories of sand, but when they come back to this limbo? They remember everythingÂ….uhh, ok. Why would they even think to call them scouts when they canÂ’t remember anything when they go back to earth so wonÂ’t have a clue to scout for anything? McKenzie and Newt apparently got much further than anyone ever has by JUST meeting, which also is a stretch because Newt somehow sees a hashtag one single girl on the other side of the US shared #dreamsofdesert, somehow realised it has something to do with his obsession with deserts, then somehow finds her on someone elseÂ’s instagram/Facebook live stream so watches? To see that hashtag it would need to be trending in his state or nationwide, I donÂ’t believe a 27yo man from one end of the US is trawling through 17yo girls profiles from the other side of the US. ItÂ’s all to unrealistic for me, and IÂ’m a fantasy and sci-fi fan, so thatÂ’s saying a LOT! Also thereÂ’s the fact that when they come back the more abrupt their death in the real world the longer it takes to recover, so why does Knut who dies slowly from Meningitis take longer to recover than Yma who dies after being hit by a car and dying almost instantly?

This book felt it was vague all the time for no reason other than to keep you in the dark for the end reveal, but the reasons and ways you’re kept in the dark are nonsensical and bare no relation to the real world. There’s a French guy who says thinks ‘bang sketchy’ even though the French don’t use sketchy the way the British do and I doubt they use the slang version of bang either. Most of the characters aren’t British or American yet all speak with British and American slang. When they go back to the real world it’s explained they can go back to any point in time, 20th, 21st etc century, yet all seem to have originally lived in the same time frame. When Yma goes back to become McKenzie she specifically says her first memory of arriving is her first words to McKenzies mother, which is Yma, but McKenzie is 6 I believe at the time, so we’re just going to ignore the fact they’re going back to already existing children? What happens to their souls? And their families are just left with a huge hole left by their children dying in tragic circumstances, of which that isn’t explained. At no point throughout the book is it mentioned McKenzie has a LOT of Vietnamese friends, not until 3/4 through the book when the nurse is Vietnamese, then it’s ‘oh btw, lots of her friends are Vietnamese because I want her to speak Vietnamese to the nurse to show you how clever this actually inconsequential character is’. Amasha knows exactly what Spider has been doing even though he’s careful to do it somewhere he’s hidden from view but somewhere he always normally is anyway so no one would suspect a thing, yet with Yma gone for 3 weeks no one found her ex machina crystals tucked inside her loofah that’s been in full view in the shower area everyone uses and has 4 transparent walls so people can enjoy the views while showering. She hides them in one of the most open areas and no one suspects a thing yet spider can be hidden somewhere he’s always gone for hours to sit with the camel and Amasha knows what he’s up to.

What made me put this down and stop reading was the situation with Hugo, as for 400 odd pages he literally didnÂ’t do a thing wrong yet everyone hates him for being entitled and having the nerve to talk about what he d from his life everyone else did. It just felt Clare needed someone to be the shunned outsider but forgot to actually write anything to make that justified. For the majority of the book, despite my feelings I was determined to make it all the way through because it does seem Clare is exploring the themes of death and the afterlife as a way of dealing with her own situation, so I felt I owed her the effort, but IÂ’m going to come right out with it. This book was just too terribly written to slog through it. Her other books that were highly successful, under the name Mo Hayder, were notorious for being very graphic and I have to say I honestly believe thatÂ’s the ONLY reason they were popular because her writing is terrible, using the exact same adjective in the same line. I canÂ’t be bothered to go through the book to find examples but it made me physically cringe every time.

As I said, I feel guilty disliking this as much as I do because of the personal story behind the author writing this, but I just can’t pretend this was good in any way. Characters were unrealistic, conversations were unrealistic, way too many things introduced at only the moment they’re needed for the plot at that moment in time, revealing she has Vietnamese friends 2/3 into the book literally a line before you have the same character speak Vietnamese, people conveniently for the plot not demanding information they would absolutely demand in real life, when you could have just had the character being asked say ‘I’m not allowed to tell you’.

I need to stop now, because I really could keep pulling this apart for paragraph after paragraph. But I’ll finally say, if you’re a fan of her other books then these problems didn’t bother you then so they won’t bother you now, and I’d say get this book, the underlying theme of death and the afterlife IS kind of interesting. But if you’re not a fan of those books or haven’t read them I’d say avoid this the plague, those themes I mentioned aren’t really good enough or say enough to hold you for 100 let alone 600 pages, the writings terrible, plot holes galore, ex machinas galore, ugh, it’s depressing I wasted £13 and 3 days on this, so stick a fork in me, I’m done.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewowned8 s Elena LinvilleAuthor 0 books80

Stars: 2 out of 5.

DNF at 60%

I tried so hard to this book, or baring that at least finish it before I reviewed. I struggled for the last 10-15% of the story, hoping to get some answer or that the story would get more interesting. Unfortunately, it didn't, so I am calling it quits.

The beginning was really promising, though I wasn't a fan of the dual storylines. McKenzie's story in particular was a little bit too YA for me. I am not a fan of YA, so getting through her parts was a struggle. It was especially hard and off-putting because of how intermingled these parts are - you have several paragraphs with Spider and the family in the Cirque, then we jump to McKenzie for a paragraph, then back again with no warning, no rhyme or reason. 

The desert storyline was intriguing enough to keep me going though. And I wanted to know how the two stories tied together. Unfortunately,  the answer to that question was rather blah. Also, the book went downhill once the two stories merged. There were too many questions left unanswered and too many deus ex machina moments.

Also, nobody communicates in this family. Everyone withholds information for no other reason but to keep the mystery of the story. It's infuriating. These people are supposed to be a family, and the author mentions several times how much they love each other. Yet for some reason they all despise Hugo because he is "entitled". Well, I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anything entitled about him in this book. He's been nothing but helpful and self-sacrificing throughout the story. The reaction of the other family members makes no sense. Same with Spider's constant suspicion towards Noor. dude, why don't you two talk it out, normal human being would? And why are your so-called Elders speak in riddles and never answer any questions? And why do you constantly just let it go? It's a life and death situation you guys are in, but Spider would be just , "cool, you won't answer me about why I should explore this city, so I will just go away and do something else." Really?

Also, with such a big cast of characters, it's sad when the only well-defined and interesting one is a camel. 

And this book is way too long. It sits at a hefty 600 pages. So I made it to about 350 by the time I called it quits, and the story hadn't given me any satisfying answers yet. Nope, I'm out.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.arcs didn-t-finish dystopian ...more8 s Nic183 6

I was offered this book as an ARC and thought I was hooked from the first page. I was immediately intrigued by the setting and variety of characters.

Unfortunately, the moment I began the first chapter written from the point of view of McKenzie I was thrown and could feel myself losing interest. These chapters read a YA novel but there paragraphs from the original setting that detail a character masturbating (still unsure on the relevance of this) so I was rather bemused as to whom this book is aimed at.

The confusion over the McKenzie section was only exacerbated by the introduction of Newt. He was supposed to be much older than McKenzie but was written as though he was of a similar age. Acknowledging that online stalking/harassing and then convincing a teen to meet someone miles away who I was left with the impression was in their 30s still left me feeling uncomfortable. He complains more about his situation than the "high-school junior from Virginia" (p317) he is lying on a hotel bed with....totally innocently of course but this still didn't seem right in a contrasting setting based on a world almost identical to ours.

I persisted with this book as I had already invested so much time in reading it in addition to the fact that I do not to give negative on unfinished books in case things pick up again. Page 378 gave me yet another jolt from the narrative. The fact that McKenzie and Newt knew one another in the original setting, which I took to be some sort of purgatory, started to pull the narrative together but yet more confusion set in for me. If this was the "family's" 11th attempt at finding the Sarkpoint (some sort of escape) why did Newt/Knut feel that the most salient information he learnt from his latest round as a Scout when questioned was "So I was gay - , you know, I guess that part doesn't change"? As a reader I assumed that Knut's family would have been well aware of this fact by now and I couldn't see how that would in any way help them find the Sarkpoint. It felt more that the author had a checklist and wanted to make sure the reader couldn't miss that he had included a gay character.

The other main lack of internal consistency seemed to be that whilst Spider remembered in detail his original life, McKenzie/Yma seems to have completely forgotten that she had a life spent sailing. Again, I probably missed some subtlety but surely the characters remember their previous lives and skills or don't? The use of the word "invalid" with regard to an injured Spider on page 491 was never going to endear an author to me (even if they did check the disabled character box).

If you think ending will give you some closure, p526 will give you a page of explicit lecturing on the selfishness of humanity (environmental pollution etc checkbox ticked). The final line of the novel:
'So,' she says, her voice loaded with sugar, 'shall we see what's next?'

Personally? No thank you. I'll pass on any sequell7 s Billie's Not So Secret Diary612 52

In the desert with deserted cities similar to those on Earth, there's a family trying to survive as they search for the way out before one of the other families finds it.

In Virginia McKenzie is obsessed with sand, with the desert, with a sand-lizard only she can see until another person claims he can see it too.

Why does the sand fascinate McKenzie so much and what is her connection to the family in the desert, who are hunted by the Djinni during the 'gray' nights?

It all sounds a really good plot but sadly the story itself jumps around. One paragraph is about the family and two paragraphs later it's McKenzie. There's not a lot of separation between the two 'worlds' in the chapters.

There are some vivid details but not really enough to make the desert or McKenzie's life seem real, and I couldn't connect with any of the characters because of the jumping from here to there. There was no time to get to know the characters, especially the family. Only two really stand out, and one is a camel. I couldn't tell you much about the rest of the family because their descriptions and roles were vague.


Designated chapters for each 'world' would've made the story move along better, allowing the reader to learn about the characters instead of dreading the next jump in the story. Designated chapters would've given the book another star.

2 Starsarc netgalley6 s ClaireJ563

This is an outstanding, thrilling book written by the late great British Crime author Mo Hayden. She wrote this book under the name Theo Clare and wrote this series of books just before she passed away last year. I would love to have been able to tell her how much I absolutely loved her book.

It is exciting, gripping, the world building is unique and mysterious. It is nothing I have read before. It is all about survival and the strong bonds between people.

There is a major twist which left me gobsmacked. I thought I had it all worked out but I was proven very wrong! I love it when a book does that. It proved how brilliant the authorÂ’s writing truly is.

There are some tearful scenes in the book but it made the book feel more raw and realistic to me. Also bear in mind this is a 600 page book, I read it solid for 3 hours a night as I did not want to put it down at any point.

I have to give this a strong 5 stars, making a great start to my reading year! If you are a fan of dystopian fiction, please give this one a go, you wonÂ’t regret it.7 s mrsbookburnee Niamh Burnett669 16

This book completely blew me away, IÂ’m sure it is one that I will think about a lot. I normally have three books that I would recommend to people, this has just became my fourth. I cannot help but gush when I tell people about this, especially as it is not my usual genre.

The writing was so vivid, I could completely visualise the settings especially the sands, the shuck and the different characters.
I love reading dual storylines and the two came together unexpectedly yet perfectly.

I cannot recommend this book enough, though it is hard to review without risking spoilers. It is an absolute must read and I will hope it is made into a film or series.6 s Lorraine Southern179 43

DNF at 56%.
And, boy, did I hate DNF-ing it!
Mo HayderÂ’s crime thrillers are hands down some of the best ever written. I was so sad to hear of her death and gave this book a go partly because itÂ’s Mo and partly because I do love a good dystopian thriller too.
Sadly, this one wasn’t the latter for me. It’s too long and not gripping enough and I know it was not meant to be a stand-alone so it will not ‘end’ as such, plus I have a sneaking suspicion where this is going and I don’t want to go there and end up dissatisfied and depressed. 6 s Sophie133 20

2/3 stars. I'm going with 2 for the goodreads descriptor: 'it was ok'

Some spoilers. Read at your own risk.



Now. I donÂ’t to leave negative , and IÂ’ll be honest it feels it would be particularly bad form when the author sadly passed away last year. But I also want to be honest about it?

Half way through I just still wasnÂ’t getting it. It took me about 400 pages to gauge a rough idea of wth was going on.

The latter section picked up pace and mad stuff started happening, which was great, but then the ending was so weird I canÂ’t help wondering if it was going to be the start of a series? Or if there would be spin offs? What is Mardy? WhatÂ’s going on in the Cirque?! I have so many questions and I feel the structure made a complicated plot even more complicated.

I struggled to connect with any of the human characters. My favourite character was the camel, called Camel. And things donÂ’t end too well for Camel. DonÂ’t get me wrong, itÂ’s better than the fates of some of the other characters, but still. Poor Camel.



This book has such good , IÂ’m left wondering if itÂ’s just me and I just didnÂ’t get it! I so wanted to love it.

Anyway. ThatÂ’s negative enough for me so weÂ’ll leave it there.5 s Simon Lee (Simon's Bookstagram)293 6

I've never read a book this before and I hope I never do again. Having spent 9 days reading its 600 pages im still non the wiser what the book was about or what happened. The characters are mind numbingly boring and none were able. The story was hard to follow, my mind drifted throughout and the ending...? I assume there would have been a book two but the author has passed away so who knows.
The first half of the book, the story is split in 2 and half of it was quite interesting, this is why I stuck with it but then around page 320 they merge together and I was lost.
Absolute waste of my time.
It's not worthy of one star but there you go!4 s Lila741 192

Duel storyline that doesn't resolve itself in this book?

I get it, they're all actually dead and in the afterlife. In my opinion, if good people need to fight that much for the afterlife, it's not worth it. Be as bad as you want. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review4 s Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich1,278 166


3.5 stars

The Book of Sand by Theo Clare takes place in an alternate universe, and is the first book in a series.  It is being touted as a “speculative thriller”, but it is probably on the science fiction end of things.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Random House and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Mackenzie Strathie wakes up to find a lizard in her bed, but it is gone when her parents come to check.  Apparently her fascination with the desert has crept into her dreams, but she has a great idea for her science project. Then she meets someone new, that she feels she already knows.

Spider walks across the sand with the family.  They are tired, aching, injured.  They are young and old, but still they move.  They must reach home before nightfall, as it is a "grey" night, and their lives depend up shelter.   They call their shelter the "shuck", and they live over 30 meters above the desert floor, inside a vast tower.  They are not of one family, but of many, coming together inadvertently, but seemingly by design.  They work together, each bringing their own skill to their tasks.  They call their world the Cirque.

They head out in a different direction every morning, exploring the empty cities in the distance.   Across the sand, under the burning sun. They are searching for the Sarkpont, although they are not really sure what that is.  But they are not the only family in search of the elusive Sarkpont.  If Spider's family do not find it, they will die.


My Opinions:   
The first part of the book took place in Mackenzie's world, and the second in Spider's.  I spent a lot of time imagining how they would come together.  I was surprised.

Okay, the overall premise of a group of people remembering events from another world was very interesting.  Having that group on a quest was also really good.  The whole thing was very intriguing.  

I d the way the author took Mackenzie from one world to the next, and then showed us what was really going on.  It was a very philosophical and spiritual book, and it made you think....but unfortunately, this book was way too long.  It wasn't so much boredom that set in, it was more apathy.  I was more concerned about the Camel, than anyone else. Other than Spider, MacKenzie and perhaps Forlani, I really didn't care for any of the other characters, and the children were just annoying.

The plot and writing were well thought-out, and although I had problems with the length and characters, the book still held my interest enough to finish (although I may have skimmed from time to time).

I understand that this book was written by Mo Hayder, who apparently passed away, so I am wondering if there will really be a second book...if not, I'm okay ending it as is.



For a more complete review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, as well as author information), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/netg-edel-author-publisher reviewed-in-2022 series-ongoing3 s Anne2,245 1,138

Theo Clare is the name that the late Mo Hayder chose to write The Book of Sand, the first in a fantasy trilogy. I have to admit that this story really took me out of my comfort zone, I very rarely read fantasy fiction and am not best placed to compare this with others from the genre. However, I was intrigued enough to continue to read this and there is no doubt that it is an incredible achievement. The writing pulls the reader in, it is such a cleverly created story, with characters who entranced me at times.

It's a huge book, the hardback copy has 600 pages and I do think that I would have preferred it to be cut a little, but I know that fantasy readers love a fat juicy tome and I think the target audience for this will love it.

The story begins with two separate time lines. The first is set in 'the sand', where a group of people who consider themselves a family, although not related are trekking through a desert. Each member of this family is created well, with their own thoughts and background memories for the reader to learn about.

In an alternative time line, Mackenzie, a young American girl spends time in her bedroom, visited by lizard creatures, becoming obsessed by the elements of the desert and worrying her family.

I had no idea how these two stories would blend together, but they do, in the end and it's really quite cleverly done.

There's such a lot to take in throughout this novel. Whole new worlds to learn about, and to remember and a plot that often veers toward the spiritual. It's a book that obviously took a long time to create and one that needs a lot of concentration, it's something of a challenge at times.

However, I'm not a regular fantasy reader, and it's fair to say that my experience of this book will differ from that of others. I'm certainly glad that I read it, it's been something of an adventure! 3 s Jordan (Forever Lost in Literature)861 126

This was such a very unique and thought-provoking story!20244 s Caroline O'Sullivan87 8

Sometimes I wait a day or two before writing a reviewÂ… I need to digest the book, mull over it, maybe re-read the last chapter.
This was one of those books.
I started this book going ‘ok,, I can see where this is going’….
And then suddenly a new paragraph and I sat up and went ‘Whoa, I did not see that coming’ and suddenly I was off racing to get to the end!!!
What a marvellous story, truly marvellous!
That last 50 pages or so you will need to read slowly, and read them again to absorb them!
ItÂ’s a book I will definitely be recommending and I have NO hesitation in giving it 5 stars.

I am sorry to read that Theo Clare was a pseudonym for Mo Hayden who died earlier this year. You will live forever in the hearts of the people who read and love your books. Thank you x

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the advance read.netgalley3 s Jackthedad209 1 follower

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advanced reader copy. If you want a synopsis, click on the book.

I love fantasy books because there are no rules and they can take you anywhere. The trick for the author is to make the incredible credible. This author does an admirable job of that in this well-written clever book.

It's whacky, The characters are whacky. You're fed the backgrounds of the characters a bit at a time. There are two threads that merge nicely. I quickly embraced the strangeness and got more and more hooked as the story progressed.

Five stars, well deserved. Now, where is her back catalogue?

Since posting this review I have discovered that the author, Mo Hayder, died earlier this year. A sad loss. My condolences to her family.3 s Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf)1,774 33

A group of unrelated people, adults & children, live in a 'shuck' - a shelter in the desert which they call home. Every day they travel out in search of the 'Sarkpont', an object which could lie anywhere in the surrounding desert, but they have to ensure they have returned to the shuck every other night, as on 'grey' nights, creatures called the Djinni roam the land, killing anyone they find outside. Meanwhile teenager McKenzie lives in Virginia but has a fascination with the desert which turns into an odd mystery when one night she wakes up to find a sand-lizard in her bed. The lizard has disappeared by the time McKenzie has convinced her parents to come look, & although it reappears several more times, only McKenzie sees it. Her parents think she needs psychiatric help, but then McKenzie receives an online message from a stranger telling her that they have seen the lizard too...

When I first started reading this, I wasn't sure what to expect. The book has dual storylines, the one located in the desert is mostly told from the point of view of Spider, a young man who has a talent for anything mechanical, whilst the second one is from McKenzie's point of view. The two start off quite separately, apart from the desert link, but they slowly start to merge. I found it a gripping read that easily held my attention - I really wanted to find out where the plot was going to go. I have to say I thought the ending was the weakest part, but the preceding chapters were strong so I rate this a deserved 4 stars.

TW: animal death, violence.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century, for the opportunity to read an ARC.arcs-free-review-copy fantasy-fae-fairies own-kindle2 s Cat Gandhi (feedmefiction)183 9

Where to start with this book?!

I really enjoyed The Book of Sand but I can't say that I've really taken anything from it? I hope that makes sense. It definitely kept me reading because I wanted to know what was happening and I enjoyed guessing too. I'm just not sure the end was enough for me.

The book itself is quite a hefty one sitting at a comfy 600 ish pages. It's split into two parts with the first half following two narratives which merge for the second half of the book. I will say, the first half of the book felt a YA novel - it followed a teenager who didn't belong - McKenzie dreams of deserts but when she starts having 'hallucinations' she meets Newt who says he sees things too. The other narrative follows a found family unit (focusing on a guy called Spider) who are searching a desert land for an object which isn't explicitly explained but they are in competition with other 'families' to find it first.

I won't go into the second half as it would be a spoiler!

The world building was interesting for sure in The Book of Sand. The desert world has several cities in it which are mostly buried in sand. So the family would travel between Dubai and Phoenix for example - it was strange to get my head around at first!

In terms of characters I'd say the desert family were more well rounded, even though there are a lot of them - the dynamic there was interesting and kept me invested.

Overall, I've rated The Book of Sand a 3.5 as it was very easy reading and interesting - it just seemed to drift off towards the end without finishing properly and I have no idea if that is how the author intended it or not as it has been published posthumously.2 s Mollie Brook54

I was so upset when I googled Mo Hayder to see when her next book was coming out to find out she had passed away. When I saw a book was being released after her death I was happy but also sad there would never be any more.

I didnÂ’t want to start this book as it would be the last I read but IÂ’m so glad I did. It was incredible and so original - I really hope the book of clouds is released, IÂ’d love to have one more book of hers to read! 2 s Ran206

3.5 starsfantasy own published-in-20222 s Yvonne1,523 127

This is a book that completely caught me by surprise, I was aware that there were two stories involved here but how they connected was a complete curve ball!

One timeline is a group, or as they refer to themselves, a family who are surviving in an inhospitable desert. Each member has a different background and they have random memories from their previous life.

The second is of a young girl, fascinated by wind and sand. She lives in the US and is looked at as a bit of an oddity, her family don't understand her and her obsessions.

I really don't know how to start this review so it may be a little disjointed and most ly very vague! The two storylines don't seem to have any connectors in them, two completely different worlds and people. One is a world we would recognise, as it has a present-day "normal world" setting. The other is definitely not, think of something Dune but with scarier creatures that emerge at night and that has a time limit to it.

The two stories are very good in their own right, and it took me a while to realise how unconnected they both are. It is not until a lot later in the book that there is that sudden OMG moment when the author literally drops the bombshell. And it was a massive one that suddenly changed the story.

Given the slower and slightly disjointed storyline at the start of the story, I found something about this that kept me reading. I have seen very different of this and some feel that it does go on a bit long. Others and I am one, think it is perfect. I thought it was a way of the author making sure we really get to know the characters. I also found that it very subtly ramped up the mystery and intrigue and I didn't realise that until the bombshell moment.

This is a book that I really enjoyed, it is a mix of dystopian, fantasy, contemporary and mystery. It is from the pen of Mo Hayder who sadly passed away this year (July 2021) at the age of 59. This book is the first time I had read anything by her and I will be going through the back catalogue.

The Book of Sand is a story that I do think will divide readers, it is one that I found was really intriguing and it was the two separate timelines and the different worlds that really drew me in. The end section does change things a lot and it becomes darker and more dangerous.

I really enjoyed this and I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for something engaging, mysterious, dystopian and a little bit different.

2 s Aggie194 111

This book is one of the kind and you will need to look far and long to find anything even remotely close!

I wasn't sure what I got myself into when I agreed to review this book. Synopsis is very mysterious and intruiging, so I was very excited. Yet, when I read first few chapters I was utterly confused!

Half of story was happening in the desert, yet not anywhere in the world we know. Dynamics between characters were odd, with the ranking and family type bond. It's not exactly found family trope, as much as forced family trople. Is that a thing tho?
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