I was expecting big things from Sand. I loved the Wool trilogy,which was my very first toe-dip into sci-fi. So, what did I think of Sand? Am I a sci-fi convert?

SAND

Sand is set far, far into the future, where the world we know today, is ancient, buried long ago under hundreds of meters of windswept sand dunes. The book focuses on one flawed family, which is as far from solid as the fine grains they stand on. There is Palmer, the eldest son, Vic, the only daughter, Conner and Rob the younger siblings and a Mother who chooses to own, run and work at the local whorehouse, the Honey Hole. Dad walked out of the family tent 12 years ago and never returned.

Sand seeps into their lives every day, in their clothes, eyes, mouth and well, everywhere. The sand dunes are oppressive and baron to live on, yet the siblings in this family rely on the sand for ‘coin’. Diving deep down into the sand in their carefully handcrafted suits, searching for treasures and relics. Palmer or ‘Palm’ to his family gets an offer from his best mate Hap. Hap thinks he has struck it big with an opportunity of a lifetime. Palm goes along for the ride, yet all too quickly knows in the pit of his stomach that this is not an offer he should have got caught up in. The sands then begin to shift for all of them.

Hugh’s pace in this book is stand out. There are times at the end of some chapters that I quietly gasped. Either because of the shock of the plot twist, or the tightening of my own throat from being down there, in the suffocating, cold, heavy sand with Palmer and Vic.

Each chapter brings something new; a location, a character, a sibling, a twist and it is all planned out so carefully. I loved reading this book, I loved the fact that yet again Hugh created a strong female lead character and I looked forward to each chapter and just like this guy. I will be buying Sand in paperback.

I won’t be reading Sand – Youtube

Reading it on the Kindle was great, but this is a book I will return to, and will want to do so turning real pages, as well as wanting to have this haunting, beautiful cover on my book case.

So am I a sci-fi convert? I certainly won’t become the next Sheldon Cooper anytime soon, but I will certainly be tempted to delve a little further into the Sci-Fi world.

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