The Book of Sand

The Book of Sand: the first novel in an epic series created by one of the most gifted and invented storytellers of the twenty-first century.

'Shocking and satisfying ...a compelling, absorbingly different quest fantasy' Guardian
'An utterly original novel from an extraordinarily creative mind' Karin Slaughter
'Unique and fearless' Mark Billingham
'I inhaled it! It's beautifully written and utterly compelling' Harriet Tyce
'Fearless and compelling, lyrical and devastating by turns, the story never slackens pace.' Jane Corry


SAND. A hostile world of burning sun.

Outlines of several once-busy cities shimmer on the horizon. Now empty of inhabitants, their buildings lie in ruins.

In the distance a group of people - a family - walk towards us.

Ahead lies shelter: a 'shuck' the family call home and which they know they must reach before the light fails, as to be out after dark is to invite danger and almost certain death.

To survive in this alien world of shifting sand, they must find an object hidden in or near water. But other families want it too. And they are willing to fight to the death to make it theirs.

It is beginning to rain in Fairfax County, Virginia when McKenzie Strathie wakes up. An ordinary teenage girl living an ordinary life - except that the previous night she found a sand-lizard in her bed, and now she's beginning to question everything around her, especially who she really is ...

Two very different worlds featuring a group of extraordinary characters driven to the very limit of their endurance in a place where only the strongest will survive.

More praise for The Book of Sand ...

'Audacious, extraordinary and absolutely awesome' Alex North
'A future classic that exists between darkness and light. I was completely entranced by it' Christopher Fowler
'A huge and brilliant and engaging read. It feels like a place I have been to rather than words on a page' Alice Jolly
'A remarkable achievement' Shots Magazine
'What we have here is a fantasy about faith and the search for spiritual certainty... [an] ambitious religious parable.' FT


Readers love The Book of Sand ...

'This was the best reading experience of a lifetime. I fear the words haven't yet been invented to describe how good the book is. It deserves to be a huge bestseller.'
'I would absolutely die for a movie adaptation of this one in the future!'
'The Book of Sand is dazzling, lyrical, surreal and a beautiful legacy.'
'An absolute must read!'
'I did not want to put it down at any point.'
'A gripping read.'
'Couldn't put it down. 5.'
'This was a *page turner that was totally original in concept.'

Auteur

THEO CLARE left school at fifteen. She worked as a barmaid, security guard, filmmaker, hostess in a Tokyo club, educational administrator and teacher of English as a foreign language in Asia. She had an MA in film from The American University in Washington, DC and an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University, UK.

She wrote crime novels under the name Mo Hayder, and her fifth novel Ritual was nominated for the Barry Award for Best Crime 2009 and was voted Best Book of 2008 by Publishers Weekly. Gone, her seventh novel, won the Edgar Allan Poe Award, and her novel Wolf was nominated for Best Novel in the 2015 Edgar Awards and is currently being adapted for the BBC. Set primarily in an alternate universe, her most recent novel, The Book of Sand, will be published posthumously in early 2022.

Theo Clare was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December 2020 and passed away in July 2021.

She leaves behind a husband and daughter, a powerful legacy of books, and an incredible number of people who loved and admired her.

Texte du rabat

The Book of Sand: the first novel in an epic series created by one of the most gifted and invented storytellers of the twenty-first century.

'Shocking and satisfying ...a compelling, absorbingly different quest fantasy' Guardian
'An utterly original novel from an extraordinarily creative mind' Karin Slaughter
'Unique and fearless' Mark Billingham
'I inhaled it! It's beautifully written and utterly compelling' Harriet Tyce
'Fearless and compelling, lyrical and devastating by turns, the story never slackens pace.' Jane Corry


SAND. A hostile world of burning sun.

Outlines of several once-busy cities shimmer on the horizon. Now empty of inhabitants, their buildings lie in ruins.

In the distance a group of people - a family - walk towards us.

Ahead lies shelter: a 'shuck' the family call home and which they know they must reach before the light fails, as to be out after dark is to invite danger and almost certain death.

To survive in this alien world of shifting sand, they must find an object hidden in or near water. But other families want it too. And they are willing to fight to the death to make it theirs.

It is beginning to rain in Fairfax County, Virginia when McKenzie Strathie wakes up. An ordinary teenage girl living an ordinary life - except that the previous night she found a sand-lizard in her bed, and now she's beginning to question everything around her, especially who she really is ...

Two very different worlds featuring a group of extraordinary characters driven to the very limit of their endurance in a place where only the strongest will survive.

More praise for The Book of Sand ...

'Audacious, extraordinary and absolutely awesome' Alex North
'A future classic that exists between darkness and light. I was completely entranced by it' Christopher Fowler
'A huge and brilliant and engaging read. It feels like a place I have been to rather than words on a page' Alice Jolly
'A remarkable achievement' Shots Magazine
'What we have here is a fantasy about faith and the search for spiritual certainty... [an] ambitious religious parable.' FT


Readers love The Book of Sand ...

'This was the best reading experience of a lifetime. I fear the words haven't yet been invented to describe how good the book is. It deserves to be a huge bestseller.'
'I would absolutely die for a movie adaptation of this one in the future!'
'The Book of Sand is dazzling, lyrical, surreal and a beautiful legacy.'
'An absolute must read!'
'I did not want to put it down at any point.'
'A gripping read.'
'Couldn't put it down. 5.'
'This was a *page turner that was totally original in concept.'

Résumé

The Book of Sand: the first novel in an epic series created by one of the most gifted and invented storytellers of the twenty-first century.

'Shocking and satisfying ...a compelling, absorbingly different quest fantasy' Guardian
'An utterly original novel from an extraordinarily creative mind' Karin Slaughter
'Unique and fearless' Mark Billingham
'I inhaled it! It's beautifully written and utterly compelling' Harriet Tyce
'Fearless and compelling, lyrical and devastating by turns, the story never slackens pace.' Jane Corry


SAND. A hostile world of burning sun.

Outlines of several once-busy cities shimmer on the horizon. Now empty of inhabitants, their buildings lie in ruins.

In the distance a group of people - a family - walk towards us.

Ahead lies shelter: a 'shuck' the family call home and which they know they must reach before the light fail…