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dantastic's review
3.0
Rush was a sand diver until his son died and he sank into a booze-soaked depression. When a stranger wanders into the bar where he works, Rush has a difficult choice to make...
Timothy Ward has been one of my Goodreads friends for a while now. When he mentioned needing a few more reviews of Scavenger before he put out another book, I said I'd give it a shot.
Scavenger takes place in the world of Hugh Howley's Sand but I was able to follow the story without reading it. America covered with Sand, there are sand divers looking for the lost city of Danvar, etc.
The plot is the classic "I have your wife so you have to do this for me" scenario. Ward puts a nice spin on it by putting it in Howley's setting. The character of Rush was by far the most interesting part of the tale. His insurmountable grief for his son and descent into alcoholism were completely believable.
Honestly, Ward didn't need the Sand setting for this. He could have easily tweaked it into a serviceable western or crime short story. However, the setting added some grittiness (get it?) to the tale. There were some claustrophobic moments near the end that reminded me of events in Howley's Wool.
About the only thing I had to complain about was that I wanted more. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Timothy Ward has been one of my Goodreads friends for a while now. When he mentioned needing a few more reviews of Scavenger before he put out another book, I said I'd give it a shot.
Scavenger takes place in the world of Hugh Howley's Sand but I was able to follow the story without reading it. America covered with Sand, there are sand divers looking for the lost city of Danvar, etc.
The plot is the classic "I have your wife so you have to do this for me" scenario. Ward puts a nice spin on it by putting it in Howley's setting. The character of Rush was by far the most interesting part of the tale. His insurmountable grief for his son and descent into alcoholism were completely believable.
Honestly, Ward didn't need the Sand setting for this. He could have easily tweaked it into a serviceable western or crime short story. However, the setting added some grittiness (get it?) to the tale. There were some claustrophobic moments near the end that reminded me of events in Howley's Wool.
About the only thing I had to complain about was that I wanted more. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
expendablemudge's review
3.0
Rating: 3* of five
The Publisher Says: Hugh Howey's novel, SAND, introduced us to a future America covered in sand and the terrorists who will stop at nothing to unearth the fabled city of Danvar.
Scavenger centers on the story of Divemaster Rush, a bereaved father and estranged husband who is offered a job he can't refuse. Rush can either harden his heart and survive or risk his life for what already seems lost.
Scavenger can be read without having read SAND. Written and sold with permission from Hugh Howey.
My Review: I haven't read SAND, but this novelette set in the same universe makes me want to. The idea of a future of endless, shifting desert sands has resonance for my South Texan desertification-fearin' self. (Hey, the Rio Grande is a dry ditch in a lot of places. THAT is scary as fuck, people.)
Nice story indeed, and Rush is a character I can easily imagine tent-poling a novel. The Honorable Man among the Degenerates is an evergreen for a reason. I suspect this post-apocalyptic world can support quite a lot of stories. (One of my personal tests for good world-building is to see if I can imagine other characters in the setting, and see them in gripping stories that are wholly their own.)
It's 99ยข on Kindle, and it's a pleasant way to wile away an hour. Support indie SF and take a chance on this exciting tale.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Publisher Says: Hugh Howey's novel, SAND, introduced us to a future America covered in sand and the terrorists who will stop at nothing to unearth the fabled city of Danvar.
Scavenger centers on the story of Divemaster Rush, a bereaved father and estranged husband who is offered a job he can't refuse. Rush can either harden his heart and survive or risk his life for what already seems lost.
Scavenger can be read without having read SAND. Written and sold with permission from Hugh Howey.
My Review: I haven't read SAND, but this novelette set in the same universe makes me want to. The idea of a future of endless, shifting desert sands has resonance for my South Texan desertification-fearin' self. (Hey, the Rio Grande is a dry ditch in a lot of places. THAT is scary as fuck, people.)
Nice story indeed, and Rush is a character I can easily imagine tent-poling a novel. The Honorable Man among the Degenerates is an evergreen for a reason. I suspect this post-apocalyptic world can support quite a lot of stories. (One of my personal tests for good world-building is to see if I can imagine other characters in the setting, and see them in gripping stories that are wholly their own.)
It's 99ยข on Kindle, and it's a pleasant way to wile away an hour. Support indie SF and take a chance on this exciting tale.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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