Book Review: Rebel of the Sands

Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton

(Expected publication: March 2017)

Rating: 3/5 stars

Premise– (3.5/5)

First of all, I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but this one is gorgeous! That was definitely one of the reasons I picked up this book. The premise for Rebel of the Sands is pretty broad, and promises a lot, so I was a little nervous. Desert girl Amani needs to get out of her small town in the middle of nowhere, before she winds up like her mother, or worse. But when she finally gets out, she’ll be running for her life, and with a mysterious stranger nonetheless. On the journey of her life, Amani is about to get surprise after surprise.

Characters– (3.5/5)

Generally, I liked Amani. The sharpshooter aspect of her personality was very unique; you don’t see a lot of guns mixed with fantasy, so that was interesting to read. She could be a little over-the-top sometimes in playing out the ‘tough girl’ role, but was mostly likable. As for Jin, I think his character needed to be filled out a little more. He was keeping secrets for so much of the book, I felt it was hard to get to know him and sympathize too much. I’m excited to see more of Amani’s half-brother and that conflict going forward, and I’m sort of hoping one or two of her cousins will show up again. I think there’s a lot of potential for interesting character development there, particularly for Shira. And I would like to see more of the Rebel Prince and his camp, too. While I can’t say I’ve fallen in with any of the characters (though I like Shazad a lot so far), I’m looking forward to seeing them in book two.

Plot– (3/5)

Though the book isn’t especially long, the plot seemed to be somewhat spread out nonetheless. It was a lot for one book, but was broken up in a way which I didn’t love. Amani’s escape from Dustwalk took longer than I think it really needed too, especially since there were characters in that town who vanished after Amani had escaped (unless they come back in later books). Then her trip with Jin across the desert slowed down some of the action as well; there was a lot of traveling. Things really picked up for me once Amani got to the rebel camp and started considering her place and possible future there. The plotting was a little awkward for me, with chapters I felt impatient to be finished with, but in the end there was an exciting and interesting climax.

Setting– (3.5/5)

The fantasy-wild-west combination was interesting to read. It definitely took some explaining on Hamilton’s part to make that particular mix work, but I think she pulled it off reasonably well. It wasn’t the most detailed world I’ve seen written, but I never felt totally lost. Having Amani be somewhat in the dark about her own country was an interesting thing for her to deal with as a character, but it also provided an easy avenue for world building. As Jin explained some of the finer points of Miraji to Amani, Hamilton was doing the same for her readers. An unusual tactic, but one I thought worked well.

Writing– (3/5)

Hamilton’s writing style was easy to read, with an interesting world and characters with a lot of potential. It definitely didn’t strike me as being quite as beautiful as some of my favorite books, but it was very readable and clear.

Overall– (3.3/5)

Rebel of the Sands is a story of rebellion set in a fascinating world that blends magic with the wild west. Though the plotting is a little stop-and-go, Hamilton’s characters show a lot of potential for development. Rebel of the Sands is Hamilton’s debut novel, and while I think that shows a little, I also think it’s a pretty good debut. I’m looking forward to reading the second book!

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