“So, we were discussing Substack books, or rather books written by Substack authors,”
“Right, so many good books. It’s actually almost frustrating.”
“I know right? Too much to read, too little time. Anyway, I heard you finished the Sandbox Earth by Scooch?”
“It’s ‘Scoot’ actually.”
“Sure. Tell us about that, did you like it?”
“Yeah yeah of course. I did like it, a lot. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect based on the name, so I’ll give you a quick synopsis.
“So, Sandbox Earth is a science fiction novel by Scoot. It is an oral history chronicling humanity’s First Contact with aliens. It’s got a hyper realistic feel to it, like the movie District 9 in a way. It reads like legitimate interview transcripts, giving just the right amount of detail, and in the right way, to paint vast pictures without breaking the interview format. It can be really hard not to give too much description or information when it’s in the mouth of a character, because you don’t have prose to do that with. Scoot does a great job of bringing you into the story through the characters’ eyes. Each character being interviewed is distinct too, lending to the realism and readability. This book is a masterclass in the oral history form of story. It requires a soft touch and the ability to put yourself, as a writer, into the mind of the character speaking. Well done, Scoot, these were great. These stories also set up the entire Sandbox Earth universe, which houses a great deal of stories.
Also, there isn’t a cover for the book, so the image is a hand drawn map by the man himself.
Read original Note here.
