Rebel of the Sands Books In Order

Publication Order of Rebel of the Sands Books

Rebel of the Sands is a series of fantasy novels written by Canadian author of fiction, young adult and fantasy novels Alwyn Hamilton. Hamilton was born in Toronto, Canada but spent most of her childhood times between Canada and Europe until her parents finally settled in France. She was raised up in a small town there, which might have compelled her to write and developed a weakness in fantasy. Alwyn has been named as a New York Times-bestselling author for her debut novel, Rebel of the Sands in a series by the same name which debuted in 2016 and published in the United Kingdom by Children’s Books and in the United States by Viking Children’s Books. In 2016, the author also won Goodreads Choice Awards for her debut novel.

Rebel of the Sands

Rebel of the Sands is the debut novel in Rebel of the Sands series by Alwyn Hamilton. The story kicks off with a shooting competition where we have introduced Amani a girl disguised as a boy. She needs to win this competition so that she could have the money to escape her hometown, Dustwalk and navigate her way all to Izman, a place where her mother always told good stories about. The place was rumored to be somewhere where a girl like Amani would have her freedom and finally make her choices. However, her mother perished almost over a year ago forcing Amani to live with her uncle and aunt- but they are awful and treat her badly. Firstly her uncle wants to marry Amani off so that he can no longer take care of her and secondly he wants to marry her himself.

Dustwalk is clearly a dead end town for her or any girl, and it makes sense that she would rather perish trying to leave town than stay and be married to her own blood. In this competition, Amani meets a strange foreigner who offers her a perfect opportunity to leave town finally, but Amani has no idea that her world is about to change forever.

Amani is not your average girl; she is very tough, feisty badass. She is smart-mouthed, has an attitude but above all she is strong, determined and compassionate. Additionally, she is very good with a gun- a sharpshooter. Every single chapter of the Rebel of the Sands ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting to read more and more. The world building in this debut novel is brilliantly done. In most cases, Desert setting are nothing in new young adults but this desert fantasy Alwyn Hamilton has created is superb and a little different. Trains, guns, and other technology you are aware of the existence and so does ghouls, magic, and Djinni. The world is highly controlled by men and polygamy seems to be the order of the day. Amani’s uncle has many wives and children such that at one point the author quotes them to being more than there are hours in the day. While you might not agree or like the idea of polygamy in the real world, the usage in this story helps build its authenticity resulting to richness to the world building.

The male protagonist is Jin, a foreigner mentioned in the book synopsis. He is handsome, charming and adept in a fight and additionally he is also physically well-built and extremely intelligent. For the greater part of the story, Jin is not disclosed who he is, but when it is finally revealed, it comes as a surprise not only to the readers but to Amani as well. There are other secondary casts in the story, well woven and contributing nicely to drawing out the traits of the main characters. First, there is Shazad, a strong female character, Bahi, and Hala. In addition to the fantasy in Rebel of the Sands, the author also introduced a subtle romance in the story- the blossoming relationship between Jin and Amani. There is no “I love you” vibes thrown in and no one makes a hasty decision for the sake of the other.
The setting of the Rebel of the Sands has a carefully crafted, beautiful plot filled with ancient tales, myths, magic horses, desert fantasy, a touch of slow-burning romance and rebel princes. It is the perfect blend that will leave you turning pages for more.

Traitor to the Throne

In Traitor to the Throne, Amani has found her freedom and escaped her small town on the back of a strange horse with Jin in pursuit of her own freedom. In this installment, we meet Amani fighting to save an entire desert throne of Miraj from a ruthless and murderous sultan who murdered his father so that he could have the throne to himself.

When Amani is thrown in at the center-stage of the throne- the sultan’s kingdom- she is determined to bring down the ruthless leader. Eager to expose the ferocious king dark secrets by surveying his court, Amani must get over the fact that her new mysterious friend Jin vanished as she was learning to know him. The longer Amani remains in the sultan’s kingdom surveying; the more questions come knocking and soon she finds herself questioning whether Sultan is indeed the bad man she has been told about or whether there is a traitor in his midst.

Hero at the Fall

When the gun-wielding Amani escaped from her boring town, she never thought that she would become part of a revolution or let alone organize one. However, her sadistic Sultan of Miraj to captive the Rebel Prince in the city of Fremont and she does not have a choice but to lead a revolution and bring justice to a land oppressed. Armed with a revolver, her untamable Demdji powers, and her wits, Amani must rally her alliances for a rescue mission through the rough desert to a place that according to the maps does not exist. As she watches those dear most to her lay their lives against the enemy soldiers and the ghouls, Amani questions herself whether she can be the leader they need or if she is sending them all to their traps.

The climax of Hero at the Fall is something totally different, and there is victory and loss on both sides and twist and turns at every page. For young adult fantasy fans, Rebel of the Sands series by Alwyn Hamilton is a series worth your time.