Sands of Time

by Barbara Erskine

Haunting tales from the shifting sands of time.A brilliant new collection of stories, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Lady of Hay and Hiding from the Light. Sands of Time features two intriguing long stories that pick up the fortunes of characters from Whispers in the Sand, Barbara Erskine's captivating novel of Egypt. Still haunted by ancient mysteries, and the subject of dark intentions, Anna and Louisa must once more do battle with the past in order to survive the present. Here, too, are a host of other tales, all with a touch of the unexpected...A happily married woman has an affair – with a man who died in the First World War...Who is the little girl on the swing in the garden – and why does only Charlotte see her? And how can a traveller find herself transported suddenly from her airplane seat to the snowy Canadian wastes below? Suspense, romance, passion, unexpected echoes of the past – vintage Barbara Erskine, and storytelling at its most compelling.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Romance, Historical, Paranormal, Fantasy

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

An historian by training, Barbara Erskine is the author of six bestselling novels that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural, plus two collections of short stories. Her books have appeared in at least twenty different languages. She lives with her family in an ancient manor house near Colchester, and in a cottage near Hay-on-Wye.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...

This is not Erskine at her best. A collection of short stories, I found many of them to be repetitive, featuring similar storylines and not very developed. I find this author writes cracking historical novels, lengthy ones at that, but these short stories were not a reflection of her skills as a writer.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Barbara Erskine and I will assure other readers to not think this collection shows the extent of her talents. On the other hand, I truly understand the disappointment of my fellow readers. Erskine jams a rather large quantity of short stories in this collection and the stories begin to appear too similar to be outstanding. By the end, the characters all seemed to have the same storyline.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice collection of short stories. These ones all involved some kind of person or thing out of place in time. Some are ghostly presence. Others are more physical.

I really like reading collections of short stories and this one did not disappoint me.

[Gina]

Excellent in terms of tying up the story to 'Whispers in the Sand,' The other short short stories - although quite repetitive after a while are a nice bonus, I would definately highly recommend this to fans of Erksine.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a big fan of short stories, so didn't really enjoy this book that much x x

[Stephanie Woods]

Did not enjoy the short stories.

[Melanie Bonnici · Rating 1 out of 5]

It seemed like all the short stories had practically the same plot. It got boring after a while.

[Grace-Elisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories are too predictable and formulaic.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sands Of Time by Barbara Erskine is a marvellous collection of short stories that will entertain the reader.
The first and last stories are longer, both following on from the end of Whispers In The Sand. Here, the reader learns what happened next for Louisa in Victorian times and Anna in present day.
All the stories have unexplainable elements to them that enchant the reader and fire up the imagination. I did have a favourite – Barney – it was totally charming. See which one you like best.
Sands Of Time was a lovely collection and the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

[Susan Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of short stories but am a big fan if Barbara Erskine. Some of the stories were good but others less so. Short stories don’t give me the depth that I like. I enjoyed the first and last best as those were the ones which carried on the story of the blue bottle down the years. The blue bottle was from Whispers in the Sand and it was good to have a conclusion l

[Carrie Hetherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Erskine is my favourite author, I have all her books and would highly recommend each and every one. You won't be able to put them down! There are characters from the past and present intertwined in a single story, grounded in historical fiction and they're always full of ghosts. Gripping.

[Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Barbara Erskine, but I’m not a big fan of short stories. The stories that I especially liked were the ones that intertwined with her book Whispers in the Sand. The others were over too quickly and don’t go into enough depth and detail, but are still worth a read.

[Outlander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories that are (aside from the last & the first) very short & sweet, very entertaining. The two asides are both sequels to "Whispers in the Sand", which is one of the few B Erskine novels I have not really enjoyed.

[Olly Boston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could not get into the first and last stories at all but maybe if I read the previous book then maybe it would've made sense? But yeah wasn't a *massive* fan of this but did thoroughly enjoy the short stories inbetween though.

[Maggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two of the stories follow on directly from "whispers in the sand"

[Sophie Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping, atmospheric and eerie short stories with an ancient Egyptian twist...Excellent!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I brought this book for my Moms birthday! Both of us had finished reading in less than a week! Excellent!

[Jill Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of Barbara books I read and then I was hooked

[Ke Yu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good start, but then when the theme repeats over and over throughout the book with little anything else...

[Fusquenllo · Rating 3 out of 5]

La mitad de las historias parecen cortadas por el mismo patrón, pero sigue siendo una lectura agradable

[Sadie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection of short stories were frankly boring, repetitive and so old fashioned in the thinking.

[Sandra Bjarnason · Rating 5 out of 5]

10

[Sharon Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love Barbara Erskine books, I have read every one and I could not wait to get my hands on this book, as having read 'Whispers in the Sand', I was desperate to read the next part of the story.

I really loved reading this story, as I felt I had a conclusion to the story 'Whispers in the Sand', which gripped me in a way that I really did not expect. The short stories that are included are an added extra. Highly recommended , but please read Whispers in the sand first - you won't be disappointed!!

[Aileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story collection contained some very good stories, in particular the two follow-ups to Whispers in the Sand. Some of the others, I felt could have been expanded on. However I thought the majority seemed to be variations of the same theme and much too similar to enjoy reading so close together. I think I much prefer the author's epic tales.

[Cathie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some of the stories in Sands of Time and some were not up to Barbara Erskine's talent. Sands of Time is a book of approximately seven short stories, but I only liked about half of the stories so I can only give this 3 stars.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Barbara Erskine bring past with present and weaver people lives together. One of my top 3 writers.

[Tania Easton]

Not that great, I didnt like all the short stories and they were all the same. But it was good to read the 2 short stories that finish Whisper's in the sand.

[Rosslyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am I missing something? I really haven't enjoyed the two books of hers I have read!

[Kim Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because of the continuing stories of Anna and Louisa from Whispers in the Sand. I don't often read short stories but enjoyed this very much!

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories. All 'ghost stories'. Beautifully written.