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Sandman
No one would suspect such a little boy of such horrible acts...
Paul Kelly had a very big temper for such a small boy. When he tired of his toys he smashed them. When a dog or cat got in his way, he kicked them. And when other children told on him, he made sure they were very, very sorry . . .
CHILD’S PLAY . . .
But that was nothing compared to what Paul discovered next. Which was that if he didn’t like certain people, he could make it so he’d never have to see them again. Ever. And no one would suspect such a little boy of such a horrible deed. Of such monstrous powers. No one would ever guess that killing could be much more fun than playing with dump trucks and sandboxes. Especially the way Paul did it . . .
Paul Kelly had a very big temper for such a small boy. When he tired of his toys he smashed them. When a dog or cat got in his way, he kicked them. And when other children told on him, he made sure they were very, very sorry . . .
CHILD’S PLAY . . .
But that was nothing compared to what Paul discovered next. Which was that if he didn’t like certain people, he could make it so he’d never have to see them again. Ever. And no one would suspect such a little boy of such a horrible deed. Of such monstrous powers. No one would ever guess that killing could be much more fun than playing with dump trucks and sandboxes. Especially the way Paul did it . . .
- GenresHorror
432 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1988
About the author
William W. Johnstone
1,065 books1,465 followersWilliam W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 20, 2024
With a Johnstone horror novel you know you’re in for some serious craziness. Sandman doesn’t disappoint in this regard, featuring a devil child, voodoo, sand creatures, the living dead and even naked zombies on horseback this has enough madness to satisfy anyone looking for a terrifyingly good read.
October 1, 2023
Johnstone returns to his standard good versus evil motif here and launches into the story with little preamble. Paul Kelly, age 8, has always been a nasty little boy, killing pets and animals for fun, stealing from his parents, and 'wandering' at night around town. His parents are at their wits end about what to do about him; is he just a bad seed? Sandman starts with the family on vacation in the Bahamas and while there, Paul runs into two ancient voodoo priests (man and wife) assuming a bodily form, as they have been dead, or undead, for almost 100 years.
The two priests give Paul a gift, some 'magic' sand, that mixed with blood turns into horrible sand creatures, vaguely shaped like humans, that have a thirst for fresh, human blood. The voodoo priests also know Paul is the son of the devil. Now, the devil has been 'sent back' to Earth many times, but with Paul, he is very powerful. After some nasty foo, the family returns to Arizona and the real fun begins.
Johnstone gives us here one of his most straight forward narratives. We have the devil boy Paul versus an oddball cast that includes a priest, cops, some doctors, a PI, and the head inspector from the Bahamas. When all kinds of foo, including sandmen, zombies and such starts to hit the small town, they must somehow figure out a way to kill Paul (and his demon 'brother' who can manifest himself at times), but how to kill him? Plus, half the people think he is just a troubled 8 year old kid!
Even though Sandman has an array of nasties, this is not a bat shit crazy as some of Johnstone's other work. Further, the pacing, one of Johnstone's fortes, lags quite a bit in places. Still, if you enjoy your horror on the trashy side and like Johnstone's good versus evil romps, you could do worse. 3 sandy stars!
The two priests give Paul a gift, some 'magic' sand, that mixed with blood turns into horrible sand creatures, vaguely shaped like humans, that have a thirst for fresh, human blood. The voodoo priests also know Paul is the son of the devil. Now, the devil has been 'sent back' to Earth many times, but with Paul, he is very powerful. After some nasty foo, the family returns to Arizona and the real fun begins.
Johnstone gives us here one of his most straight forward narratives. We have the devil boy Paul versus an oddball cast that includes a priest, cops, some doctors, a PI, and the head inspector from the Bahamas. When all kinds of foo, including sandmen, zombies and such starts to hit the small town, they must somehow figure out a way to kill Paul (and his demon 'brother' who can manifest himself at times), but how to kill him? Plus, half the people think he is just a troubled 8 year old kid!
Even though Sandman has an array of nasties, this is not a bat shit crazy as some of Johnstone's other work. Further, the pacing, one of Johnstone's fortes, lags quite a bit in places. Still, if you enjoy your horror on the trashy side and like Johnstone's good versus evil romps, you could do worse. 3 sandy stars!
May 30, 2018
"Fucking makes me hungry" - Paul Kelly (8 y/o)
William W. Johnstone is not a master of literary finesse. And he knows that. And what he lacks in nutritional literary value, he more than makes up for in telling a balls-to-the-wall, batshit crazy, breakneck-paced, entertaining thrillride of a horror novel.
Gore, guns, and gratuitous nudity are the names of the game here. Tasteless acts of violence and rape (of all ages and genders) are described then swiftly forgotten about - just another day in Johnstone's world.
Paul Kelly makes for a delightfully obnoxious "bad seed" character, making one ponder why his parents didn't kill him before it became apparent he was the Antichrist. With Paul at the focal point, Johnstone conjures up a tale involving voodoo, sand creatures that can squeeze your intestines out like toothpaste, sand that bites you and induces madness, nude vampire-zombies roaming the desert on horseback, slimy invisible demons, talking severed heads, and the most diabolical enemy of all - the goddamned liberal press.
I only have two complaints. One: the presence of the sand creatures is dropped about midway through and the book focuses more on the routine (though still entertaining) descent of the town into possessed madness. A major bummer, since the sand creatures were horrifying, unique, and, above all, the title of the damn book. Two: things get wrapped up very, very quickly. To call Paul's comeuppance "breezed over" would be quite the understatement. Johnstone openly acknowledges all the loose ends he's left by the book's conclusion, attempting to view them more as cliffhangers than forgotten characters. Maybe he was planning a sequel? God, I hope he was.
If you've ever wondered what a mix of Fulci gore, Wynorski camp value, and Golan & Globus action (with dollops of sexual depravity thrown in to spice things up) would look like in book form, Sandman is the answer to your prayers. Lord knows it was the answer to mine.
William W. Johnstone is not a master of literary finesse. And he knows that. And what he lacks in nutritional literary value, he more than makes up for in telling a balls-to-the-wall, batshit crazy, breakneck-paced, entertaining thrillride of a horror novel.
Gore, guns, and gratuitous nudity are the names of the game here. Tasteless acts of violence and rape (of all ages and genders) are described then swiftly forgotten about - just another day in Johnstone's world.
Paul Kelly makes for a delightfully obnoxious "bad seed" character, making one ponder why his parents didn't kill him before it became apparent he was the Antichrist. With Paul at the focal point, Johnstone conjures up a tale involving voodoo, sand creatures that can squeeze your intestines out like toothpaste, sand that bites you and induces madness, nude vampire-zombies roaming the desert on horseback, slimy invisible demons, talking severed heads, and the most diabolical enemy of all - the goddamned liberal press.
I only have two complaints. One: the presence of the sand creatures is dropped about midway through and the book focuses more on the routine (though still entertaining) descent of the town into possessed madness. A major bummer, since the sand creatures were horrifying, unique, and, above all, the title of the damn book. Two: things get wrapped up very, very quickly. To call Paul's comeuppance "breezed over" would be quite the understatement. Johnstone openly acknowledges all the loose ends he's left by the book's conclusion, attempting to view them more as cliffhangers than forgotten characters. Maybe he was planning a sequel? God, I hope he was.
If you've ever wondered what a mix of Fulci gore, Wynorski camp value, and Golan & Globus action (with dollops of sexual depravity thrown in to spice things up) would look like in book form, Sandman is the answer to your prayers. Lord knows it was the answer to mine.
August 28, 2026
Sandman is one of Johnstone's best over-the-top, frenetically paced, schlocky, absolutely weird horror novels of the 1980's. The summary on the back cover is more than a little off, perhaps because the blurb-writer was driven mad by trying to keep up. Johnstone seems to get tired of sand creatures halfway through and inserts naked zombies on horseback. He has a whole town taken over by evil, as he did with a few hundred of his Western novels and many of his other horror and men's adventure ones. There's a lot of sexual activity, much of it Satan-inspired and pedophilic in nature. There are good guys and bad guys, and you know which ones are which. It's a wild, fast-paced ride, and compelling in its way; Johnstone was a terrific storyteller, though continuity and making sense weren't his strong suits. I enjoyed it. The cover is one of the greatest of the classic Zebra horror line. It was painted by Richard Newton, who did several for Zebra, including a few other Johnstones. It has a toothy smiling skeleton sitting on a crescent Moon wearing fuzzy pink bedroom slippers and a nightcap, holding an infant wrapped in a pink blanket and wearing a sun bonnet in his right arm and sprinkling sand or cocaine or something with his left hand. I seem to remember a very similar sign in front of a motel near St. Pete beach... Soundtrack? The Chordettes, of course!
August 26, 2012
Good spooky read...fast moving...if you like zombie stories, you'll like this one...
December 12, 2022
Holy frijole, this might be the single most competent Johnstone novel I've come across yet, which is really saying something given that cover image. It's also the most subdued one, with almost none of the hard-right political and religious diatribes we get in most of his other works. While there's an abundance of violence and sexual assault, Johnstone manages to leave it mostly off-screen or confined to simple descriptions about a character being attacked by someone else and their clothing being torn off.
Lots of clothes being torn off teenage girls in this story, actually, now that I think about it. Trigger warnings required -- a phrase I imagine would have Johnstone apoplectic with exasperation were he alive to encounter it in my review, so sorry, ol' buddy, but the truth sometimes hurts.
Incest angles, which also tend to regularly surface in Johnstone's horror stories, are hinted at, or rather threatened by the demon child that is Paul, but never actually come to pass, although there is a scene of a possessed father attacking his own daughter during the final siege part of the book. As with all the other assaults though, very little is described.
There's one dickish reporter (let's face it, there's always a dickish reporter in his books), but he doesn't show up until 97% of the story's over with, and there are three reporters who behave like normal people to cancel him out. Did Johnstone actually encounter an editor who made him tone his stuff down, or was he pounding out his manuscript with his fingers instead of his dong?
Hell, even the plot is semi-comprehensible, even though it's sort of a re-tread of The Devil's Heart. As is typical for Johnstone's work around this time, there are entirely too many characters, and none is particularly engaging. By the end of the book, a number of people have been killed off and referred to by name, but because everyone in a Johnstone book regardless of age or gender sounds like they're written by a 40-year old male, you'll have a hard time keeping them all separate. But the guy even tries to throw in a curve ball/mystery in the last few chapters which serves to remind the audience that he's at least working on stepping up his plotting game. I also burned through this entire 430-page paperback in a single day, something which normally doesn't happen with Johnstone's stories. Despite its length, there really aren't any "boring bits" here.
Don't get me wrong: this is still batshit crazy. It's Johnstone, after all; batshittery of the highest caliber is the order of the day, but it's among the most approachable batshit crazy novels of his I've read. It's violent, to be sure, but Johnstone left out the gleeful depravity which exists in so many of his other tales, making it more palatable to perhaps a wider audience. That said, if you're coming to Johnstone because of that gleeful depravity, this might be a negative so temper your expectations. All in all though, I think this is a perfectly fine example of the man's "Hell comes to Small Town, USA" plot horse he rode through the 80s and 90s. For a Zebra book, it honestly doesn't get much better than this.
Lots of clothes being torn off teenage girls in this story, actually, now that I think about it. Trigger warnings required -- a phrase I imagine would have Johnstone apoplectic with exasperation were he alive to encounter it in my review, so sorry, ol' buddy, but the truth sometimes hurts.
Incest angles, which also tend to regularly surface in Johnstone's horror stories, are hinted at, or rather threatened by the demon child that is Paul, but never actually come to pass, although there is a scene of a possessed father attacking his own daughter during the final siege part of the book. As with all the other assaults though, very little is described.
There's one dickish reporter (let's face it, there's always a dickish reporter in his books), but he doesn't show up until 97% of the story's over with, and there are three reporters who behave like normal people to cancel him out. Did Johnstone actually encounter an editor who made him tone his stuff down, or was he pounding out his manuscript with his fingers instead of his dong?
Hell, even the plot is semi-comprehensible, even though it's sort of a re-tread of The Devil's Heart. As is typical for Johnstone's work around this time, there are entirely too many characters, and none is particularly engaging. By the end of the book, a number of people have been killed off and referred to by name, but because everyone in a Johnstone book regardless of age or gender sounds like they're written by a 40-year old male, you'll have a hard time keeping them all separate. But the guy even tries to throw in a curve ball/mystery in the last few chapters which serves to remind the audience that he's at least working on stepping up his plotting game. I also burned through this entire 430-page paperback in a single day, something which normally doesn't happen with Johnstone's stories. Despite its length, there really aren't any "boring bits" here.
Don't get me wrong: this is still batshit crazy. It's Johnstone, after all; batshittery of the highest caliber is the order of the day, but it's among the most approachable batshit crazy novels of his I've read. It's violent, to be sure, but Johnstone left out the gleeful depravity which exists in so many of his other tales, making it more palatable to perhaps a wider audience. That said, if you're coming to Johnstone because of that gleeful depravity, this might be a negative so temper your expectations. All in all though, I think this is a perfectly fine example of the man's "Hell comes to Small Town, USA" plot horse he rode through the 80s and 90s. For a Zebra book, it honestly doesn't get much better than this.
July 27, 2024
It's Johnstone, so you are getting schlock. Fun schlock. From the Zebra books line. Expect explicit sex and violence and the usual good against evil storyline. (most of his horror books featured the same thing). This one is about a bad seed (evil kid). The kid brings sand with him back from a trip in the caribbean to Arizona. The sand mixed with blood creates nasty looking "sandmen" or creatures. From here we get a town taken over by the kid and his minions, with zombies, orgies, nasty teens, and a priest trying to stop it all.
January 4, 2020
I think that it's safe to say that Zebra Horror put out some amazing cover art back in the 80s. The actual quality in the storylines, however, were hit or miss.
Unfortunately, Sandman was a miss for me. I've often been told that William Johnstone did some amazing horror novels back in the day and now they are highly sought after. I really had wanted to like this book, being my first read of his but there were just too many things that I took issue with.
Now I will say this, the ending had a bit of a twist and thus, was a surprise for me. Definite points for that. And although Johnstone obviously has a knack for pacing, descriptions and conversations, the book proved overly long and drawn out unnecessarily. My main issue is actually a two part complaint. First off, there was a total disconnect between the storyline and the cover art. The cover insinuated that I would be reading a dark tale of the Sandman, the fairytale-like creature that visits children whilst they sleep. This was not the case at all. Instead, we have a demonic child at the age of 8 that visits an island with his family only to meet a couple of demonic hipsters that give him the power to create monsters from the sand that's on the beach. Granted, I'm really simplifying the synopsis a lot but that's, in a nutshell, the basic jist. So, yeah, definitely not what I had expected. Secondly, I feel like the storyline came after the decision to title it "Sandman" because the entire book took extreme leaps and bounds just to reach the plot and climax. It was really quite bizarre to me. A sexually active 8 year old, kids that were all way more mature than they should have been and people that just automatically accepted the supernatural as easily as Visa/Mastercard is accepted everywhere. Just...bizarre.
Anyways, I'd say I was definitely let down by this book but not disillusioned in the author. I'm definitely going to try a few more of his books in the future. The book is a great addition to my library just for the cover art and notoriety alone.
Unfortunately, Sandman was a miss for me. I've often been told that William Johnstone did some amazing horror novels back in the day and now they are highly sought after. I really had wanted to like this book, being my first read of his but there were just too many things that I took issue with.
Now I will say this, the ending had a bit of a twist and thus, was a surprise for me. Definite points for that. And although Johnstone obviously has a knack for pacing, descriptions and conversations, the book proved overly long and drawn out unnecessarily. My main issue is actually a two part complaint. First off, there was a total disconnect between the storyline and the cover art. The cover insinuated that I would be reading a dark tale of the Sandman, the fairytale-like creature that visits children whilst they sleep. This was not the case at all. Instead, we have a demonic child at the age of 8 that visits an island with his family only to meet a couple of demonic hipsters that give him the power to create monsters from the sand that's on the beach. Granted, I'm really simplifying the synopsis a lot but that's, in a nutshell, the basic jist. So, yeah, definitely not what I had expected. Secondly, I feel like the storyline came after the decision to title it "Sandman" because the entire book took extreme leaps and bounds just to reach the plot and climax. It was really quite bizarre to me. A sexually active 8 year old, kids that were all way more mature than they should have been and people that just automatically accepted the supernatural as easily as Visa/Mastercard is accepted everywhere. Just...bizarre.
Anyways, I'd say I was definitely let down by this book but not disillusioned in the author. I'm definitely going to try a few more of his books in the future. The book is a great addition to my library just for the cover art and notoriety alone.
August 26, 2019
A breathtakingly bonkers first half gets bogged down in the second by forsaking the satanism and living sand people for zombies and a glut of featureless townfolk.
When characters die you should not be asking yourself "wait, who?"
When characters die you should not be asking yourself "wait, who?"
November 23, 2016
This isn't the story that you may know from graphic novels. It is a novel about a young boy who goes on vacation with his family. While his family is sleeping, he goes out walking on the beach. He never tells his parents or sister. Paul.is a nasty boy who likes to torment his classmates and kill things. He discovers on this vacation that he is the son of Satan and has incredible powers that he can use to make people do what he wants them too. He is happiest when he makes people suffer, etc. Will Paul get to become the one to take over the world?
This is the first novel I have read by the this author. I enjoyed it. It is quick paced. Reading it did not take me long as I found I could not stop thinking about the novel. What was going to happen next? There are unexpected twists and turns through the novel. It is an excellent horror novel!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
This is the first novel I have read by the this author. I enjoyed it. It is quick paced. Reading it did not take me long as I found I could not stop thinking about the novel. What was going to happen next? There are unexpected twists and turns through the novel. It is an excellent horror novel!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
March 6, 2024
A surprisingly fun, fast paced, horror novel. NOTHING like the back of the book leads you to believe it’s going to be about! It’s classic Johnstone; devil worshiping, satanic panic that is basically exactly like any one of his Devil’s series novels...but with sandmen instead of beast. But, that being said, I loved this book! I was hooked from the first page and my only complaint was the ending. It try’s to through in a WTF moment twist at the end and then it goes immediately in another direction and it left me confused for a second. But overall it’s a 5 star read if your into vintage horror or William W. Johnstone.
October 4, 2016
Sandman
I am not a fan of zombie anything; not books, movies or even at Halloween. This book made me remember that all stories and their subjects aren't created equal. The battle of good versus evil was wonderful with strong main characters, especially the evil little lad. I'll be looking into this author's other writings and see what else I've been missing out on.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am not a fan of zombie anything; not books, movies or even at Halloween. This book made me remember that all stories and their subjects aren't created equal. The battle of good versus evil was wonderful with strong main characters, especially the evil little lad. I'll be looking into this author's other writings and see what else I've been missing out on.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 21, 2017
This one was a struggle to finish. It had everything I like in a horror novel, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. Then towards the end the author kept adding random characters so it was getting harder to keep up with who is who, only for them to die within the first pages or even paragraphs of them being introduced. Throw into it that pretty much everyone gets raped at one point or another and it was just a whole lot of WTF.
June 15, 2019
3.5
Certifiably bugnuts crazy. Not a “good” book, but a compellingly sloppy, trashy read. The literary equivalent of “Troll 2” or the film version of “Slugs”, in the sense that this sometimes feels like it was written by an alien.
Certifiably bugnuts crazy. Not a “good” book, but a compellingly sloppy, trashy read. The literary equivalent of “Troll 2” or the film version of “Slugs”, in the sense that this sometimes feels like it was written by an alien.
December 21, 2022
A bit goofy sometimes but very enjoyable.
December 5, 2022
Dear lord. Johnstone just cranked out the insane hits, didn't he? We open with a foul mouthed kid telling his parents he hates then while they vacation in the islands. Then voodoo magic sand monsters happen and so does a whole lot else. Honestly it was a fun read but also just insane, as usual. Worth it.
November 25, 2016
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.
Paul Kelly is a little boy with a really bad temper - a dangerous temper at that.
This book was thrilling, the fact that a child so young could do such despicable things is intriguing and frightening. This one kept me on the edge of my seat and I highly recommend this book to fans of horror, suspense, or just anything involving a creepy little kid. This one did not disappoint.
Paul Kelly is a little boy with a really bad temper - a dangerous temper at that.
This book was thrilling, the fact that a child so young could do such despicable things is intriguing and frightening. This one kept me on the edge of my seat and I highly recommend this book to fans of horror, suspense, or just anything involving a creepy little kid. This one did not disappoint.
July 4, 2018
Love this book
It’s so hard to find books like this anymore. It had it all devil worship, son of Satan, zombies, vampire like creatures, demons and voodoo all rolled into one hell of a story. Excuse the pun. The story starts off quick and never lets up. Loved it and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of horror novels from the 80s and 70s. Wish they still wrote like this.
It’s so hard to find books like this anymore. It had it all devil worship, son of Satan, zombies, vampire like creatures, demons and voodoo all rolled into one hell of a story. Excuse the pun. The story starts off quick and never lets up. Loved it and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of horror novels from the 80s and 70s. Wish they still wrote like this.
May 23, 2017
Okay, so I read this book when I was in like elementary school (circa 94/95) - yeah a book I probably should not have been reading at that age but I loved horror movies and books and it was something my GMA and I shared and it was in her box of read books which meant it was fair game for me. I remember liking it and it has stood out to me even YEARS later.
October 6, 2025
Make no mistake, this is a trashy book. The writing is pedestrian, at best, with stilted dialogue, and, frankly, too many characters. (Also, Carol and Carla, in the same group of friends? Confusing.)
BUT, this book is so over-the-top and crazy, I had a great time reading it. Pretty typical of Johnstone's horror novels.
BUT, this book is so over-the-top and crazy, I had a great time reading it. Pretty typical of Johnstone's horror novels.
December 5, 2022
William Johnstone authored many horror novels in the 80s and 90s, with several of them built around the idea of a small town being invaded by something diabolic and culminating in a bloody final battle between Good and Evil that divides the townsfolk and leaves most the community in ruins. SANDMAN starts out as a departure from the usual formula on Johnstone's part, but about halfway through the author drives his tale back into familiar waters, with mixed but generally fun results. SANDMAN begins with a horrific murder and a rather malevolent boy who falls under the sway of a pair of ghostly tempters. The ghosts--possibly the spirits of a voodoo priest and priestess--teach the boy how to summon undead monsters from the sand, monsters which the boy is quick to turn against all those he considers his enemies. A retired British detective and an American P.I. team up to investigate the mysterious happenings, only to discover they are up against no human opponent. Soon an entire town is assaulted by an immortal evil, and everyone turns out to be either a soldier of Good or more likely a pawn of evil. Johnstone has given his readers a wild ride with SANDMAN, one that frankly jumps the shark more than once. The sand-creatures which presumably give the book its title are eventually replaced by vampire-zombie hybrids, the main antagonist (who may not really be the main antagonist, even though he thinks he is) appears to be all-powerful (sporting massive telekinesis, the ability to generate reality-warping illusions, and even re-animate the dead) but can't figure out how to defeat his mortal opponents, and there's a lot of weird humor that totally blows up any atmosphere or dramatic tension. And while we start out with two apparent heroes, the cast of characters balloons to involve multiple cops, various teenagers and their parents and babysitters, most of a general hospital's medical staff, a priest, and any number of other townsfolk and others who are just passing through. To say that the cast of characters is too big doesn't even begin to cover it. There's very little meaningful characterization, and anyway there are just too many names to keep track of. I frequently had no real understanding of who was doing what, and not much reason to care. There are multiple scenes of rape and sexual abuse, and while the author thankfully leaves some of it to the reader's imagination, it's still hard not to feel a little disquieted after a while. Johnstone had a real gift for creating powerful action scenes, though, and most of the many fights are highly entertaining and sometimes genuinely thrilling. Moreover, Johnstone always had the guts to portray Evil for what it is, and his novels depict Good and Evil as the absolutes they are with a strong (if somewhat unconventional) Christian foundation beneath all the carnage. And despite the novel's general lack of decent characterization, there are about three people out of the ridiculous cast of players that are genuinely believable as human beings, and you do come to care what happens to them and hope they avoid joining in the astronomical body count. Overall, SANDMAN stands as an entertaining novel for those of us who enjoy b-grade horror. It's hardly Johnstone's best work, but certainly not his worst, either. If nothing else, the book keeps you turning the pages as everything hurtles toward the inevitable--and very violent--climax.
April 30, 2026
More of WW Johnstone's signature blend of insane horror, with a few curveballs and way too much talking this time and a maddening ending. I don't normally include spoilers, but I will need to this time as the ending was just about the most confounding, confusing thing I have ever read.
This one is balls out insane right from the beginning. Looking at the cover and the title, one would assume this is a dream related horror story, a la Nightmare on Elm Street, which was in peak popularity circa 88 when this was published. No, Johnstone wouldn't subject us to something so pedestrian. This is, initially at first, about an evil boy who meets ghost people in the tropics while on vacation and harnesses the power of EVIL SAND. Yes, he uses literal sand people, people made out of sand to kill people. And this is in the first chapter. And it just gets crazier from there.
One of the major flaws of the book is that there are good guy characters who know what is happening right from the start. Then, using massive amounts of exposition, they explain to each other everything that is happening.
Then, they travel from the tropics to the USA, home of the evil boy, Paul. Once they get to the USA, they have to continue explaining everything that is happening to everyone they meet. In a less ridiculous horror author's hands, this would be unforgivable, but we are talking about Johnstone here. The boring conversations happen after completely insane horror set pieces. They're like the hangovers of the horrific sections of the book. I am a lifelong horror fan, and some of these horror set pieces are beyond the pale. Truly over the top and ridiculous.
The crazy horror scenes and boring conversations continue until the end, and here is where I really must warn of spoilers. Good guy cop Leo and sister of Paul evil boy, Janis, must destroy Paul. The book has been building up and up to this, with even Michael the archangel pumping Janis up to kill her evil brother. Leo kills Paul's demon monster brother, looks over and sees Janis killing Paul. He congrats Janis on killing her brother then hurls his stake at her. The girl turns into an ancient hag dressed in rags. Leo is very sad and must explain to her mom why he had to kill her. The very next chapter, Leo, the mom and Janis are chilling and Janis asks how Leo figured it out. He says that a completely other girl, Melissa, was the one he had to kill, because reasons. WHAT? I re-read the passage several times and it makes zero sense whatsoever. Really, Johnstone? What the hell?
The horror set pieces in this book were completely insane, even for Johnstone. But, the boring conversations and confusing cop-out of a bizarre ending dampened the proceedings. 2.5 stars for that wack ending, rounding up to 3 for ridiculous horror sequences.
This one is balls out insane right from the beginning. Looking at the cover and the title, one would assume this is a dream related horror story, a la Nightmare on Elm Street, which was in peak popularity circa 88 when this was published. No, Johnstone wouldn't subject us to something so pedestrian. This is, initially at first, about an evil boy who meets ghost people in the tropics while on vacation and harnesses the power of EVIL SAND. Yes, he uses literal sand people, people made out of sand to kill people. And this is in the first chapter. And it just gets crazier from there.
One of the major flaws of the book is that there are good guy characters who know what is happening right from the start. Then, using massive amounts of exposition, they explain to each other everything that is happening.
Then, they travel from the tropics to the USA, home of the evil boy, Paul. Once they get to the USA, they have to continue explaining everything that is happening to everyone they meet. In a less ridiculous horror author's hands, this would be unforgivable, but we are talking about Johnstone here. The boring conversations happen after completely insane horror set pieces. They're like the hangovers of the horrific sections of the book. I am a lifelong horror fan, and some of these horror set pieces are beyond the pale. Truly over the top and ridiculous.
The crazy horror scenes and boring conversations continue until the end, and here is where I really must warn of spoilers. Good guy cop Leo and sister of Paul evil boy, Janis, must destroy Paul. The book has been building up and up to this, with even Michael the archangel pumping Janis up to kill her evil brother. Leo kills Paul's demon monster brother, looks over and sees Janis killing Paul. He congrats Janis on killing her brother then hurls his stake at her. The girl turns into an ancient hag dressed in rags. Leo is very sad and must explain to her mom why he had to kill her. The very next chapter, Leo, the mom and Janis are chilling and Janis asks how Leo figured it out. He says that a completely other girl, Melissa, was the one he had to kill, because reasons. WHAT? I re-read the passage several times and it makes zero sense whatsoever. Really, Johnstone? What the hell?
The horror set pieces in this book were completely insane, even for Johnstone. But, the boring conversations and confusing cop-out of a bizarre ending dampened the proceedings. 2.5 stars for that wack ending, rounding up to 3 for ridiculous horror sequences.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2022
This book is the definition of a vomit draft where the author just winged it and put in whatever popped into his head at the time. Occasionally this can veer into crazy over the top ludicrousness but usually it’s just stupid wtf moments of nonsense dialogue and repetitive gore. The whole premise of sand creatures gets dropped halfway and instead we get vampires, zombies, satanists, demons, voodoo spirits and possessions. It should work as an over the top B movie but it’s not tongue in cheek and weirdly chaste despite all the rapes. He uses bottom and privates for example. I’ve also never read a book with more uses of the word odious either.
Basically if you want to read a first draft that changes concepts every section, has way too many pointless characters, rushes through a plot at inopportune moments and has nothing resembling human speech than you might get some “so bad it’s good enjoyment” out of this. But otherwise you’ll probably find infuriating at times. I’m willing to bet the author was on a tight deadline and just pounded this out without much thought. Heck I’ve probably put more effort into this review than he did writing the book itself.
Basically if you want to read a first draft that changes concepts every section, has way too many pointless characters, rushes through a plot at inopportune moments and has nothing resembling human speech than you might get some “so bad it’s good enjoyment” out of this. But otherwise you’ll probably find infuriating at times. I’m willing to bet the author was on a tight deadline and just pounded this out without much thought. Heck I’ve probably put more effort into this review than he did writing the book itself.
May 28, 2017
Sandman
I am new to this author. But am totally a fans NOW! HE WRITES A SUPERNATURAL THRILLER THAT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY. I JUST PICKED UP 3/MORE. BY HIM AND CAN HARDLY WAIT TO GET STARTED. I RECOMMEND ..THIS IS HORROR AT IT'S PEAK...ENJOY
I am new to this author. But am totally a fans NOW! HE WRITES A SUPERNATURAL THRILLER THAT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY. I JUST PICKED UP 3/MORE. BY HIM AND CAN HARDLY WAIT TO GET STARTED. I RECOMMEND ..THIS IS HORROR AT IT'S PEAK...ENJOY
October 20, 2024
Not horror about
Adam Sandler- has shitty
Little Nicky, though.
Adam Sandler- has shitty
Little Nicky, though.
April 27, 2025
WARNING: Graphic violence
It was a decent horror book. Johnstone always has plenty of action in his books.
It was a decent horror book. Johnstone always has plenty of action in his books.
March 7, 2026
I read this in 8th grade and thought it was great. Now that I’m older and have read other books I’m like how dumb lol 😂
April 15, 2026
This book has followed me for 20 years. I've thought about it.
October 30, 2026
Sandman proves that Johnstone, William W. isn't interested in safe takes—they're aiming directly at the foundational lies that keep society on a leash.
March 6, 2024
Spoilers: I wanted to like this...and I think teenage me would have enjoyed the pulpy goofiness. Older me, not so much. Like The Devil's Kiss (a book I loved in the 80's and re-read recently), this is full of repetitive scenes that just drone on and on.
The evil Kid, Paul, spends seemingly most of his time in his bedroom sneering at everyone. The adults all say the same crap over and over...he's only a kid, can you kill a kid, he's evil, he's Satan...and they drink a lot of coffee. Evil stuff happens, but there's no sense of dread or any tension...around the mid-section, a lot of violence occurs to random town people. People you don't care about...heck, I didn't care about any one of them. Not one character is developed in any substantial way.
Way too much time spent in the house and (I think) a hospital. Too many ancillary characters and a corny "twist" ending.
By page 250, I began speed reading/skimming...anxious to finish it.
I have book #2 of The Devil's Kiss ready to go...but, considering just giving up on Johnstone's horror books.
The evil Kid, Paul, spends seemingly most of his time in his bedroom sneering at everyone. The adults all say the same crap over and over...he's only a kid, can you kill a kid, he's evil, he's Satan...and they drink a lot of coffee. Evil stuff happens, but there's no sense of dread or any tension...around the mid-section, a lot of violence occurs to random town people. People you don't care about...heck, I didn't care about any one of them. Not one character is developed in any substantial way.
Way too much time spent in the house and (I think) a hospital. Too many ancillary characters and a corny "twist" ending.
By page 250, I began speed reading/skimming...anxious to finish it.
I have book #2 of The Devil's Kiss ready to go...but, considering just giving up on Johnstone's horror books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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