Sands of the Scorpion

Mission Survival #3

by Bear Grylls

Mission: Survival

Location : The Sahara Desert

Dangers : Diamond smugglers; heatstroke; scorpions

After being forced to parachute out of a smugglers' plane, teenage adventurer Beck Granger is about to face his toughest survival challenge yet - the Sahara Desert. Blistering sun, shifting sand dunes, and no water for hundreds of miles . . .

Can he survive the heat and make it out alive?

Genres: Survival, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Action, Geography, Middle Grade

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 4, 2009

About the author

Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. His journey to this acclaim started in the UK on the Isle of Wight, where his late father taught him to climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 SAS. It was here that he perfected many of the skills that his fans all over the world enjoy watching him pit against mother-nature. Despite a free-fall parachuting accident in Africa, where he broke his back in three places, and after enduring months in military rehabilitation, Bear went on to become one of the youngest ever climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Bear went on to star in Discovery Channel's Emmy nominated Man Vs Wild and Born Survivor TV series, which has become one of the most watched shows on the planet. Off screen, Bear has lead record-breaking expeditions, from Antarctica to the Arctic, which in turn have raised over £2.5million for children around the world. In recognition of his expertise and service, Bear was appointed as the youngest ever Chief Scout to 28 million Scouts worldwide, awarded an honorary commission as a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy, and has authored 10 books, including To My Sons.

Reviews

[Amith Menon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read Sands of the scorpion because i got inspired from the Bear Grylls show,man vs wild. The story is about two young boys that travel to Sierra Leone (a country in africa) with their uncle. On their visit the two boys end up following a drug dealer. The drug dealer goes on a plane, and the boys follow him and stay there. Once they realised they've made a mistake they jump out the plane. They then try and survive the harsh climates of the Sahara desert. The character i found interesting was Beck granger because he was very calm at the most nerve racking moments and eventually made his way out. Something new i learnt from the book was to resist and keep on going, and that your never too small to do something. The quote " the two boys set off on the journey of their lives" from page 111, was a significant quote because it showed the problem they were in was more than a small trip but the journey of their lives.

[Nic Ayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with my nine year old son - his selection for the star rating. Having said that, we like Bear Grylls -his tales are fun and we both always come away from each story with something new - geography, politics, what insect we can eat when we are stuck in the bush or desert or some other new survival tactic. A great little adventure story even if a little formula. Beck is a familiar old friend you are revisiting, so worthwhile for some feel good vibes and hopefully one day the reluctant reader will tackle one of these solo, just like Beck he will survive!

[MeskaKsiazka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Według mnie najlepsza część serii "Misja Przetrwanie". Ma więcej nowości niż "Wilczy Szlak", a daje równie dobrą zabawę jak "Złoto Bogów".

Po raz kolejny jak to w przypadku tej serii, tak i ta książka jest bardzo przyjemna w czytaniu, nie wymaga od czytelnika niczego poza jego uwagą i czasem, a nawet tego nie potrzebuje za wiele, bo książkę czyta się bardzo szybko.

Bear Grylls jak w każdej książce podsuwa nam nowe smaczki dotyczące survivalu, ale tutaj jest ich naprawdę wiele i można się bardzo dużo nauczyć dzięki "Piaskom Skorpiona".

Fabularnie schemat jest podobny jak w "Złocie Bogów", jednak tutaj jest to bardziej przystępne i łatwiejsze w odbiorze. Klimat najpierw Sierra Leone, a następnie Sahary rozciągającej się na terenach Mali i Maroka daje też bardzo fajne wrażenie i można się mocno wczuć w przeżycia bohaterów.

Targetem serii jest młodzież, a autorowi ponownie bardzo dobrze udało się trafić z językiem i łatwością przekazywanych informacji właśnie tej grupie odbiorców, a nawet młodszych.

Na duży plus zaliczam także obecność humoru i żartów których wcześniej trudno było doświadczyć w serii.

Osobiście nie jestem osobą zaznaczającą cytaty w książkach i zachwycającą się ich znaczeniem, śmiesznym zabarwieniem, prawdziwością życiową czy czasami dwuznacznym znaczeniem, ale raz na jakiś czas zdarza się że coś (cytat oczywiście) mnie trafi i tak było tutaj.

"Wszystko minie", niby tylko dwa słowa, ale jakże mądre i opisujące życie człowieka w najlepszy możliwy sposób. To co złe - minie, to co dobre - też minie. Życie człowieka opiera się na przemijaniu i należy sobie uświadomić, że trzeba czerpać z niego całymi garściami póki mamy okazje bo kiedyś nawet te najlepsze momenty naszego życia bezpowrotnie miną.

Minusem jest brak większej ilości zaskoczeń i momentów "wow" (chociaż tutaj było ich więcej niż w dwóch poprzednich częściach razem).

Jak na razie zdecydowanie najlepsza książka z serii "Misja Przetrwanie".

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a 14-year-old boy called Beck Granger, and his friend, Peter Grey, who try to get some pictures for evidence of supposed diamond smugglers. But when they sneak onto a cargo plane to get evidence, the cargo door gets closed and they get trapped. After jumping out of the plane with parachutes and into the Saharan Desert, they have to make it back to civilisation, even if it includes eating raw scorpions and wearing pee-soaked boxers on there head. My favourite part of the story is when Beck and Peter make it back to a city, and while they wait for Beck's uncle to pick them up, one of the smugglers finds out that they're there and wants to kill them, but gets bitten by a snake. He talks about being part of the smuggling operation, but Peter gets it recorded on hi camera. My favourite character is Beck because he knows a lot about surviving in the wild. I learned that if you breathed through your mouth, the saliva evaporates and hance you dehydrate a lot faster, so in that case, you should breathe through your nose.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really exciting. . . Beck and Peter follow 2 mysterious people in a taxi to a plane. Their curiosity takes over them so they clamber in to see the cargo. After taking too long the teenage boys are trapped in a diamond smugglers plane flying over the Sahara Desert to Morroco. They only have enough time too gather some survival equipment and 2 parachutes before they are found. Beck and Peter have no time to loose so they both jump out the plane into the dryest place on the planet.

Using Beck's survival skills the boys manage to survive 3 days in the desert fighting off dehydration and heatstroke and are saved by an oasis,dry lake and Anwar a French Berber who took them to his village. The second day in the village Beck and Peter are threatend by a smuggler seeking revenge. He is bitten by a venimous snake and confesses who he really is. A day later the diamond smuggler is taken to prison and Beck is crowned the worst person to go on holiday with.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

アル叔父さんと友人のピーターと一緒に休暇をモロッコで過ごす予定だったベック・グレンジャー。ところが宿泊中のホテルでピーターが偶然にもダイヤモンド密輸の取引の話を立ち聞きしてしまい、二人で真相を突き止めることに。ピーターとベックは密輸の話をしていた男たちを尾行し、証拠をみつけるため、飛行機の荷物室に忍び込む。しかし、二人をのせたまま飛行機は離陸してしまう。

今回はサハラ砂漠でのサバイバル。砂漠を歩行する場合、何に気をつけたらいいか、脱水症状、熱中症の防ぎ方、砂漠での栄養の補い方、水の確保の仕方などなど、作者の経験に基づいた知恵満載。しかし、過酷すぎるので、砂漠をさまようはめにはなりたくないなとつくづく。

[Tim Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Survival

I don’t know if bear actually wrote them or just advised but this was both entertaining and educational. Enjoyable read.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars


This wasn't the kind of book I normally read, but it was enjoyable enough. The story was okay and characters were likable.

That being said, I'm not planning to read the rest of the series.

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read the book Bear Grylls Mission Survival Gold of the Gods I was hooked! I have read the first four books and all four told me about survival tips in the wild. The stories are about a boy named Beck Granger who is a survival expert who wants to find out what happened to his parents. He goes in a plane with Diamond smugglers and escaped the plane with a parachute into the Sahara Desert in the book sands of the scorpion. The book was so good to read because it has great facts like if your in the shade in the desert at midday 30 centermetres underground it's 60 degrees cooler and Cobra bites may not inject venom! I would recommend you to read the stories of. Beck Granger

[Ben Stradwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

MISSION: SURVIVAL
BEAR GRYLLS
SANDS OF THE SCORPION

Q. 7) Why would you recommend this text to others?

Q. 9) What did this text make you think about? Why?

Bear Grylls, Sands of the Scorpion is a really adventurous book with so many worrying and exciting moments in it. Two boys called Beck Granger and Peter Grey went to Africa with their Uncle Al and the last thing they expected was to fall into the Sahara desert and have to survive through the blazing hot sun and the freezing cold night for many days. They encountered a smuggling operation and had to drop into the desert when they were caught on the plane...

I would recommend this book to others because once you start reading, you are hooked to the end. There is no end to intensity in this book as things get worse day after day in the desert for the two boys. Something exciting happens so often that you can't put the book down and when you do, it takes a while for you to forget about what will happen next. I recommend this book to boys of any age who like survival and adventure stories. Other things to recommend is the survival tips used throughout this book such as eating scorpions to putting 'wet' underpants on your head. The tips are so unexpected and I know that half of them I would not dare to do yet these boys can do everything they were taught and not back out. I guess that all these things did help them survive till they got out of the desert, but how many of these things would you do? Read the book and find out.

This text made me think mainly about how these boys would manage to survive the Sahara Desert. After they hit the sand I thought "will they live?" and I soon learnt that Beck Granger was the experienced one who knew how to survive these places. So day after day they did very disgusting things that made me realise that they could survive. Later on though Peter was taken out blindly by Sun Stroke and was in seriously bad condition. I found myself wanting to read to the end to find out what was gonna happen. Why the book made me think about this, simply because its the Sahara desert, biggest desert on earth, known as unlikely for someone to come out alive as unprepared as the boys were, full of Scorpions and almost no water. many of these things came to my mind once they landed on the billions of sand specs underneath them. The back cover of this book had also told me some of the severe things that could happen in the desert.

Review by Ben Stradwick.....

[Daniel Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it had a great adventure story in it and a great ending. It is amazing how a boy my age could know all these survival skills and also how he helped his friend out as well. At some points I was thinking are they ever getting out of this situation. When they did I was so pleased for the main charactor, Beck on how he got his friend, Peter out of the desert and back home. I would recommend this book, Sands of the Scorpion (Mission Survival 3) to any adventure lovers and to those who like the author Bear Grylls.

[Dev Patel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an engaging book

[Pastrana199 · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought this book was exalet it teaches you survival technices as well as giving you a thrilling adventure story to read plus it was very intresting. im still reding this book and i calnt wait to finish it. ive also been whatching bear grylls born survivor and i like the way he bases his books on his own expeiriences.i would reccomend this book to anyone.

[William Kregor]

I didnt really like this book because the story just went for too long. The characters were named well and lots of characters played some interesting rolls in the book.
I do recommend this book for junior school people but not for older people.

[Holly Bamber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but the books are a little similar. I see lots of helpful survival tips which may come in handy some time (hope not.) The characters of Peter and Beck are good examples, however Beck is hard to relate to.

[Luca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book I really recommend it to anyone who likes adventure or survival.

[Letitia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read and some good survival tips. Enjoyed it.

[Ruthvik Y.K]

adventure

[Luvchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it is a great book

[Mrs J Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic.

[15DoddB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book

[Shaun Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the stand-out books and one of the best!

[TOBY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book interesting story line loved the detail

[Zeb Moaveni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it