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Empire in the Sand
Avery Mann, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, is in crisis. His wife dies of cancer, his son’s marriage is on the rocks, his grandson is having a meltdown, and his good friend is a victim of the robocalls scandal that invades the Canadian federal election.
Throw in a reckless fling with a former colleague, a fire that destroys his retirement property, and a rumour emerging that the drug he helped bring to market years ago may have been responsible for the death of his wife, and Avery’s life goes into freefall.
Does an octogenarian bee keeper living on Vancouver Island hold the key to Avery’s recovery, a man holding secrets that put lives in jeopardy? Avery races across the country to find out, with crooked bosses, politicians, and assassins on his tail.
Joseph spins a cautionary tale of corporate and political greed that is endemic of our times.
Throw in a reckless fling with a former colleague, a fire that destroys his retirement property, and a rumour emerging that the drug he helped bring to market years ago may have been responsible for the death of his wife, and Avery’s life goes into freefall.
Does an octogenarian bee keeper living on Vancouver Island hold the key to Avery’s recovery, a man holding secrets that put lives in jeopardy? Avery races across the country to find out, with crooked bosses, politicians, and assassins on his tail.
Joseph spins a cautionary tale of corporate and political greed that is endemic of our times.
Paperback
First published September 15, 2022
20 people want to read
About the author
Shane Joseph
12 books300 followersShane Joseph is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers in Toronto, Canada. He began writing as a teenager living in Sri Lanka and has never stopped. Redemption in Paradise, his first novel, was published in 2004 and his first short story collection, Fringe Dwellers, in 2008. His novel, After the Flood, a dystopian epic set in the aftermath of global warming, was released in November 2009, and won the Canadian Christian Writers award for best Futuristic/Fantasy novel in 2010. His story collection, Paradise Revisited, was shortlisted for the ReLit Award. His latest novel, Victoria Unveiled, was released in the fall of 2024. His short stories and articles have appeared in several Canadian anthologies and in literary journals around the world. His blog at www.shanejoseph.com is widely syndicated.
His career stints include: stage and radio actor, pop musician, encyclopaedia salesman, lathe machine operator, airline executive, travel agency manager, vice president of a global financial services company, software services salesperson, publishing editor, project manager and management consultant.
Self-taught, with four degrees under his belt obtained through distance education, Shane is an avid traveller and has visited one country for every year of his life and lived in four of them. He fondly recalls incidents during his travels as real lessons he could never have learned in school: husky riding in Finland with no training, trekking the Inca Trail in Peru through an unending rainstorm, hitch-hiking in Australia without a map, escaping a wild elephant in Zambia, and being stranded without money in Denmark, are some of his memories.
After immigrating (twice), raising a family, building a career, and experiencing life's many highs and lows, Shane has carved out a niche in Cobourg, Ontario with his wife Sarah, where he continues to work, write, and strum his guitar.
Shane Joseph, believes in the gift of second chances. He feels that he has lived many lives in just a single lifetime, always starting from scratch with only the lessons from the past to draw upon. His novels and stories reflect the redemptive power of acceptance and forgiveness.
His career stints include: stage and radio actor, pop musician, encyclopaedia salesman, lathe machine operator, airline executive, travel agency manager, vice president of a global financial services company, software services salesperson, publishing editor, project manager and management consultant.
Self-taught, with four degrees under his belt obtained through distance education, Shane is an avid traveller and has visited one country for every year of his life and lived in four of them. He fondly recalls incidents during his travels as real lessons he could never have learned in school: husky riding in Finland with no training, trekking the Inca Trail in Peru through an unending rainstorm, hitch-hiking in Australia without a map, escaping a wild elephant in Zambia, and being stranded without money in Denmark, are some of his memories.
After immigrating (twice), raising a family, building a career, and experiencing life's many highs and lows, Shane has carved out a niche in Cobourg, Ontario with his wife Sarah, where he continues to work, write, and strum his guitar.
Shane Joseph, believes in the gift of second chances. He feels that he has lived many lives in just a single lifetime, always starting from scratch with only the lessons from the past to draw upon. His novels and stories reflect the redemptive power of acceptance and forgiveness.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 19, 2022
3.5 "quirky kooky caper" stars !!!
A warm thank you to Mr. Joseph and Blue Denim press for an ecopy. This will be released September 2022. I am providing my honest review.
Initially I had some difficulty getting my bearings with this novel. As I read forward I became more invested and involved in the plot although not so connected to the characters. There were some very touching moments here but overall the novel read more like a moralistic and very fun farce about some serious subject matter that are universal in some situations as well as some angst that pertain to more upper middle class strata. It was also fun to read about my home city of Toronto as well as Nanaimo where I spent a lot of time in my thirties.
Then I found my groove....and went along for a very humorous and wacky ride about a laid off drug executive(Avery Mann) that is fed up with grieving (his deceased wife, his mess of a son, his corporate career) and decides that he is going to get his mojo back, some good sex, a steady relationship and perhaps even some revenge....
So much happens in 200 pages that my head was spinning so I put on my seatbelt and let the hilarity as well as the pathos pass me by while I hoped for the best for Mr. Avery Mann !
The prose is straightforward, clear and unadorned. The characters are more types rather than flesh and blood beings and I think this works better in a book of this type where universal truths are to be revealed after some very crazy and convoluted happenings.
Overall a very good and entertaining novel that I am very glad I read. Thank you Mr. Joseph !
A warm thank you to Mr. Joseph and Blue Denim press for an ecopy. This will be released September 2022. I am providing my honest review.
Initially I had some difficulty getting my bearings with this novel. As I read forward I became more invested and involved in the plot although not so connected to the characters. There were some very touching moments here but overall the novel read more like a moralistic and very fun farce about some serious subject matter that are universal in some situations as well as some angst that pertain to more upper middle class strata. It was also fun to read about my home city of Toronto as well as Nanaimo where I spent a lot of time in my thirties.
Then I found my groove....and went along for a very humorous and wacky ride about a laid off drug executive(Avery Mann) that is fed up with grieving (his deceased wife, his mess of a son, his corporate career) and decides that he is going to get his mojo back, some good sex, a steady relationship and perhaps even some revenge....
So much happens in 200 pages that my head was spinning so I put on my seatbelt and let the hilarity as well as the pathos pass me by while I hoped for the best for Mr. Avery Mann !
The prose is straightforward, clear and unadorned. The characters are more types rather than flesh and blood beings and I think this works better in a book of this type where universal truths are to be revealed after some very crazy and convoluted happenings.
Overall a very good and entertaining novel that I am very glad I read. Thank you Mr. Joseph !
June 20, 2022
Full disclosure at the outset: I accepted an ARC of this book in electronic format from the author, who's a Goodreads friend. There was no guarantee my review would be favorable, but he knew I'd liked a number of his earlier books.
Like another of Shane's novels, Milltown, this one has some content that involves illegal activity. But I've classified both books as general, rather than crime, fiction. Most of the characters are everyday people with ordinary lives, not professional criminals or detectives, and the focus of the plot is on normal human interactions, relationships and moral decisions.
Our setting is the author's adopted country of Canada –mostly in and around Toronto, and with some key scenes in coastal British Columbia. The story takes place in 2011, the year of a pivotal national election in Canada (which is reflected in the book). 60-something protagonist Avery Mann is a widower who lost his wife to cancer, a former marketing executive who's now “retired” because the pharmaceutical company for which he formerly worked for some 30 years essentially threw him in the trash. He's basically having what, if he were ten years younger, would be called a mid-life crisis; his son and daughter-in-law are careening into an acrimonious divorce, which is leaving Avery's 10-year-old grandson neglected and miserable; his neighbor is gearing up for a run for Canada's Parliament, a quest in which he's already been defeated twice. And all is not well at Avery's former employer, Sand Pharmaceuticals.
If someone were to ask, “what is this novel about?” one answer would be that it's “about” the dark side of Big (or, in this case, mid-sized –but the principles are the same) Pharma, with its temptation to cut corners to maximize profits, even though the consequences may be payable in human lives. Another might be that it's about political corruption, focused on the Canadian context, but applicable to every country in which some people seek political power for their own selfish ends. Some might say that it's about the lost soul of modern Big Business in general, where nothing matters but money and ethics long since was tossed out the window. Others could point to family relations, functional and dysfunctional, spouse to spouse and parent to child; to gender relations in general in a toxic culture practically berift of moral guidance; and even the plight of today's kids, having to raise themselves with the Internet for a babysitter. All of these would be correct. But most fundamentally, it's “about” what truly matters in human life and how we should treat each other; which is to say, it's a quintessentially moral novel, as the greatest fiction in the Western tradition has always been.
While it's not conceived in Christian terms, in a very real way it's a celebration of the abiding worth of some of what T. S. Eliot called the “permanent things” --family, community, integrity. It depicts very clearly the toxic reality of present-day culture (not just in Canada, but the West generally) with its aggressively promoted group-think conviction that the precept of, as one character puts it, “Me first, and [obscenity deleted] the rest of the world” represents the incontrovertible wisdom of the universe; but the author clearly begs to differ, and what's more, he unabashedly wants his readers to differ, too. As is his wont, he leads us to that conclusion not so much by sermonizing as by creating realistic, nuanced characters, and building around them a well-constructed and involving plot which shows (rather than simply tells) us what different kinds of human moral choices take us to. This is a novel that takes social issues seriously, but which also concerns itself with how we treat each other in our face-to-face daily private relationships, and realizes that healthy attitudes and actions in relation to the former grow directly out of healthy attitudes and actions in the latter. There's no rose-colored view of the universe here; we see some of human nature at its worst, and even our viewpoint character has his flaws and lapses. But he's capable of critiquing his own behavior; and rather than taking a jaundiced totally pessimistic view of human moral possibilities and calling it “realism,” Shane's realistic enough to recognize that humans do have the potential to change and grow.
We don't have any very explicit sex here; the one sex scene is more summarized than graphically narrated. But there is sexual content; some male characters' predatory and disrespectful attitudes towards women would justify a punch in the face, and even sympathetic characters may be relatively clueless about the essential relationship between sex and marriage, even after having had the benefit of experiencing happy marriage. The book also has some language issues, with occasional f-words (at times from Avery) and religious profanity, which can be wince-worthy. However, not all of the characters speak like this, and I didn't feel as though the author were trying to promote or 'mainstream” it. It's also important to realize that the book has a Canadian setting; and being himself a resident of Canada for many years, Shane has a better ear for what's realistic in specifically modern Canadian speech than I do (my contact with Canadians over my lifetime has been greater than some people's, but hardly extensive). But an author should not be faulted for depicting characters who realistically reflect in some ways the culture he's describing, and the overall moral tendency of the novel is positive.
To a certain degree, parts of the book presuppose more knowledge of both the pharmaceutical industry and the world of high finance (in which Avery's son works,for an investment firm) than I have, and I'm probably not alone in this. Generic drugs seem to be cast in a negative light here, although my own understanding of them is positive; to my best knowledge (which may be incorrect), they're simply the same drugs as brand-name versions, but much cheaper because they don't have to pay for the advertising budgets of the versions with high brand recognition. (My view is colored by the fact that I'm on a life-time regimen of a generic version –which is mentioned in the book!-- of the brand-name cholesterol reducer Lipitor, and would probably not be able to afford the latter.) Avery's son works in setting up IPOs (“initial public offerings” of stock in previous “private” companies where the stock has only been available to a few insiders; I Googled the term), and this is also viewed rather negatively, as a prelude to corporate abuses. I'm not sure why. Shane has clearly done diligent research in these areas, and commendably refrained from doing info-dumps of every bit of the knowledge he acquired; but doling out a bit more of it in controlled doses might have benefited readers such as myself. The political sub-plot depicts a Manichean conflict of a good "Centrist" candidate vs. a "Right Wing" incumbent who's not simply mistaken in his policy preferences, but darkly evil, and there's a strong implication that the clear and unambiguous good vs. evil dichotomy runs between both parties as a whole. In a U.S. context, that kind of heroes vs. villains dichotomy between the two Establishment parties would have no relationship to reality (and the widespread certainty that it does is part of our political problem!), and I'm dubious about whether it does in Canada either. (Though in fairness, with the 2011 nation-wide robo-call scandal, --see 2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal - Wikipedia -- which I'd never heard about before this read, some elements of the Conservative party were certainly displaying their “anything goes” mentality with a flagrance their opponents didn't come close to matching!)
These quibbles don't keep me from greatly liking the book, however! It's a strong addition to the author's already distinguished corpus, and reaches a particularly gripping, page-turning intensity in the last part.
Like another of Shane's novels, Milltown, this one has some content that involves illegal activity. But I've classified both books as general, rather than crime, fiction. Most of the characters are everyday people with ordinary lives, not professional criminals or detectives, and the focus of the plot is on normal human interactions, relationships and moral decisions.
Our setting is the author's adopted country of Canada –mostly in and around Toronto, and with some key scenes in coastal British Columbia. The story takes place in 2011, the year of a pivotal national election in Canada (which is reflected in the book). 60-something protagonist Avery Mann is a widower who lost his wife to cancer, a former marketing executive who's now “retired” because the pharmaceutical company for which he formerly worked for some 30 years essentially threw him in the trash. He's basically having what, if he were ten years younger, would be called a mid-life crisis; his son and daughter-in-law are careening into an acrimonious divorce, which is leaving Avery's 10-year-old grandson neglected and miserable; his neighbor is gearing up for a run for Canada's Parliament, a quest in which he's already been defeated twice. And all is not well at Avery's former employer, Sand Pharmaceuticals.
If someone were to ask, “what is this novel about?” one answer would be that it's “about” the dark side of Big (or, in this case, mid-sized –but the principles are the same) Pharma, with its temptation to cut corners to maximize profits, even though the consequences may be payable in human lives. Another might be that it's about political corruption, focused on the Canadian context, but applicable to every country in which some people seek political power for their own selfish ends. Some might say that it's about the lost soul of modern Big Business in general, where nothing matters but money and ethics long since was tossed out the window. Others could point to family relations, functional and dysfunctional, spouse to spouse and parent to child; to gender relations in general in a toxic culture practically berift of moral guidance; and even the plight of today's kids, having to raise themselves with the Internet for a babysitter. All of these would be correct. But most fundamentally, it's “about” what truly matters in human life and how we should treat each other; which is to say, it's a quintessentially moral novel, as the greatest fiction in the Western tradition has always been.
While it's not conceived in Christian terms, in a very real way it's a celebration of the abiding worth of some of what T. S. Eliot called the “permanent things” --family, community, integrity. It depicts very clearly the toxic reality of present-day culture (not just in Canada, but the West generally) with its aggressively promoted group-think conviction that the precept of, as one character puts it, “Me first, and [obscenity deleted] the rest of the world” represents the incontrovertible wisdom of the universe; but the author clearly begs to differ, and what's more, he unabashedly wants his readers to differ, too. As is his wont, he leads us to that conclusion not so much by sermonizing as by creating realistic, nuanced characters, and building around them a well-constructed and involving plot which shows (rather than simply tells) us what different kinds of human moral choices take us to. This is a novel that takes social issues seriously, but which also concerns itself with how we treat each other in our face-to-face daily private relationships, and realizes that healthy attitudes and actions in relation to the former grow directly out of healthy attitudes and actions in the latter. There's no rose-colored view of the universe here; we see some of human nature at its worst, and even our viewpoint character has his flaws and lapses. But he's capable of critiquing his own behavior; and rather than taking a jaundiced totally pessimistic view of human moral possibilities and calling it “realism,” Shane's realistic enough to recognize that humans do have the potential to change and grow.
We don't have any very explicit sex here; the one sex scene is more summarized than graphically narrated. But there is sexual content; some male characters' predatory and disrespectful attitudes towards women would justify a punch in the face, and even sympathetic characters may be relatively clueless about the essential relationship between sex and marriage, even after having had the benefit of experiencing happy marriage. The book also has some language issues, with occasional f-words (at times from Avery) and religious profanity, which can be wince-worthy. However, not all of the characters speak like this, and I didn't feel as though the author were trying to promote or 'mainstream” it. It's also important to realize that the book has a Canadian setting; and being himself a resident of Canada for many years, Shane has a better ear for what's realistic in specifically modern Canadian speech than I do (my contact with Canadians over my lifetime has been greater than some people's, but hardly extensive). But an author should not be faulted for depicting characters who realistically reflect in some ways the culture he's describing, and the overall moral tendency of the novel is positive.
To a certain degree, parts of the book presuppose more knowledge of both the pharmaceutical industry and the world of high finance (in which Avery's son works,for an investment firm) than I have, and I'm probably not alone in this. Generic drugs seem to be cast in a negative light here, although my own understanding of them is positive; to my best knowledge (which may be incorrect), they're simply the same drugs as brand-name versions, but much cheaper because they don't have to pay for the advertising budgets of the versions with high brand recognition. (My view is colored by the fact that I'm on a life-time regimen of a generic version –which is mentioned in the book!-- of the brand-name cholesterol reducer Lipitor, and would probably not be able to afford the latter.) Avery's son works in setting up IPOs (“initial public offerings” of stock in previous “private” companies where the stock has only been available to a few insiders; I Googled the term), and this is also viewed rather negatively, as a prelude to corporate abuses. I'm not sure why. Shane has clearly done diligent research in these areas, and commendably refrained from doing info-dumps of every bit of the knowledge he acquired; but doling out a bit more of it in controlled doses might have benefited readers such as myself. The political sub-plot depicts a Manichean conflict of a good "Centrist" candidate vs. a "Right Wing" incumbent who's not simply mistaken in his policy preferences, but darkly evil, and there's a strong implication that the clear and unambiguous good vs. evil dichotomy runs between both parties as a whole. In a U.S. context, that kind of heroes vs. villains dichotomy between the two Establishment parties would have no relationship to reality (and the widespread certainty that it does is part of our political problem!), and I'm dubious about whether it does in Canada either. (Though in fairness, with the 2011 nation-wide robo-call scandal, --see 2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal - Wikipedia -- which I'd never heard about before this read, some elements of the Conservative party were certainly displaying their “anything goes” mentality with a flagrance their opponents didn't come close to matching!)
These quibbles don't keep me from greatly liking the book, however! It's a strong addition to the author's already distinguished corpus, and reaches a particularly gripping, page-turning intensity in the last part.
July 30, 2022
This is third book of the author that I have read, and I have liked all the stories.
Avery Mann is retired from a large pharma company which saw success with one popular drug. He is let go when he felt he still had more to contribute. As he walks into the company, Sand Pharma, for settling his retirals, he meets with an ex-colleague Barbara, who he had recruited. He is at a stage of his life when he needs some rejuvenation. Other than feeling lonely since his wife passed away after a fight with cancer, his son Damian and his wife Sylvana are on the verge of a divorce. Avery is very worried about the impact on his grandson Paul. A lot of things start happening after his visit to Sand Pharma – he meets with Barbara outside who is currently under a lot of stress as well. At the same time, he gets to know Sarah who he feels close to very quickly. There is also the matter of his friend Stan who is contesting in the Canadian elections. Added to all this, Avery’s cottage burns down one night.
I found the story to be interesting. I liked the characters of Avery & Sarah. The plots around Sand Pharma and the elections though could have been better and come across as very sketchy. Other than that, many of the characters lack depth.
Overall, a different story, but could have been much better.
My rating: 3.25 / 5.
Thanks to the author for a free electronic review copy.
Avery Mann is retired from a large pharma company which saw success with one popular drug. He is let go when he felt he still had more to contribute. As he walks into the company, Sand Pharma, for settling his retirals, he meets with an ex-colleague Barbara, who he had recruited. He is at a stage of his life when he needs some rejuvenation. Other than feeling lonely since his wife passed away after a fight with cancer, his son Damian and his wife Sylvana are on the verge of a divorce. Avery is very worried about the impact on his grandson Paul. A lot of things start happening after his visit to Sand Pharma – he meets with Barbara outside who is currently under a lot of stress as well. At the same time, he gets to know Sarah who he feels close to very quickly. There is also the matter of his friend Stan who is contesting in the Canadian elections. Added to all this, Avery’s cottage burns down one night.
I found the story to be interesting. I liked the characters of Avery & Sarah. The plots around Sand Pharma and the elections though could have been better and come across as very sketchy. Other than that, many of the characters lack depth.
Overall, a different story, but could have been much better.
My rating: 3.25 / 5.
Thanks to the author for a free electronic review copy.
July 9, 2022
First, a thank you to Mr. Joseph and Blue Denim Press for the ARC.
Retired Avery Mann, a bundle of loveable and infuriating traits, has a lot of his mind. He is mourning the death of his wife, smarting from his premature release from a Big Pharma company, worrying about his son’s dysfunctional family and trying to find some meaning in his deeply unsatisfying life. This search for meaning finds him helping with the local election and dabbling in online dating, all the while contemplating a total retreat to his solitary cabin in the woods.
But while trying to deal with these conflicting anxieties, there is something else coming to a slow boil on the back burner, something to do with the Big Pharma he worked for, and their recent new drug launch.
The story moves at a fast pace with many a sudden surprise and lots of tension to keep us turning the pages. Along the way, two other men start to become important factors. One is an elderly recluse who is clearly “up to something.” We have no idea what but are very anxious to find out. The other is a far more sinister sort. As the tale progresses, it becomes clear that these men are destined for a head-on collision and that Avery may very well get in the way.
Joseph masterfully weaves the mundanities of Avery’s everyday life with the far bigger and more serious issues in the background and manages to imbue his protagonist with a complex mix of hopelessness, humility and heroism. Avery Mann is the quintessential “every man”, someone we can all relate to. We want him to succeed, we want him to find a woman who makes him feel good about himself, we want his life to work out well. But the odds seem to be stacked against him.
My only hiccup was in the point of view switches to the other two main characters which, on some occasions, seemed to come from out of left field. But this was easy to get past. Empire in the Sand raises ethical and moral issues in both the pharmaceutical and financial world, but does so in an engaging, non-threatening, non-lecturing way. It is a thought-provoking and very enjoyable read, a novel that you look forward to returning to.
Retired Avery Mann, a bundle of loveable and infuriating traits, has a lot of his mind. He is mourning the death of his wife, smarting from his premature release from a Big Pharma company, worrying about his son’s dysfunctional family and trying to find some meaning in his deeply unsatisfying life. This search for meaning finds him helping with the local election and dabbling in online dating, all the while contemplating a total retreat to his solitary cabin in the woods.
But while trying to deal with these conflicting anxieties, there is something else coming to a slow boil on the back burner, something to do with the Big Pharma he worked for, and their recent new drug launch.
The story moves at a fast pace with many a sudden surprise and lots of tension to keep us turning the pages. Along the way, two other men start to become important factors. One is an elderly recluse who is clearly “up to something.” We have no idea what but are very anxious to find out. The other is a far more sinister sort. As the tale progresses, it becomes clear that these men are destined for a head-on collision and that Avery may very well get in the way.
Joseph masterfully weaves the mundanities of Avery’s everyday life with the far bigger and more serious issues in the background and manages to imbue his protagonist with a complex mix of hopelessness, humility and heroism. Avery Mann is the quintessential “every man”, someone we can all relate to. We want him to succeed, we want him to find a woman who makes him feel good about himself, we want his life to work out well. But the odds seem to be stacked against him.
My only hiccup was in the point of view switches to the other two main characters which, on some occasions, seemed to come from out of left field. But this was easy to get past. Empire in the Sand raises ethical and moral issues in both the pharmaceutical and financial world, but does so in an engaging, non-threatening, non-lecturing way. It is a thought-provoking and very enjoyable read, a novel that you look forward to returning to.
July 7, 2023
I recently met Shane Joseph at a local community event. He had a table full of his books available for sale. Shane was quite friendly and eagerly told my daughter and myself about his books. I selected and purchased Empire in the Sand. The description on the back of the book intrigued me. This book was action packed! Definitely a page turner. On these hot, lazy days of summer, you need a book to hold your interest. This certainly met the criteria. Earlier this year I read "The Billionaire Murders: the Mysterious Death of Barry and Honey Sherman" by Kevin Donovan, so using the plot of Big Pharma certainly intrigued me. I think this book would make a great movie! Thank you, Shane, for introducing me to your books!
September 5, 2023
This author is a story builder, allowing readers time to immerse themselves into the characters' lives instead of rushing right into the drama as it unfolds. A corporation is laying off its employees and diversifying into a new product with a new leadership. By the time you have reached the middle of the book, it's not easy to put down. The suspense slowly unfolds; fortunately, I had all day to finish the book. It was quite a journey.
This award-winning author has written a number of books. I am looking forward to reading more of his work.
This award-winning author has written a number of books. I am looking forward to reading more of his work.
September 8, 2023
You’ve lived your life, worked hard, paid your bills, and the end you were promised for doing all the right things is nowhere in sight. In fact, it seems the opposite of that end is staring you in the face. What do you do? In Empire in the Sand author Shane Joseph takes us, and his protagonist, on a life threatening journey across the years, the country, and comfort zones. Showing us what’s possible when a man with a mission against corporate greed, and with time on his hands, has had enough. And leaving us to ponder our own lives and possible need for redemption.
September 22, 2023
Empire in the Sand is an intriguing glimpse into the back-stabbing, deceit, and treachery of corporate life. It digs deep into its belly where greed and lust fester to twist people's lives into regrets. It hits home with strong believable characters who trudge through the wreckage of what should be their golden years. A real-life lesson for its readers.
October 18, 2022
We have come to rely on Shane Joseph to populate his novels with characters who arrest our interest by how they cope with intimately personal affairs bound up inside emergencies and trials that threaten the very foundations of their – and our -- way of life. In this, his most recent novel, Empire in the Sand, he comes up trumps once again.
Once a senior executive with a pharmaceuticals company, Avery Mann’s career ends abruptly when he finds himself unable to support his new boss in a strategy that demands his company abandon a trusted medication for a cheaper generic version and thereby place profit before integrity.
While he didn’t lose financially, Avery’s dismissal robbed him of much that had been central to his life. And then worse things happen. His retirement investments fail. His wife becomes ill, is prescribed the generic drug he frowned on, and dies. His grandson harms himself in order to seek attention from feuding parents. His best friend suffers a debilitating stroke after learning that his political efforts have been crushed by robocalls that misdirected his supporters to a false polling station. He is lured into an affair with a younger woman who can only bring him misery. He learns that his son, while also filing for divorce, is leading the process by which the shares in the private corporation created to launch the dubious generic drug will be sprung on an unwitting public.
Avery is drawn into the maelstrom in which his private and personal life becomes inextricably tied up with events that directly threaten the stability of Canada’s broader political and moral order through corruption, greed and murder.
Shane Joseph does not shy away from themes that concern us in the myriad roles we play as members of families, friends and lovers, and citizens in a changing country and uncertain world. He shows us that we have no option but to face the recurring challenge of getting through life without causing too much injury to others and without sustaining too many injuries ourselves.
Bombarded by seemingly insurmountable problems, Avery asks Sarah whose path he has fortunately crossed, a key question: “Can one ever go back?”
Sarah’s response suggests that, of all the characters we meet in Empire in the Sand, it is she who is the moral protagonist of this engaging, provocative, and intriguing novel.
Like “Milltown”, Empire in the Sand has the makings of a riveting film or miniseries. Much will be made, and rightly so, of the symbolic liberation of honeybees from a row of hives by a pharmaceutical scientist with a social conscience, finely drawn by Shane Joseph. I hazard a guess that never have bees been used to such dramatic effect in literature since Bernard Mandeville wrote his satire, The Grumbling Hive: or, Knaves turn'd Honest almost three centuries ago.
Once a senior executive with a pharmaceuticals company, Avery Mann’s career ends abruptly when he finds himself unable to support his new boss in a strategy that demands his company abandon a trusted medication for a cheaper generic version and thereby place profit before integrity.
While he didn’t lose financially, Avery’s dismissal robbed him of much that had been central to his life. And then worse things happen. His retirement investments fail. His wife becomes ill, is prescribed the generic drug he frowned on, and dies. His grandson harms himself in order to seek attention from feuding parents. His best friend suffers a debilitating stroke after learning that his political efforts have been crushed by robocalls that misdirected his supporters to a false polling station. He is lured into an affair with a younger woman who can only bring him misery. He learns that his son, while also filing for divorce, is leading the process by which the shares in the private corporation created to launch the dubious generic drug will be sprung on an unwitting public.
Avery is drawn into the maelstrom in which his private and personal life becomes inextricably tied up with events that directly threaten the stability of Canada’s broader political and moral order through corruption, greed and murder.
Shane Joseph does not shy away from themes that concern us in the myriad roles we play as members of families, friends and lovers, and citizens in a changing country and uncertain world. He shows us that we have no option but to face the recurring challenge of getting through life without causing too much injury to others and without sustaining too many injuries ourselves.
Bombarded by seemingly insurmountable problems, Avery asks Sarah whose path he has fortunately crossed, a key question: “Can one ever go back?”
Sarah’s response suggests that, of all the characters we meet in Empire in the Sand, it is she who is the moral protagonist of this engaging, provocative, and intriguing novel.
Like “Milltown”, Empire in the Sand has the makings of a riveting film or miniseries. Much will be made, and rightly so, of the symbolic liberation of honeybees from a row of hives by a pharmaceutical scientist with a social conscience, finely drawn by Shane Joseph. I hazard a guess that never have bees been used to such dramatic effect in literature since Bernard Mandeville wrote his satire, The Grumbling Hive: or, Knaves turn'd Honest almost three centuries ago.
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August 23, 2022I have just finished reading a novel from my native country, set and written in the 1960’s, about a man whose obsession with being a somebody in the business word nearly leads to his undoing. Men striving without cease to make and maintain their mark in the world to the detriment of all else, appears to be a motherlode of universality which writers have tapped into for generations on end. Shane Joseph’s Empire in the Sand sinks another shaft into this lucrative seam.
How such men find and/or claw their way back is the common theme that runs through all such stories. For the character whose story I just finished, religion plays a big part; in the case of Avery, Shane’s main character, it’s a little more complicated. His entanglements were rooted on many fronts in the reality of the everyday. He’d have to find his way out on that same turf. For reasons I could not always explain, the adage: it takes a village to raise a child frequently came to mind as I was reading. Then it came to me: extend that aphorism into late adulthood, and you get something like: it takes a community to redeem a life not always well lived. Shane’s cast of characters provide that community, often unbeknownst to the characters themselves.
The plot weaves through an ever-descending circle of calamities and fractured relationships until just the right person comes along to help pull Avery from the brink and in the process provide both guidance and opportunity for repairing long-standing grudges and grievances. Was it not ever so long ago that John Lennon taught us that all we needed was love? Why does that remain such a difficult concept for most of us to grasp and such an impossible precept to live by? Fortunately, we can, even as in the case of Avery, at an advanced age, still learn. But we often need stories like Empire in the Sand to show us the way. For that we owe a debt of gratitude to writers like Shane Joseph.
How such men find and/or claw their way back is the common theme that runs through all such stories. For the character whose story I just finished, religion plays a big part; in the case of Avery, Shane’s main character, it’s a little more complicated. His entanglements were rooted on many fronts in the reality of the everyday. He’d have to find his way out on that same turf. For reasons I could not always explain, the adage: it takes a village to raise a child frequently came to mind as I was reading. Then it came to me: extend that aphorism into late adulthood, and you get something like: it takes a community to redeem a life not always well lived. Shane’s cast of characters provide that community, often unbeknownst to the characters themselves.
The plot weaves through an ever-descending circle of calamities and fractured relationships until just the right person comes along to help pull Avery from the brink and in the process provide both guidance and opportunity for repairing long-standing grudges and grievances. Was it not ever so long ago that John Lennon taught us that all we needed was love? Why does that remain such a difficult concept for most of us to grasp and such an impossible precept to live by? Fortunately, we can, even as in the case of Avery, at an advanced age, still learn. But we often need stories like Empire in the Sand to show us the way. For that we owe a debt of gratitude to writers like Shane Joseph.
July 2, 2022
There is no shortage of action and intrigue in Shane Joseph’s latest work “Empire in the Sand”: a corporate executive who will stop at nothing to reach the top of the ladder of success, a corrupt politician who sabotages his upstart opponent’s campaign, a corporate scandal cover-up and even a hitman hired to take out the one man who can blow the lid off the scandal.
The lead character Avery Mann, who is literally “every man, AKA the common man, has just reached the end of his golden parachute package from Sand Pharmaceuticals and still grieving his wife who died of cancer. He is trying to move forward with his life including a new relationship, helping out the political campaign of his friend and neighbour, and supporting his shallow son who is going through a messy divorce that threatens the wellbeing of Avery’s grandson.
But as he tries to reboot his life, he is drawn into intrigue on several fronts and forced to make several decisions of conscience. Being the man in the middle leads to a disastrous few days where his life implodes. But he rallies his energies and makes it is personal business to blow the lid off the scandal.
“Empire in the Sand” exposes the dark underbelly of the pharmaceuticals business and its relentless pursuit of profit. The plot twists and turns wind together several narratives with Avery at the center. It is an elemental battle of good and evil where good ultimately prevails because one good man stands up and fights back.
Shane Joseph’s latest work is particularly timely given the tumultuous times we are living in and the battle that is playing out in the corporate world. It moves at a fast pace and pulls no punches in making its point. Many readers will recognize themselves within the narrative and find renewed faith for their lives.
The lead character Avery Mann, who is literally “every man, AKA the common man, has just reached the end of his golden parachute package from Sand Pharmaceuticals and still grieving his wife who died of cancer. He is trying to move forward with his life including a new relationship, helping out the political campaign of his friend and neighbour, and supporting his shallow son who is going through a messy divorce that threatens the wellbeing of Avery’s grandson.
But as he tries to reboot his life, he is drawn into intrigue on several fronts and forced to make several decisions of conscience. Being the man in the middle leads to a disastrous few days where his life implodes. But he rallies his energies and makes it is personal business to blow the lid off the scandal.
“Empire in the Sand” exposes the dark underbelly of the pharmaceuticals business and its relentless pursuit of profit. The plot twists and turns wind together several narratives with Avery at the center. It is an elemental battle of good and evil where good ultimately prevails because one good man stands up and fights back.
Shane Joseph’s latest work is particularly timely given the tumultuous times we are living in and the battle that is playing out in the corporate world. It moves at a fast pace and pulls no punches in making its point. Many readers will recognize themselves within the narrative and find renewed faith for their lives.
February 19, 2023
This book captures a lot from the present state of mind that dominates the world: disorientation mixed with disappointment. BUT if the good characters are the most confused and tormented and do not know how to establish clearly an aim in life and fight for it....the bad ones DO.
One narrative thread focuses on the life of Avery Mann (clearly a pun for every man) and his family problems in the past and in the present. He would like to retire far away from town but at the same time he realizes some people (especially his son and his gradson) do need him. His life gets a more positive tinge after he meets Sarah, a lady who will suceed to rise his interest and who will also build more unity among the family members.
Another thread is about Big Pharma and the lack of morality that governs it as lives of people do not count as much as profit. Towards the last third of the book the action turns into a sort of detective story mixed with maffia like bosses who hire killers to get rid of those who knew too many secrets about clinical trials.
The third thread is about politics, schemes during elections and how patriots with constructive ideas get crushed by the bad guys who spare no effort in playing unfair.
If I liked this book that is because it builds an attractive action that does not bore and because it is not a novel of LOSERS as I had believed at the beginning. Even if many characters fail and end sadly, Avery redeems himself by bringing to light the disgusting machinations of Sand Pharmaceuticals. At the same time, thanks to Sarah, we remain hopeful that Avery's son can-with help- regain his family (after the divorce) and lead a happy life with Paul and Sylvana.
One narrative thread focuses on the life of Avery Mann (clearly a pun for every man) and his family problems in the past and in the present. He would like to retire far away from town but at the same time he realizes some people (especially his son and his gradson) do need him. His life gets a more positive tinge after he meets Sarah, a lady who will suceed to rise his interest and who will also build more unity among the family members.
Another thread is about Big Pharma and the lack of morality that governs it as lives of people do not count as much as profit. Towards the last third of the book the action turns into a sort of detective story mixed with maffia like bosses who hire killers to get rid of those who knew too many secrets about clinical trials.
The third thread is about politics, schemes during elections and how patriots with constructive ideas get crushed by the bad guys who spare no effort in playing unfair.
If I liked this book that is because it builds an attractive action that does not bore and because it is not a novel of LOSERS as I had believed at the beginning. Even if many characters fail and end sadly, Avery redeems himself by bringing to light the disgusting machinations of Sand Pharmaceuticals. At the same time, thanks to Sarah, we remain hopeful that Avery's son can-with help- regain his family (after the divorce) and lead a happy life with Paul and Sylvana.
August 24, 2022
This book will be available September 15. Thank you to Blue Denim Press for the opportunity to read the ARC.
Empire in the Sand is a great read. Intriguing, with many surprises and interesting twists. I do not agree with some reviewers who felt the characters did not create connection. The protagonist, Avery, is richly drawn as a depressed man wishing to return to happier days when his wife was alive, his family was happy, and he thrived with his career success. It is a brave depiction of an aging once-prominent man as he waffles between running away from his intense pain, and trying to recapture his youth by having an inappropriate fling with an old work colleague. Avery has been screwed over by Big Pharma, and one particularly sinister colleague. I cheered for him, hoping he would find vindication. His love for his deceased wife, his narcissistic self-centred son, and the young grandson caught in the blow-up of his parents' marriage is palpable.
Joseph has done a commendable job of combining a story of corporate greed with political corruption into a narrative that drives the reader to fly through the pages. In the end there is a moral reckoning that is unexpected and satisfying. It is a journey of rediscovery, justice and hope. And a testament to second chances and resilience, of hope over reason, and righting an old wrong.
The only criticism is that I wanted more. A thriller with a strong dose of every man.
A must read for anyone who wonders what might happen once you rise out of the ashes of a destroyed life and dare to find out the truth.
Empire in the Sand is a great read. Intriguing, with many surprises and interesting twists. I do not agree with some reviewers who felt the characters did not create connection. The protagonist, Avery, is richly drawn as a depressed man wishing to return to happier days when his wife was alive, his family was happy, and he thrived with his career success. It is a brave depiction of an aging once-prominent man as he waffles between running away from his intense pain, and trying to recapture his youth by having an inappropriate fling with an old work colleague. Avery has been screwed over by Big Pharma, and one particularly sinister colleague. I cheered for him, hoping he would find vindication. His love for his deceased wife, his narcissistic self-centred son, and the young grandson caught in the blow-up of his parents' marriage is palpable.
Joseph has done a commendable job of combining a story of corporate greed with political corruption into a narrative that drives the reader to fly through the pages. In the end there is a moral reckoning that is unexpected and satisfying. It is a journey of rediscovery, justice and hope. And a testament to second chances and resilience, of hope over reason, and righting an old wrong.
The only criticism is that I wanted more. A thriller with a strong dose of every man.
A must read for anyone who wonders what might happen once you rise out of the ashes of a destroyed life and dare to find out the truth.
July 19, 2022
Shane Joseph writes ordinary humans, facing ordinary life challenges. Like myself and my friends, these characters deal with failing relationships, alienated family members, overextended lives, concern for the vulnerable, a search for a meaningful relationship. But then the individual’s ordinary life explodes, or the corrupt side slithers out, and I am so glad it isn’t me. And I’m so relieved to have never met some of these individuals in real life.
I love that the story is set mostly in Toronto, and I feel like I ride through the city’s neighbourhoods with the characters as they complete their ordinary (and sometimes not so ordinary) tasks.
Early in the story another character appeared on the other side of the country, politics jump into the picture, and then I detected big business in the background. I wondered how the different plot lines would ever come together, But about the middle of the book I had an “Ah, there it is” moment, and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with that recognition. From there the pace ramps up, intrigue, action and tension increases, and we fear for, and cheer on, our protagonist, Avery Mann.
Empire In The Sand is a character driven story, with splashes of (implied) violence, humour, grief, pathos, and moral dilemma, and is an enjoyable read.
I love that the story is set mostly in Toronto, and I feel like I ride through the city’s neighbourhoods with the characters as they complete their ordinary (and sometimes not so ordinary) tasks.
Early in the story another character appeared on the other side of the country, politics jump into the picture, and then I detected big business in the background. I wondered how the different plot lines would ever come together, But about the middle of the book I had an “Ah, there it is” moment, and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with that recognition. From there the pace ramps up, intrigue, action and tension increases, and we fear for, and cheer on, our protagonist, Avery Mann.
Empire In The Sand is a character driven story, with splashes of (implied) violence, humour, grief, pathos, and moral dilemma, and is an enjoyable read.
July 12, 2022
A compelling story with well developed characters and plot, Empire in the Sand sets a good pace and brings the reader along easily. Perhaps it could shed some words without losing it's pace, but that's just my opinion. I enjoyed the book. The only suggestion I would make is that the story starts on Chapter two, and Chapter one, although important should remain in the book, but could be moved a bit further along in the manuscript. The story is timely and I'm sure most readers can relate to the concerns and tensions it describes. It's real life. being told as the pandemic continues. The characters make it personal. We can all see ourselves and people we know in the telling. Good job, Shane.
August 19, 2022
From a certain point of view, having an older protagonist undergo intrigue, fairly massive life travails, and romance can be a refreshing change in a thriller. In this case, it's still a mild thriller, but that shouldn't detract.
In reality, the novel is thoroughly grounded even as it jumps through different time periods, different conflicts, and a personal life that always keeps circling back in upon the main question.
Is it really about a life of choices that come back around to bite you? Or is it really about starting afresh and making amends?
This is mostly left up to the reader and we're asked to enjoy the journey. Perhaps, in the end, it's not just an empire in the sand.
In reality, the novel is thoroughly grounded even as it jumps through different time periods, different conflicts, and a personal life that always keeps circling back in upon the main question.
Is it really about a life of choices that come back around to bite you? Or is it really about starting afresh and making amends?
This is mostly left up to the reader and we're asked to enjoy the journey. Perhaps, in the end, it's not just an empire in the sand.
October 30, 2025
Empire in the Sand is a powerful and beautifully written story that explores identity, faith, and resilience with striking honesty. Shane Joseph writes with a rare emotional depth, his words draw you into a world of human struggle, hope, and redemption. Every page carries a sense of truth and compassion that stays with you long after reading.
A brilliant and unforgettable novel that reminds us how courage and conscience can still shape the course of a life.
A brilliant and unforgettable novel that reminds us how courage and conscience can still shape the course of a life.
November 27, 2025
Another action-packed, fast-moving novel from Shane.
We meet our main character Avery Man. (Every?) He’s recently retired and his wife died a few years ago. He has been building a cottage in the woods in Canada and he wants to leave his urban house behind, looking forward to solitude.
To avoid spoilers, I’ll just list a few threads or themes in the novel.
Avery feels terrible for his grandson that his son is getting divorced and the married couple if filled with hatred for each other. He and his grandson spend time together in the cottage, once in a blinding snowstorm.
Since his wife died, Avery has had no sex for years. He’s decided to try online dating sites. He’s a bumbler at that. Maybe he should just go to a prostitute. Or maybe his latest contact, a bookstore owner, just might work out.
We learn that Avery used to work for the Sand pharmaceutical company. (Thus the title.) We learn how the company strategized about the cost of developing new drugs versus manufacturing cheap generic drugs. They may have cut too many corners and it looks like a drug they made has been responsible for a large number of deaths.
Another theme is politics. He has a neighbor with good ideas who keeps running for office but losing. He helps the would-be politician by organizing efforts to get people to the polls. His neighbor’s latest opponent is backed by the pharmaceutical company so you start to imagine that there's going to be some dirty tricks played here. The motto of one of the head honchos of the firm is “There are those who rule and the ruled.” Which group do you want to be in?
Avery gets in touch with some recently retired/fired employees of the firm and realizes it’s time to reveal what he what they know about its evil doings. The plot takes a dark turn. He’s being followed and the woman he talked with recently ends up murdered. We learn that a solitary beekeeper, an elderly scientist who worked for the firm and kept meticulous notes about the effect of the drug, appears to be the next victim.
For those of you who have not yet read any of Shane’s writing, here’s a passage that will introduce you to his style:
“Now as he sipped a cup of cocoa in the warmth of the cottage, Avery thought back to happier times. The shape tucked inside the sleeping bag on the fringe of the glow from the fireplace could have been Damian [his son] as a boy, not Paul. And Pat [his deceased wife] would have been around then, putting the dinner things away, preparing the beds, getting the old cottage ready for the night and filling the place with her generosity and warmth. After she died, Avery had tried to get away from it all by selling the old cottage and building this new one, but remnants of the past were difficult to escape: the old couch, a recliner that knew every contour of his body, the books that had followed him throughout his life and shaped his character, the slumbering child in the sleeping bag one generation removed from the previous one. And the ghost of Pat who came back to him every night, fading increasingly with each visit and now locked into set images of times past. That was the problem: there were no new images; Pat was frozen in history. She could not grow old alongside him as he lurched into his uncertain future.”
If you read this book, I encourage you to keep in mind that there are occasional chapters, including the first chapter, related to the elderly scientist beekeeper living in isolation in a cottage in the woods. This is not Avery, the main character. I got confused at first and I assumed, since we learn that Avery is building a cottage in the woods in the second chapter, that the first chapter was a flash-forward to Avery as an old man.
I really enjoyed the story. As in all of the several of Shane's books I've read, there’s a lot of action and the storyline is always moving forward. I think this is the best book I have read by Shane. Quite an accomplishment.
Disclosure: Shane is a good GR friend and he sent me a copy of the book for review. Shane Joseph is one of my favorite authors and I have read several of his novels and a collection of short stories. Below are links to my reviews of other books of his:
Victoria Unveiled
Circles in the Spiral
Milltown
Crossing Limbo (short stories)
Top photo of a cabin in British Columbia from fieldmag.com
The author from shanejoseph.com
We meet our main character Avery Man. (Every?) He’s recently retired and his wife died a few years ago. He has been building a cottage in the woods in Canada and he wants to leave his urban house behind, looking forward to solitude.
To avoid spoilers, I’ll just list a few threads or themes in the novel.
Avery feels terrible for his grandson that his son is getting divorced and the married couple if filled with hatred for each other. He and his grandson spend time together in the cottage, once in a blinding snowstorm.
Since his wife died, Avery has had no sex for years. He’s decided to try online dating sites. He’s a bumbler at that. Maybe he should just go to a prostitute. Or maybe his latest contact, a bookstore owner, just might work out.
We learn that Avery used to work for the Sand pharmaceutical company. (Thus the title.) We learn how the company strategized about the cost of developing new drugs versus manufacturing cheap generic drugs. They may have cut too many corners and it looks like a drug they made has been responsible for a large number of deaths.
Another theme is politics. He has a neighbor with good ideas who keeps running for office but losing. He helps the would-be politician by organizing efforts to get people to the polls. His neighbor’s latest opponent is backed by the pharmaceutical company so you start to imagine that there's going to be some dirty tricks played here. The motto of one of the head honchos of the firm is “There are those who rule and the ruled.” Which group do you want to be in?
Avery gets in touch with some recently retired/fired employees of the firm and realizes it’s time to reveal what he what they know about its evil doings. The plot takes a dark turn. He’s being followed and the woman he talked with recently ends up murdered. We learn that a solitary beekeeper, an elderly scientist who worked for the firm and kept meticulous notes about the effect of the drug, appears to be the next victim.
For those of you who have not yet read any of Shane’s writing, here’s a passage that will introduce you to his style:
“Now as he sipped a cup of cocoa in the warmth of the cottage, Avery thought back to happier times. The shape tucked inside the sleeping bag on the fringe of the glow from the fireplace could have been Damian [his son] as a boy, not Paul. And Pat [his deceased wife] would have been around then, putting the dinner things away, preparing the beds, getting the old cottage ready for the night and filling the place with her generosity and warmth. After she died, Avery had tried to get away from it all by selling the old cottage and building this new one, but remnants of the past were difficult to escape: the old couch, a recliner that knew every contour of his body, the books that had followed him throughout his life and shaped his character, the slumbering child in the sleeping bag one generation removed from the previous one. And the ghost of Pat who came back to him every night, fading increasingly with each visit and now locked into set images of times past. That was the problem: there were no new images; Pat was frozen in history. She could not grow old alongside him as he lurched into his uncertain future.”
If you read this book, I encourage you to keep in mind that there are occasional chapters, including the first chapter, related to the elderly scientist beekeeper living in isolation in a cottage in the woods. This is not Avery, the main character. I got confused at first and I assumed, since we learn that Avery is building a cottage in the woods in the second chapter, that the first chapter was a flash-forward to Avery as an old man.
I really enjoyed the story. As in all of the several of Shane's books I've read, there’s a lot of action and the storyline is always moving forward. I think this is the best book I have read by Shane. Quite an accomplishment.
Disclosure: Shane is a good GR friend and he sent me a copy of the book for review. Shane Joseph is one of my favorite authors and I have read several of his novels and a collection of short stories. Below are links to my reviews of other books of his:
Victoria Unveiled
Circles in the Spiral
Milltown
Crossing Limbo (short stories)
Top photo of a cabin in British Columbia from fieldmag.com
The author from shanejoseph.com
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews