The Dust Devils

core novel 2008 The Change

Record

First published	2008
Original language	EN
Work type	novel
Canon status	core
Reader rating	3.90 (21 ratings, collected 2026-10-29)
First-edition ISBN	9780732284756
Internal chronology	2

Synopsis

The body of Ros’s friend Adi has been carried away across the desert by her Clan, but her spirit remains his constant companion. If he cannot catch up with the travellers in time, Adi will be presumed dead and her body cremated, leaving her a ghost for ever. Ros is not prepared for the dangers of the shifting sands: rescued from bandits and dust devils by a boy named Yury, he takes refuge in Yury’s home, a vast network of tunnels known as Dunetown, and learns that Yury needs his help in turn. Ros must learn to trust again and to overcome those who can never be trusted, because darker things lurk in the desert.

Where it sits

• Universe: The Change
• Series: The Broken Land core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
• Author: Sean Williams

Notes

• From the series record (The Broken Land): Children's trilogy set in the same world, HarperCollins/Angus and Robertson, 2008 to 2009.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

• Publication order, within the series The Broken Land: position 2 of 3: previous The Changeling (2008) · next The Scarecrow (2009)
• Internal chronology, within The Change: position 6 of 10: previous The Blood Debt (2005) · next The Storm Weaver and the Sand (2002)

Sources

• SFE: Williams, Sean
• Reactor: Meet Sean Williams
• Wikipedia (German): Sean Williams (Schriftsteller), Broken Land bibliography
• Audible: Broken Land series (publisher summaries)
• FictionDB: Sean Williams (publisher descriptions)
• Sean Williams official site: books

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