Book Review: Shift

 

Synopsis: In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event. At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened. This is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling WOOL series.
Contains First Shift, Second Shift, and Third Shift. (source: http://www.hughhowey.com/books/shift-omnibus-edition/)

Thoughts: I really enjoyed Wool and was thrilled to learn that Shift was actually a prequel that explained how the silos came to be.
Can I just say Howey's vision of our future is pretty bleak. Really, not much hope for humankind. I actually found his idea of our future as bleak as Orwell's and Huxley's. Really hope that none of them are right.
Shift was, for me, as good a read as Wool. I've read reviews that complain about the characters, that they were flat, one dimensional. For me, that kind of fitted with the book as a whole. Emotion must be controlled, you must not get too attached to anything or anyone and someone is always watching. At the same time, you were aware of the tension simmering just under the surface - lots of putting on a good face while questioning where this whole thing is going.
I really enjoyed the switching back and forth between Silo 1 and the others. It gives the reader the whole picture - something the characters don't have. For me, the series title of Silo alludes to more than the physical structures the characters are living in. It's about compartmentalisation - of everything. Emotions, societal roles, societal structure, communities. I look forward to reading the third installment - Dust and seeing how this all works out.

Book Review: Wool

From Goodreads: In a ruined and toxic landscape, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside. His fateful decision unleashes a drastic series of events. An unlikely candidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic with no training in law, whose special knack is fixing machines. Now Juliette is about to be entrusted with fixing her silo, and she will soon learn just how badly her world is broken. The silo is about to confront what its history has only hinted about and its inhabitants have never dared to whisper. Uprising.

Thoughts: This was originally written as 5 novellas/ short stories before being released as an omnibus. If you are buying it on Kindle, make sure you buy the omnibus or you will end up having to buy all 5 separately. 
If you're looking for a well written, original, adult dystopian novel - you've found it. Wool starts with an ember that you can see glowing hotter and hotter until it explodes. But the build up is not slow and torturous - it's engaging and intriguing. You know something is not right, but you're not sure what. Howey builds pressure, feeding the reader bits of information, unsettling them, never letting them get completely comfortable in the world of the silo. And when the explosion happens, the pressure is released, but only temporarily. A whole new pressure starts to build. As in real life, things don't go to plan and the reader is still uncertain as to what the true secrets are. In the end, Wool is a phenomenal book. Apparently there is another two in the series, with the second Shift out now. Again, released in short stories first, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the Omnibus edition.

Chanllenges: ebook Challenge