Shift

I have to admit, I was really disappointed when I realized this book was a prequel and I wasn't going to get to see how Juliette's plan was working out at all. The first two books were pretty heavily tinged with this disappointment, but the third book turned the whole series back around for me.

Shift splits between several different timelines including the origin of the Silos and the stories of several members of the various uprisings that are hinted at in Wool. A lot of it felt unnecessary at first, but again the third book made it clear why the reader suddenly needed this knowledge of the people that began this project. It's very hard to discuss without spoilers, so prepare for a large chunk of spoilerific review below.

Donald is a character I liked at first, but had a hard time sticking around with. He keeps being vouched for by smart people in positions of power, but I never quite understand why they like him so much. His descent into madness is well-written, but not quite what I was looking for when I picked the book up. Still, once I realized that he is the other end of Juliette's phone call, that really the previous 400 pages existed to set me up to sympathize with the guy on the other end of the phone, I had to respect Howey's craftsmanship. He brought us into the Evil Empire and took the Evil right out. Definitely makes me look forward to Dust.Mission's chapter I enjoyed while reading it, but I can't say it stuck with me.This is probably due to the fact that Jimmy/Solo's chapter was so heart-wrenchingly good that the previous books faded from memory. I figured out that Jimmy would become Solo pretty quickly, and wow does Howey do a great job of guiding us through that transition. I will say that all books featuring animal death should have a warning sticker, though. I knew Shadow was doomed from the moment he showed up since he isn't in Wool, but I still found myself clutching my own cat who was quite annoyed at my failure to live up to my status as heated sofa human.

It isn't as strong as Wool, but the information here feels vital for Book 3 which promises a return to the original timeline. I will definitely be finishing the series up soon.