Shift

I absolutely loved Wool, the first book in this series. That left me with somewhat heightened expectations for Shift - which were unfortunately not met. The story itself is mostly a prequel - following Donald, one of the initial creators of the silos. I enjoyed how the reader is as lost as he is - trying to find out answers constantly.

First of all, it is a prequel. That can be disappointing to some people because Wool finished with a suspenseful situation and all you want to know after reading Wool is what the hell happens next. But on Shift that time line is suspended, and we are presented with two parallel time lines that date before the events of Wool.

I enjoyed the first third of the book because it was fast paced and puts us right into the moment when the silos were being built. I thought that was great, because I also wanted to know how the hell those silos got there. We are not presented with the full explanation of the project at first, but little bits and pieces are being told throughout the chapters. We get to know this side of the story through the eyes of Donald, an architect who becomes a congressman without never wanting to be one. In my opinion he is a depressive character because he actually doesn't question the reality enough. He innocently goes along with the construction project of the silo, which he was told at the beginning to be only an emergency facility. Later on the finds out that they build 50 of them, all buried. And he had no idea of the real purpose of the project.

One thing that stills bugs me is the explanation of why the silos were built. Actually, we get to know that Mr. Thurman is probably the creator of the idea of the project: in order to combat a powerful threat (something about a nano-weapon that contaminates the air and kills humans) the solution was to blow everything up (throwing bombs) and house the remaining humans into the silos. That was something that pushed me to continue reading chapter after chapter, because I really wanted to know the real purpose of the silos and, above all, what exactly happened outside! Is the air contaminated? Is there still green grass? What happened to the other humans? Are there humans left? What happened in other countries? Many, many questions...

One thing I enjoyed in this book was the delicious short chapters. It may be a characteristic of Hugh Howey, as I could experience in the first book. I think the short chapters helped me devour this book, because when the third part begins (Third Shift ??? Pact) the pace of the story is slowed down, and Donald gets even more depressing. I can say that my favorite character plot was that of Jimmy (aka Solo). It was depressing too, because, well, the guy is left alone locked inside the server room, while their parents got killed and he stays inside to wait for things to get better. But I think that as the character grows and develops we understand his misery and loneliness and, in consequence, feel for him.

By the end of the book I got slightly annoyed with some decisions Donald made, like murdering Anna and Thurman without getting more information from them. But I think I can imagine that Donald was already completely out of his mind after all the things he went through. After all, the guy was woken up from the deep freeze at least three times and with scrambled identities.

The last chapter annoyed me even more with the introduction of Juliette (the engineer from Wool) making the connection with Wool, and then the abrupt ending, just like that. At the same time that I was excited for the story to go on I was a little tired of knowing what happened with Solo up until that point.

One thing that fascinates me in the Silo world is that humans beings started living in a confined space, with rigid rules, methodical chores, social stratification and they could be happy living there, without questioning much. Of course, there were ways of manipulating and controlling them, like the chemical or equivalent that was put into the water they drank. What terrifies me is that at the same time that it seems a highly improbable reality it could be true.

The minute I finished reading “Shift” I started reading the third book in the series (Dust) because, well, I am an extremely curious person!

I kind of fell off the reading train in the middle of this one so it took me a long time to finish. I really liked it, and I'm going to jump right into the third book.

My only thought coming out of Shift is that I would have been happy not learning what happened to the world. It's not a side of the story I was itching for after the first book, and it was an awkward shift (ha) in perspective. Still very good though, and I loved the story of Jimmy and Shadow.

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.

The execution of the storyline isn't done as well as Wool, but the choice to deviate from what would otherwise be the predictable next chapter absolutely is worth the payoff in the end. If you have the patience for the author's world building in this episode then the final book becomes all the more meaningful in its conclusion.

Executive Summary: Not as good as [b:Wool 13453029 Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349614200s/13453029.jpg 18979356], but that's to be expected after such an enjoyable debut.Audio book: I first listened to [a:Tim Gerard Reynolds 4132657 Tim Gerard Reynolds https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1370714999p2/4132657.jpg] with [a:Michael J. Sullivan 2063919 Michael J. Sullivan https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1396351926p2/2063919.jpg]'s Riyria books. To me he is THE voice of that series. It made listening to this book a little strange at first. I kept expecting Royce or Hadrian to show up in one of the Silos.That said, he's a great reader. He does voices and accents with the best of them. When I found out he was the reader for this, it made doing audio over reading it a no brainer.Full ReviewIt's a bit strange to write a prequel as the second book in a trilogy. Yet somehow Mr. Howey makes it work. We start to get some of the answers I was left with at the end of [b:Wool 13453029 Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349614200s/13453029.jpg 18979356], though a few of them not nearly to my satisfaction. Hopefully we'll get more details in the final installment.It's a bit strange being back in the US, albeit many years in the future. There is a whole new cast of characters, that at first seem completely unrelated to the first book. However, as the book goes on things start to click in place and eventually we catch up to the events of the first book. This book fills in some background, but mostly seems to be setting the stage for the finale.It seems like this book is the lowest rated of the three, so hopefully it finishes as strong as it starts and we'll see the two halves of this story finally come together. Personally though, I found this book to be a solid 4. Not as good or as page-turning as [b:Wool 13453029 Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349614200s/13453029.jpg 18979356] was, but enjoyable none the less.On to [b:Dust 17855756 Dust (Silo, #3) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369522849s/17855756.jpg 24576986]!

Shift is the second omnibus installment in the Silo Saga. Whereas Wool told a tight, linear story about Silo 18, Shift jumps back and forth. While it does so well, this did lead to some mild confusion. Also, as it covers quite a bit of time, it was difficult to keep everything in order for me at times.

Still, it was a very enjoyable read. Shift explores the genesis of the silos, the reason behind their existence, and hints at a dark purpose buried under ground with them. It was a fascinating look into what lead to the world we encountered in Wool. And while many questions were answered, I felt there were still many left at the end of the book.

I absolutely loved Wool, the first book in this series. That left me with somewhat heightened expectations for Shift - which were unfortunately not met. The story itself is mostly a prequel - following Donald, one of the initial creators of the silos. I enjoyed how the reader is as lost as he is - trying to find out answers constantly.

4.25 Stars,

Some of the best sci-fi I have read in awhile. Dystopian with a purpose. Good characters, decent science. As the middle book of a trilogy, it did not suffer from middle book syndrome, and was just as good as the first. Setup the final book of the trilogy well, and I am looking forward to how it ends.

In Shift, readers will follow Donald. A politician skilled in architecture, who takes on a peculiar but at the time unalarming job. After all, planning new structures isn’t completely out of the way for political figures. But as the project progresses and Donald realizes what he has helped build, the chain of events will already be set in motion. As the remaining population is given medication to forget, there are some whose memories can never be erased.

As a prequel to Wool, Shift will reveal the origin of the Silos and the reason behind their creation. This is explained through the eyes of selfish and biased characters. Both Donald and the reader will be horrified at the slow-dawning discovery of what happened to the world and the utter manipulation that takes place. Not to mention the devastation and true intentions behind the entire plan. Donald may very well lose all he knows and loves, just to satisfy the goals of humans seeking power. The emotional impact Shift will have on readers is much more in-depth than Wool.

But Shift doesn’t just tell the origin story of the silos, it also gives readers an exploration of Solo’s story. When readers encounter him in book one, he’s been alone for years. But what happened to his silo? As Donald struggles in his storyline, Solo deals with the loss of his loved ones and the only life he grew up knowing. Readers will be brought back to the very moment Solo’s silo began to break apart, and the ensuing chaos he found himself barely surviving. Solo’s storyline shows the downward mental spiral isolation can inflict on the human mind.

Readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic stories should give the Wool series a try. This series focuses on the people living in the aftermath of an apocalypse and its effect on entire societies. When the remaining population has their memories erased and is forced to restart with a created doctrine and history, it is only a matter of time before something goes awry.