Dust Review: Every Beginning Has An End

Hi readers,

Sorry its' taken me awhile to get this post up, but I've been ill, dealing with family matters and been busy keeping up with my new blog. Finally though, I can write about Dust and finish off the Silo series. I'd recommend reading the other two reviews first, because there will be possible spoils in this review. I also plan to keep this short, but also compared to the other books, this one is on the small side. I guess that's understandable though, because it's function is to bring the other two stories together in a dramatic final.

The book is well written and feels very pacey. Unlike the other two, there isn't much scene or background settings because its been covered in the other books and this actually works because it doesn't feel repetitive.  The characters are really good and realistic. Their actions and dialogue also feel really real and the reader can really connect with the characters. It was also nice that we were back with my favorite character, Juliette, and her friends from the first book.

The narrative switches between Juliette's point of view and that of Donald's and his sister's. This works well though because everything is kept on the same timeline and a nice tension is created between the characters. It also becomes clear that all the characters want the best for each other and Donald especially wants Juliette and her people to know the truth about things. Of course this does actually happen and allows the ending of the series to take place. 

Speaking of the plot; Juliette has encouraged her Silo to dig across to the other one she stumbled upon in the first book as she wants to rescue Solo and the kids. Their digging uncovers a machine, which they then use to help finish off the digging. With the silos joined a little bit of hell breaks loose-which is expected. Then Juliette starts to figure more things out, but before she can really plan her next step, she learns that silo 1 is going to shut them down. She tries to get as many people into the other silo as possible and they seal themselves in. 

Meanwhile, in silo 1, Donald is standing against all of this and he is still being mistaken as someone else with more power. He wakes is sister up and they try to find out if there is more outside then they can see. This they actually do, though Donald is taken down and his sister is left to try and pass the message on to Juliette, which helps the survivors escape the silo and go back to living on the surface. 

The plot does work really well and its a great ending to the series. The conclusion is rounded off and even though I know that there might not be any more books, I was hoping there might be! I could see some stories coming from the other silos and I'd love to read them. 

Overall, I would so recommend this series and these books to everyone. It has an original feel to the plot and characters, as well as the setting, which I love. even if you don't like dystopia or don't understand it, I would still suggest giving it a try. The plot isn't bogged down by the genre or the technical aspects and it is very character led. I still believe that the first book is the best novel I've read of this year and I'll be sad to move on from it. However, I'm now back to reading The Black Dagger Brotherhood and I shall be posting up that review next week. Thanks for reading and please feel free to follow this blog and check out my new one where I'm publishing daily short stories: http://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

Shift Review: “Some Things Are Better Off Back In The Past"

Hi readers,

I managed to finish reading Shift this afternoon and thought since I'd not got around to writing about Batman, that I'd put this one up now. Shift is the second book in the Silo series and contains the novellas six to eight. In away this sort of feels like the middle books in most trilogies and series because it focuses on filling in the gaps and questions raised in the first stories. I really loved reading Wool and was looking forward to reading Shift. However, I felt a bit disappointed at first because I really wasn't interested in how creations of the silos and life within them during the first years.

Then again, I quickly got into it and started to enjoy Howey's writing. He really has a way with words and is able to tell a very fast pace and gripping story. I think also that his writing his this open quality to it, that allows everyone to read it. Also it feels like honest writing, he's clearly enjoying the stories of the characters and wants to share them with others.

I found the characters this time around where just as good as the ones before. They all come across as being realistic and you can connect them to real people you know or did know, because they all have some very clear traits. They all individuals though and you get drawn in to wanting to know more about their lives- even the background characters. The felt the move to focus on more male characters also helped to balance out the female focus in the first book. The dialogues are to the point and care so much emotion, you can really hear them speaking from within the pages.

Opening with Legacy, we are introduced to Donald and his life. He's a young congressman who has connections via his ex-girlfriend and gets involved in creating and building the silos. Of course he doesn't really understand what's going on and he seems even blind to other happens in his live. He doesn't come across as strongly as Jules did and he seems very much like a puppet until the eightieth novella. The story switches between Donald at the beginning of the silos and during his first time living within the silo. He, like the everyone else in silo one goes through a pattern of being cryogenically frozen and then woken up to do some work.

For someone who's not good at keeping up with dates, this can be a bit confusing. Actually, though out the whole book trying to keep up with the time can be a bit tricky and it does take awhile to figure the time lines out.

Order is the seventh book and it follows most of the characters from six as they are awakened from cryogenic sleep. They face new problems and Donald learns a lot more about himself and the ideas/workings behind the silo. This is in between cuts to silo 18 and the story of Mission. He's a teenage boy with a trouble past, working as a porter. His silo is under threat of revolution and has he fights for survival, it becomes clear that his fate is actually being controlled.

Pact rounds everything off and finishes where things begin with Jules in silo 17. Before hand, we get the story of Solo and the fall of that silo. I think this had to be my favorite part because there was a lot of dystopia and a lot more straight forward action happening. There is also an ending that feels a lot more resolved then the first book. I think that for trilogies and series, the ending is still important to get right and it should feel like an actually ending.

Overall, this was another great book. It was nice to feel in the gaps left by the first one, but I still would have liked the focus to have stayed with the present of the first one. I'm really hopeful about the last one now!


Image from;
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Wool Review: 'If the lies don't kill you the truth will.'

Hi readers,

As promised, I finally finished reading Wool and I'm reviewing it today. For me, this is my favorite novel of the year and probably will become one of my all time favorite books. When people asked what I was reading, I'd tell them the basic plot in a few minutes and then expended on it for much longer! At the end I'd add that it's the kind of book I wish I'd written. That really just goes to show how this book made me feel. Luckily, there are two more books, so I won't have to say goodbye to it just yet!

If you are currently looking for a good, length book to take away on holiday, then I'd so recommend Wool. I'm taking the second one away with me next week. The minute you start reading, you get gripped into the world and the characters' lives. This carries on through out the novel and at the end it leaves you wanting more. I think what most surprise me about this novel is that though it's genre is dystopia everyone can read and understand it. This is because the force is mostly on the characters and their discovers about the world they live in. The dystopia does come through strongly throughout, but as the action deepens for the characters you just get lost in what's happening to them, more then the background.

My second surprise was that the Silo series is actually nine novellas divided into three books and that the first one was self-publishing on Amazon Kindle. The book become popular and Hugh Howey wrote more and got a publishing deal. He's now also signed the rights to movie. It'll be interesting to see that when it comes out. Once again though, its interesting to see that there is a growing trend of writers being picked up via self-publishing.

The plot of the novel appears simple on the surface: the earth has become inhabitable and people have moved underground. They live in silos which are carefully divided up and go deep down into the earth. They live by strict rules and most of them are fine with that. Those that break the rules get sent outside to clean the cameras the allow the people keep an eye on the outside world. They are also destined to die.

The first novella, Wool, tells the story of sheriff Holston and his wife. They uncover a part of the silo's and the world's past that has been hidden away. They can't really tell this secret and it ends up sending them both outside to clean. This secret is then re-discovered by two other people; Jules and Lukas, whom the second and third novella's follow the stories of.  I'd love to write more about the plot, but I really don't want to give anything away!

The characters are really well written and they are easy to get along with. The background characters also come across as being realistic and they all add a lot to the plot. I really loved all the characters and could connect with each one. Jules was my favorite though and she is an awesome female character. With her being the main character, a lot of time is spent with her, but this works out nicely because of the things she uncovers. The antagonist characters (bad/evil) are understandable too and you do start to see things from their point of view, even though their actions seem wrong. 

The narrative is all third person and switches between a group of characters. This works out well because all the points of the plot get covered and a lot of characters get to share their experiences, (as it were). The characters voices can be heard clearly through the dialogue, which is also really well written. It has a gritty realist feel to it and all the voices come across as being very different from each other. Something else I liked about this novel. The narrative flows well between the different scenes and the words feel like they have a lot of movement. Some jargon and science fiction terms/words are used, but nothing heavy and they are easily explained. That just adds to the world that Howey has created.

Lastly, the imagery that gets created by this novel is big. It feels like there's a lot going on all the time, but because of all the description and details, the images are easy to create in your mind. It's not overburdened with them and just feels right for this kind of work. I can easily see how this would make a good movie and when reading it almost feels like watching one. 

Overall, I would strongly recommend Wool to everyone. The dystopia genre might not appeal to everyone, but this novel is about a lot more then that. It's about family, friends, survival and choosing your own destiny. The novel is wonderfully written, the characters are so realistic and the plot is hard gripping. I'm so looking forward to reading the next books now. 

Image from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wool-Trilogy-1-Hugh-Howey/dp/0099580489