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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
I burned through this in 2 or 3 days. I stayed up late just to know what was going to happen next. I was quite thoroughly drawn in...
This book is so full of adrenaline it made me nervous! Lol, Howey is a master of tension. I'll surely read the next in this series.
This is a SF novel that initially was a series of connected stories about people living in an underground silo after some kind of an initially undisclosed calamity. I read it as a part of monthly reading for September 2021 at The Evolution of Science Fiction group.
The story starts with a man named Holston going up to his death. At least this is told to us. As he climbs up the staircase, we find out that he is a sheriff, a widower and the silo is a giant cylinder over a hundred levels deep, from lowest mechanical levels to highest ‘middle class residential’. At the top there is a hall, where cameras show gloomy grey world outside. From time to time a convicted criminal is sent outside to clean lenses with wool piece (hence the title) and die. One of such cleaners was Holston’s wife, after she has found something incriminating about the way they current society is organized.
As story goes on, we shift from one point of view to another, sometimes (warning!) because the characters die. We learn more about the world, even if in quite small pieces.
The story is extremely similar in its attitudes to Fallout 1 & 2 RPG computer games from the 90s, but without (?) a nuclear holocaust and 50s style. The story shows that it was written in installments, where the author decides to prolong or shorten individual episodes depending on their popularity, just like a lot of TV series do. Some of the important plot elements are pure handwavium and there is a case when readers ought to put them aside to enjoy the story.
The initial setting is quite interesting and ‘grabs’ a reader, however, the final disclosure is a bit simplistic.
The story starts with a man named Holston going up to his death. At least this is told to us. As he climbs up the staircase, we find out that he is a sheriff, a widower and the silo is a giant cylinder over a hundred levels deep, from lowest mechanical levels to highest ‘middle class residential’. At the top there is a hall, where cameras show gloomy grey world outside. From time to time a convicted criminal is sent outside to clean lenses with wool piece (hence the title) and die. One of such cleaners was Holston’s wife, after she has found something incriminating about the way they current society is organized.
As story goes on, we shift from one point of view to another, sometimes (warning!) because the characters die. We learn more about the world, even if in quite small pieces.
The story is extremely similar in its attitudes to Fallout 1 & 2 RPG computer games from the 90s, but without (?) a nuclear holocaust and 50s style. The story shows that it was written in installments, where the author decides to prolong or shorten individual episodes depending on their popularity, just like a lot of TV series do. Some of the important plot elements are pure handwavium and there is a case when readers ought to put them aside to enjoy the story.
The initial setting is quite interesting and ‘grabs’ a reader, however, the final disclosure is a bit simplistic.
An easy, riveting read, a dark tour of a dystopian future. I loved this book, and the freshness it brings to a much-visited storyline of humans living in bunkers, the memory of a life above-ground long since vanished. Howey unveils the mysteries of the world one piece at a time, cleverly paced so the reader shares the hopes and fears of the characters, at once believing in the terrible nothing-ness of the outside world, at turns believing in an impossible future of green grass and blue skies. The characters aren't deep, but are believeable, but its the Silo that one really gets to know. Howey provides enough description of rusting stairwells, echoing concrete and the oppressiveness of life in a concrete tomb to make the experience vivid for the reader.
The story is good, a page turner. I'd have given 5 stars, but a couple of the scenes later in the book are a little too predictable and disaster-movie like (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong). It didn't spoil the fun though. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend it.
I've moved onto, and past the Shift Omnibus, and am now ploughing through Dust already, and I can say the rest of the series so far continues in the same vein - well worth investing!
The story is good, a page turner. I'd have given 5 stars, but a couple of the scenes later in the book are a little too predictable and disaster-movie like (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong). It didn't spoil the fun though. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend it.
I've moved onto, and past the Shift Omnibus, and am now ploughing through Dust already, and I can say the rest of the series so far continues in the same vein - well worth investing!
From the first page I could not put this down. I ended up staying up almost 48 hrs. straight just to finish this. Hugh does such a good job with character development you really get to know these characters and become invested in their lives. The plot was truly unique I have read slot of these destopian type novels and none are remotely like this one. When I finished this series I could not wait to tell all my friends that it is a must read. I am impatiently waiting for more books in this series.
A well written sci-fi, speculative fiction novel set in a future world. A great page turner with a fantastic message...do we only see and experience the world based on our own narrow view and what we are told? Or do we go and explore the world and see for ourselves?
A lot of sadness, but also a lot of hope and friendships.
I really enjoyed this. It's intriguing, different from a lot of the other dystopian books out there, the author isn't afraid to take risks and it has a strong female heroine as well as other compelling characters who we get to know throughout the course of the book.
Definitely would recommend! I'm going to check out the other books in this series.
Definitely would recommend! I'm going to check out the other books in this series.
This was such an interesting idea, and I liked the characters. But the story dragged on much too long. I think it could have been cut from 1/3-1/4 and it would have been much better.