Reviews

Shift by Hugh Howey

sallypipkin's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.0

catpingu's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I thought Wool was dark, no, Silo is darker.  Because we really hate to see how the world ended and the actual dregs of humanity for survival.


In 2049, newly elected Congrassman Donald Keene is taken under the wing of his mentor and close family friend Senator Thurman, to undertake a clandestine top-secret high-priority project.  This project has him collaborating closely with the Senators' daughter and Donald's ex-girlfriend Anna; to the unhappiness of his dear wife Helen.  Helen doesn't understand the enormity of the task, and Donald slowly loses his grip on his sanity as his plans move swiftly towards completion and an unknown future.

Meanwhile, in year 2110, Troy wakes up from his cryogenic pod for his first Shift.  A last-minute replacement to take over Operation Fifty, Troy feels woefully underprepared for the enormity of his task; he had only been trained to head one Silo, not all of them.  As Troy starts his six-month shift, he notices little signs of the past and inconsistencies in the current truth that weren't covered in his orientation.  There are signs that some of the doctors are keeping secrets from him and the rest of the silos, and Troy knows he's missing something very, very important.


What an utter sadfest!  Humanity, oh the humanity, you politicians are such buttholes

but also I can't believe that those conspiracy theorists were actually onto something, that foreign countries were already researching nanotech to kill everyone and the US was gonna blow everyone up as "protection."

  Major spoiler spoiled, good note for future reference when I reread this later.  That crazy people are crazy but also crazy is rooted in truth, politicians are buttholes, and it's usually not a good idea to be friends with your exes.

While a majority of the book is following the long narrative of Troy and Donald

who are the same person, except we can treat Troy as a persona and Donald as the real man evolving throughout the book

, this prequel also prequels the before times and the long-awaited Jimmy/Solo's overview of loneliness in Silo 17.  It's a holistic view of how the silos came to be formed, why Bernard and other heads of IT are such jerks and paranoid old dudes, and

Donald's slow spiral into anger and maybe righteousness?

  A righteous fury that will have to be judged in the next book, because we've finally got the then and now sorted out and there's probably going to be a great rebellion amongst the silos or some big reunion aboveground or something.

Once you get through Wool, Shift beats out Wool in terms of scale and awesomeness.
RIP Shadow the Cat.

sagehj22's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kjzura's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Shift, although not my favorite in the series, is still a good book. The main focus is on how the Silos began, and how those responsible deal with what they’ve done. Jumping back and forth in time, I enjoyed journeying with these new characters, and learning the origin of one from the past. Looking forward to seeing how the series wraps up!

xentrrix's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? No

2.5

bookscatcoffee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I loved this sequel!  It’s so rare for an author to explain the origins of the dystopian world, and to have that be the entire sequel was masterful!

“All it took was for a lot of seemingly decent people to put the wrong person in power, and then pay for their innocent choice.”  It did take me awhile because the subject matter is grim, but I truly appreciate the craftsmanship!  Definitely worth reading!  5 stars

Sequel to Wool, dystopian sci fi

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

booksbyquinn's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

adamhall1588's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Great narration again and a really interesting look at why and how the events happened that led up to the story of Wool. Basically a prequel and different perspectives that catch up to the timeline of the first book. I think it was really well paced and written again to answer a lot of questions and explain what this world is all about. Very excited to get into the conclusion..

flrnz's review against another edition

5.0

Deutliche Steigerung zum Vorgänger. Schönes Prequel mit einigen interessanten Perspektiv Wechseln.
Die Pause zwischen 2 und 3 wird vermutlich kürzer sein, als bei 1 und 2.

Mehr: https://flore.nz/blog/2021-04-28-hugh-howey-shift-silo-2

sarahbr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0