Dust: The Silo Saga, Book 3

In DUST, the final installment of the Silo Saga trilogy, author Hugh Howey unfolds even more dark secrets about the silos' origins, building tension between the generations that grew up in the silos and the generation that designed and built the silos. The novel ends with a grand showdown, though perhaps not exactly what readers might expect, and (at least in my opinion) a satisfying conclusion that offers genuine, unadorned hope in the wake of much trauma and loss. I don't want to say anything specific about the plot for fear of giving away spoilers. However, I think it's a pretty safe bet that if you enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, you will enjoy DUST and continue to be amazed, as I was, by the intricately realized world of the Silo Saga and the big, big ethical questions it offers for the reader's consideration.I'd like to say a few words in praise of the writing itself. Hugh Howey is an extremely conscientious writer. There are probably other writers who could have come up with something similar to this trilogy, but I think only Hugh Howey could have written it with such razor-sharp execution. First, his style is very lean. Even considering the length--each book in the trilogy weighs in at over 450 pages--I don't believe Howey wastes a single word. He uses very few adjectives and adverbs, so what does he do with all those words? He builds a three-dimensional world layered with such a wealth of compelling characters, technical precision, and cultural traditions that it seems almost as though he is an archaeologist unearthing a real society rather than a writer pulling all of this from his head.Second, although Howey presents an epic story with a large cast, he writes each individual viewpoint with care. From a young woman who can fix anything mechanical and is determined to unearth the truth about the silos, to a middle-aged man who survived the collapse of his silo as a teenager and sometimes feels that he has never grown up, to a little girl whose brave optimism makes her seem wiser than her years, Howey gives each character their own voice that is fully unique and believable.Third, his pacing is spot-on. In the best way possible, he provokes the reader by constantly shifting the narrative from one silo to another, dangling juicy plot carrots and then jerking them back just when things are starting to get really interesting. While reading this trilogy, I lost count of how many times my train of thought ran like this: "Wait, I'm not ready to switch to this silo's viewpoint yet! I want to see what happens next in the other silo. Ooh, but look what's going on over here. I can't believe it...nooo, don't leave me hanging! Don't shunt me back to the other silo!"Compelling story, superb writing, and thought-provoking questions in a hard-to-put-down and hard-to-forget package.

-slow clap-I was a little let down by Shift, but I had high hopes for this installment of the series; turns out they were well-founded hopes. Howey ramps up the pace, the stakes, and the action in Dust. Characters from the previous two books come together, work together, fight each other, kill each other — in what is a relatively short novel, an incredible number of relationships are created, developed, and destroyed. Overall, Howey’s character management in this book was phenomenal, and good characterization is something I really rely on (and heavily scrutinize) in order to enjoy a novel.In terms of the plot, I found Dust far better thought out than Shift. It was more interesting, more thrilling, and moved along at a pace that helped hold the tension in place throughout the entire book. It never wavered. There was always something about to happen, always something on the verge of going wrong and dooming everyone, always some distant glimmer of hope that the good guys would “win.”And that’s another thing I liked about this novel: the gray. Howey doesn’t touch black and white morality with a ten foot pole. He stays firmly in the area of reality, where everyone is confronted with the consequences of their decisions, and people praise them, blame them, hate-love them for what they’ve done and will do. There’s an omnipresent, overhanging scrutiny of all the main character’s actions and plans — from the characters themselves and the others around them. Howey doesn’t forget, amidst all the action, to relay the emotional states of everyone involved and display, quite plainly, the toll that tragedy and fear have on the human psyche.The ending (I’m not going to spoil it, I promise) — I loved the ending. It was the perfect amount of resolution and ambiguity. The Silo Saga, at its core, has always been about the lives of the main characters — while the greater world and the greater society of the silos has always hung around in the background, it’s never taken center stage. And Howey doesn’t break from that in Dust. He doesn’t try to create some grand revolution that changes the face of human society in its entirety and immediately unravels and resolves all the complex issues of the tragic human past. He sticks to his game: this is a story about a small number of people, the consequences their ambitions and choices have on themselves and those around them, and the fear of what may be a futile effort to escape a system greater than they can ever be.As for the effects the events of the Silo Saga have on the world at large — well, Howey leaves those up to you to consider. Just as it should be.In other words, I enjoyed this book immensely.

I've seen the television series and this book goes further into the second season (not yet made). Thrilling story, great imagination but don't read if you're claustrophobic (just kidding).

The final chapter of the trilogy. I made sure to get the same version as the "SHIFT", the previous one.Paperback, good quality, cheap and smells good.

Muy entretenido, el segundo de la trilogía.

I heard of Silo thanks to the series and decided to read the books too. From the minute I picked up Wood, it took me 3 days to finish it. I simply could not put it down. Massive thank you Hugh Howey for such an entertaining, terrifying, crazy story! I cannot wait to read the rest.

Este libro es el final de la serie de la saga del Silo. Es mucho mejor si se lee en Inglés y en orden por lo que antes de leer este es recomendable leer los previos. La historia es muy original, diferente y muy entretenida. Pese a ser de ciencia ficción se tocan temas de todos los días, esta saga es increíblemente buena.