Sit down and strap in, because the slow boiling
prose of Hugh Howey is magnificent in Dust: the last novel of the Wool trilogy (a story about a dystopian future, where
people live inside a massive Silo stashed underground—think Fallout 3’s vaults).
SPOILER ALERT: If you happen to be one of the six people on
Earth that hasn't read the Wool series yet, then go no further. The starting events of this novel are the
ending events in Wool, and we recommend you read Wool first before reading this
review.
STORY:
Dust opens exactly where Wool left off: Juliette
as the crispy mayor and Lucas as the head of the IT department. Everything is getting on just fine in Silo
18, except for the fact that Juliette's new plan has the populace split right
down the middle. See, Juliette wants to
use the newly found digger and spare generator from her Silo to dig a hole
straight to Silo 17 to rescue Solo and the kids. But even though she's been outside and has
seen the world for what it really is, her people still have their doubts. Half the Silo is against her plan, while the
other half thinks she's just a little nutty from being outside. What's the new mayor to do? Fascinating Sci-Fi, social issues,
claustrophobia, and tense situations ensue.
THOUGHTS:
If you've read Wool and it produced a warm
fuzzy feeling running through your veins, then Dust will be capable of doing
exactly the same. Tension mixed with
fear, mixed with crappy expectations is squeezed to the limits in the text,
forcing you to turn the page and hope everything turns out alright for our
favorite Silo friends. Howey, as always,
uses every word and sentence to their fullest, leaving even veterans of the
writing population scratching their heads and wondering just how he does it.
Even though the book ends around the five
hundred page mark, the story will fly by, and at times, might even feel a
little rushed. In Wool, every character
emotion, burden, and ache was described in beautiful detail, creating an amazing
relationship between reader and all the characters throughout Silo 18. But in Dust, the story bounces around a
little more than expected. After brief
check-ins with Juliette and her people, you'll be whisked away to Silo 17 to
see what Solo and the gang is doing.
Turn to the next chapter and you'll now be following a few of the people
responsible for this whole debacle in Silo 1.
And the entire book will go on like this, jumping from Silo to Silo
between chapters, until the inevitable conclusion.
The bouncing around isn't necessarily a bad
thing, but it does keep the flow of the story moving at a brisk pace. For instance, at one point you may hear
Juliette talking about wanting to start digging, and just a mere chapter later
we're already underway without much detail or thought behind it. The upside to this is people who felt Wool
might have been a tad on the slow side will enjoy the new pace of this
novel. But don't worry, the story is
still fascinating and hits all the right marks, no matter what the speed. It's just a little harder to relate to a
character as you're pulled from one Silo to the next.
THE CHARACTERS:
When you have a tin can world packed with
thousands of people, you are sure to get a few nuts in the bunch, and Howey
really knows how to use this pressure to increase a crisis. How would people react when there's a chance
of no tomorrow? A human collective will
always split off into different packs of beliefs, agendas, and strategies. And the societal breakdown holds the key to
fear and escalating tension as each page is turned. You know sometimes exactly how a certain
situation will play out, but it's the way the characters react that surprises
you and makes the story exhilarating.
There's also a change of perspective in a few
chapters that adds freshness to the storytelling, and it comes in the form of
Elise: the little girl from Silo 17. She
presents a naive look at a frightening world.
The verbiage also changes to simplistic words and phrases that create a
feeling of innocence in the text. And
with Elise's lack of experience, also comes increased stress for the reader,
because everyone is trying to take advantage of her.
PACE FRUSTRATION:
Toward the end of the book—as tension gets to
an all-time high—a few frustrating scenes take place. Typically, when a story's end draws near, the
action will increase, making the last couple of chapters fly by. But toward the end of the book a funny thing
happens: remedial tasks (worthless
conversations and silly errands) are thrown in the way of the main story
arc, bringing the momentum to an amazing halt.
Sometimes these conversations are almost logical, because they somewhat
help with the final outcome. But most of
the scenes just seemed ridiculous, especially in a time of such immediate
danger. "We have to get out now! But
first let me stop here and talk to this person about life, because we seem to
have a few minutes."
CONCLUSION:
Hugh Howey takes great care in how he ends the
Wool trilogy. His beautiful prose wraps
up all lingering story lines and gives the reader a feeling of fulfillment and
ease when the last page is turned. If
you've read the other books in the series and have been waiting for the finale,
then you're in for a treat. Dust places
an elegant bow around the Wool series, making all prior books well worth the
investment. The writing may seem rushed
at times with some outlandish conversations, but it still doesn't take away
from the fantastic story being told.
4 out of 5 stars (minus a star for slightly troubled pacing)
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