Wool 3: Casting Off , by Hugh HoweyBlurb:
The silo has appointed a new sheriff. Her name is Juliette, and she comes not from the shadows of deputies, but from the depths of the down deep.
But what does being a mechanic have to do with upholding the law? And how will she be able to concentrate on the silo's future when she is surrounded by the ghosts of its past?
Before she can even settle in, the whirring gears of the silo begin to grind anew. Things aren't right. And the people whose help she needs the most are gone.
If Juliette isn't careful, she'll soon be among them.
My Reaction:
The third installment in the Wool series is better than the second, I think. (Not that the second was bad...) There's another cliff-hanger ending (sensing a trend there), but I found it less of an instance of "must keep reading now" than the ending of Wool 2. Maybe that has more to do with me than the books, though. I need a break from the intensity of the silo. I'm thinking something by Barbara Michaels... Maybe I'll enjoy this series more if I don't gulp it all at once.
A more specific comment--
I kind of wish the story was a little bit slower-paced. I mean, I appreciate the fact that you don't have much chance to get bored, and I like the brevity, overall... but there are times when I feel that the story-- or the characters' interactions are a little too compressed. Juliette and Lukas are a great example of this. I like both characters, and I enjoyed their budding relationship, but it feels like they are way too invested in one another after, what, two or three evenings of even knowing one another by name. Maybe emotions run higher and faster in the silo, but I would've liked to have seen things play out a little more slowly and realistically.
Oh, and another thing... which happens to contain SPOILERS...
Ahem. Did you catch that?
SPOILERS FOLLOW!
...We were supposed to know/guess about the 8"x2" screen after the end of Wool 1, right? I really hope that wasn't supposed to be a shocking revelation at the end of Wool 3. Because it was pretty obvious by then. The existence of other silos, on the other hand-- not to mention Bernard's communication link with at least one of them-- now, that was unexpected.
I hope Juliette manages to find one of those other silos and shock its inhabitants by sauntering up to their cameras and waving. (g) Or at least finds a way to survive (good thing she's a master-mechanic), because I'm tired of all the deaths in this series, so far!
SPOILERS GO BYE-BYE, NOW.
IS SAFE TO READ AGAIN.
So, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. But a break might be nice. Something vaguely spooky and Octoberish, maybe.
