Riddle me this… why oh why have I taken so long to read the final instalment in this marvellous Silo trilogy, Dust? Why, after being utterly captivated by book 1, Wool, loving book 2, Shift, did it take me over three years to reach for this epic conclusion? Yeah, I don’t know either. Too many great books and not enough time, maybe? Finally, I made the time. What I do know is the wait was well worth it.
I don’t want to allow any spoilers to slip into this review except to say that in this final book, the world as the inhabitants of the various Silo’s know it is about to be torn apart. While the reader has been privy to internal politics and, in book 2, the over-arching or macro-politics and history that led to the silos and the hot-housing of humanity in the first place, in this final novel, the splintering of loyalties, of what’s always seemed to be the truth, of just who are allies and enemies, of how perceptions are created and distorted, reaches a climax.
The sense of imprisonment, of claustrophobia, not just within the dark confines of these enormous cement holdings, but psychically and emotionally, plunges towards the only possible shocking conclusion. Yearning for freedom and having it within your grasp, however, comes at a cost… are the inhabitants of the silos willing to pay the price and what charges might be extracted from them if they do?
Tense, utterly believable, with cracking dialogue and wonderful descriptions that make the reader feel as entrapped as those we read about, this is a terrific conclusion to a stunning trilogy. Only, I get the feeling it isn’t really a conclusion either… I certainly hope not.