It was just about two months ago that I discovered book one of the WOOL series by Hugh Howey, and then it only took a matter of days to read the next four.  To say that I’ve been anxiously awaiting the next part of the story would be putting it mildly, and given the level of enthusiasm for the series (the five books have amassed nearly 1000 5-star reviews on Amazon alone), I’m not the only one.

Well, Woolites, the wait is almost over; at the time of this writing, there are just shy of six days left before the release of the next chapter in the Silo Series, First Shift: Legacy, and I can tell you that this is definitely a case where the taste is worth the wait.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of reading the WOOL Series yet, the story takes place several centuries after a world-wide apocalypse forces survivors underground into a huge concrete silo.  There their descendants go about their lives, with little to no knowledge of the state of the world outside of their contained environment.

In my review of WOOL 1, I said that one great thing about the story is the questions it brings up. Things like what caused the apocalypse?  How long have they really been down there?  Who’s in control,  and what do they know about the past? What is the world really like outside their self-imposed prison?

If, like me, you’ve been starving for answers, First Shift: Legacy will feel like filet mignon; it might not satisfy your entire hunger, but what it does give you is amazing.

First Shift takes us back to the origin of the silo project.  We get some information about who built the silos, when, and why.  I say some information, because in classic Hugh Howie style, nothing is stated, everything is only hinted at.  You get a tid here and a bit there, and each morsel serves to expand the scope of the Silo universe, and make it even more interesting.  But of course, there are not only answers and revelations in Legacy, but a whole slew of new questions to ponder as we wait for the next chapter in the story.

So that I don’t sound like a total fanboy, I will say that there is a certain plot device that is essential to the story that I won’t spoil, but if I was to state it outright, you might have a reaction like “Huh? There’s no way…”  But that being said, in the course of the story, it works, and even if you have a niggling doubts about it, it makes it easier to overlook because without it, there’s no Legacy (in more ways than one…)

But even so, First Shift is definitely my favorite of the WOOL books so far.  If you’ve read the first five, you’ll want to read Legacy ASAP. (And if you haven’t, do so.)

My official rating for First Shift: Legacy is 9 megatons.

ps I should also note that even though this book takes place first chronologically, you do not want to read it first.  Similar to the way watching the Star Wars prequels will ruin certian revelations in the original Trilogy, reading Legacy first will definitely spoil the rest of the series for you, so be sure to start with WOOL 1.