After reading the first 5 books in the "Wool" series, how could I not read the latest volume, "First Shift - Legacy"? Before even realizing that there was another book out, I was hoping that it would be a prequel. It is, and it explains how and why the silos came into being.
Although many of my questions are now answered in that regard, I must say that I did not enjoy the book as much as its predecessors. It moves very slowly and is full of detail and words that seem to be there only for page fillers. Some of this detail is relevant and useful information as the story comes together, bit by bit, while some of it is just trivia. There is no doubt that one must not read this novel as a stand alone book. It would not make much sense. Reading the 5 previous installments allows the reader to connect the dots and make sense of much omitted detail in the previous chapters of the saga.
Having now read all six, I am anxious for more to come as there is much more to this story yet to be told. There are loose ends and characters that have been left hanging. I am sure that Hugh Howey will milk this story for a while yet. I like his skill in letting us slowly figure things out, almost as if we know more than he does because he does not state the obvious after we have discovered it. We wonder if we surmise correctly, and then he gives us confirmation by the way the story next unfolds. It is intelligent writing.
According to his website, he is working on # 9 already.
I can only give this one a 3 1/2 star rating, but, overall, I think this series is great.
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