Review: DUST by Hugh Howey (Silo #3)

The thing I like about this series is each book brings something new to the table. WOOL introduced the world within the silo(s) and some of the interesting characters that inhabit it. SHIFT gave readers the answers to how the silo(s) came about and provided context and rationale to the story behind WOOL whilst also linking the events of the two books into a semi prequel/sequel. DUST again brings new elements to the rich, yet densely contained world author Hugh Howey has created by virtue of an outside hope, determined protagonist further evolved from WOOL, and an expansion upon the events that have unfolded in the preceding books.

For me, DUST is the highlight of the series. Not only does it takes readers on a new journey but also defines the core characters, casting them in distinctly humanist light without diluting the ‘road to ruin nature’ which led to the creation of the silos.

Howey does leave the door slightly ajar for further instalments which may/may not be directly related to DUST and silos 17, 18 and 1 (the prime featured silos). There are 50 other possibilities and hundreds of years’ worth of cleanings, uprisings, and mayor elects questioning the order to explore.

As Howey writes at the end of the edition I read; the characters live longer than the book, the story resonates, and this is not the end (I’m paraphrasing). That’s good enough hope for me. 

Review: BLACK FEATHERS by Joseph D'Lacey

Urban fantasy and legend meet the post apocalyptic in BLACK FEATHERS created from the wickedly dark imagination of author Joseph D’Lacey. This new world takes all that it’s been given; decimating the populace and crumbling the society that has so scarred its land for as long as time can remember. Now, rivers overflow, volcanoes spill hot lava, the very crust of Earth splits and soil is borne anew. BLACK FEATHERS leads to a cleansing of the planet where savours are few and survivalists are the government made of single mindedness determination with a ‘control at all cost’ mantra. 

For Gordon Black, a young boy blessed and cursed to follow the path of the Crowman, this new world takes everything from him while subjecting him to daily torment at the hands of the Ward and the ills of mankind in general. Gordon knows he’s special, his parents told him so all his life until the moment they were taken away for hoarding food and supplies during a time when rationing and natural disasters ran rife. Now on the path alone he looks deep within to discover what the Crowman is, and how he can influence the second coming of man.

The other side of the equation is Megan – a young woman set to become a Keeper; the person responsible for documenting and remembering the Crowman’s path and plight. Throughout BLACK FEATHERS she endures other worldly experiences and follows a distinctly similar path to that of Gordon, only, in Megan’s eye, past, future, and present blend into one. It’s a disturbing and slightly disorienting side to BLACK FEATHERS but makes the book that much more enjoyable.

The thing that impressed me the most about this book is the non conformity with the post apocalyptic genre in general – D’Lacey blends elements of the fantastical with almost spiritualistic remedies to provide a sense of hope to his characters that otherwise wouldn’t have had such a purpose.

Needless to say, book #2, THE BOOK OF THE CROWMAN has jumped near the top of my TBR.

Review: LETHAL METAL by Harry Ledowsky

A naval investigator, undercover radiation recovery operative, and prominent local clinician attempt to stall an arms deal that would deliver a terrorist group a smattering of lethal weapons and access to radioactive waste.  

Altered to the dangerous proposal by virtue of his work in the hospital emergency department, Dr Ross inadvertently uncovers the first glimpse of a broader spanning crime that not only has the potential to end his three young patients’ lives prematurely following contact with the radioactive waste but has far reaching ramifications for the rest of the world.

When the Russian Mafia are found to have leverage over the Russian Navel Authority, senior members find themselves in dire predicaments, forced to collude with the criminal underworld. Back room deals are made, cheques are signed, lives are placed in the control of others. For Captain Andriev Alenkov, one of the good guys of the navy, this blatant disregard for the service is foreign and without rationale, however, as the events and deeper plot behind LETHAL METAL unfold, Alenkov’s sentiments, echoed by the reader, are slightly displaced.

For all its thrills and kills, LETHAL METAL is a distinctly human novel in a sense that it evaluates the core aspects that drive humanity to formulate their own cause, structure, and belief. Each of the characters; from mob boss, terrorist assassin, to corrupt naval personnel come across as believable in their own right making the events seem all the more justified (hero and villain perspective alike).

The Russian place setting, whilst playing a part to a degree was more supplementary than core. If I had to critique, I would’ve liked to have had a deeper, more enveloping sense of place – even if the submarine scenes were elaborated. That said pretty much everything worked well and exceeded my expectations. Being new to the author and reading somewhat outside my typical genre(s), LETHAL METAL entertained and made me want to get to the finish as quick as I could.