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Hugh Howey
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First Shift - Legacy (Part 6 of the Silo Series) Kindle Edition

by Hugh Howey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,793 ratings
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In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate.

In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event.

At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened.
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  1. Print length
    238 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    April 14, 2012
  5. File size
    471 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hugh Howey spent 8 years working as a yacht captain. When he was pulled away from the sea by the love of his life, he turned to his childhood dream of becoming an author. His Molly Fyde series has won praise from reviewers, and now his Wool series has become a #1 bestseller, with Random House publishing in the UK and Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian securing the film rights. He lives in Jupiter, Florida with his wife Amber and their dog Bella.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007UAUPZS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Broad Reach Publishing (April 14, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 14, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 471 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 238 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,793 ratings

About the author

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Hugh Howey

Hugh Howey

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Hugh Howey is New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of WOOL, MACHINE LEARNING, SAND, BEACON 23, and many others. His works have been translated into over 40 languages with millions of copies sold around the world. WOOL has been adapted into Silo, a TV show from AppleTVPlus. A show based on BEACON 23 is due out in 2023 from AMC. Hugh lives between New York and the UK with his wife, Shay.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,793 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JJCEO
5.0 out of 5 stars Do it first before someone does it to you!
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2012
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First Shift - Legacy is a prequel to the fabulous books of Wool. I suggest that you read the Wool Omnibus first to gain a better understanding of the basis of this excellent lead into what caused the end of the world and who the players were. Congressman Donald Keene is newly elected and he is proud to serve his country in Congress. It is the year 2049 and he has selected this career change over his formal education as an architect because he believes he can make a difference. The only regret he has is leaving his beautiful wife behind at home while he has to work in the hustle and bustle of Washington DC.

He is called in to meet the most powerful Democratic Senator, and possible presidential candidate, the great Senator Paul Thurman from his home state of Georgia. Donald finds out that he and his best friend, Congressman Mick Webb, have been selected by Senator Thurman to work on the largest project ever started by Congress. He also finds out that he will have to work the senator's daughter the beautiful Anna. Anna was Donald's former girlfriend and he feels very nervous working with her closely and he is so attracted to her. She is smart (MIT Professor), beautiful and still infatuated with Donald.

The project is to build 50 silos outside Atlanta for the storage of spent nuclear power rods for safety and protection. They will be 48 levels deep into the ground and if they were above ground each would be the tallest buildings in the world. He reluctantly accepts and begins a task that is all time consuming and disrupts his family life and his work as a congressman. He has been blessed for some sort of promotion by Senator Thurman and he doesn't know what it is yet.

Donald doesn't even know what the real purpose of the silos is until after the completion ceremonies begin. He has helped build the structures that lead to the end of the world as he knows it.....

Rarely does a prequel measure up to the original story. This is especially true when the original saga is one written in the quality of the Wool series of stories. Mr. Hugh Howey has created a master piece in the Wool Omnibus and this follow on book is every bit as good and the first books. The story is spine chilling and the premise of the story is that in order to save the world as you know it, it is better to do what needs to be done before someone does it to you! It is a story of paranoia and power and shows how a hand full of people can change the destiny of the world.

The story jumps back and forth between the year 2049 and 2010. This is before and after the events that change the world. Every state in the USA has a silo and every silo has a mission, survive! This is a Sci-Fi story but even those that do not like Sci-Fi will love this story for the quality of writing, the in depth character development and excellent story telling.

I loved this book and if you have read and enjoy the Wool Omnibus then you will like this book also. If you haven't started reading the Wool series yet, what are you waiting for!

I strongly recommend this book!
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Kaila
4.0 out of 5 stars Any Wool fan will love this
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2012
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Quite the addition to the Wool universe! I was unable to put it down. Once again Mr. Howey draws us in with lifelike characters that emotionally resonate, like this story has already happened and he's just explaining it to us. It's an amazing gift to make the future seem so close. It's gripping and fast paced, but still manages to retain the same poignancy we all loved in the Wool series.

We begin in 2049, following around Congressman Donald Keene as he is given a project to design a skyscraper...underground. How exceedingly strange! If only Congressman Keene had been blessed with the omniscience we now possess. His thoughts about the design made it much easier for me to picture the silo as it was meant to be imagined, like how seeing something through an outsider's eyes allows you to appreciate it all the more. The people who lived in Silo 18 never thought the stairs odd because they've been walking up and down them their entire lives. I cracked a smile when Donald said, "What, no elevator? Are you crazy?" I agree Donald! Had you only known what they were planning...

The second half of the story takes place in the year 2110, in Silo 1, following around a fellow named Troy. As far as I can tell he is like a Mayor from any of the other silos: only nominally in charge. I loved getting to know the inner workings of the, up until now, rather sinister Silo 1. Troy's misadventures just broke my heart, especially as we near the ending and realize what is going on. Once again the last few lines have assured that I will be picking up more of the series.

Mr. Howey, I've decided, is absolutely amazing at the small things. I am now convinced this is why his characters feel so alive, because we all have weird quirks or trains of thought, and unless your character does too, why should we believe in them? He describes a game of Solitaire exactly how I've always thought about it but could never put into words. He explains the brushing of a paper medical gown against the skin, and I can feel it because I've had one on too. It is therefore all the more blissfully agonizing as we lose the characters that have come to mean something to us.

But, but!, something was missing. I had a really hard time putting my finger on it at first, because if I wanted to keep reading, and it kept me up late because I really wanted to finish it, shouldn't it get 5 stars? The little things is what made this story so imminently readable, but the big, overarching story is what made it lacking. The explanation of the apocalypse just didn't hold together for me, and now I'm starting to question whether I just dislike dystopias as a whole. In Wool 5 we learn that we were the ones to do it, to push the big red button, and this is where we learn why. The reasoning was rather baffling to me. A dystopia means, at its base, that somewhere along the line mankind failed. Oh we definitely failed here, but I felt it was unbelievable. The plan must have been far reaching for it to go off without a hitch, and all the higher ups were ok with this? No one wanted to stop it? Zuh?

That bugged me, yes, but you know what? It doesn't matter. I loved this story, I love the Wool universe, I will read anything Hugh Howey publishes.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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John David D.
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing!
Reviewed in Canada on November 22, 2016
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Fantastic writing. I did not think the Wool series could get any better, but it has! Readers will be pleased.
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Guinea Pig
5.0 out of 5 stars Une préquelle à lire absolument... après !
Reviewed in France on August 3, 2012
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Ce livre raconte comment les silos de la série "Wool" ont pu se mettre en place. Et si les conditions n'ont rien d'original en soi, le déroulement des événements et la mise en place du tout l'est beaucoup plus...

J'ai retrouvé dans ce tome le don de l'auteur pour faire vivre des personnages très humains et très vivants, et cette écriture fluide qui offre une lecture aisée.

Mais ce qui m'a le plus frappée est le contraste entre l'impression donnée par la lecture de "Wool" (quand à l'organisation hiérarchique et l'état d'esprit présumé de ceux qui contrôlent) et la réalité, plutôt déprimante, que l'on découvre lentement dans "First Shift".

Rien de très original peut-être dans cette série, mais plein de personnalité et un sens de l'humain qui me touche beaucoup. Un auteur à suivre !
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Funny Mummy
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Prequel to the WOOL series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2012
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Have just finished reading the WOOL omnibus and was blown away. The author managed to immerse me in the silo and become one of the inhabitants. I couldn't wait to get started on First Shift which tells how it all began. The author concentrated on a main character who designed the silo, his wife, his friend and the senator who seemed to control and pull the strings, although who was pulling the senator's strings? There were some unanswered questions for me such as, there was no mention of other people in the 'bigger picture' such as the president of the united states, who surely would have known what was going on. What about the rest of the world? Did they have silos? I guess I'm glad in a way that the story just concentrated on a small group as it could have started to get complicated. The story jumped from two timelines and as the story progressed you started to understand and guess what had happened. I can't wait for the second shift and more wool.
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MAD91086
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark story......but,
Reviewed in Germany on April 22, 2012
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This story is the beginning of a great series of books about people trying to survive a very dark age of human existence. Normally i am not a big fan of these apocalypsic stories, but the way the characters are described and the situation they are in - I cannot think of a recent book that I have read that comes close. A lot of times I catch myself believing I am actually there - the main character is just like me!!! (but boy is my life easier....).

Now I am one this people that are convinced that a great work of art is in the making and the name of the author will fall in the same categorie as Issac or Robert A. Heinlein.

D.

(P.S. be sure to read the Wool 1-5 prior readin this one!)
2 people found this helpful
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MPR
3.0 out of 5 stars similar to wool ?
Reviewed in Australia on July 21, 2014
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While this was a good read and maybe a prequel to another perspective of the wool trilogy there is so much here that was in Shift that I felt I had already read it
If you have recently read the wool trilogy I would skip this one!
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