Shift cover art

Shift

Wool Trilogy, Book 2

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Shift

By: Hugh Howey
Narrated by: Peter Brooke
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

NOW THE NO.1 DRAMA IN THE HISTORY OF APPLE TV+

The much anticipated prequel to bestseller
Wool that takes us back to the beginnings of the silo.

In a future less than fifty years away, the world is still as we know it. Time continues to tick by. The truth is that it is ticking away.

A powerful few know what lies ahead. They are preparing for it. They are trying to protect us.

They are setting us on a path from which we can never return.

A path that will lead to destruction; a path that will take us below ground.

The history of the silo is about to be written.

Our future is about to begin.

'We have been mesmerised with Hugh Howey's silo stories since we first laid eyes on book one in the trilogy...' Grazia Daily

'An epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' Justin Cronin

©2013 Hugh Howey (P)2013 Random House AudioGo
Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction

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What listeners say about Shift

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect prequal to Wool

Where does Shift rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Shift is one of the best audio books I've listened to, always exciting and surprising, with well developed characters and great narration.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's a book where emotional detachment isn't possible, not when you consider the scenarios presented in it and the possibility of human nature being more then capable of precipitating them.

Any additional comments?

How did the silos come about and how is it possible for people to have no memories of their human past and history, are just a few questions answered in this great prequel to Wool. I can't wait for the next instalment.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Definitely worth a listen

The narration is a bit odd, particularly given how well the first book was performed... but after a couple of chapters I didn't really notice it. The story was excellent and answered a lot of questions raised by the first book. Don't skip it!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Simply Brilliant

If you could sum up Shift in three words, what would they be?

A Brilliant Sequel

Any additional comments?

Stunning sequel to Wool, that keeps you glued to the player. Looking forward to reading Dust next.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant and hurry up with recording Dust!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a worthy and fascinating sequel to Wool, so refreshing to find that its as gripping in book two and cant wait for book three! Hurry up please!

What other book might you compare Shift to, and why?

You have to compare it to Wool book one, but also it feels a bit like Stepehen King to me with more mystery if thats possible!

What does Peter Brooke bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The terrible and very real feeling of living underground in a large community and not knowing what is out "there"....

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me cry.......

Any additional comments?

Read Wool first...and then settle down and enjoy!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Better than Wool.

Far better than Wool in my opinion. Seems other reviewers think the opposite but this was a much better fleshed out story.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Awful narration does this book dirty.

Throughout this listen I was trying to imagine Susannah Harker narrating it instead, and what a different experience it would have been. The narrators choices of “accents” were poor to the point of cartoonish, taking away from any suspense of disbelief I could manage. As another reviewer remarked, I’m sure Peter Brooke is a very nice man and I wish him luck, I just hope to never hear his voice again.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great second book

I love how I’ve got some history to the creation of the silos now.
Jimmy’s story is an amazing look at solitude and growth.
Can’t wait to get going on part 3.
Thank you Mr Howey.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great follow up

I was apprehensive purchasing this given some of the reviews mention words such as filler and slow. However, I thought the story to be every bit as interesting as the first and really does set it up well for the third book. Whilst I understand the start of this book is a lot slower paced than the previous, the detail and writing is brilliant, the narration is of great quality and it kept me hooked for the duration.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator basal, book feels padded.

2nd in the Wool series.
The premise for this trilogy is interesting and well thought out.
This is the middle book and it feels like the least-loved of the 3.
The narrator is good but his voice has a nasal quality I didn't take to.
The book itself seems padded. Hugh Howey has a habit of describing every.single thought and action of his protagonists. It leaves little room for one's own imagination and means the story moves at a snail's pace.
Also the chapters about Solo/Jimmy are redundant. There's no tension - we know his story from book 1 and he's not an engaging enough character to be interested in the minutae of what happened to him.
It was interesting to learn about the how and the why the silos came into being and how the world ended, but I'm not convinced the "pact" is believable. It goes too far to be convincing.

I think this entire book could have been condensed into 6 or so decent, exhilarating chapters.

That said, I've downloaded book 3: I want to see how it all turns out.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

As many others I’ve paused after the first chapter and googled “can I skip Shift book”…

…disappointed in both narration and prequel-ness of it. Politics part was tedious, mostly because it’s to close to reality and I read/listen books to escape from it. However story gets better and after finishing the book I see why it’s crucial to the series. I didn’t see how “why all this happened” part might be important, and I was so wrong! I did not expect the “why” to be so twisted and dark. This book adds a whole new deep and depressing perspective to the story and I can’t wait to learn if protagonists are up to the challenge in the next book.

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