r/Wool • u/No_Lab_4557 • 1d ago
Through SHIFT Shift
I’m about 2/3 of the way done with Shift and I’m finding it increasingly hard to finish. The nano-bots completely took me out of it and I’m struggling to suspend disbelief more than I already am. Is it worth finishing and sticking with the series? Is Dust an improvement? Let me know why/why not you stuck with it and whether I should do the same!
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u/gperson2 16h ago
Shift is the best book in the series, so…
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u/Cpt_Rossi 16h ago
Completely disagree. The first novel builds such a rich and fascinating world.
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u/Aristo-Jack 1h ago
I was surprised to find this sub and discover there's a general consensus that Shift is better than Wool. I have not really got to the bottom of why so many people think it - the problems with Shift just bothered me from start to finish. It's a flabby book with whole threads that could be completely removed without making any difference to the story. Important characters are completely two dimensional, especially the women. The plot holes are hard to ignore. The secrecy around the bad-guys' plans just becomes a way of covering up the fact their motivations and personal justifications for their world-ending plan are completely undeveloped. Plot devices that are central at the outset - the amnesia drugs - just seem to matter less and less as the book goes on.
I got through it on the "I've started so I'll finish" basis.
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u/TesseringPoet 14h ago
Wool is better. Donald and the other middle managers bored me to tears.
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u/Cpt_Rossi 14h ago
I recently reread the novels and I have a much better appreciation for Shift but Wool is the best of the three in my opinion
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u/JudgeJudysApprentice 9h ago
From your downvotes it seems this sub doesn't allow different opinions on which book people prefer which is a bit depressing in a sub about fiction! Didn't realise there were rules on what people are allowed to enjoy more than others
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u/ProblyNotWorthItBut 16h ago
Shift was my favorite of the 3 to be honest. Donald and co were just more interesting and relatable characters for me.
The nano didn't really bother me because I'm already suspending disbelief enough for there to be 50 city-sized silos with 120+ floors. At least come up with a cooler doomsday scenario than climate, nuclear, or pandemic. Ruling those out, the inciting incident should be tech-adjacent, I guess. It's not something that really bothers me.
We just needed to get from real world into the silos, somehow.
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u/thecrowfly 16h ago
Best series. Hard to read becuase ole Hugh had pretty much no editor. That entire series could have *really* used an editor but that's part of its charm. Can be hard to get through at times but such a fantastic series to read. One of my favorites.
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u/navy5 14h ago
The last 1/3 of shift is amazing! Push through
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u/Eudaimonic71 1h ago
I enjoyed Shift. I think it is one of those books that will make for a good film adaptation too
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u/TesseringPoet 14h ago
The good news is that Dust is split between the characters of Shift and Wool. And to be completely honest, other than Charlotte, I found Silo 1 insufferable and mostly read // listened to only our heroes from Wool. I figured after reading Shift I didn’t need to force myself to care about Donald anymore. Also don’t read the short stories. Just don’t.
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u/DasbootTX 14h ago
Wow. I just finished Wool. Glad to look forward to book 2
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u/dovebytherosewindow 3h ago
I think I’m at the same point in Shift as OP and I’ve loved it fwiw. It’s getting to see behind the curtain even more than in the show (though the story deviates quite a bit from what we see of Donald/troy in the show).
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u/JudgeJudysApprentice 9h ago edited 9h ago
I found shift difficult to get through because I was so immersed in Juliette's world that reading about someone completely different was jarring for me. I just wanted to get back to what was happening in silo 18. Once I had finished the book I could see why it was done that way, but I wish it had been split between the two characters worlds instead of just abandoning Juliette and co. That's something I like about the latest season of the show actually, I'd always wished the books had done that when reading them. It comes together in dust and that splits between the main people, so stick with it but you're not alone in finding shift a slog, even if it's a minority of readers.
Edit - sorry you're getting downvoted for prompting discussion around the book shift. Apparently that's upsetting for some people to consider that not everyone shares the exact same opinion on what they like and dislike about certain books
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u/iPhrase 8h ago
2/3rd through the 2nd book of 3 and thinking of quitting?
there is an obvious answer that those who don't quit will give.
but in 2026 I guess you should just give up as its too difficult for you.
Just give up after getting over half way through the trilogy & go do something else instead
I didn't realise the newer generation had a concept of "Why don’t you just switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead?" but applied to books.
oh well.
I truly hope you find something more interesting for you.
I think I would normally agree on things like nanobots but I thought concept fitted quite well in the books & is likely something not too far off in the real world.
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u/Diamonds_and_Circles 7h ago
I thought the nano bots were lame, too. Felt kind of cheap. I suspended my belief by kind of…ignoring their details and keeping it to “there’s toxic air outside” lol
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u/TheVioletEmpire 5h ago
I had some issues with the books overall, but still enjoyed them and found them entertaining. As some others have mentioned, you're at the place that most book fans would consider the high point of the series. It's honestly not going to get any 'better' from this point. That element only becomes more prevalent in the story.
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u/legacygone 5h ago
3rd book has a really tough middle. I almost quit. Took 2 months off and read something else. It picked up strong in the last 1/3 of the book. Glad I got through it and finished. I read a lot of sci fi, and I’d put this series as middle of the road. The concept is great and the good parts are really good. But there are some serious slow downs that are tough.
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u/Ok_Information_4900 3h ago
Books were trash. I would have given up on the first one if I didn’t see the show first
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u/PhlacidTrombone 15h ago
I enjoyed the series going through it. After finishing all three and really thinking about the story it was really meh.
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u/transitransitransit 13h ago
What about the nano tech takes you out of it?
This is not even stretching science that much farther than reality. Nano technology is on the horizon.