Dust, the final volume in Hugh Howey's post-apocalyptic Wool trilogy, is as engrossing a read as its predecessors, returning to the characters from the first two books as they risk everything for the taste of freedom that may or may not exist.
Howey manages to maintain narrative drive and tension through most of the novel while still providing a timely and appropriate resolution, and although there is plenty of scope for him to spin out into a much longer series (what, for example happens to the silos that have gone silent?), I am glad he has not.
As he reminds us in a concluding author's note, the end of a story is a single moment in time, and how or if it continues is up to us.
In so doing he gives us all the opportunity to keep his world alive in our own imaginations, the ultimate act of authorial generosity and a challenge I accept gladly.
Previous books in this trology
- Wool: Post-apocalyptic vision entertains
- Shift: Fast-paced, fascinating tale of the future
• Cushla McKinney is a Dunedin scientist.
