Mount TBR 2017 discussion

I'm in. :)

Happy New Year book buddies. :)

I'm downloading Dust right now!

Chapters 1-12
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1. I am at a bit of a disadvantage because I listened to Shift quite a while ago and cannot remember exactly where we were at...
2. I am so psyched that Juliette is such a prominent character is this book as I really like her.
3. The narrator sounds like Kevin Spacey to me. A huge plus.
4. I am worried about Donny. Charlotte has the premonition that he is dying and he is clearly not well. I'll be bummed if we lose him. I hope he creates a whole bunch of cool gadgets before he disappears.
5. I am confused about the series. Is this the last book in the series? I thought there were like 8 books in the Wool series. I can look up the answer to this question up for myself - but wondered if others were similarly befuddled.
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I'm back at work tomorrow so won't read quite so much.

Right kids at school and ready to go :-) When we did Shift we read a section a week, is that what we are doing this time or are we just ploughing through? Also I can't read Kimberley's notes where it says spoilers removed. any suggestions on how to access them?

I've just finished! I'm sorry. I'll keep up with your comments as they come in so I don't spoil anything.

Yes it's the app and it's Android - will read some today and boot up the computer to swap thoughts. in really looking forward to this after enjoying Shift so much, which I was surprised about having tried it a couple of times before and giving up.

Well done Kimberley!

Section one finished. I'm on the PC and have read your points so far. How on earth do I add a spoiler section in my comments?

Sorry to be a pain. I just generally only use a PC at work and rely on tablets and phones the rest of the time.

Jessika wrote: "I finished Part One this morning!

Thanks for the explanation on the series. I get it now. Also, after finishing, I think a further book would have been strange.

How far along are you guys? I'm wondering how you're feeling about Donald...?.

Section 2 finished and into section 3 :-)

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@Kimberley how I feel about Donald? Well right now in section 2 we have established that he is really ill and the likelihood seems to be that its from gas that they pump out on leaving the Silos not from the air outside being polluted. I'm frustrated that he's been found out and the evil Thurman (dum dum dum) is back in play. however my feelings about him are mixed. He's always been weak. Events just happen to him and he is pulled along by the people in his life. Yes he has a good ethical compass but it overwhelms him often and although he can see what is right he never has a clear idea of how to achieve it, I'm not sure Donald should rally and "lead" despite his earlier acts of ruthlessness in Shift. His acts of ruthlessness cause him to crumble and sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do.
Which leads me to Juliette who has a good idea of the big picture as she sees it and can get things done. Obviously though she sees the "big" picture in terms of her Silo and her moral compass only. The end of section 2 was poignant for me when Juliette crumbled going through to Silo 17 but unlike Donny she was able to rally and pull herself together at the start of Section 3 to keep people from causing a disaster. Juliette muses at one point that her thwarted chance to have children means that all her nurturing goes else where and I think this is a good point. She could become the "mother" of humanity, their Eve.
I love Charlotte. Donny talked a lot in Shift about her mental state when actually it was his mental state that was suffering. Here's another woman who can get things done. If her and Juliette manage to join forces I think for the first time in the series there will be a cohesive picture of what should be done rather than everyone working for their own goal. I love how throughout the trilogy there have been such strong female characters. However, none of them are mother's. Is this the authors commentary that having children shrinks a woman's prospective to her brood only and prevents leadership of a group? What do you think? Do you agree? Would having children have made the mayor, Anna, Charlotte and Juliette weaker?
@Jessika I think it was mentioned in Shift that Anna did it with the doctor's help. However, a lot in these novels is implied so maybe it wasn't and I just guessed that. I love the ambiguity throughout all the books, that no one ever has all the pieces and so you never know who is "right". It's great as a reader as it means there are so many twists and so much that keeps you going and guessing. It's also more true to life than is normally portrayed in novels and TV where everything is black and white and spelt out explicitly.

When reading Shift I said to Jessika that I didn't know how I wanted things to end. I "bought" into the "people couldn't work together" psychology thing and wasn't sure if the air was clean. Now i hope that they do get out. We know the air is clean now. I'm hoping that Silo 40 is operational and maybe some of the other 'black' spots too. Are they already out there?

I'm excited for the next section to see how the religious aspect plays in to their survival!

That was super long but there is a lot going on! Anyone else got any thoughts at this point?

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Section 3 finished

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@Jessika, I completely agree with you about the fact that it would mean they had to weigh their consequences more thoroughly. Perhaps it would have made them more concerned about a smaller circle than the Silo(s) as a whole. For example, if Anna had children would she have been so concerned about Donny being close to her and waking him or would she have focused more on their survival? If Anna had children Thurman would be a grandfather. We already know that Anna was his Achilles heel, and he woke her up not only because of her expertise but for her company. Do you think grandchildren would have changed him and his plans? Would they be in training to lead people into the "new world"?

The Elise thing creeped me out too! I thought the religious group would do something to throw a spanner in the works but I didn't think of that. I agree with what you said about the society. That's why in Shift I couldn't decide how I wanted the trilogy to end as a whole. I kind of get Thurman's point (yes its evil and I don't condone it one bit; billions are dead) but his logic reads. How could all 50 Silos survive together when even one Silo can't function. What does this say about human nature as a whole? Individuals like Juliette can see a bigger picture and work for good but even in her small circle people couldn't agree on what the "right" thing is. Are people inherently selfish? Is the human race doomed? I think this trilogy can serve as a warning that more people need to think like you did at the end of the section (band together and make a better world).

Enough philosophy! I love this idea of the SEED. I've decided I want them to head there and some of the dark Silos already be there living it large!

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Finished and completely satisfied with the ending. Thanks for reading it with me :-)