Hugh Howey’s Shift is the second book in the silo series after Wool, which explored the origin of silo civilization. Shift is a science fiction novel set in the 1960s in the U.S.A. The story's events occur in immense underground unfathomable silos in a post-apocalyptic globe.
Hugh Howey breaks the events in Shift into three unified storylines. The first action follows Donald Keene, a newly appointed Congressman, tasked with managing silo 1, which is the most powerful. The operations of other silos are managed from silo 1, and Donald is tasked with controlling and monitoring everything that takes place in other silos. The second plot is about the construction of silos to ensure human survival. Troy is the engineer in charge of the silos’ planning, and his job is ensuring the tunnels' conditions can sustain human life. The third narrative is about Solo, a young mechanical engineer in silo 17 who questions the genuineness of the silos' purpose. Solo conducts a cautious investigation of the silos and discovers their purpose is to exploit humans.
The novel Shift explores the themes of exploitation of actuality, the fight for continued existence and the cost of concealment. The primary purpose of the silos is to manipulate reality and ensure its occupants do not know about their past. In addition, the architects of silos and those in control do not want people to understand what is happening in the real world. The people in charge of the silos can wipe out people's memory to ensure they remain submissive. In this theme of exploitation of actuality, Hugh Howey shows readers the significance of personal history and identity, which are the attributes that make a human being complete. The other important aspect of the novel is the fight for continued existence. The silos are constructed after the apocalyptic catastrophe that threatens to wipe out humanity. The people inside the silos struggle to survive because they are compounded with challenges of memory loss, fear and uncertainty of their future.
Finally, Hugh Howey uses an anxious mood while exploring the aspect of concealment. The people living in the silos know nothing about the actual world and are apprehensive of what is happening. The people behind the construction of the silos do not want the populace to remember anything about their past, and they achieve this by regularly wiping out the memories of the people, which raises ethical questions. Characters like Solo are anxious to know the truth and the actual purpose of the silos.
