The Silo 49 Series was written with the permission of Hugh Howey, the creator of the WOOL Universe.
Within the confines of his stories, we are left with big questions about what happened to everyone else in his world. He has graciously allowed many others to explore those untouched silos and hidden gems. Silo 49 is a series of books that explores one of those places.
I started the Silo 49 story before I even knew it was a story. While reading the WOOL 2 novella (oh yeah, I was an early reader of the WOOL saga), I had a pretty strong inkling of what was going to happen. By the time I closed the book, I was creating these people in my head.
Over time and with subsequent releases, I refined it and expanded it in my head to encompass pretty much the entire series as it stands now. Not tooting my horn or anything, but I did figure out the ending long before DUST. Not the specifics, but the situation.
One day I was telling a fellow Woolian, (I totally got him hooked on it), and he asked me to write it and send it to him so we could discuss it. I wrote a very short, maybe 20K words, version of these three books. He came back with an email with a single word on it, “MOAR!”. So, I got permission and here we are.
On my other site, my oh-so-beginner site, Silo49.blogspot.com, I put this handy dandy Contact Me! widget in. Mostly because I couldn’t figure out the majority of widgets and that one was easy. But something really wonderful happened.
People started writing to me. And then a lot of people started writing to me.
Most of you have said great things and that you have enjoyed the books. I tell you, those notes from readers mean a heck of a lot. Many of you have had fascinating questions, suppositions and even suggestions for future outcomes. I try to answer every one of those I can.
Silo 49 has never had it easy and things have just gotten a whole lot worse. Graham, the head of IT, has done many unsavory things in his life, but everyone has a line they won't cross. He just found his. With only his best friend, Wallis and a dying electrician, Grace, to stand by him, he is left with one clear and final choice. Does he do what is right or what the rules say he should? It is a race against time for the trio against the impersonal might of Silo One. Their solution? Going Dark.
Marina is a Fabricator, a worker of metal, and has been tasked with reclaiming the silver of the silo from private hands to replenish the diminishing vault stocks. Among the curiosities turned in, she finds something that should not exist and that begins a search for the most elusive thing in the silo… the truth. Long buried truths aren't the only things unearthed during her single-minded pursuit. Crime, memory-wipes, and even death will stalk the eternal stairwell of the silo.
Lillian and Leo - cousins and best friends - enter the lists for the 89th Race in Silo 49. The prize they seek is the singular honor of running outside, with no boundaries and no walls to hem them in. But the run is much more than a simple, but risky, trip outside to map their surroundings. The silo is falling apart, age and wear showing in every crack and seam. If the Others will not die out and let the world be reborn, then they must seek a way around the Others and find the blue skies for themselves.
Even in a good silo, life can be hell.
Elizabeth the Other, born to the silo and living under the stain of her father's actions, has no one. She is alone, untouchable and unloved. Her only outlet is 25 Drums, the place where teen shadows mix, mingle and find a mate. She will find no life partner there, but she can dance. And tomorrow is her 20th birthday.
The first of its kind, this gathering brings together nine of the Silo Saga's most acclaimed authors to further expand upon the groundbreaking world first laid forth in WOOL, SHIFT, and DUST. From the power struggles of the Up Top to the darkest depths of the mines and everything in between, this anthology promises something for everyone bold enough to venture another journey deep below the surface of the best and worst humanity has to offer.
(Proceeds from the sale of this anthology benefit National Novel Writing Month / NaNoWriMo)
The most frequent question I get now is: Will there be more? I’ve been working (though slowly) on a prequel to all of it, Silo 49: Roughneck. It takes place during the final stages of building the silo and just after the event. The main character is an endearing one and I like him immensely.
When will it be out? Well, I’m happy to announce that Silo 49: Roughneck will be appeared in the anthology, Chronicles Worlds: WOOL, (known as CWW for short), curated by the enormously talented Samuel Peralta. For those who don’t know, Sam started the juggernaut that became the Chronicles. He asked little old me to write a story for the first one, The Robot Chronicles, and from there the entire series has gone big time. I have zero doubt that CWW will wind up being another astonishing addition and I’m proud to be in it.
"Ann Christy is an exceptionally talented and polished author. That should be obvious to anyone who reads Silo 49: Going Dark. After very recently discovering and devouring Hugh Howey's Wool, Shift and Dust trilogy, I was prepared to be disappointed by this fan fiction novel set in Hugh's now familiar Silo World. I mean, how good could a novel be that was written by a fan? As I soon found out, this novel was good. Quite good."
"Simply put, Silo 49: Going Dark is among the finest additions to Hugh Howey's World of WOOL. The story is rich with a level of detail sure to bring readers into parts of the silos previously unseen. Even during the technical bits, the story continues to move seamlessly. There are no massive info dumps that slow the narrative to a crawl, no head-scratching jargon requiring a technical manual always be within easy reach. Ann's prose is crisp and confident at all times, easily bringing the reader along with Graham, Wallis, and Grace as they navigate the treacherous politics and dehumanizing protocols underpinning life in the silo. It's a fascinating journey, one that had this reader captivated from the opening passage to the final turn of the page."
"Great book. Loved it, it fits in great with the rest of the saga. Hugh Howey created an excellent world full of possibilities in how the various silos could evolve (though you'd presume most would toe the line of Silo 1, the most interesting stories are the ones that don't). This story is a definite twist on things; the silos are set in a post apocalyptic world... this particular silo is an example of a practically post apocalyptic society within a silo."
"I have somewhat consciously avoided the fan spin-offs of the Hugh Howey series as I did not want to be disappointed. Somewhat skeptically, I added this to my Kindle collection sometime back and even avoided reading it for a while, again, reticent to be let down. I am happy to say that Ms Christy did a fantastic job with designing a story and characters that had me hooked early on. Others have complained of her detail, but I love that in a book. I am a visualist and love to paint the story in my mind's eye. It was easy to see a silo in disrepair, slowly dying and inhabited people without much personal hope yet striving to recover a future for the silo. Loved it."
"This is a fascinating story about a silo whose population goes lower and lower with each passing day. It grabbed me right in the beginning and kept my rapt attention all the way through. I'm going directly into book two now, cannot wait to see what happens next!"
JAMIE CRAWLEY
May 20, 2018 - 1:11 pm ·I just finished the last book ” Flying season for the mis-recorded”, wow…..I love the way you put it together. Please tell mere will be more!!!! Hugh created such a wonderful world with soooo many possible stories to be told. I would love to hear more about silo 1, silos that have gone dark, even silos that are running “normal”. You have done an amazing job with silo 49 and i hope it isnt the end of the series.
Peg
April 11, 2018 - 5:04 am ·Wonderful books. Love your characters. The WOOL world is so interesting. Just read them all for a second time.
Peg
Ann Christy
June 5, 2018 - 5:28 pm ·Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked them!
Gordon grimes
May 11, 2017 - 12:58 am ·Hi,
I’ve just finished Deep Dark (enjoyed it immensely) and am puzzled by the ending. Perhaps you can respond directly so as to avoid spoilers in this dialog.
Thanks much.
Awie
December 26, 2016 - 3:00 pm ·Hi Ann .. just completed the Silo 49 series on Kindle. Thanks for writing the great series. Fits well with the original series .
Gregg Eshelman
October 29, 2016 - 4:52 am ·Where can I find a list of all the books, novellas and short stories set in the WOOL universe? (Wooliverse?)
Ann Christy
December 26, 2016 - 3:43 pm ·There are so many that it’s hard to keep up! There is now a Kindle Worlds section just for tales in the Wooliverse, but I’ve only read a small portion of them. I did a search for “Wool Fanfiction” and “Wool Universe Books” and came up with quite a few as well. There’s plenty of reading to do there! I do think mine might be the only ones that are long novels though, so it depends on your taste preferences.
Tom
January 24, 2016 - 4:33 am ·Hi Ann. I just finished reading silo 49 going dark. Truly amazing book. I read printed edition. I guess I’m an old school, cause I like reading Real books 🙂 So I can’t find anywhere the second book in paperback. Is it published? If yes, where can I find it? If no, are you planning on publishing it? Thanks. Tom
Ann Christy
January 24, 2016 - 11:48 am ·Hi Tom and I’m so glad you enjoyed the first book! Unfortunately, I don’t have the other two in that series in paperback (just the side novella Flying Season) because the first book rarely sold a copy in paper. Getting a volume into print is another investment. That said, I do have it on my “really want to do” list. I wish I had a better answer! If there’s anything I can do (aside from get those covers made and get them out!) let me know. Best regards, Ann
Ann Christy
October 28, 2016 - 6:47 pm ·Tom – I hope you’re still getting notifications from your comment. As of a couple of months ago, print editions of all four Silo 49 novels are now available! Yay! Ann
Michael Hyatt
December 6, 2015 - 4:09 am ·Ann,
In your Silo series, it seems to me that you constructed a fascinating new corner of the Wool universe that both hews to the original and is also uniquely your own. I found Flying Season for the Mis-Recorded especially memorable. I’ve wondered what was involved in securing Mr. Howey’s permission to publish these follow-on works? How does all of that work? Just curious!
Michael Hyatt
Ann Christy
December 31, 2015 - 12:44 pm ·It was before there was such a landslide of others, so that might be why it wasn’t hard to do. I simply wrote a synopsis of the books, asked him if I could write and publish them. He said yes! Now he has a WOOL Kindle World, so anyone can write in that world and publish them there. That’s certainly made it easier for new stories to get to market. Ann
Laura Woodswalker
February 9, 2015 - 1:17 pm ·Dear Ann, I am enjoying the first Silo 49 book…but I have a question. Is each of them a full book length, or are they novellas the way the original WOOL book was? if so, will all of them be gathered into one full volume soon? I would prefer to just buy one large volume.
Or maybe we could do a trade! I have a novel TESLA’S SIGNAL which is in 2nd proof right now, meaning I could probably publish it this month. (details on my website.)
I am new to WOOL fandom…my son loaned me the series just last month. I thought it was compelling, but my take on the series is that the Silo One agenda is simply not plausible. It goes against human nature. Megalomaniacs like Silo One would not plan on snuffing all but one silo, including themselves. They would plan to rule over the others and keep them as slaves.
Either way, thanks for a good story, and good luck with your latest projects!
Ann Christy
February 9, 2015 - 1:59 pm ·I’m so glad you’re liking the Silo 49 Series! As to length, Going Dark is something like 44K words (I think the first Wool episode was originally 12K? Maybe 20K?). Deep Dark and Dark Till Dawn are both well over 80K words (approx 330 pages dense print) and Flying Season for the Mis-Recorded is a reader-requested tie-in novella of something like 24K words (which is why it is only 99 cents).
I did try to join them up, but it was over 850 pages in print and that was too big. So, in comparison, my books are each about the size of the combined episodes for each WOOL, SHIFT and DUST.
As to Silo One, a secret part of me agrees with you on that. Though only a few people were “in the know” about the planned self-termination of the Silo, I also think that some of the crazy power-mad members in the know had no intention of actually carrying it out. Other silos, yes. Themselves? No. They may have tried to believe it, deferred thinking about it or whatever other mental gymnastics required, but in the end, I doubt they would have.
Thanks for reading!