Review: Lunge into The Diver, the thrilling sequel to The Runner!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 5, 2013
First off, go ahead and read (or re-read) The Runner first before (ahem) diving into this story.When I heard about WJ Davies doing a sequel to The Runner, he called it a "side-quel" story running parallel to the events chronicled in The Runner. I admit that this was an interesting concept for me but I was really hoping for this story to pick up from the finale to the previous one, not just run alongside it. I'm happy to say that this story not only runs concurrent to The Runner, it also picks up the baton from that story and takes it further! And if you remember the finale, you'll know it features quite an ending.The titular Diver is Tommy, whom we met briefly in the beginning of The Runner. He's friends with Ace, the main character of the previous story. Tommy also has a steady girlfriend, Keira. They both face a dilemma when something unexpected happens and now they must face a crucial decision or the silo will make the decision for them.Tommy is also friends with Tony, who's shadowing the head of IT, Beety. While training Tony, Beety grapples with Ace's actions and other problems in the silo.  But when violence breaks out as a result of Beety's attempts at problem solving, Tony is left with a dilemma on what to do. The advice he receives, who he receives it from and how he fixes this problem are very interesting for all fans of Hugh Howey's Wooliverse.Some characters who only get a passing mention or a couple of lines in The Runner get fully fleshed out much more in this story.  The intertwining threads of the common characters between the two stories add depth to the storytelling and fleshes out the population of this silo in a richer manner.The idea of a silo slowly filling up with water and its effects upon a society contained in a confined space is a great one, putting its residents up against a slowly ticking countdown (over the course of years) to their deaths. As the water rises to the top of the silo, it continually displaces the population to keep moving upwards to the higher levels. Davies does a great job describing the tensions inherent in such a scenario and the effects it has when all hell breaks loose as a result of events set forth in the finale of The Runner.Having re-read The Runner before picking up this story, you definitely appreciate the craft and care that Davies creates with the individual characters and population of this silo. Knowing the background of The Runner and having it fresh in your mind provides a strong enhancement of this story and then some in terms of the overarching plot, peripheral characters and situations leading into this one.So go pick up this second installment to the Silo Submerged trilogy. The final installment, The Watcher,  provides a finale to the trilogy and it's out now. Get caught up on this captivating silo story with The Diver and then jump right into The Watcher to see how it all ends!