Review: Observe how The Watcher helps bring the tale of two silos to an exciting finish!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 6, 2013
If you've read The Runner and The Diver, then you know that Silo 35, home to Ace and Tommy, is slowing running out of time, as the water level continues to rise. Deftly picking up the threads from both of those stories, we find out the true fate of Ace and what it has in store for him.We learn about how Silo 36 rescued him and how it's culture is vastly different than that of an ordinary silo. It is fully self-aware of all of the silos and its place in this world! That self-awareness in its purpose makes this silo unique and its story is very compelling. On the surface, their culture looks a little peculiar, bent towards religion and its leadership is structured very differently than that of other silos. But as you learn more about it, it all comes into focus and makes a lot of sense given the experiences that all of its inhabitants have gone through.There is a prophecy at work here and Silo 36 believes Ace is at the center of it. Our reluctant protagonist doesn't see himself as the savior that this silo believes he is. But as we learn more, Ace's desire to save his own silo intertwines with that of the problems facing Silo 36. As Ace learns more about this world of multiple silos, we readers share in his wonder as he reels from one discovery after another. These discoveries help Ace truly realize the role he is meant to play. Having a foot in both silos and their problems gives him a unique worldview, helping him provide true hope and save two silos from their fates! It also makes him a target of those who look at his arrival as a threat to their status quo.The Watcher also dovetails back into what went down in Silo 35 after the events of The Diver. Once Ace learns about these events, it provides stronger motivation for him to try to save his original silo even after they treated him so disgracefully. After having spent some time learning more about Silo 35 and its residents in The Runner and The Diver, it was nice to revisit them, as it felt like we were spending time with old friends we hadn't seen in a long time.In getting that follow up, we get several acknowledgments to characters from The Diver, including an update on Tommy and Keira.  We also see Sheriff Jackson, Anne and Tony in IT again. They all play a pivotal role in the conclusion of this story.I appreciated how the author made The Watcher more "canon", utilizing the revelations made in Hugh Howey's Dust, such as acknowledging the true purpose of the argon. This and other nods show how this story benefits from being published so soon after the finale to Howey's Silo trilogy, making it feel more cohesive.I also liked it when Ace hears about a silo very well known to readers of Wool. When he's told the story about all the bodies around that particular silo's airlock, he wonders what happened to its population. In my head, I said to myself "Ace, if only you knew the real story there."The prophecy in Silo 36 plays a large role in this story for Ace but its existence makes me wonder about its origins. Perhaps the seeds of another Silo story lie in the telling of this particular tale? ;)This finale to the Silo Submerged trilogy brings the storyline to a close and simultaneously presents a new beginning for the residents of Silo 35 and 36. I read the story in three installments over a span of months, but now that the Silo Submerged trilogy has been published in one volume, you can get the whole story in one complete package and see for yourself how the author weaves a captivating tale of two silos together.