I was completely surprised by this thoughtful and unique post-apocalyptic tale of young teenagers in the world since a massive explosion happened, an explosion so impacting and devastating that the world and people living in it would forever be changed. The new normal has become one in which bodies fused to metal or wood, or even other people or animals, has now been born.

In the nine years since the Detonations, Pressia and her grandfather struggle to live and make a life. One of Pressia's hands fused with the doll she was holding when the blasts occurred and now the doll's head has become one with her fist. Her grandfather fused with a metal fan which is now in his throat. In this new world they live in, everyone around them has had their bodies blended to something, or has been left with scars incredibly severe. No one is without blemish, unless you live in the Dome.

The Dome is hidden, filled with those who were unscathed and untouched by the blasts, protected on the very day the Detonations happened. They are known almost as a myth of an all-knowing entity, overseeing those who live outside the Dome, and who one day will come back and help those who were hurt. One day this will happen, but it's unknown when. For these nine years, the inhabitants of the Dome, also known as the Pures, have never ventured outside, and those who are fused or scarred beyond recognition, don't know the Dome's location.

Partridge is considered one of the Pures, a body perfectly clean and free of scars and marks, or fusions to objects. He is surrounded by people like him, and he does not know what awaits him outside of the Dome, but he is prepared to search for his mother. His decision to leave the Dome is unheard of and when he escapes and enters into a world where his pure and untouched face and body are so easily noticed, Pressia is the one who helps him. Along with Bradwell (fused to a bird) and El Capitan (fused with his brother), the journey begins. With unsettling and startling characters who at first might be unexpected, their disfigurements became a part of the landscape of this new world, "normalizing" it and making it unique and part of each character's personality. What a beautiful array of characters with so many incredible characteristic advantages and contributions to the adventure, and this story will stay with me for a while. I'm excited that this is a trilogy, so I'll be downloading the second installment soon.

The narrators were phenomenal. I should have realized this was going to be a homerun audiobook when I saw the list: Khristine Hvam, Joshua Swanson, Kevin T. Collins, and Casey Holloway. Khristine Hvam is the narrator for Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight, and she was awesome, so Pure is in extremely good company with this team. Click here to listen to an audio sample.

FTC Disclosure: I downloaded this book through my Audible.com membership.

About the Author (from her website)

Ah, there's a lot going on with this author! Such cool stuff. For her complete bio, visit her at the following sites:

• On her website
• On Facebook
• On Twitter

I'll write a more formal overview on October 12th, but I wanted, nay, NEEDED to, check in very quickly to let you all know that The Quick by Lauren Owen is so completely engaging that I'm trying to sneak time in as often as I can to read this gorgeously written story. It is PERFECT for a spooky season. I'm only about 120 pages in, but I'm catching up. The secrets, the overall storyline, the disturbing reality of what's happening - it's right up there with some of my favorite books.

If you enjoy stories told in an epistolary or journal/letter-like format, this one would fit right in there, especially the section I'm currently in. Delightful, disturbing. These are the words I must use to describe it. Cannot. Get. Enough.

A few years ago, I read Wool Omnibus and immediately proclaimed it to be the best book I had read all year. The best. I still stand by that when I look at the list now. And thank you, Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, for first posting about it!

And now I finally, FINALLY picked up books 2 and 3 and am kicking myself that I didn't read these in quick succession. Allow me to give you a brief review by saying you're missing out on all things incredible if you don't dive into this unique world.

I'm going to cheat a little bit and use a few lines of my review of the first installment to start:

I couldn't believe how sucked in I was. Each character was so thoroughly developed and the action so intense that I happily read the entire book on my iPhone. That means about 1200+ pages (screens?) that I flew through, desperate to know what happened next. It is one of the BEST books I have ever read in my LIFETIME, and is my absolute favorite book of the year. This, when released in print next year by Simon and Schuster, will be picked up on the day of release and will rest nicely on my bookshelf next to Stephen King's The Stand, Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth, and other favorites that I always want to have at my fingertips. As many of you know, science fiction is not one I'm that used to, so I can easily assure you that if your reading preferences include political corruption, mystery, thrillers, suspense, love, and more, I highly recommend that you step outside of your boundaries and do a dual risk of reading a self-published tale and one that just happens to be labeled as science fiction. The bottom line? I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Where Wool describes a suspenseful period in the world of silos set underground, Shift goes back to the start and outlines how the silos were first envisioned, drafted, built, and ultimately inhabited. Donald, a young congressman with a friendship with a high-ranking senator results in Donald being called on to use his architectural skills and draft a "what if" scenario - if humans had to live underground, how would they do it? What would they live in? Donald, trusting and sensitive, could never have imagined that his ideas would be built, and once they are, that they would ever be used. The reason why is never fully explained to him. Why should it? This senator, so much like a father-figure, is his guide.

Shift encompasses three "shifts," work conducted by the same group over a period of many years, made possible by a simple pill created to erase the past and make mindless the workers to monitor and manage a world very different than what they ever previously lived in. While Shift was sometimes more tedious than Wool, it was a crucial puzzle piece in the overall series and can't be skipped. I would urge you, however, to not take years in-between books the way I did. It's worth it to go back to back.

And then Dust. Ahh. This beautiful installment captures the magic that was Wool and more so. It returns back to characters from Wool and places them in situations to engage with the characters from Shift, and it is awesome. Dust is what I remember Wool to be, and I keep shaking my head when I remind myself that these are self-published books (although Simon & Schuster did convince the author to release Wool in print, which brought a larger fandom). There is no big-five publisher responsible for editing any of it. This is the author, enveloping himself in such a unique world and delivering a knock-out punch to those who feel a self-published book is just not as good as one you'd pick up at the store. This entire series begs to differ with that argument, and wins. He isn't limited by the publishing world to release his books at a certain pace, and after a series of teams edit away the core of it. He writes how he wants to write and releases it whenever he wants to. He has complete control over it and for fans like me? It works because I can keep diving into these worlds whenever I want.

Hugh Howey's work is incredible. It makes no difference if you're a sci-fi or fantasy fan. His robust repertoire are stories that deal with regular people in unique worlds and situations. It's just right for someone who isn't used to these genres. Take a chance. Get his work. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Publisher of Shift: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Release Date: 1/28/13

Publisher of Dust: CreateSpace

Release Date: 8/17/13

FTC Disclosure: I purchased and downloaded this story directly to my iPhone.

About the Author

Hugh Howey is the bestselling author of the self-published phenomenon that is the Wool series. He is also the author of the Molly Fyde series and a host of others that can be found by clicking here. He is currently on the trip of his life by sailing the boat of his dreams, which he plans to be on for at least the next decade. And he's writing. Thank goodness.

Hugh Howey is extremely active with his fans and on social media (and with sailing the world, I'd really like it if he got on Periscope, too!), so here are the links where you can visit the author:

• On his website
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On Instagram

For this year's tenth anniversary, Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings has asked the fabulous Estella Society to host the ever-creepy RIP Challenge. And even though I'm way behind the times to inform you, I'll add one more drop in the vast and ginormous book blogger bucket about this always fun and eye-opening celebration of all things autumn and spooky and to the things that make us jump when we know THEY'RE RIGHT BEHIND US.

First off - thanks to Carl for creating this incredible annual event that he's diligently and so professionally hosted for nine years. You're awesome, we love ya!

I'm late to the party. As per usual. However, here are the details that I'll be participating in (for full details, click here):

Pick a book, film, short story, television show, etc., that falls into one of the categories below:

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

• Which Challenge Level Did I Pick? I'm going in low with my goals because heck, I can't even participate in my own challenges! So I'm selecting Peril the Third, which is reading at least one book. (I haven't picked a book yet. Give me a recommendation? Please?)
• Am I Watching Anything Creepy? I've been Netflix-binging on The X-Files in preparation for their six-episode return on Fox in January, so I've selected Peril on the Screen.
• What About a Readalong?? Yes! RIP X Readalong: When I read the description of this book being compared to The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (which I ran a readalong for five years or something ago - with pictures!), I thought I needed to get on it and with a quickness... it's entitled The Quick by Lauren Owen (again, I'm late to the party as the dates are 9/18 through 10/18, so I'll try and catch up, maybe...)
• Where do I Post My Reviews? All posts/reviews should be added to this link here - make sure to visit other bloggers to comment on their reviews, that's how the fun is had, my friends
• Where Are the Full Details? Click here to visit the Estella Society's welcome post.

So here's all the beautiful artwork by artist Abigail Larson: