Silo Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Wool | 2011 | Buy |
| Shift | 2013 | Buy |
| Dust | 2013 | Buy |
Hugh Howey was working in a bookstore when he started self-publishing fiction. Wool began as a standalone short story on Amazon in 2011, priced at 99 cents. Readers demanded more. He wrote four additional parts and collected them into a full novel. The book sold hundreds of thousands of copies without a traditional publisher.
Simon & Schuster acquired the print rights to Wool, but Howey negotiated to keep his digital rights. This was unusual at the time and became a case study in author-publisher negotiations. Howey was open about his sales data and became an advocate for self-publishing as a viable career path.
The Silo trilogy follows people living in an underground structure 144 floors deep. No one remembers why they’re there. The outside is toxic. Anyone who wants to leave is sent outside to clean the sensors and dies. Wool explores this mystery. Shift reveals how the silos were built. Dust brings both timelines together.
Apple TV+ adapted the series as Silo in 2023, starring Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette Nichols. Howey has also written the Sand series and numerous other science fiction works. He’s lived aboard a sailboat for extended periods and has written about the experience of traveling the world while writing.