Hugh Howey’s Wool trilogy was the inspiration for the Rebecca Ferguson series.
Fans are still reeling from the final episode of Silo, which left Rebecca Ferguson’s character Juliette on quite the cliffhanger.
The Apple TV+ series, which also stars the likes of Tim Robbins and Rashida Jones, follows the inhabitants of a silo who have no idea why they’re there or why they can’t leave – only that it’s imperative they don’t.
Over the course of the series, Juliette, who begins as an engineer in the lower floors of the silo, fights to figure out the truth.
With season 1 at an end, season 2 is officially on its way. But for those who can’t wait that long, here’s everything you need to know about the Wool novels by Hugh Howey.
How to read the Silo books in order
Howey first published short story Wool in 2011. It was later published as a novel with the same name and included four sequel novellas.
The author later published his novels Shift and Dust, and several short stories.
1. Wool
Wool, published in 2011, is the first novel in the series – and the starting point for fans wanting to read them all.
It consists of five books: Holston, Proper Gauge, Casting Off, The Unraveling and The Stranded.
The TV show covers a fair amount of the first novel, although there are some changes.
Howey previously told RadioTimes.com: “Getting to show Holston and Juliette working together and having conversations, when I wrote the book, I wrote it in a serialised fashion.
“I didn’t know there would be anything beyond the first 56 pages. The short story Wool was the whole thing.
Read more: Silo review: Gripping Apple TV+ dystopia will have any sci-fi fan hooked
“Not all the characters in that story make it to the end and there is some backstory alluded to, times that they overlapped with future characters, and that was all I could do at the time because I’d already published that first bit when the success of that story necessitated writing more.
“So having Juliette and Holston work together on a case is like two sentences in the novel, and here we get to tell it over episodes and, for me, that was such a thrill to be able to tell that part, and I think it’s going to be huge fan service to the readers.”
2. Shift
!["Shift]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/Shift-50c621d.jpg?quality=90&resize=269%2C413" "\"Shift")
Shift, published in 2012, is the second instalment in the series. It consists of three books: Legacy, Order and Pact.
It serves as a prequel to Wool and shows how the silo was first constructed. However, it does then pick up with Juliette’s story.
3. Dust
!["Dust]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/Dust-04df129.jpg?quality=90&resize=269%2C413" "\"Dust")
Dust, published in 2013, is the third and final instalment, and consists of just the one book of the same name.
It concludes the story that started in Wool and continued in Shift.
Whether we’ll get to see this part of the tale remains to be seen, but Howey has expressed his hopes for more seasons.
He told RadioTimes.com: “My sense is that if we try to tell all three books, the whole trilogy, that will probably take four seasons, possibly.”
Teasing what’s to come next, he added: “What I love about this series, the book series, and what we would do with the TV show if we get an opportunity, is it doesn’t tell the same story over and over again. There’s not a lot of repetition.
“The story gets bigger over time and you try to maintain the DNA in the heart of what makes the series fantastic, but there’s new characters to introduce, and again, every time you think the mystery is solved, it just gets more intriguing.
“That’s been the thrill of this show and the thrill of the books, and we have to get a chance to keep doing it.”
The series has been renewed for season 2, with filming currently taking place.
Silo is available to stream on Apple TV+. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.