June 20, 2015

Silo Saga: Hoarder in the Down Deep by Marilyn Peake 4/5 stars

Hey, guys!  I just finished a short story by Marilyn Peake, author of Shade.  It was good, but I wasn't entirely satisfied by its ending.
The Cover:
The Cover:
It shows some man surrounded by mounds of stuff with a staircase in the background.  It's neat but a bit busy.  B+ cover

Official Description:
It’s against the law to have children without winning the lottery. Implanted with a birth control device as required by law, Evangeline Hubbard, a dirt farmer in the down deep, discovers that implants sometimes fail. But in a world strictly controlled by the authorities, one pays a terrible price for tampering with the established order. Consumed by fear and madness after things go horribly wrong, Evangeline hoards in order to hang onto things. She adds them to the nest she’s building in the down deep.
HOARDER IN THE DOWN DEEP is a novelette based on the best-selling WOOL series by Hugh Howey, and was written with his permission. It’s set in the time when Sheriff Holston and his wife Allison had won the lottery, giving them one year to conceive a child. Investigating the case of Evangeline Hubbard, Sheriff Holston and Mayor Jahns are unprepared for what they find. HOARDER IN THE DOWN DEEP explores how psychological issues and emotional pain can lead to hoarding. It also explores the mental strain placed on women who have lost control over their own reproductive processes.


My Review:
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this short story (about 50 pages).  I hadn't read the series in which it was set and was concerned that I wouldn't understand what was going on.  However, the author did a really nice job of establishing just as much of the world as was needed.  I understood the situation perfectly.  
The plot was interesting, and the story makes you think.  It touched a lot on the psychology of women wanting children and hoarders, which was definitely interesting.  
The characters were interesting and dealt with their own problems and thought-patterns.  The narration switched between quite a few characters which helped to get a better view of the situation and story.  
My main complaint is the ending.  It was abrupt.  The story was almost over, but it definitely needed at least one more chapter to actual feel like it was ending.  I felt like I was missing the last few pages. 
Overall, it was a pretty good read, if you want a short story that will make you think.  It had flaws, but I enjoyed it much more that I expected.

Phrase:
BABY CLOTHES!!!

Happy Reading!

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