Shelf Indulgence with Remy

I can't believe we've finally reached the end of season one. This episode is the emotional heavy hitter we've been driving toward, covering the final chapters of Hugh Howey's Wool. We’re diving deep into the fallout of Juliette’s return to the surface, the desperate communications between Silos 17 and 18, and the terrifying journey across the surface to save her friends. It is a dark, claustrophobic, action packed, and an ultimately hopeful look at what happens when the truth finally starts to leak through the bedrock.In this final bit of our conversation, we follow Juliette's harrowing trek back to her home silo, fueled by a "jerry-rigged" heat suit, a prayer, and a drive we can only hope that real people have. We reveal the shocking twist of who was actually behind that visor during the final cleaning and how Peter Billings, a man I’ll admit we pegged as a "boring rule-follower", ended up being the hero we didn't see coming. We wrap things up by discussing the new world order in Silo 18, that long-awaited spark between Juliette and Lucas, and why Jimmy (aka Solo) will always have a special place in my heart. It’s been an incredible journey turning these pages for the first time with you all.I genuinely can't thank you enough for being a part of this journey <3Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemyEditor's RoomSilo TV Show: As of early 2026, Season 2 of the "Silo" TV series covers the remaining events of the first book (Wool), while Shift (Book 2) is a prequel. However, viewers should be careful as the show occasionally pulls in "Shift" backstory earlier than the books do.

We are finally tackling the closing chapters of Wool, and the tension is so thick you could cut it with Juliette’s safety knife. This episode kicks off with a heavy dose of reality as we watch Jules struggle to keep a concussed Solo alive while navigating the dark, haunted levels of a dying silo. It’s a claustrophobic, intense trek that really highlights just how resilient life is... even when everything else has succumbed to time.We compare Hugh Howey’s visceral world-building to the likes of Stephen King. We discover some more mysteries of Silo 17, unraveling the mind-blowing discovery of a group of feral children.. with a baby of their own, surviving in the shadows. Meanwhile, back in Silo 18, we watch Lucas play a high-stakes game of psychological chess with Bernard. A game that ended with a "request" that absolutely chilled me to the bone. It’s a messy, emotional, and witty deep dive into the costs of curiosity and the price of survival.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemyEditor’s Room (Fact-Check)Concussion Care: Modern medicine actually suggests rest is vital for recovery, provided the person is monitored for severe symptomsThe "Pee" Myth: Urine can aggravate the sting. Vinegar or salt water is the way to go... don't let Friends be your doctor

Following the sequence of Juliette swimming through the flooded lower levels of Silo 17, we pick the conversation back up. It is one of those moments where the writing is so visceral you actually find yourself holding your breath along with her. We’re breaking down chapters 64 through 73 of Hugh Howey’s 'Wool', and let me tell you, we're hitting new levels of anxiety reading over here.In this episode, we follow the chaos in Silo 18 as Walker, Shirley, and Courtnee scramble to build a transmitter out of mining detonators while stairwells are literally blowing up around them. But the real meat of the chat is back in IT with Bernard and Lucas. We finally see Bernard’s "true colors," and they aren't exactly what I expected. Seeing him rail against the "crazy f*cks" who built the silos while simultaneously justifying the suffering of his own people is a masterclass in complicated villainy. We wrap up with a massive revelation about Solo’s past (or should I say Jimmy?) and a radio transmission that confirms we are definitely, 100% not alone in this wasteland.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemyEditor's Room:The "Double Weight" Suit: During the discussion, there’s a debate about whether a water-filled suit would "double" Juliette's weight. While water is heavy (roughly 1kg per liter), while she is submerged, buoyancy acts against that weight. The Actual Fact is that the primary struggle would be drag and inertia, not just a flat doubling of gravitational weight, though pulling herself out of the water onto the stairs would indeed feel like she was dragging an anchor.

This episode covers the first half of "The Stranded" (Chapters 64-73), and it starts with a literal plunge into the dark. I can tell you right now, between the bloated corpses floating in the flooded lower levels and Juliet’s failing air supply, my nerves were absolutely shot. We dive into the "submechanophobia" of it all—that deep-seated unease of mechanical things lurking underwater—and how Juliet’s mechanical intuition is the only thing keeping her from becoming another permanent resident of the deep.The conversation shifts from the physical terror of the flooded Silo 17 to the political powder keg back in Silo 18. We get into a heavy discussion about the human condition—why we’re drawn to stories of our own destruction and how quickly neighbors can turn into enemies when the "order" starts to crumble. There is a massive revelation involving Lucas’s "interview" with Silo 1, and for the first time, we start to see the cracks in Bernard’s villainous exterior. I’m not saying I’m ready to buy him a drink yet, but seeing the insight into his character has definitely piqued my interest.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemyEditor's Room:The Movie Mystery: Remy mentioned an Anthony Hopkins / Stephen King project as "Heart of the Sea" or "Ocean."Edit: Anthony Hopkins played Ted Brautigan in the 2001 adaptation of King’s Hearts in Atlantis.

In this episode, we marvel with the sheer audacity of Juliette’s plan to fix the pumps in Silo 17. Its one thing to survive the toxic wasteland of the surface, but it is a whole other level of terrifying to willingly perform a "suicide jump" into a flooded abyss. We discuss how she prepares for every failure point, from stripping the deceptive screens out of her helmet to tying her tools to her suit so they don't drift into the dark. We talk about her odd choice to sleep in a room full of empty suits like ghostly apparitions, finding comfort in their "evil intent" because at least she finally understands what she is up against.We also spend a lot of time in Silo 18, tracking the shift in Lucas as he starts parroting Jules’s words to Bernard, a dangerous game in the IT hidey hole. The scale of the world is starting to break everyone’s brain; Walker and Shirley are discovering that they aren't alone in the dirt, just as an explosion rocks their foundation. It leads us into a big conversation about optimistic nihilism—the idea that if nothing matters on our deathbeds, we might as well be kind to each other while we’re here.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

We’re jumping straight into the deep end with the first third of The Stranded. Chapters 53 through 63, and, boy.. what a ride! We jump back into the chaos in Silo 18 where things are looking grim. In the aftermath of the explosions and the retreat of Mechanical, this section is rough.. The stakes have never been higher.In this episode, Michael and I break down the immediate aftermath of the uprising. We follow Marc’s harrowing flight through the stairwells, a sequence that feels more like a horror movie than a sci-fi novel, and we finally get confirmation on the fates of some characters we’ve grown to love. There’s talk of submechanophobia and why Solo might actually just have a severe case of undiagnosed ADHD. And, of course, we also check in on a deteriorating Walker, who is quite literally haunted by the past, and Juliette, who is battling for her life in the watery depths of Silo 17.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

The gloves are officially off, and the descent into chaos is complete. I'm joined once again by Michael as we wrap up "The Unraveling," the most heart-wrenching section of Hugh Howey's Wool so far. We spent this episode grappling with the sheer weight of what happens when a society built on secrets finally snaps. From mechanical climbing to a war they don’t fully understand to the terrifying realization that humanity has an "instinctual fascination" with building implements of pain, this discussion felt as heavy as the boots marching up those silo stairs.We spend a lot of time dissecting the tragic parallel between Knox and Lucas: two men we’ve come to care about who find themselves on opposite sides of a brutal, blink-and-you-miss-it ambush. We hit on some big "real world" themes too, like whether you can ever "unmake" a weapon once it exists and the scary parallels between the silo's lost history and our own. But the real kicker? That final, chilling radio call. Hearing Juliet tell Bernard she’s "coming home to clean".. Chilling.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

Welcome back to the thick of the unraveling. In this third leg of our journey through 'The Unraveling' in Hugh Howey’s 'Wool', the scope of the world is finally starting to crack open. The true nature of the silo comes to light with the revelation Solo shares with Juliet that changes everything. It turns out these structures aren't just bunkers; they are silos in the most literal sense, containers meant to hold the "seeds" of humanity until the world outside is ready for them. But as we see in the wreckage of Silo 17, when you leave seeds in the dark for thirty-four years, they don't just wait; they begin to rot.The conversation this week flows from the tactical to the existential. We track Knox and McClain as they prep for a revolution that’s anything but bloodless, complete with the terrifying reality of home-milled guns and "implements of pain." Meanwhile, I’m still reeling from Juliet’s journey into the dark corners of a dead silo. Meeting Solo was a game-changer... 34 years of solitude in a place that literally reeks of forgotten history. We dig into the chilling "Order" found alongside the Pact, the mystery of the Atlanta grid, and why it only takes one bad day to turn a sanctuary into a tomb.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

The uprising isn't coming anymore; it’s officially here. In this episode, Michael and I dig into the heavy realization that the "good people of Mechanical" aren't interested in fixing the Silo anymore, they’re looking to break it. We follow Walker as he takes a terrifying, agoraphobic breath and steps out of his room for the first time in years to tell the truth about the suits. It’s a moment that gives me actual goosebumps every time I read it, and we spend some time dissecting that "This Is It" feeling... that tipping point where the lie becomes too big to live with.We also track Juliette’s gruesome, nauseating crawl through the remains of Silo 17. Watching her navigate the decay of a dead world is a stark contrast to the boiling energy back home. Between Knox’s rallying cries and Bernard’s unsettling "maniacal grin" as he initiates Lucas into the secrets of IT, we’re seeing the Silo unravel from both ends. Plus, we take a bit of a side-trail into the ethics of uprisings, the surprising presence of dog breeds in the deep down, and why Juliette is apparently brave enough to explore a tomb-like Silo while completely naked.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemyEditor's Room (Fact-Check) [What was said]: "Every dog evolved from a gray wolf." vs. [The Actual Fact]: Modern dogs are now believed to have descended from a specific, now-extinct species of wolf that lived 15,000 to 30,000 years ago, rather than the modern gray wolf directly.

Man, what a read. We are finally cracking into "The Unraveling," and let me tell you, this section of Hugh Howey's Wool absolutely earns its name. I went into this recording with Michael thinking we’d cover a good chunk of ground, but the conversation just kept stretching... kinda like the stairwells in the Silo. There is so much to digest here, from the childhood memories that shaped Juliet to the soul-shattering reality of what actually lies beyond those hills. Because we couldn't stop geeking out over the details, we’ve decided to split this section into four parts. This is part one of that deep dive.In this episode, we start by looking back at a young Juliet on her father's shoulders, watching a play. We get into the grit of the Silo’s social structure, the color-coded coveralls, the "Down Deep" geography, and the oddity of porters running the stairs barefoot. But the real heart of this chat is Juliet’s walk. We follow her as she steps outside, armed with Walker’s "good supply" of heat tape, and witnesses the grand, gorgeous untruth of the visor’s programming finally fall apart. It’s a mind-bending sequence that changes everything we thought we knew about the world outside.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

If you thought the first half of this deep dive into the Silo was claustrophobic, buckle up. I’m starting to realize that the further down you go, the more the air actually starts to clear... metaphorically, at least. In this episode, we’re following Juliette’s descent back to Mechanical, but not before she takes a detour through the high-stakes, highly segregated halls of I.T. It’s becoming blindingly obvious that Bernard isn't just a bureaucrat; he’s a conductor of a very dark symphony. We’re digging into the of control: how do you manage a population when you own the screens, the history books, and even the quality of the tape holding their world together?The conversation moves from the "rat shit" charges leveled against Jules to the heartbreaking realization that Scotty’s "accident" was anything but. Michael and I explore the chilling effect of a fascist takeover, where the silence is louder than any alarm, and how the Silo’s rigid caste system is designed to keep curiosity from spreading like a virus. The revelation of the two supply chains was the final nail for me. Peak villainy. We wrap up as Jules crests the hill, shattering Bernard's perfection and setting the stage for what can only be described as a total unraveling.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

This episode kicks off with the ultimate gut punch: a flash-forward to Juliet in a cleaning suit. After losing Holston and Mayor Jahns, I was just starting to feel safe with Jules, only for Hugh Howey to pull the rug out from under us. We dive deep into the first half of "Casting Off," where the mechanical grit of the Down Deep meets the sterile, suffocating control of the Up Top. Juliet is officially the Sheriff now, but she’s not interested in the politics or the view; she’s a machine-fixer who sees the entire Silo as one giant, failing engine. We talk about her transition to the top, her "psychotic" habit of eating cold stew, and the sheer terror of agoraphobia in a world where "open space" is a death sentence.The deeper we go, the more the conspiracy starts to unravel. We meet Lukas—the Silo’s very own Copernicus. Between Juliet’s burgeoning crush on the star-gazer and the discovery of a flash drive hidden in a tin of cookies, the stakes are skyrocketing. But for every step forward Jules takes, Bernard is right there with a "forgiveness holiday" and a new deputy, Peter Billings, in tow. We break down the tragic discovery of Deputy Marnes, the blatant classism of the Silo’s power structure, and why IT is clearly the puppet master of this entire underground theater.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Hugh Howey’s world, it’s that the deeper you go, the more the air starts to feel heavy—and I don’t just mean the recycled oxygen in Mechanical. This episode is the second half of our deep dive into the "Proper Gauge" section of Wool, and it’s where the political tension finally snaps into a full-blown tragedy. We’re grappling with the "Big Idea" of institutional control: why does IT have three floors of power while the rest of the Silo scrimps for scraps? It’s a classic case of those who control the information controlling the world, and as we see through Mayor Jahns’ eyes, that kind of power doesn’t like to be questioned.In this conversation, my guest and I follow the Mayor and Deputy Marnes on their long climb back up the stairs, a journey that starts with the hopeful, gritty introduction of Juliet—our new favorite grease-covered "bamf." We talk about the "Power Holiday," the eerie silence of a stopped generator, and the beautiful, heart-wrenching relationship building between two old friends. But the real revelation comes in the final pages. We break down that devastating twist involving a poisoned canteen and a realization that hits like a physical blow: the target wasn't who we thought it was. It’s a heavy end to a brilliant section, and honestly, I’m still a little mad at Hugh for what he did to our hearts.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemy

Imagine living your entire life in a concrete cylinder, never seeing a rooftop, and knowing that every thread of the shirt on your back was literally grown from the recycled remains of your ancestors. That’s the heavy reality of the Silo, and in this episode, Michael and I are diving deep—literally—into Part 2 of Hugh Howey’s Wool, titled "Proper Gauge." We’re moving past the initial shock of Holston’s cleaning to look at the gears that keep this massive underground machine turning. It’s a journey through 144 floors of stairs, class systems, and the kind of "deep air" that feels like it’s pressing in on you from all sides.In this first half of our discussion, we’re following Mayor Jahns and Deputy Marnes on their grueling trek down to Mechanical to find a new Sheriff. I have to tell you, I’m absolutely floored by Howey’s ability to make me care about side characters I barely blinked at in the first section. We get into the nitty-gritty of Silo life: the "shadow" apprentice system, the terrifying control of the IT department, and my growing, burning hatred for Bernard (seriously, that guy is up to something). We even crunch the numbers on just how tall—or deep—this structure is, comparing it to an upside-down Empire State Building. But as we see the sparks fly between Jahns and Marnes, the episode ends on a heartbreaking note that reminds us why hope is the most dangerous thing you can carry in a world meant to keep you contained.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemyEditor's Room (Fact-Check)The Depth of the Silo: During the episode, the math discussed suggests 144 floors at 10–12 feet each equals roughly 1,440–1,800 feet. For context, the deepest man-made hole (Kola Superdeep Borehole) is over 40,000 feet, but the Burj Khalifa is 2,717 feet. The Silo is effectively a subterranean skyscraper.Hugh Howey's Nationality: Remy speculated Howey might be European. [The Actual Fact]: Hugh Howey is American, born in Charlotte, North Carolina.Chapter Numbering: Michael and Remy noted a discrepancy in chapter numbers between digital and physical copies. [Clean-up]: Depending on the edition (the original 5-part self-published novellas vs. the collected omnibus), chapter numbering often restarts at "1" for each new part in digital versions but continues sequentially in many print editions.

What if the very thing you desired most was also your death sentence? In our series premiere, my first guest Michael and I dive headfirst into the claustrophobic, underground world of Wool by Hugh Howey. We’re focusing on the "Holston" novella—the first 42 pages of the omnibus—where we meet a sheriff who has spent three years mourning his wife in a vertical subterranean silo. We explore the chilling reality of a society where "wanting to go outside" is the ultimate crime, punishable by being sent into the toxic wasteland to perform one final task: cleaning the sensors that provide the silo's only view of the world.Michael and I break down the "Mystery Box" storytelling that turned Hugh Howey’s self-published story into a global phenomenon. As a long-time fan, Michael guides me—a total first-time reader—through the visceral imagery of steel stairs worn thin by centuries of palms and that heartbreaking "sudden lack of wife" that drives the plot. We debate the ethics of a society that rations tobacco but executes its most curious citizens, while geeking out over the twist ending of the "Holston" arc—a revelation involving augmented reality, toxic air, and the crushing weight of a hope that was designed to be a trap.Check out the Patreon to get more involved!https://www.patreon.com/14867568/joinCheck out some of the other books we chat about along our journey! https://bookshop.org/shop/ShelfindulgencewithRemyEditor's Room:The J.J. Abrams Mystery: Michael and I went back and forth on whether J.J. Abrams actually created the show Revolution.The Actual Fact: Revolution was created by Eric Kripke (the mind behind Supernatural and The Boys). J.J. Abrams was an Executive Producer through Bad Robot, but Kripke was the showrunner.-Tobacco vs. Hemp: We questioned if tobacco has other uses similar to hemp’s versatility.The Actual Fact: Sadly, tobacco doesn't have the industrial utility of hemp. It's almost exclusively used for consumption or as a niche organic pesticide. Growing it in the Silo is a pure luxury (or control) move.