Wool
by Hugh Howey
Simon & Schuster (2013)
ISBN: 978-1476733951
Synopsis
In a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant
silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a
society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff
Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly
breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside.
His fateful decision unleashes a drastic series of events. An unlikely
candidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic with no training in
law, whose special knack is fixing machines. Now Juliette is about to be
entrusted with fixing her silo, and she will soon learn just how badly her
world is broken. The silo is about to confront what its history has only hinted
about and its inhabitants have never dared to whisper. Uprising. (Amazon, 2017)
Characteristics of Sci Fi in this Book
Story: Wool is highly
speculative. The characters have been
placed in an untenable situation, living deep underground in a highly
controlled society which is increasingly suspected to be based on false
assumptions and manipulation.
Pacing: Novelist
calls this fast-paced, but I disagree.
The characters are deeply introspective and their internal struggle to
understand their world and how it came to be what it is slows the pace to a
more moderate level. It moves along
enough to keep readers hooked, but not as fast as regular thrillers or
adventures.
Setting: The story is
set hundreds of years in the future, in a post-apocalyptic world where humans
are striving to survive in underground silos.
It’s very detailed and technical, explaining how the communications and
manipulations have been able to occur and how the technology is ultimately used
in exposing the truth. The world-building
is very realistic.
Tone: The tone of
this book is rather dark and very compelling.
It’s almost oppressive as we read about all the ways in which the
protagonists are struggling. It has a
very gray, cold feel, but with a ray of humanity and hope.
Style: The writing is
very descriptive and strong. Jonathan
Hayes (author of A Hard Death) describes it as “muscular”.
Characterization:
Sheriff Holston and Juliette each face a very real moral crisis. The central “character” in the story is the
challenge of an underground society and the ethical issues of centralized
management and thought control.
Appeal terms:
compelling, intense, adventurous, suspenseful, realistic, moderately
paced
Personal Note
My husband is a huge sci fi fan and he discovered Wool very
shortly after its initial publication as an omnibus edition. He insisted that I read it, and we were both
hooked. We read the entire series,
which, kind of like Ender’s Game, became more and more existential as the
series progressed. Some of the
characters are completely unlikable, and that makes it even more realistic. I’ve seen a number of book trailers, posters,
and art work by some of the numerous fans of this fabulous book, and I can’t
wait for the movie to be made!
Extras
Movie rights were purchased by 20th Century Fox
and an adaptation is in the works with Ridley Scott (Alien) producing.
The book was originally self-published
in separate short stories/novellas as Kindle shorts; popularity spurred its development
into an omnibus collection of the first 5 original shorts into a novel which,
in turn, became the first in the Silo series.
It then got picked up by a major publishing house (Random House UK) and
was recently re-released by Simon and Schuster.
Official Book Trailer
Readalikes
Hi Deirdre,
ReplyDeleteOk, so what is outside the silo? I want to know…. wait don’t tell me; I don’t want any spoilers. Your Synopsis is very well written. It has peaked my interest into finding out more about the story and the people.
In your Personal Note section, you stated: “Some of the characters are completely unlikable, and that makes it even more realistic.” I agree with you. The villains, the annoying characters, and insufferable jerks in a story is necessary in order to balance out the good versus evil aspects. It also helps shine a more positive light on the hero and the good people of a story.
Thanks for your review.
Rob
Thanks Rob. I grew up with Ray Bradbury, which I see you reviewed. If you like sci fi at all, you'll love Wool. Be prepared for an in-depth trilogy that plumbs the depths of the human psyche even as it plumbs the depths of the earth. If you like world-building, when you're done with this one, try the Eye of the World series by Robert Jordan - absolutely brilliant. If you lean more toward the psychological and metaphysical, you'd better go for all the Ender books by Orson Scott Card. Trust me, these are as "out there" as they come with strange Fahrenheit 451 moments interspersed with brilliant insights. The piggies.... :)
ReplyDeleteThis is another book that I have been meaning to read but haven't gotten around to it. I actually didn't know what it was about but now that I do, I'm really intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and Rob. Sometimes the characters that I like the least become my favorite characters. In fact, one of my favorite books, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, has a main character that I cannot stand but I grow to love her because of her imperfections.
Deidre, this book sounds great. I really like the appeal terms that you use. It really has peaked my interest along with your synopsis. I think that sometimes you just love to hate certain characters.
ReplyDeleteLike Melissa, I have been meaning to read this book also! An old co-worker was reading it for her book club and said she could not finish because it was too intense! Another coworker said it was her favorite book she has read in a long time. Any book that can garner both of these reactions is likely to go on my to-read shelf! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it IS intense. The cover on the older version is not very appealing. At my local high school, the librarian said none of the kids had checked it out, so I went and booktalked it at their school book club and that got it moving. You know the old saying, "Never judge a book by its cover...", lol. It's kind of interesting, too, because the title is so enigmatic. My husband and I argued about what it meant and it turned out we were both right: it refers to the wool pads used for the cleanings, and it also refers to having the wool pulled over your eyes. Really tremendous work, but be ready to get sucked in to some pretty deep questions. :)
DeleteHi Deidre.
ReplyDeleteAck! I remember shelving this book one day a couple of years ago and thinking that it looked interesting. I actually opened the book and skimmed the first chapter, enjoyed it, and made a mental note to check the book out later. And I forgot all about it!
Thanks for posting it. It's a great reminder. And I appreciated your characteristics of the book - especially when you explained why you disagreed with Novelist's choice.
I loved Ender's Game, but I have never heard of this. I can't wait to check it out! I really like that you included the info about it being made into a movie, I always try to read the book before seeing the movie. Plus is a great marketing tool!
ReplyDeleteDid you read all the sequels to Ender's Game? They're mind-boggling!
DeleteFantastic annotation! I loved that you included a book trailer as well. Your appeals are spot on and its very well written. In the future though, I would like summaries to be written by you. Full points!
ReplyDelete