Wool by Hugh Howey
I just finished reading Wool by author Hugh Howey, and wow, what a great book! Or series of books. I read the “omnibus” edition, which is just this fancy word that means the entire series formatted under a single cover.
Wool falls into that apocalyptic & dystopian area with a science fiction bent. I think people get confused by these words, eh-hmm, I know I do, so I verified the definition of dystopia with my pal dictionary.com…
dystopia [dis-toh-pee-uh]
noun
1.
a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.
We definitely have some of that going on. And, it is commonly caused by some big bad thing happening … like an apocalypse. Bingo. Now we’ve got our backdrop for the book. As the blurb on the Amazon site says:
“This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden.”
I’m a fan of both dystopian and apocalyptic stories, and right away that kind of talk appealed to me. Plus, I’ve always been tempted to write one myself. Of course, I was beginning to wonder just how often we could approach the topic in new and interesting ways. Seems like the ideas are being exhausted because of the popularity.
Boy was I wrong.
Howey’s ideas and the execution of the story are so unique and so compelling … I’m sorry I didn’t read it sooner. Huge thumbs up for the engaging and unique plot.
Another huge thumbs up for solid characters who were both understandable and relatable.
Some good metaphors sprinkled through the book. I don’t want to spoil the fun, but the imagery and prose was good, though I would classify his writing as being a little less lush with language and more filled with action. The balance between the two is good.
It won’t take long to hook you if the give the books a try, especially if any of the above interests you.
Some gee whiz info…
Wool started as a self-published set of ebooks, and Howey champions Independent and self-publishers. He is prolific in his support of the things he believes in. My hat is off to you, sir!
Howey’s success attracted traditional publishers, and eventually Howey took a healthy paycheck of about half a million bucks from Simon Schuster for them to control print versions. But, he retains the rights to just about all other aspects of his book. Best of both worlds–chalk up a win for the underdogs. Good on you, Hugh … keep bringing us great fiction!
Stalk him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/hughhowey
Happy Reading! – BHO
