Why?
Why did I not get around to reading this book sooner? It’s been sitting on my
shelf for a few years now, brimming with goodness, begging to be read, and I’ve
simply ignored it. *Slaps my wrist* bad Ash, bad.
What’s
more? I had a friend who’s been telling me for probably over six months that it’s
a must read. Still…I procrastinated, and now I’m angry at myself for not
discovering its wonders sooner.
I’m
going to blame the title, and the fact that it has such a meager description on
the back. The book’s description barely gives you a taste for what the thing is
about, and it even sounds like it could be a cheesy YA. As for the title, I’m
pretty sure I know why it was titled such, but I’m still not super happy with
it.
Now
I implore you, my friends, please do not make the same mistake I did. You MUST
read this book. If you read no other book this year, this is the one to read. I
was telling people to read it before I was even done with it. Seriously, I walked
up to strangers reading random books on the street, ripped that book right out
of their hands, threw it away, and screamed, “Why are you reading that smut?!
When you should be reading ‘Wool’! Go now!! Read!!!” and they would run away,
searching for the nearest place to purchase and read this amazing book I had
just informed them of. Then I would melt into the shadows...
So
anyway, yeah, you should read the book, and now I shall tell you a bit about
it. Just in case you still doubt me…
“Wool”
by Hugh Howey is the story of a city entirely below ground. Every person here
seems to serve a function in order to best serve the place where they live, the
Silo. It is huge, with over a hundred floors, every floor serving a purpose.
There are multiple floors for Farming (also where the dead are buried), Police “stations”,
there’s a few floors just for Tech, Mechanical, Hospitals, and so on. For every
death, a new life is allowed to be granted. Every couple who wants to conceive
must first win the lottery, and then they have a year to conceive before the
gift of life is granted to another couple.
In
order for this city to maintain its perfect balance, certain precautions are
taken. In a way, the city has a certain feeling like the good ol’ Soviet Union.
One wrong word against the world we live in, and you could be taken away.
The
outside world is poison. The fear of outside is so complete that even the mere
mention of “outside” in the wrong context can get you sent to clean. Meaning,
they send you outside to clean the cameras that view the outside world, and you
shortly thereafter die from the toxins that seep into your suit.
The
way this world unfolds, and the buildup of the story is done superbly. I will
warn you that this is NOT a feel good story, and not everyone makes it out
alive. I’m still angry about the fates of one or two characters actually…OK,
maybe three.
One
of the few things that make this story less than five stars is the fact that it
gets so depressing. It’s still an amazing read, but I wish there had been a
little give, something to distract from all of the terrible things that happen
in this book. There’s no real comic relief, and it’s so intense. Yes, intense
is probably the best way to describe this book. From start to finish. Seriously,
just read the first sentence:
The
children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them
squealing as only happy children do.
Whaaaaaat?
That got me right into the moment, and an author that puts a semicolon in the
first sentence? That takes some guts, and you know he means business.
This
is one of few books I’ve read that leads you on a bit of a mystery that doesn’t
feel like
-step
one: introduce main character
-step
two: introduce world
-step
three: introduce mystery
-step
four: introduce villain
…
The
writing is so smooth you’re sucked into the story entirely. It doesn’t feel
like you’re reading about someone else’s life. You’re there experiencing
everything with them.
I
actually had feelings of claustrophobia while reading this book. It probably
doesn’t help that I do most of my reading in a basement, but when reading in a
windowless room, about an underground world, you really do start to feel the
walls around you.
While
I guessed a lot of the big mysteries before they were truly revealed in the
story, I was OK with that because it was written so dang well.
The
story isn’t perfect. The plot seems rather simple so far. The character’s
actions aren’t always entirely believable. As far as science fiction goes, it’s
merely brushed over. But, and here’s a big BUT, I consistently wanted to know
what was going to happen to the characters, I truly cared about the characters
(that’s a big thing for me), the setting is interesting, the world is well
thought out, the writing style is for the most part spot on, and it’s just
generally worth a good read.
The
book was originally written in sections, definitely something to take into
account. The first section of “Wool” started as a self-published novella, and
it garnered so many readers’ requests for more that the author obliged. Thank
you, Mr. Howey, for listening to your readers.
Make
sure that when you buy this book (notice I say “when” not “if”), you buy the
one that’s over 500 pages, and not just one of the novellas that are included
in the book. As an added note, if you buy the ebook, I’m pretty sure all of the
proceeds go to the author, because while publishing houses came to him to buy
the rights to the book, he refused to sell the ebook rights.
In
the end the book garnered an almost perfect score of 4.5 stars from me.
*commence wild bouts of clapping and cheers*
Alright,
that’s it, I’m done reviewing the book, and I’m done telling you how much you
NEED this book in your life. Now go on and read it.
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