Wool: Omnibus Edition by Huge Howey is a light sci-fi series that actually combines all 5 books in the series into this one volume. If you’re like me who didn’t hear about this series till now, then you’ll be able to save a lot of money by just getting this edition. I don’t usually read science fiction but if this is what most of them are like, then please sign me up for more! The story I’m sure many of you have at time or another either read, heard or visualized about in some form or way. In some distant future, the world outside is made uninhabitable. In order for humans to survive, they are forced to be secluded in an underground silo, never knowing how the outside world is like besides getting some view from a visual sensor or two located outside of the silo. People have been living this way for many, many years. But here’s the twist. As punishment for actually talking about the forbidden outside world, these people actually got what they wanted: to be able to actually go outside. At first I didn’t really understand what that meant but over time, things will be much more clearer and the fun then really begins!
As soon as I read a couple of chapters in the beginning, it just automatically captured my attention. Just the mere fact that these people are confined to a single silo underground made things fascinating. Again, I doubt this is the first time I’ve heard of this idea but this is I believe one of the first time I actually got to read a book about it. In the beginning, I thought things would eventually get a little stale due to the silo not being too inhabited with people and whatnot but I was to be proved wrong immediately. You see, I initially thought that the silo they lived in were at most only a couple of floors deep. Well, it turns out that number was actually closer to a hundred and more! The funny thing is that while you would think they are well developed in the technology field, they would somehow find a way to build an elevator! That’s right folks. Imagine having to trudge up 20-30+ flight of spiraling stairways just to reach another area of the silo, which is sectioned off into different levels. However, the author does a pretty good job of telling the story while characters traverse these long flight of stairs. In fact, I actually think its the stairs that really add to the total atmosphere within the silo.
There are many interesting characters within Wool. Towards the beginning, you’re not sure what to make of things from a characters perspective but of course that is to change as you continue reading. Characters are likable and I really liked the pace of the book. Things are happening all the time within the silo. I think the author did a pretty good job also at giving us a visual of the surroundings. People are bustling everywhere and it gives what you would imagine as a place filled with sadness and depression that much more liveliness and excitement! It really does make you think what would happen if you were put in a similar scenario.
After having read the entire book, I was just left exhausted but in a good way. So much happens toward the later half of the book that you just can’t help but to continue reading. The writing was superb and that’s saying something being as how I’ve never heard of this author before. Some of the later parts concerning Lukas was a tad bit boring but nothing to the extremes. As I said earlier, I’m not a big fan of sci-fi but that’s because I’m more of a fantasy reader. However, I’m taking a big break from that genre and reading Wool really sparked my interests in science fiction. When I call it “light” sci-fi, hopefully that won’t offend readers out there. It’s just that with Wool, although it is considered sci-fi, it wasn’t hard to pick up and understand at all. With some of my past experiences in this genre, I had a hard time following along.
With all that being said, I want to congratulate the author on such a successful book/series offering. If nothing else, it really got me interested in giving science fiction another go at it!
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