Ebook of the Month June 2012 – WOOL, but Hugh Howey
***UPDATE: Note that the comment thread to this post now contains spoilers!***
I first heard of “Wool” a few weeks ago on various blogs when news came around that Ridley Scott had optioned some self-published science fiction book for movie rights. Of course, a book getting optioned for movie rights means very little in a practical sense, since producers are forever buying rights to books that they never actually use. In a theoretical sense, it was a big deal, because a self-published book getting optioned does not happen very often, or ever.
Anyway, it made me curious, and the book was cheap ($5.99 for the omnibus edition), so I picked it up. I had absolutely no idea what to expect – based on popular trends, I supposed the book would be about a clumsy yet bland teenage girl who falls in love with a brooding vampire billionaire who has a thing for handcuffs and leather.
I am pleased to report that I was wrong. WOOL is excellent. In fact, it is one of the best books I have read this year.
The setting is an underground habitat (the locals call it a “silo”) in a post-apocalyptic Earth. Some sort of disaster has rendered the atmosphere both toxic and corrosive. The silo’s only link to the outside world is a set of cameras outside the airlock, which are connected to a massive screen in the silo’s cafeteria. Due to the corrosive effects of the atmosphere, the cameras’ lenses gradually build up with grit. Which means every so often, an inhabitant of the silo has to suit up for a “cleaning” to wipe off the lenses.
And those who are sent to clean never, ever come back.
As a book and a work of speculative fiction, WOOL excels on every level. The characters are deep and fully realized – the sheriff, the mayor, the technician in the silo’s IT department, the maintenance worker in the generator room. The plot and pacing are excellent – it starts off slowly, building tension bit by bit, and the book lands some gut-punches in several place.
And WOOL is an absolute masterpiece of the writerly art of conservation of information. The setting – an underground habitat on a poisoned Earth – is fairly esoteric, but the book contains absolutely no infodumps. The backstory is revealed, bit by bit, as the book grows more tense, and every bit of new information only cranks up the tension further. WOOL is like an onion, with layer after layer peeled away, and every layer relevant, indeed vital, to the plot.
I think WOOL is destined to become a classic of the science fiction genre, and I recommend it completely and without reservation.
-JM
Wow that is pretty high praise! And I see it has over a thousand reviews on Amazon (that seems alot for a self published ebook) totaling 5 out of 5 stars. Guess your not the only one who liked it!
Does this mean you’ll be checking out the author’s other work?
Also: I’m curious, on average how long does it take you to read a book? You just posted about finishing the High Crusade and a few days later the Wool omnibus.
According to my records, I started it on May 25th, and finished it on June 3rd. I don’t get as much time to read as I would like, alas. 🙂
I will be checking out his other work as time and money permit.
I don’t think I’ve ever had one of my works chosen as an e-book of the month before. I’m thrilled and honored! So glad you enjoyed the stories.
“Ebook of the month” started when someone sent me an email arguing that while I wrote a lot of self-published books, I would never read one. So my ebook of the month series is my “oh YEAH?” response.
Anyway, thanks for writing WOOL – I enjoyed it a great deal, and so has everyone I’ve shown the book. Though I work in an IT department, so the depiction of the silo’s Maintenance department rising up in wrath against the IT department was alarming, to say the least. 🙂
Sounds really interesting. Now I’ve just got to research how to get it onto my Nook.
Fear not! It’s available for Nook:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wool-omnibus-edition-hugh-howey/1110185323
Just checking back in to say, over a year later, I finally read it and wow! You weren’t kidding, I was absolutely blown away! I love that I had absolutely no idea where the story was going – I was afraid to even hope for certain outcomes and read the 2nd half of the omnibus in one sitting ’cause no way was I going to be able to sleep without finishing. (Of course, then I still couldn’t sleep even though it was after midnight because my mind was still spinning from it all.) ^_^ Now I’ve got to get my hands on the sequel!
Glad you liked it!
Everyone I’ve ever recommended WOOL to loved it, and that includes people who ordinarily would not touch SF/F with the proverbial ten-foot pole.