***IF YOU HAVE NOT READ WOOL OMNIBUS PLEASE STOP HERE AND GO READ THOSE FIRST***
Rarely do I find something that captivates me from beginning to end. Something so well written with characters that are so life-like in so few words, that I will buy up an entire series based on one 50 page short story. Starting with Wool Omnibus (1-5), that is how I felt about Hugh Howey and his work. There is a reason his books are on the NYT Best seller list as a self-published author.
Book Description: In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event. At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened.
This book started off in the not too distant future. I’d like to think I would still be alive in the year 2049, it would put me at around 71 years old. It’s far enough in the future that the technologies described could be quite possible. Like nano-bots that can enter the blood stream and repair the human body at a cellular level, and can learn about their host to keep people alive far past their years. I mean, people didn’t think the communicators in Star Trek would be possible, and less than 30 years later, BAM, we have phones that bounce a signal to space and back modeled after those. But I digress here, lets get into the book.
2049 is the year that Senator Thurman gave Congressman Donald Keene a project that would change the world forever. It’s just that Donald didn’t really know it. Because of his architectural background he wanted him to draw up plans for a skyscraper to be built underground. The project was top secret, and even others working on the project didn’t know the full story, or even what the other person was working on. I did find that kind of strange that you could work on such a large project without knowing the overall plan for the design. Or that something so large could be kept top secret. But I guess Area 51 is top secret too and that’s a big deal.
Donald Keene works closely with with the his ex-lover and Senators daughter (much to the chagrin of his wife), Anna, as well as his friend Mick. But again, each person knows something about the project that none of the other two know. The dynamic between the three are well done, each character has their own personality, and Hugh Howey pays close attention to little details that make each person stand out on their own. It makes the connection to the characters so much more real with the reader.
The actual construction of the Silos are quite interesting too. You know why they are being built, but it’s not really explained very well. I’m hoping that in future installments they flesh that out more. You know we pushed the button, but don’t get a sense of really what was happening to make us do that. I did laugh when Donald found out they took his elevator/lift away from the plans “What, no elevators? Are you crazy?” I mean these are 150 story Silos. It was one big question I had from the previous installments, I really want a better answer then the one I think was given.
We also follow a guy named Troy in the year 2110. He has been woken up from cryogenic slumber and is probably what we know as the Mayor of Silo #1. You get to see the inner workings of how things work, and the way IT began. Unlike in the original Wool if you start to go crazy they don’t just send you outside to clean, they put you back in the deep-freeze as they call it. Troy goes through quite a bit and slowly his mind starts to deteriorate. Each shift lasts for six months before you are sent back to the deep-freeze for decades, and he makes it just in time. His mind starts to remember things from his past. Each person takes drugs to make them forget what happened in the past.
As the story progresses, you alternate from the years 2049-2052 to the year 2110-2111. I’m not really sure why, as the chapters don’t really coincide with each other, or link directly until the amazing conclusion. It isn’t distracting however and I could deal with it. The twists and turns this book takes are very organic, and you are finding things out as the characters are. As the reader you know what happens in the far future, so you know the ultimate ending, but you never knew why. So you are joining the cast of characters in finding out the reasoning behind these buildings, as well as learning more about Silo life from the ground up.
I have my speculations about the end of this book, which leaves you hanging by the way.
One I’m hoping doesn’t happen, the other I’m pretty sure is accurate. I won’t mention them here because it could very well spoil the book for those that haven’t read it.
Is this better than Wool? No. Not in my opinion. It’s a great entry, don’t get me wrong, but I think the atmosphere and tension created in the former series was much better executed. However, my opinion on this matter may change as volumes 2 and 3 are read.
You can buy his entire Wool Series, as well as his stand alone novel over at Amazon.com and various other eBook sellers.
You can also read my interview with Hugh Howey by clicking on this link: