Review: WOOL by Hugh Howley

Purchase Price: $3.99 CDN on Amazon.ca
Wool [Kindle Edition]

Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic Fiction, Mystery

Book Description: 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. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.

Review:
WOOL is a meticulously crafted world that will wrap you up and carry you along, sometimes against your will, to the dark places in human history yet to come.

Hugh Howley's WOOL is a magnificent piece of writing, steeped in mystery and hidden corners, the depths of the human psyche and the desire we all have to understand the world we find ourselves in, to look for meaning where we find it lacking. Written in a series of five novellas, now united in a heavy tome, both literally and figuratively, Howley's New York Times Bestselling Novel is now available in paperback format.

We start off with with the end of Holston's story, and the beginning of the mystery of the Silo in which he lives and works with a thousand other souls. We are given to understand this Silo is underground, and a carefully constructed environment, self-sustaining, after an unexplained 'uprising' that forced these last surviving humans underground, away from the toxic air above. Holston's wife was sent out to 'Clean' the Silo's sensors nearly three year's earlier after seemingly going mad, with talk about something that doesn't make sense, a mystery that is driving her in dizzy circles. After years without her, Holston himself makes a decision to join her outside the Silo, to become a Cleaner himself, leaving his position as Sheriff of the Silo now open to another applicant.

While we consider the mystery of Holston's choice, we find ourselves on a trek down into the depths of the Silo, as part two of WOOL looks for the individual to fill shoes. We meet the Mayor and the Deputy of the Silo, as they make the long trek down through the levels of the Silo, floors upon floors below, to meet with the candidate they have selected to become the next Sherrif. Juliette, or Jules as she is known, a worker in the Mechanical section of the 'Down Deep' is the pegged applicant of choice, but she is an individual that becomes the catalyst to a number of events and discoveries that change everything for the people of her Silo.

The mysteries begin to weave together, thick and tangled, as the momentum of WOOL picks up and carries you to a most shocking ending. Nothing ends as you would have hoped in this stark and unforgiving world crafting with masterful skill by Hugh Howley. How could it, when everything is a lie, and the truth is more dangerous than anyone could have expected. Somehow, the ending is even more satisfying than one could imagine, and yet leaves so many unanswered questions. There is so much to offer in this carefully crafted world, and even more left to the imagination. You can see the story winding and weaving in so many possible directions, and yet it doesn't leave you unsatisfied in the end, just wanted more, as all good books should.

This is a novel that is worth the time to tuck in to, and will make you think about issues affecting all of us, in our own lives, right now. It is not preachy, nor blaming, but provocative and engaging, and it will have you winding up and down the stairwells of arguments in your mind, over and over. Is this a bleak prediction of a post-apocalyptic future? Is this a warning about the things that separate us from our neighbors, and prevents us from engaging with those we could gain so much from? Is it a exercise in studying human nature, and our tendency to seek out sanity from chaos? It is all of these things and so much more.

While I make this novel sound like some grand study of the human mind, make no mistake. WOOL is meant to be read by fans of science fiction, or post-apocalyptic genre fiction, in it's purest form. It is an enjoyable and fascinating read, but if you wish to go deeper, and if your mind tends to that kind of analysis, you won't be disappointed on either count.

Fired Up Rating: 5/5 Flames

 

Bottom Line: I highly recommend this novel to those who love a good mystery, a thoroughly new science-fiction world, or a post-apocalyptic adventure. There is drama, action, true horror, and at times the most gentle of loving gestures when you might least expect them. There is something wonderful about WOOL that will make is last longer than it's 500+ pages, it will hit you somewhere deep in your sense of being human and fragile, and as human, ultimately capable of both wonderful of terrible things. It is an experience not to be missed.

**This review of WOOL by Hugh Howley is based upon a copy received through Goodreads First Reads. Although the book was received as a review copy, the opinions expressed are my own and are in no way influenced by either Goodreads, the publisher, or the author of the novel.**