Proper Gauge
Ratings64
Average rating4
reviews.metaphorosis.com
3 stars
The aged mayor of a silo-based post-apocalyptic shelter travels down-level with an equally aged deputy sheriff to meet a new candidate for sheriff.
While a standalone story, “Proper Gauge” makes clear that Wool is really an episodic novel in the model of Zelazny's Dilvish, the Damned, ratherthan simply a shared universe of stories. The story continues from immediately after the events in “Wool 1”, and is enhanced by an awareness of that story.
As in “Wool 1”, I found the writing a little overwrought, and the copy-editing lax. Both the good story and the weak language of the prequel continue. Howey begins with a very nice image of knitting needles, but there's little subtlety in its application. That lack of polish is equally evident in the occasional missing comma or other grammatical error. Not so much as to really interrupt the story, but enough to make you wish he'd spent just a little more time on fine tuning.
Those weaknesses are a shame, because the story itself is nice. “Proper Gauge” clearly sets up the next stories for some confrontation and silo politics, but it's also a neat pair of intertwined stories about love and succession. The lead character is reasonably rounded, as is the deputy. Two other key characters are much flatter, and the putative sheriff is simply not very credible. There's a certain amount of authorialism - things work out very conveniently - but not an outrageous amount for a short story.
All in all, a nice, readable story that doesn't otherwise stand out. I've also picked up part 3, and will read that next, though at present I'm not sure I'd go any farther.
Each story from this series can stand on it's own but start with, Wool, the first in the series.This sounds like the start of something big and has a cliff hanger ending that makes the reader want to read on or linger on what are some of the consequence from the actions taking in the book. I lost sleep thinking about the possibility trying not to start the next book.
It was well-written novella/short story and the world building is detailed and in-depth. The story was a slower pace than the first book in the series but I felt it fit the situation, theme, and characters. There is not laser fight kind of action but the a political drama playing out.
Different but nothing really new.
Still very nice to read and although is pretty big not boring at all quite the opposite.
Hope the next 2 have the same result on my pleasure gland.
Not bad. The second entry in Hugh Howey's self-published Wool series. I've heard it described as the weakest of the original five novellas, and I agree that it isn't as good as the first, but I thought it was solid.
Proper Gauge moves the story along, as the Silo's mayor travels deep down into the Silo to meet with someone, and explores the strata of the Silo as she goes. The story is fine; it's a lot of space, though – a hair under 80 pages – for what it is.
I'm told this volume sets up the remainder, and I can see how that might be. Certainly worth continuing, but not as arresting as volume 1.
Short review: The second book of the Wool series takes a new main character and gives more background to the Silo
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/wool-books-1-3-by-hugh-howey
