Wool

I walked into this book with rather low expectations on account of it being so very hyped, but I walked out with exactly the sort of apocalypse I was looking for.

The first book works brilliantly as a short story and a hook to the larger omnibus. I see how this book was able to develop a cult status based on Howey giving away chapters. The story did a nice job of subverting my expectations, and whatever I was absolutely sure was going to happen, didn't. That's what made me bump this book up to five stars. For me at least, (and I haven't read a lot of post-apocalyptic sci-fi recently, to be fair), this book was almost entirely unpredictable. Howey establishes early that no character is safe, no solution without cost, and thus he keeps his suspense on high for the entire story.

The world Howey creates also sucked me right in. Everything from the limited resources to the tension between IT and Mechanical works within this tiny spiral. The normalcy of living within a few floors for entire lives, of never inventing elevators in order to preserve stratification (the only reason I can think for not having elevators), of birth control lotteries and registered relationships – it all plays together to complete this society that makes a terrifying sort of sense.

I also can't help but enjoy the dynamic between Juliette and Lukas. I shouldn't have liked it because really they don't have enough time together to establish the kind of bond they develop, but I found them believable nonetheless. I think that if an infatuation were cut off as quickly and cruelly as theirs was only to be relit again with both of them in isolation, desperately needing a voice of sanity and truth... that infatuation would become a dependency if not love. It would become something they both needed, which is how Howey plays it. I'm also somewhat pleased to see the novelty of the woman being substantially the older partner in a relationship.

All of Howey's characters, from Holston to Solo are entirely real and believable. Bernard is maybe a bit obviously villainous as he is malicious from the start, but his true motivation is perfectly righteous, saving him from being too much of a mustache-twirler. My only disappointment was that we didn't get more backstory about his relationship with Lukas. I'm not sure why Bernard trusted him so very quickly. It seems like he should have checked him out more thoroughly for a position of that importance.

The real key to this story, though, is its suspense. Howey is a master of the slow-build, and he finds every source of danger and tension available to his characters. If I had to describe the book in one word, it would be claustrophobia. Everything is packed tightly together, with no room for the reader to take a breath. The characters' panic becomes the readers' panic time and again as the walls move in just a little closer. Even in the second story (probably the more forgettable one for me), climbing stairs is laced with mystery and a question of where danger is lurking. By the time we follow Juliette out into the world and Silo 17, I couldn't put the book down. I kept rushing through to get back to her chapters. I could feel her suffocation, her terror, and her exhaustion. Books 4/5 had me sweating right along with the characters.

The book may still be a lot of hype. The science may not be the soundest. The characters might be a little rushed. However, the intensity of the story made this one of the most enjoyable books I've read all year. That's why I'm giving it the full five stars. It may not be perfect sci-fi, but it's definitely my kind of sci-fi.