Wool

Executive Summary: While I feel only the first story works by itself the 5 stories as a collection make for an excellent novel that shouldn't be missed.

Full Review
I first heard about Wool sometime last year as it gaining momentum, but before Mr. Howey had signed the print deal. It's become a pretty trendy pick as of late, and Sword and Laser chose it for the May pick this year.

While this is technically 5 connected stories, I think it reads much better as a novel. I think only the first story is satisfying by itself.

My original plan was to read the first 3 stories (a little under half the book) one weekend, then finish the book the next. Well Mr. Howey ruined those plans. When I got to the end of the third story I couldn't stop. Instead of reading 125 pages I read over 200, and put my original reading plans on hold so I could finish this first.

To me that's the ultimate sign of a great book. If you find yourself going out your way or re-arranging plans just to read.

The story mostly reads like a mystery novel, in a post-apocalyptic setting. People live in a large underground society. To the inhabitants, this is what life is like, and has always been like.

There is a screen on the top floor that shows “outside”. The imagine slowly degrades over time as the camera gets dirty. To think of going outside is dangerous, to express that thought is a crime.

Many secrets lie beneath the surface, but discovering them can lead to your death. Through the series of five stories, we learn how things got the way they are.

I find it interesting that given recent events Mr. Howey is now considered by some to be sexist, when he's written one of the best female characters I've read in a long time. Personally I think the “controversy” has been overblown, and shouldn't deter anyone from checking this novel out.

The pace of the first three stories are pretty breakneck, but Mr. Howey does a great job of world building, especially in the second story. The pace slows down greatly in the final two books, especially the final one. I think the third story was my favorite part of the five.

Despite this the ending did feel a little rushed, and I'm certainly eager to continue on in the series.

The next set of stories is a prequel of sorts and helps to fill in some of the gaps I've been told, but what I really want to know is what happens next. Hopefully the next set of stories Mr. Howey is currently working on, will pick up where this one left off.