Wool/Silo Series Review

I stumbled across Hugh Howey's posts about self-publishing and decided to give his actual novels a try - partly to see what a famous self-published book looked like and partly because I've been looking for something good to read. Another thing that helped was the ease with which I could find this and read it on my computer or my phone. I don't often read stuff online, but when I'm busy I find that it's awesome to be able to access good fiction without having to make the trip to the library!

World-Building: Excellent, very well paced
Characterizations: Good - some excellent
Plot: Slow to start, compelling after the first half of Wool

Wool
The first book in the series, Wool, starts off with a Sheriff in an underground world on his way to being executed by a very strange method: Cleaning. Those who are condemned to a "Cleaning" have to leave the safe confines of the underground world (the silo) and venture out into the polluted air. They are given a piece of wool with which they have to clean the surface of the cameras that provide the silo inhabitants with their only glimpse of the outside. They all die on the hills outside, within view of the camera, because of the polluted air. The Sheriff, Holston, spends his last few hours thinking about the circumstances that led him to the cleaning, and the mysteries that his wife was trying to uncover before she was sent to cleaning.

It's certainly an interesting concept and while I didn't necessarily like the POV character at the start we spent so much time with him that I hoped he would be saved from his predicament and end up uncovering all the secrets/mysteries. The problem was that we didn't get very much information before the book moved on a different perspective and we had to get involved with an even less interesting character for a hundred odd pages, getting to know her inner thoughts, etc, all in hope that this character would actually uncover what the previous one couldn't.

Let's just say that didn't really provide enough information at all, but it gave enough hints and world-building details to keep the mystery interesting and keep me reading. A third main character, Jules, was then introduced and she actually remains the main character for most of the rest of the series. She's the real heroine of the story and she is much more compelling than either of her two predecessors. I cared about her so much more and she was also able to move the story forward much faster and uncover many more interesting secrets. We get a lot of amazing world-building here as Jules at once uncovers and completely changes the world of the silo. It's a great, compelling read and a relief that the character sticks around for a longer time.

Shift
Jules' story is so interesting that I was initially disappointed to be thrust into yet another perspective, the perspective of Donald, a politician and one of the "ancients" that helped build the silo before the world got destroyed and the pollution got so bad. I really didn't want to hear any of it, but I kept going in hopes of seeing more of Jules later on in the series. I also actually started to like Donald as a character and by the end of it I didn't mind him at all. Some of the backstory on some of the things Jules discovered was also really great to see.


Dust 
The third novel, when it all comes together is great. It pulls everything together really well and I began to really respect the author's ability to plot. On the other hand, when it all came together I started to notice some issues with the world-building. All the cover-ups and conspiracies and so many of the characters' discoveries ended up seeming a bit hollow or pointless because some elements weren't as well thought out by the author, but they did help get the main characters where we wanted them to be, I guess. Still, it provided a satisfying enough resolution for the characters so I didn't mind that the mysteries were a little bit of a let down.

Overall, I would recommend this series to people who enjoy science fiction and/or post-apocalyptic fiction in particular. It kind of had a City of Ember for adults feel to it. It's a bit slow to start, but hang in there until you get to Jules, she's great and there's a lot less of the "inside the mind of a boring person" feel after she shows up.