Sunday, July 8, 2012 | By: Three Chapters

Three Chapters of Wool

Author: Hugh Howey
Title: Wool
Genre: Science Fiction / Post Apocalyptic
Buy it at: Amazon
Omnibus addition at: Amazon

Three chapter rating: 4/5


Blurb: "Thousands of them have lived underground. They've lived there so long, there are only legends about people living anywhere else. Such a life requires rules. Strict rules. There are things that must not be discussed. Like going outside. Never mention you might like going outside.
Or you'll get what you wish for."


Review: I have heard a lot of buzz about this book, or novella I should say. From what I understand this first one was meant to stand alone, but the hunger of fans for more has led the author to put out five more now, and I think he has planned up to at least nine.

At the beginning of the book, the first few pages or so, I admit I was a little confused and bored. Don't get me wrong, the writing was superb, but really.. how much do I need to know about the condition of this staircase? Look, I get it, lots of people have went up and down over the many years of the Silo. This traffic has worn it down. I know it is only a few paragraphs, but it being the very start of the book it sort of seemed drawn out. maybe that is just due to the context that I only have three chapters to read, but I digress.

The book does pickup fast from there. Not that there is any action per say, but the author starts to really grab your curiosity. He subtly lets you know that this is a post apocalyptic world where human kind has been reduced to living in a bunker, whose upper level overlooks a ruined distant city through some polluted glass view points.

We then learn that our main character (whose name for some reason I read at first as Houston, not sure why..) is the sheriff of our little underground paradise. His wife was put to death, in a way, three years ago. Since I only read the first three chapters so far I am not entirely sure why, but the author does a great job of letting you speculate. Hugh paints a muddy picture with just enough clear slots to start piecing together some stuff. See, there are these sensors in the distant, outside the Silo. These as well as the immediate windows that the sunlight comes through, need cleaned and repaired every few years. The catch is that someone has to go outside to do it, and if they go outside they die. They can't come back. It seems that criminals are sent to do this. Our protagonist's wife was sent out to do this three years ago, and he was the sheriff that oversaw her cell before she left.

So the verdict? I would definitely keep reading this. It isn't quite 5 stars in that I'm not rushing to finish this review so that I can immediately go read the entire rest of the book, but it is still a great read. The first three chapters are definitely enough to get you into the world and wanting to figure out just why Houston's (hehe) wife was sent out. What are these revolts? What caused this bleak existence for mankind? And just what sort of cheesecake do they make out of pig's milk down there?

I will definitely be reading the rest of the book sometime soon!

Reviewed by: Adam~

0 comments:

Post a Comment