When I first picked up “Wool,” the first entry in Hugh Howey’s “Silo” series, from my local used bookstore during break, I had little idea of what to expect. Ever since “The Hunger Games” became one of the biggest franchises on Earth at the start of the 2010s, many aspiring writers have utilized dystopian settings in an attempt to poorly recreate its popularity. As “Wool” was originally released in 2011 during the height of the popularity of “The Hunger Games,” I was a little worried that it would fall into the same formulaic tropes that modern dystopian novels fall into. But to my delight, “Wool” ended up being one of the most tense, thoughtful and engaging novels that I have read in a long time.
“Wool” takes place on an Earth that has been rendered uninhabitable by an unknown apocalypse that has left its atmosphere toxic. What remains of humanity lives in a massive underground silo with over a hundred floors that is completely self-sustaining. This community has one rule above all others: you must never talk about leaving the silo. Those who break this rule are granted their wish: they must leave the silo to clean its outside sensors. Death comes mere minutes after these exiles step outside, while the rest of the silo watches their fate from their newly cleaned cameras.
Holston, the sheriff of the silo, one day expresses his desire to see the outside, willingly sentencing himself to death. He is replaced by Juliette Nichols, a mechanic from one of the silos’ lowest levels. Juliette is a responsible and stubborn loner who, as sheriff, inherits a growing conspiracy over the true nature of the silo and its most powerful people.
This book actually originated as a series of novellas from Hugh Howey that he self-published online, with “Wool” being a collection of the first five that he wrote. You can barely notice this divide between segments, and I think that speaks to the excellent pacing and worldbuilding of Howey. The silo feels like a lived-in community, and a large portion of the book’s second novella is dedicated to simply fleshing out the jobs of different levels of the silo. From couriers that spend their days running up and down the silo stairs, to the tight-knit community of mechanics that Juliette calls her family, every part of the silo feels developed, as a community that has been self-sustaining itself underground for centuries would be.
Beyond just the setting of the silo, the characters that inhabit it are all very well-established with clear motivations and personality traits. The protagonist, Juliette, is not even introduced until a hundred pages into the book, yet her absence is not felt, as we have the doomed Sheriff Holston, the wise Mayor Jahns and the heartbroken Deputy Marnes to hold our interest until then. All three of these major characters have complex relationships with one another that are all given the screen time they deserve. They make us really care about Sheriff Holston’s plight, even though his exile and death occur 50 pages into the book. As more characters are introduced, the interwoven web of relationships between the main cast grows, and we spend more time switching perspectives between the central characters. This could have really slowed down the pacing, but each major character has their own quirks that make them fascinating. They all have their own roles to play in the upkeep or destruction of the conspiracy that holds up the silo’s society.
Speaking of the conspiracy, let’s talk about the elements of mystery in “Wool.” There is a major twist or character death at every turn in this book, each of which serves to keep the story flowing along and keep readers engaged. The status quo of “Wool” does not last for more than a few chapters at a time, as the escalation of conflict leaves readers on the edge of their seats. I felt that some points of the story could have been slowed down a little in order to allow the audience to catch their breath, but I also understand that the fast pace is what kept “Wool” so gripping to readers in the first place.
Another critique I have is that the book spends a lot of time with Mayor Jahns and Deputy Marnes in the first two novellas of “Wool,” and while I do quite enjoy both of these characters, they are not nearly as relevant for the rest of the story, making their character arcs feel a little bloated in retrospect. Building on that, while the book generally juggles its very large cast well, I felt as if we switched perspectives a little too often towards the end of the book. I found myself wanting to go back to Juliette’s perspective while I was reading, as her chapters kept leaving off on exciting cliffhangers, but the tension of her scenes would be broken up by chapters focusing on the other characters in the silo.
Overall, I found Hugh Howey’s “Wool” to be a fascinating introduction to dystopian fiction, tackling themes of information and censorship, trust and heartbreak and despair and hope throughout its pages. If you are looking for a lengthy science fiction story to really sink your teeth into, I would highly recommend “Wool” and the rest of Howey’s “Silo” series. (They also have a show adaptation on Apple TV+!)
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars.
