Book Review: Wool (The Silo Saga) by Hugh Howey
Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
👋🏾 Happy Wednesday! In this newsletter, you’ll find…
📚An unfiltered book review
📝 A thought-provoking journal prompt
🎙An audio version of this review
You can read a synopsis of the book plot here because I won’t copy and paste from elsewhere.
Publisher: William Morrow
My Thoughts
Like many others, I was introduced to this series through AppleTV. Silo is captivating and well-paced with great acting. It wasn’t until I finished the TV series (binged is more accurate) that I learned that it is based on the book Wool by Hugh Howey. Furthermore, Wool was first published as a series of self-published e-books in the early 2000s and later went on to gain a book deal with a major house that gave the author a groundbreaking contract. Read more about Howey’s groundbreaking success here.
Wool is such a fitting name for this story that unravels bit by bit and then is knit together giving the reader the full picture by the end. In this dark work of science fiction, mankind is surviving in an underground Silo due to an unlivable atmosphere outside. Much like the world of today, people are separated by what they do to maintain society, and the class structure is physically represented from the top to bottom floors of the Silo.
People at the bottom have little power and are so busy that they rarely venture outside the floors they occupy. While those at the top floors make decisions for all those in the Silo and consider those at the bottom necessary but dirty and expendable.
The story is built upon secrets and unraveling those secrets jeopardizes the social stability of the Silo and thus the future of mankind. The push and pull of information sharing by those with power and those who make the Silo function causes tension that is the center of conflict that carries the plot.
The world-building here is A+ and the pacing is just right. I did not want to stop reading at any point and I found myself invested in a variety of characters because of what they represented for the people of the Silo as well as the moral quagmires the reader is meant to ponder until the very end.
Howey’s writing style is very attainable for the average reader and those who like to delve deep into the meaning behind the words will also have plenty to sink your teeth into here. As Howey revealed more and more about the characters and the world in which they live, I found myself circling back to pick up things that felt trivial when first introduced.
I want to read this again knowing how the story unfolds to pick up on all the clues and nuggets I missed along the way. For me, that quality is what solidified this as a five-star read.
If you plan to read this book, I highly recommend that you watch the AppleTV version first. Why? Because like most book adaptations, the made-for-TV version takes a lot of liberties with the storyline. Though based on the book series, they have very different plot lines and unlike most situations, both work well on their own. However, reading the book may have you questioning the TV adaptation choices instead of appreciating the two separately, which I think does a disservice to the original and the TV version.
I plan to finish the three-book series, but I’m lowering my expectations because it’s rare for an author to be able to create a truly stellar book series.
Journal Prompt: How often do you step outside the social/structural box you’ve been placed within?
In this day and age, we can see so much of how everyone lives via social media. However, this encourages us to be voyeurs who are judging from the outside instead of participants who explore the world around us.
My answer: Before I created a bucket list I think my answer to this prompt would have differed greatly. When I sat down to decide on the adventures my bucket list has for me to achieve, I concentrated on stepping outside my box.
That means trying new foods, visiting new spaces/places, and getting uncomfortable. As a worker and someone who sits in the upper middle portion of our societal class structure, it’s easy to simply work and enjoy my bubble. But that means I am not considering the full community that makes up the society in which i live.
That doesn’t work for me, so I created a bucket list.
And so far this year, achieving the things on that list is re-introducing me to everyone I only see online. From a gala in DC to a seafood boil surrounded by those who make up my country roots. I’m having conversations and getting an understanding of how we the people are living in 2024.