The Wool series by Hugh C. Howey

[ysbreker]

This series started as a short story about survivors of some unknown apocalypse living in an underground bunker and has grown out into a most excellent story. I can highly recommend reading this if you like post apocalyptic stories.

http://www.amazon.com/Wool-Omnibus-Edition-ebook/dp/B0071XO8RA/ref=ntt_at_ep_edition_2_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

He recently released a 6th book in this series and it's a very cool new angle on the story, I can't recommend it enough.

[subbes]

I have bought the combined series but haven't had time to read it because I'm in audiobook mode right now. But once I do get to read it, I will check into this thread.

[Railer]

I recently bought the omnibus of Wool and finished the whole thing in 2 days. It's one of my favorite books I've read in a long time.

I found out about it after I had finished Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, a collection of short stories with the theme of the apocalypse.

I can highly recommend Wool, I found it amazing to be honest. Another plus is that the omnibus is really cheap if you got an e-reader.

[makingmatter]

So is this series completed? That's incredibly cheap, for five books in an omnibus format.

[Railer]

The omnibus includes book 1-5 and it's a complete story. Book number six is a prequel to the omnibus.

[nakedsushi]

Loved the omnibus. The first "story" was heartbreaking and got me hooked.

[subbes]

I tore through 50% of this on a plane this week and then got distracted. I aim to finish it this weekend.

[Frenetic Pony]

So I started this, and felt it was a bit plodding and slow. But then I finished the first part, and was surprised! It reminded me of something Philip K. Dick might have come up with, so I happily plowed on.

Wow, if I'd thought the beginning was plodding I didn't know the meaning of the word. The rest just trudges much like I imagine a boulder trudges its way down a hill thanks to the movement of tectonic plates. There's always the sense that something interesting is going on. But let's not discuss that interesting thing, let's take the next two dozen pages to describe walking down some bloody stairs and not advance the actual plot at all!

Just could not go on with it, though I suppose if "slow burn" is up your alley it should be a different story.

[subbes]

I'm sorry to hear that; I finished Wool this week and really enjoyed it.

How far did you get? It picks up pace after you meet Juliette.

[tabacco]

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I read Wool, then blew through Shift over the weekend, and I'm halfway through Dust now and I'm really enjoying the series. Very fallout-ey.

 

I just got to the bit where

Juliette figures out what the 'argon' they release from the airlocks actually is.

Which I legitimately didn't see coming. And that makes me happy.

[SilentBtAmazing]

Thank you for bringing up this thread, you reminded me that I bought Shift and Dust (omnibusi) but never got around to reading them. So over the holiday weekend I read Shift and the first third of Dust, in general I was pretty impressed. I think those first couple Silo stories were overall better but it's hard to say if that is mostly because you are learning what is going on (and so it's not that the rest are bad or anything).

[tabacco]

In the last third of Dust...

I was genuinely surprised that Silo 18 was successfully shut down. I expected them to try, but a million screenplays had trained me to expect them to have fiddled with the conduits or something. Especially since it was pretty clear that that's what Silo 40 had done. It was actually kind of a pleasant surprise to have that expectation foiled.

 

My one (minor) gripe at the end of the whole thing...

is that we never find out what exactly happened with Silo 40, even though Charlotte was in a position to know that something was up with that silo at the end and tell the others.

[SilentBtAmazing]

I agree with your gripe, that was mentioned an awful lot for never getting resolved. In general I found the ending underwhelming and the broad arc of the finish was really pretty obvious, right? I thought the other books / stories were just great

about having interesting endings so the grand finale seemed a little extra bland by comparison.

[tabacco]

I secretly suspect he might be leaving himself room for future books in that world.