Wool (Silo #1) by Hugh Howey

One of the things I love best is to have a friend recommend a book to read.  Going in, you have an understanding that this is going to be a story you'll enjoy, simply because someone you trust, someone who also enjoys reading as much as you do, enjoyed it, and thought highly of the author and the story.  That recommendation is even better when the friend is a bookseller.  Bookshop owners have a special understanding of the writing craft, and what makes a good book great.  It's their job, after all, to curate stories and make the best ones available to us.  So, a huge THANK YOU goes out to Luke Janes at Toadvine Books in Berkley, Michigan.  It is because of you that I am now thrust headlong into a trilogy (usually a taboo for me) and am loving every minute of it!  

Although I still haven't figured out why the author titled this book "Wool", and I'm sincerely hoping that at some point along the reading of this series, it's meaning will be revealed... I must say, this is fantastic writing.  The story, a post-apocalyptic thriller, is well crafted.  The set up is near flawless.  It gives you just enough information to understand why things are as they are, but not so much information as to ruin the tension and the expectation of the forthcoming books.

The premise of a community being governed by a history they can't escape, is compelling.  The simple request to "go outside" is edge-of-your-seat spooky; and you're not sure why it is that way - except that the lack of complete understanding of the nuances of this society is exactly why this book is such a great read.  We learn about the culture and it's people in pieces, after being dropped headfirst into the action and the emotional struggle right from page one.  The details are filtered out slowly, and the reader learns more from imagination and inference than from a direct explanation from the author.  It was different, and I liked it.

I don't usually read series or trilogy works because too often the let-down after book one is prominent.  I am hopeful that this one will be different.  Hopeful because this is really good writing, and I'm confident that it will be different because my friend and bookseller, Luke told me it was.  If you can't trust your local indie bookshop owner, who can you trust!?!

Visit Toadvine Books on Facebook.  I'm sure Luke can suggest a great read for you, too!

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2783 Coolidge Highway  Berkley, Michigan  248-439-0409