Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) in Beyond Reality

May 28, 2012 Banner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi

When I saw all of the high reviews of this book my first reaction was this is just a bunch of hype. Boy was I wrong. This book is really that good.

Character driven, suspense infused and well developed plot.

I really don't know what to add to the other reviews.

If you read for enjoyment, get busy!
...more

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May 11, 2013 Kerry rated it it was ok

Shelves: sf, library, 5-out-of-10, 2013

I have had a strange response to this book.

I heard about it a while back and it had remained in the back of my mind as something I'd like to read. I love a good post-apocalyptic story that is all about piecing together what is happening now and what happened to cause/further the apocalypse in question. So it seemed this should be just the book for me, but somehow I never got around to it.

Then there was an internet brouhaha over Howey being an "author behaving badly" and, personally, I felt his b I have had a strange response to this book.

I heard about it a while back and it had remained in the back of my mind as something I'd like to read. I love a good post-apocalyptic story that is all about piecing together what is happening now and what happened to cause/further the apocalypse in question. So it seemed this should be just the book for me, but somehow I never got around to it.

Then there was an internet brouhaha over Howey being an "author behaving badly" and, personally, I felt his behaviour was inappropriate. I can understand his feelings, but his actions completely put me off and I found I didn't want to give the man my money. I took the book off my TBR list.

About a month ago, I had started listening to a new podcast (Sword and Laser) that chose to make Wool its May book of the month. I suddenly found myself caught between being interested in reading the book and not wanting to buy it. I finally compromised by requesting it from the library.

So now I've read it. And I remain conflicted, if now about the work itself rather than my personal ethics relating to buying it.

The ideas are great. I was fascinated by the world he'd created and how it was being held together (or not) as that was slowly revealed to us. But, to be honest, as I continued reading, I found that I was also bored. The book seemed to grow longer and longer as it went on. It wasn't that I didn't care about the characters, but that I connected less and less with the text as I went on. By a third through I was wishing I could read faster. By halfway, I was skimming.

I spent the whole book trying to decide if I was going to give up and look up the plot answers on the internet, or if I was going to keep reading and find out for myself. I never quite made the decision to look for spoilers as, once that decision was made, I couldn't undo it, but I skimmed more and more.

I still think the world and the ideas are great and I'm glad I found out what they were, but I just wasn't impressed by the book. As I finished, I still wanted to know the background and found myself in the same dilemma all over again as I tried to decide if I wanted to read the sequel/prequel, Shift. In the end, I decided I didn't. I can't go through the entire process again.

I know lots of people just love the book, and I don't know why I so totally didn't connect with it. I readily acknowledge I went into it with a possibly unfair bias against the author. I try not to conflate the author and his/her work, but it gets harder and harder in this internet age. When an author does something I strongly disagree with, it's hard to stop that clouding my opinion. But I don't think I'm so blind as to fail completely to see the worth in a work as I read it. I still think the ideas in this book were great; it's just that I didn't feel that book itself matched up.

So my final verdict is that this book turned out not to be for me. Don't let that stop you. It might be just the thing for you. ...more

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Dec 25, 2013 Kevin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What an unexpected thrill ride! I had no idea going into Wool, what to expect, but I was not in the least disappointed.

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Sep 10, 2014 Tani rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scifi, male-author, five-stars, favorites, 2014

My favorite story was the 2nd, Proper Gauge, but the entire omnibus was pretty much amazing. I would recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in dystopian worlds.

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Apr 12, 2014 Words rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

The opening story to this omnibus was amazing and I fell for the whole thing, hook, line, and sinker. Reading this was like tucking into a fantastic medium rare steak topped with a pat of butter and a side of lobster tail...this after previously being fed on a diet of cheap to mediocre tofu burgers (tofurgers?). Great storytelling.

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Jan 05, 2014 mina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Yes, maybe it's just another dystopian novel, number one of a trilogy? pentalogy? But it's fast-paced after some slow moments at the beginning. Especially when you get to the part where Juliette became the sheriff. The author is good in describing things: detailed. The ending is too simple for all the difficulties and suffering the protagonist has been through, though. But the story is engaging enough to continue reading the trilogy. The next one, according to the teaser at the back, is about si ...more

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Sep 13, 2014 Grey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, dystopia, scifi-fantasy-book-club-2014

The characters were compelling and well drawn. I liked the way the truth about the world was gradually revealed. There were many plot twists I did NOT see coming.

Very occasionally, I thought the writing style itself seemed juvenile and annoying. (For example, in the knitting scene. Also, why was that scene even there? And I say this as a knitter myself.) But it was only very occasional.

I want to read more about this world!

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Mar 06, 2013 HeatherLynn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Wow. Really draws you in. What a world he has created.explanation was a bit simplified, but the characters fully developed - male / female, young / old.

Thank you

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