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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Wool in Books

Nov 28, 2019  
Wool
Wool
Hugh Howey | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
In the far future all of mankind lives in an underground silo. Every aspect of the inhabitant's lives are carefully controlled and they are told that the surface is too polluted to support life. But why is mankind controlled like this and who is doing the controlling? What is the truth and what are lies? What would happen if an individual was clever enough, ingenious enough and just desparate enough to challenge the status quo?

Howey's novel - the first of a series - is a classic of modern science fiction. The environs of the silo are suitable claustrophobic, populated with a range of interesting characters from the upper to the lower levels. The plot itself is pretty relentless, gathering momentum from the first pages like a boulder rolling down a slope, and like a boulder it seems to be heading towards certain disaster.

The silo and the reasons behind it are well thought out what areas we see a lot of are well described, other parts are only glimpsed but the world (such as it is) is certainly convincing. As the story moves along and starts to be told from the viewpoint of several people this just adds to the sense of urgency as each story intertwines and the reader wants to find out what is going to happen in each thread, not only for the sake of the characters but for the gradual reveal of the overarching plot.

I will definitely be reading the other books in the series and as long as the ideas keep coming as fresh and richly described as they are here then they will also be well worth reading.
  
DM
Dark Matter
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
91 of 220
Book
Dark Matter
By Michelle Paver
⭐️⭐️⭐️

January 1937 Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark.

This was good I enjoyed the atmospheric feel of it and the version I have has picture of the arctic not sure if they all do. I think I was expecting something chilling and scary but this really wasn’t for me I got caught up in others reviews I think. While it was well we and I did like it I just didn’t find it as good as I was expecting.