I was turned onto Hugh Howey by Mr. Awesome Sauce, who recommended I check out his blog a few months ago. As a proponent of indie authors, Hugh has some truly helpful and insightful information on his blog. The fact that he’s a genuinely likable and funny guy, just makes him that much more awesome, and a spectacular advocate for all indie authors. So, after stalking him on his blog and Goodreads for a few months I finally decided to give his book Wool, the first book in the Silo Saga, a try. To save a bit of money I bought the omnibus edition rather than each individual book in the series.

All I can say is: HOLY. CRAP. I’ve read some pretty damned good books in my time, and have several that will probably be my all time favorites until the day I die (Interview With The Vampire and Pride & Prejudice, for sure), but I’m not sure that even they compare to the brilliance that is Wool. Hugh has a way with words that seems also supernatural, as if he is using some occult-driven powers to weave a tale that fully ensnares the audience. It is entirely possible that Hugh is the bastard child of Cthulhu and has been sent to enslave us all. He is an insanely talented evil genius, and reading Wool captivated me to such a level that I wanted to take copies of the book and shove them into the brains of everyone I know because I couldn’t stand the thought of being the only one in my social circle who knew of it’s greatness.

From the very first page his writing grasped me in a choke hold of awesomeness, and didn’t let go until I had devoured Wool and gone on to read another three of his books (Shift, Sand, and Half Way Home).

One of the best things about Wool, was that the world of the Silo Saga was as much of a character as Holston and Juliette, seeming to breath in time with it’s inhabitants, all while chugging along in pursuit of it’s own goals. Not only did the characters have to overcome the challenges put in place by their fellow inhabitants of Silo 18, but also the obstacles created by the world and silo they lived (and oftentimes, died) in. Every twist and turn in the story left me breathless and crying out WTF?! all while alternately cursing and praising Hugh’s genius. In the end, all I could do was grab a fistful of money and shout “TAKE MY MONEY, DAMN YOU!”