Those bodies are a permanent reminder of what can happen if silo citizens wish or hope for more, what happens if they don't follow the rules.Īfter much deliberation, Mayor Jahns selected a pair of needles. talking about outside can get you thrown out of the silo to 'clean.' Cleaning is Howey's version of getting 'spaced,' except that the bodies disintegrate where everyone inside the silo can view the remains of the dead along with the dark, dusty tornadoes and the black clouds that hang over the old decaying city that hangs like a dead spectre on the background behind the small hill that faces the silo. There is order and there are rules for everything, from supplies requisitions to who is chosen to have children, to how funerals are conducted, and although 'outside' can be viewed by everyone it can never be mentioned or speculated about. The details that Howey supplies about the running of the silos, without resorting to info-dumping, are fantastic.

They are equipped with everything needed from the Supply department to food from farms, to a nursery for children and Mechanics to keep the silo functioning at full capacity. I visualized this silo as a stationary space ship, underground instead of traveling through space, with a Mayor instead of a Captain, a Sheriff and Deputy instead of Security, and the head of IT instead of Systems. Can you imagine maintaining a civilized society in such a restricted dark underground space? What rules do they have to follow to keep it that way? In this one silo you will find the wonder of humanity with all its cruelties, strengths, frailties and joys. I devoured this book, over 500 pages, in a period of two very busy days! It was that engaging.īut what are these books about? They are all about life as it happens in an underground silo centuries after a catastrophic event prevents men from living above ground and the society that developed in this restricted space by using ingenuity and imposing restrictive laws. Hugh Howey's Wool Omnibus contains five books or novellas from his Wool series. This is one of those books that lingered in my Kindle since last year but that happily turned out to be a great post-apocalyptic science fiction read.

Wool omnibus edition