{"id":17124,"date":"2012-05-30T08:43:26","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T13:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=17124"},"modified":"2012-05-30T09:35:50","modified_gmt":"2012-05-30T14:35:50","slug":"book-review-wool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/book-review-wool\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Wool"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Summer is upon us and we\u2019re all looking for the next great read. \u00a0So, what\u2019s on your reading list?<\/p>\n

For those looking for recommendations, I suggest you look no further than Wool<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Wool<\/em>, like The Hunger Games<\/em>, \u00a0takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, but that\u2019s where the comparison between the two series ends. \u00a0In this vision of what\u2019s to come, humanity has taken to living underground in a silo that stretches more than 140 stories deep. \u00a0The outside world is a grey, desolate place, filled with toxins that spell immediate death for any who step outside. \u00a0Cameras broadcast a view from the surface, a crumbling cityscape looming on the horizon. But, dust and other contaminants build up on the cameras and, every so often, they must be cleaned.<\/p>\n

Those put out to clean the sensors are sent in suits that allow them to live outside just slightly longer than it takes to complete the cleaning. \u00a0They receive their death sentence for crimes committed, or merely expressing a desire to go outside.<\/p>\n

The sci-fi background of Wool<\/em> is just a catalyst for what becomes a page-turner of a mystery. \u00a0What happened to make the world the way it is? \u00a0Are the people in the silo the only people left on (in) Earth? Why does everyone who gets put out to cleaning actually perform the task, despite denying they will do so? \u00a0Is the outside world really what it appears to be?<\/p>\n

Though making up one whole story, Wool<\/em> was written in five parts. \u00a0Each section reads like a novella, with a definitive story arc that moves the greater narrative forward. \u00a0Given the short-form approach to a novel-length story, Howey is ruthless with his pacing and plot twists, making Wool<\/em> the perfect book for a weekend-long binge.<\/p>\n

The title refers to the material used to clean the cameras outside, but also serves as a playful joke employed by the author, Hugh Howey, who circumvented the traditional publishing route by self-publishing his work as a series of ebooks. \u00a0Nothing in the silo is as it seems and, it would seem, most of the inhabitants of the silo have had the wool pulled over their eyes as to what\u2019s really going on.<\/p>\n

Whereas The Hunger Games<\/em> relies heavily on the political themes of propoganda fueling the uprising and revolt against the oppressive Capitol, Wool<\/em> uses relationships to drive the story forward. \u00a0To say more about the characters in the series would spoil some of the fun. \u00a0All you need to know is that they are drawn realistically and their relationships pack an emotional punch.<\/p>\n

I discovered Wool<\/em> after reading that the rights to the story had been purchased by a major Hollywood film company. \u00a0Once the marketing blitz takes over, I anticipate that the series, and Howey, will experience tremendous popularity. Read it now, though, and you\u2019ll have bragging rights over others that you discovered it before it was cool.<\/p>\n

Wool -Omnibus Edition<\/em> (which contains all five parts) is available on any electronic platform you might be using including, Nook<\/a>, Kindle<\/a> and iBooks<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer is upon us and we\u2019re all looking for the next great read. \u00a0So, what\u2019s on your reading list? For those looking for recommendations, I suggest you look no further than Wool. Wool, like The Hunger Games, \u00a0takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, but that\u2019s where the comparison between the two series ends. \u00a0In this… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[87],"tags":[773,772,774,767,771],"class_list":{"0":"post-17124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-reviews","7":"tag-book-review","8":"tag-ebooks","9":"tag-hugh-howey","10":"tag-summer-reading","11":"tag-wool","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18393,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/my-armor-is-made-of-brown-wool\/","url_meta":{"origin":17124,"position":0},"title":"My Armor Is Made of Brown Wool","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"June 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The time when we could comfortably practice our faith may have passed for our generation in this country. We will continue to stand in\u00a0defense\u00a0of our religious freedom, but even if it is protected, the world won\u2019t stop attacking us. We as the Church militant have a fight before us that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"St Simon Stock","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/StSimonStock-300x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":131065,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/the-garment-of-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":17124,"position":1},"title":"The Garment of Grace","author":"Adam Shaivitz","date":"July 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On the Brown Scapular around my neck it reads, \"Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.\" What a promise Our Lady of Mount Carmel made to St. Simon Stock in 1251! \u00a0 On July 16, 2015, the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, more than 50\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-rudvz-h4hAY\/VauhEwLC_mI\/AAAAAAAACPs\/PL85FZCMt5U\/s500\/Photo%25252020150719080712117.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16725,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/book-review-our-lady-of-the-lost-and-found\/","url_meta":{"origin":17124,"position":2},"title":"Book Review: Our Lady of the Lost and Found","author":"Rachel","date":"May 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd like to offer this book review in honor of our Blessed Mother, as it is currently her month - May! I came across \"Our Lady of the Lost and Found\" lying around my parents' house - which is the way I stumble upon many of good books. My mom\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/402829-L-205x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33007,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/01\/st-anthony-and-catholic-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":17124,"position":3},"title":"St Anthony and Catholic Animals","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"January 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In the United States, we often celebrate St Francis of Assisi as the great friend of animals in october. There are ever many parishes that even have pet blessings, but many other cultures do this in January. January 17th was the feast of St Anthony the Abbot, and many places,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Young Adult"","block_context":{"text":"Young Adult","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/young-adult\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"StAnthony","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/StAnthony.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9017,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/01\/review-the-hunger-games\/","url_meta":{"origin":17124,"position":4},"title":"Playing with the Girl Who Was on Fire (Review: “The Hunger Games”)","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"January 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This may be the hardest review I've written for ACNM. This is not because I didn't read the book. I did; I've read it twice now, and I would never try to review a book I hadn't finished reading. This is not because I didn't like the book; it was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/5049588146_870582587c-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":49932,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/07\/review-open-mind-faithful-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":17124,"position":5},"title":"Straight from the Shepherd’s Mouth (Review: “Open Mind, Faithful Heart”)","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"July 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I don\u2019t really have an opinion on Pope Francis yet. I mean, he\u2019s the pope, so I follow his authority on Earth and all that, but I don\u2019t know whether I like his individual personality or not (as much as that matters). I realize that he\u2019s been pope for over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"greenfieldsacnm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/greenfieldsacnm-550x308.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/greenfieldsacnm-550x308.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/greenfieldsacnm-550x308.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}