# WOOL OMNIBUS by Hugh Howey



## JimCrigler (Aug 8, 2011)

Wool Omnibus

You _must_ read this book!

Set in a future in which humanity is condemned to live in a massive, underground silo, memory of life on the surface relegated to childrens' picture books and the video projection of the ruin of a city (Atlanta, it seems) on the top level, the Wool Omibus is a collection of 5 novellas forming a single, continuous story.

The title, it seems, refers to the wool pads used to clean the viewports of the cameras providing the the view of the outside. The city the outside stands in ruins; the atmosphere is choking and toxic; the people who go outside to clean have been banished and will never come back.

The first novella (free for Kindle) concerns the sherriff of the silo, who becomes convinced that the video projection of the ruins and toxic waste outside is an illusion propagated by the rulers, and he decides to go outside to prove it. When he gets there, he sees the vivid colors and beauty predicted by his wife (who preceded him by 2 years), until &#8230;

Five stars because that's as high as I can go.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

JimCrigler said:


> ...
> The title, it seems, refers to the wool pads used to clean the viewports of the cameras providing the the view of the outside. The city the outside stands in ruins; the atmosphere is choking and toxic; the people who go outside to clean have been banished and will never come back.
> ...


I took it as a double entendre, also referring to the idea of "pulling the wool over someone's eyes". 

I read the first story, liked it well enough, but have not yet felt compelled to read more. (I'm a bit burned out these days on dystopian SF.)


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## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

Yup, outstanding book.  3,754 reviews (averaged to a full 5 stars) on Amazon is testament to it.
Just whatever you do, don't read first/second/third shift first.  They're prequels but would ruin a lot of wool if you read them first.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I read the Wool Omnibus as part of my January Sci-Fi theme and really liked it.  I enjoyed Wool 1 as a stand alone story but thought it really took off with Wool 3.

Betsy


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

It's on my tbr pile.... I really need to get to it soon!


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## Leanne King (Oct 2, 2012)

WOOL is awesome. I believe the title is also an acronym, if you think about it (not saying any more, no spoilers!)


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

its on my TBR  I can prove it!!

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## maryjf45 (Apr 24, 2011)

They're on my kindle, but haven't read them yet.  What does Patrick B mean?


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I loved this book.. took me awhile to figure out what was going on.. but once I did - it was hard to put down.  I have the two prequels on my TBR list - but I'm really wanting to read the sequels (I hear he has written one of them already).


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## patrickb (Nov 22, 2008)

maryjf45 said:


> What does Patrick B mean?


Seriously? It's my name...


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## Steven Stickler (Feb 1, 2012)

maryjf45 said:


> What does Patrick B mean?


He means don't read Shift before reading Wool. Shift is the prequel but start with Wool. I totally agree.

(is that what you were asking?)


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## FranceBarnaby (Feb 10, 2013)

I agree that this was an excellent read. The opening scene is great. You can smell and feel the steel steps.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

A fascinating concept. Not my kind of story, but I enjoyed the read. And since Hugh is one of our own, I will definitely be in line to see the movie when it comes out.


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

I already own this omnibus and it looks like I need to move it to the top of my TBR pile!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

NogDog said:


> I took it as a double entendre, also referring to the idea of "pulling the wool over someone's eyes".
> 
> I read the first story, liked it well enough, but have not yet felt compelled to read more. (I'm a bit burned out these days on dystopian SF.)


This is my feeling. The first story had a quite good "O Henry" type twist. . . .but I'm absolutely not a fan of dystopian anything so I have no desire to read any further.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I downloaded the first one to try out. The summary brought to mind the excellent Fritz Leiber short story published in Galaxy Magazine some years ago: _The Moon is Green_. I went and downloaded the Leiber story from Gutenberg and reread it. It still makes an impression on me.

Mike


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

jmiked said:


> I downloaded the first one to try out. The summary brought to mind the excellent Fritz Leiber short story published in Galaxy Magazine some years ago: _The Moon is Green_. I went and downloaded the Leiber story from Gutenberg and reread it. It still makes an impression on me.
> 
> Mike


It's also free on Amazon: The Moon is Green


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

NogDog said:


> It's also free on Amazon: The Moon is Green


Yup. The one on Amazon is a bit more nicely formatted, but does not appear to have the illustration. No biggie.

Mike


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## joehempel (Feb 22, 2013)

Yeah these books are fantastic!

I did an interview with Hugh Howey on my blog just a couple weeks ago, he's really a fantastic guy!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Yes, Hugh's a member here on KindleBoards!

Betsy


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

My husband just finished Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 - 5) a few days ago. I've read about 85 percent so far. Great story!


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## booklover888 (May 20, 2012)

I've read 1-5 and I loved it. I have the next three, need to start on them ASAP.


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## MichelleB675 (May 27, 2012)

I love everything I've read by Hugh so far.


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## Evelyn15102 (Feb 18, 2013)

I also enjoyed this. Thought it was interesting how the main character kept shifting for awhile.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I  did like the three perspectives in the first three books.  They started out as a series, combined for the Omnibus.  So I think it made sense to tell the story from different perspectives.  Yet they work together so well....

Betsy


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## christopherruz (May 5, 2012)

I've been meaning to give this series a try for quite a while. Maybe now is the time? Except, I can't find Wool 1 on the store, except in a new, expensive edition due for release in Mid March.


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

christopherruz said:


> I've been meaning to give this series a try for quite a while. Maybe now is the time? Except, I can't find Wool 1 on the store, except in a new, expensive edition due for release in Mid March.


If you're looking for the first book in the _Wool_ series, here's the link for the Kindle edition: Wool - Part One. And it's FREE!


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## FranceBarnaby (Feb 10, 2013)

That's actually how I got hooked. I read the fist one for free, was blown away, and bought the Omnibus that same night. I read the whole series in 3 days. Great writing.


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## SaraBurr (Feb 19, 2013)

DreamWeaver said:


> If you're looking for the first book in the _Wool_ series, here's the link for the Kindle edition: Wool - Part One. And it's FREE!


Thank you for that. I've been meaning to check out this series!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

The first story intrigued me, and I read a bit of info* about the others in the series and decided to go ahead and purchase the omnibus. I'll probably read it next week.


Mike

* I'm not the kind of person who worries too much about spoilers. How the story gets to the place is almost always more important than where it goes (except mystery novels, of course), and I wanted to see if it was headed in an interesting direction.


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## Ergodic Mage (Jan 23, 2012)

Wool is the best series I've read in a couple of years, I'm finishing up Third Shift right now (if I get off the internet and onto the Kindle) and those are just as good.


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Just finished it & loved it! Can't wait to get started on the Shift books.


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

I also found WOOL a great read, something that enriches The Shift books if you go on to read them.


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## Nope (Jun 25, 2012)

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## christopherruz (May 5, 2012)

SaraBurr said:


> Thank you for that. I've been meaning to check out this series!


Unfortunately, Mr Howie seems to have region-locked his book. As an Aussie, I can't even get pricing information on that free edition, let alone purchase it. Which is a damned shame, because I don't enjoy being treated as an inferior customer thanks to my location.


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## Leanne King (Oct 2, 2012)

I may be wrong but I think that's more to do with his Australian publisher than any desire on his part to treat Aussies differently.


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## christopherruz (May 5, 2012)

Well, damn. Australian publishers really know how to spit on their customers.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I finished the book a day or two ago. I enjoyed it. After reading only the first part, I wasn't sure it was going to be something I would like, but I read the summaries of the other parts and I'm glad I persevered. This may have the distinction of being the very first indy book I liked well enough to actually read all the way through.


Mike


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

It had been on my TBB pile for a long time, but after reading that Ridley Scott loved it and was going to make the movie, I had to get it now. I am loving it!


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## Simone (Feb 28, 2013)

It was through Hugh Howey's website that I found KB. I've only been on a few days now. I read the entire series in about a week's time. I just finished the Shift series a few days ago and then looked up his website that was listed on the last page.

I almost didn't buy Wool because the title seemed so generic.  Though interestingly enough, it was the title that caught my eye because I crochet and do other fiber crafting. I read the synopsis and was still a bit skeptical, but chose to buy the book anyway because it was such a reasonable price. Besides, I love post-apocolyptic stories and movies anyway... I think I'm one of the few who actually think Waterworld and The Postman were good movies.

His spiral staircase metaphore grabbed me immediately. The dark and depressing storey made it difficult for me to read more than a chapter or two at a time as I internalize the emotions of whatever I'm reading... I actually enjoyed doing housework for a few days after reading "Little House on the Prairie" that's how suggestible I am... but his metaphores and crisp discriptions kept me coming back until I finished it. I had to read more and bought the Omnibus and blasted through it.

Beyond how great his work is, I'm delighted that he's an Indie writer.  His success gives me hope that I might also have some measure of success in the future.  That hope is easily transformed into true motivation and determination here on KB by reading all the great discussions from other authors.  I've gone from hacking away at a story alone in a hotel room fearing that I'm wasting my time to an entire community of other people living a dream that I'm only beginning to believe in for myself.  Kinda like waking up from a coma or walking through a wardrobe.


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## Beez (Feb 17, 2013)

I'm into the third book now. I don't usually stick with series books, but it's actually an easy read, and the first one was so quick that I just kept going. I must say though, as opposed to many here it seems, it took me to reach the third book to gain some actual interest in the over-all story. So far, the third one is very good, and character development is appealing. I did find the stair walk in the second one to be kind of dragged out and boring. And with all the other technology in the silo, it's really too bad they didn't put in an elevator. But with that said, grammar and sentence structure is excellent. I think that's a major reason I'm staying with it.


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## bce (Nov 17, 2009)

Beez said:


> And with all the other technology in the silo, it's really too bad they didn't put in an elevator.


I thought one of the purposes of the stairs was to keep people in a caste system. Elevators would make that harder to do. Don't want people being too upwardly mobile. 

Also and elevator would make riots easier because you could send and advance team up faster.


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## Beez (Feb 17, 2013)

bce said:


> I thought one of the purposes of the stairs was to keep people in a caste system. Elevators would make that harder to do. Don't want people being too upwardly mobile.
> 
> Also and elevator would make riots easier because you could send and advance team up faster.


I was thinking the same. But it struck me as ridiculous that the old mayor would have to go to such a physical struggle on the stairs. It was such a strenuous journey, which didn't do her any good at all. Maybe an elevator that she and the sheriff would have keys for only? I understand the spiral staircase having a huge part in the story. But it's kind of like taking a mean dog for a walk without a leash, and then wondering afterward why it was able to run and bite so many people.

Other than that, the story is looking extremely creative to me.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I was a little reluctant to read Wool, I'm not generally a reader of dystopia. But I saw so many people recommending it that I decided to give it a try. I didn't regret it. I've read all the books, including the fan fiction that Hugh recommended. I'm waiting for more.

As far as the stairs go:


Spoiler



The stairs don't seem to make sense until you learn more about what the silos really are. At first I was thinking it was something more like a missile silo, which it was not. The stairs are to keep people isolated, to make it extremely difficult for people to make contact with people of different levels. They communicate by passing notes up the silo via runners. It would be easy to use communicate via computer and to have elevators, but the people who set up the silo wanted to avoid any sort of solidarity in the silos.


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## Beez (Feb 17, 2013)

QuantumIguana said:


> As far as the stairs go:
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


That's understood, but it's still unreal and illogical to me. I suppose it's just me, and the way I feel about a lot of sci-fi, etc. But as I had said, I'm still liking the over-all story.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I really liked the first three stories and the changing narrative prospective, but it started losing steam at part four when the story coalesced around one character, and it lost my interest at part five. It lacked the previous inventiveness and sense of place in the silo and focused more on providing a resolution. It also bordered on one the gravest clichés a science fiction author can make.


Spoiler



The Tribe of Lost Children.


 Four stars for the first four parts, two for the fifth, for an overall rating of three. There are prequels out there, but I'm going to take a pass on them.


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## Beez (Feb 17, 2013)

I must say that a huge congratulations is in order for Hugh Howey for the recent article in Wall Street Journal about his success as an indie author. And he recently signed a 6 figure contract with Simon & Schuster for rights to the print version of WOOL.

Watch the film here: http://www.hughhowey.com/4-the-wall-street-journal/comment-page-1/


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

christopherruz said:


> Unfortunately, Mr Howie seems to have region-locked his book. As an Aussie, I can't even get pricing information on that free edition, let alone purchase it. Which is a damned shame, because I don't enjoy being treated as an inferior customer thanks to my location.


If you take a "sample" of the Omnibus you should get the first book (short story) for free. You can decide from there if you want to read on. That's what I did.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

HarryDayle said:


> I may be wrong but I think that's more to do with his Australian publisher than any desire on his part to treat Aussies differently.


As far as I know, he is self-published as an ebook only. I don't know why it would not be available outside the US. Maybe it's something that Amazon does?

I'm not sure I even know enough to ask a coherent question.

Mike


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

FWIW, last Friday's edition of the podcast _The Kindle Chronicles_ has an interview with Hugh Howley's agent which is very interesting.

Mike


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

jmiked said:


> As far as I know, he is self-published as an ebook only. I don't know why it would not be available outside the US. Maybe it's something that Amazon does?
> 
> I'm not sure I even know enough to ask a coherent question.
> 
> Mike


The Australian (and UK) ebook versions are handled by Random House who gained the rights last year for both physical and digital versions. He's done a fair few deals for different markets/regions.


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## brownspeak (Mar 10, 2013)

Just found out about this guy having read an article here in New Zealand.


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## nmg222 (Sep 14, 2010)

Review in today's Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-wool-by-hugh-howey/2013/03/11/265ced58-89a6-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e_story.html


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

I started reading Shift last week. It hasn't grabbed me like Wool did, but I am still enjoying the story.


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## drenfrow (Jan 27, 2010)

I just finished the Shift trilogy.  I thought it got better with each book.  By the third one, I was riveted and couldn't put it down.  At the end of the third one, it ties into the storyline of Wool #5 so it sets it up nicely for the next set of books.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm a big fan of this series, and so are all 3 of my daughters. We have it on Kindle, but I wanted it on my bookshelf too. The hardback version arrived today!


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## ThomasCardin (Mar 18, 2013)

I loved Wool and the Shift books. I cannot recommend them enough.

Hugh Howey is an inspiration. He is so personable and in touch with his fans. He had a blog post asking for help naming a character's pet from the third Shift book. I was fortunate enough to suggest the name that stuck, Shadow.

His fans as well are a great community! I was thrilled to gain beta readers for my own works from among them. And of course...I am a rabid warbeast of a fan myself.


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

I've had the Wool Omnibus since it came out, but never read it. This thread finally got me to start reading and I'm sure glad I did. I finished it a couple of days ago and just now finished the Shift Omnibus. Excellent story, great writing. It's really nice when you find something this good.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hubby and I are driving to Charlottesville, VA (a couple of hours away) tomorrow to meet Hugh at the VA Festival of Books.  I ordered a hard copy from Amazon so I could have Hugh sign it.  I'm looking forward to meeting a fellow KBoarder AND famous author....

Will post a pic here...gotta read the Shift books next.

Betsy


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Hubby and I are driving to Charlottesville, VA (a couple of hours away) tomorrow to meet Hugh at the VA Festival of Books. I ordered a hard copy from Amazon so I could have Hugh sign it. I'm looking forward to meeting a fellow KBoarder AND famous author....
> 
> Will post a pic here...gotta read the Shift books next.
> 
> Betsy


Maybe I'll see you there!


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## Jalex (Mar 21, 2013)

Fantasy and YA romance novels are my thing, but I heard so many good things about "Wool" that i figured I would give it a shot. I'm glad I did.This book is well written and great story.


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## Saffron (May 22, 2013)

Absolutely dying to read it, but have a mountain to get through, and it's near the top of my pile.


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## Clark Magnan (May 23, 2013)

Wool has been on my "to read" list for ages, mostly because I can't seem to turn a corner on the internet without running into a reference. I have this problem, though, where I tend to resist anything that everyone else is reading. It's a stupid problem; experience has shown me that these books are usually very good.


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