Wool Omnibus (See additional reviews on Wool Omnibus here) (along with Shift Omnibus & Dust) is a great Sci-Fi series about a dystopian future. We’re introduced to a culture that lives in a massive silo, built underground. The only window into the outside world is through “screens” displayed on the uppermost level that depict an image of a barren, windy, wasteland. No clue is given as to where or when these people live, other than an underground silo somewhere. Through most of the series we follow characters as they try to decipher the meaning of their life in the silo and how their culture came to be. The puzzle of why is very intriguing and keeps the reader glued to their seat trying to puzzle it out right along with the characters in the book. An unexpected & interesting sideline to the story is the brilliance of how Hugh Howey puts together explanations of life in a silo. I would find myself wondering ‘how do they…?’ and ‘where did they get …’?, but there was always a plausible answer that revealed itself in time, usually one that I never would’ve thought of.

The story fluidly follows several different characters beginning with their day to day lives, never having met each other, up through their lives clashing together in a moment of turmoil for the silo. As you move through the story, little clues are dropped along the way that help explain how the silo came to be and where its located. At the moment you think you’ve figured it all out, new questions arise that make you realize you were trying to figure out the wrong elements to their life all along.

The storyline kept me engaged throughout and I read the complete series all the way through without detouring to other books for a break in between, like I normally do. The books themselves can be a little confusing when trying to decipher the order to read them in. Each ‘book’ is actually a short novella and those novellas were eventually published together and then separated into three “Saga’s”. The first “Saga” is called Wool Omnibus and features Books 1 through 5. (Remember these are novellas, so the Omnibus is only slightly larger than an average book). The second “Saga” is Shift Omnibus and features Books 6 through 8, also named First Shift, Second Shift & Third Shift. Dust is the third and final “Saga” in the collection and is known as Book 9+. If you research the story, you’ll find some confusing talk about Shift telling the beginning of the story, with Wool telling the middle and Dust telling the end. This is correct, but they should be read in the order they were published 1. Wool Omnibus 2. Shift Omnibus & 3. Dust. Otherwise, you’ll ruin the fun!

Mary Ricker is an avid reader of science fiction and a regular contributor of outstanding book reviews to GTFO.