I was looking for intelligent and interesting fiction to read during the christmas holidays. As a surprise to myself, I ended up reading science fiction. I came by Wool by Hugh Howey first on some “The most popular books” list and when checking the book’s reviews on Amazon, I noticed it was included on their Top-100 Editor’s pick for 2014.

Wikipedia summarizes the plot very briefly:

The story of Wool takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Humanity clings to survival in the Silo, a subterranean city extending over one hundred and fifty stories beneath the surface.

The setting is interesting although typical after-nuclear-war-dystopia.  The really interesting part however is that the Silo society has strict authoritarian rules. There are rules concerning family planning and death penalty for rebellion. There’s no freedom of press – or actually – very limited ways to mass-communicate.

What makes it interesting is that the author explains the why for these rules. The set of rules sound credible and natural, inevitable and reasonable. I could think of real countries following the same pattern and similar justifications.

When the protagonist begins to question these rules, the reader is left wondering if that’s right or wrong. How well would the Silo function without their strict rules? Can you trust people to do the right thing if there’s no enforcing police force? Would you be willing to trade safety for freedom?

Unfortunately Hugh Howey doesn’t explore the topic much further but goes on with some action scenes and ends up polarizing the “good” and “bad”. What starts as an intriguing analysis of society, becomes a simplistic adventure. Therefore this book is not a classic but “only” a fun read.