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Wool: The Graphic Novel

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This book is a Kindle Serial.

Wool as you’ve never read it before: The New York Times bestselling novel is now told in graphic novel format. This contemporary dystopian classic—hailed by Justin Cronin, New York Times bestselling author of The Passage, as “an epic feat of imagination”—will captivate readers both familiar and new.

This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.

Episode 1: October 9, 2013. 22 pages. In this first issue, the silo is explored, the cast of characters is introduced, and a lie is revealed.

Paperback

First published June 3, 2014

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About the author

Hugh Howey

151 books57.6k followers
I'm the author of WOOL, a top 5 science fiction book on Amazon. I also wrote the Molly Fyde saga, a tale of a teenager from the 25th century who is repeatedly told that girls can't do certain things -- and then does them anyway.

A theme in my books is the celebration of overcoming odds and of not allowing the cruelty of the universe to change who you are in the process. Most of them are classified as science fiction, since they often take place in the future, but if you love great stories and memorable characters, you'll dig what you find here. I promise.

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5 stars
1,023 (32%)
4 stars
1,029 (32%)
3 stars
801 (25%)
2 stars
243 (7%)
1 star
71 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 329 reviews
Profile Image for CS.
1,213 reviews
February 2, 2015
Bullet Review:

This just feels like a super-rushed, hollow version of the book. I thought the book was long-winded and dull in places but at least I had connection to the characters. Here, everything is on turbo speed, so I had nothing to attach to.

Also, sad to see how many of these characters are just more random white people. I like my castings better.

Full Review:

Given that I read and reviewed the book on which this is based, I suppose I should give this graphic novel a proper review.

The story is essentially the same as the book: Holston, the sheriff, heads out to clean, leaving an opening. Juliette takes up the job and starts to learn that there is some deception occurring in the Silo.

This was an OK interpretation of the book, but I think it really pales in comparison. The art was confusing, the story was rushed, and the characters felt distant and flat.

SIDENOTE: I also didn't like how some of the characters were drawn, specifically that Juliette didn't look more like Michelle Rodriguez, but I realize that is a personal preference more than a real knock against this graphic novel.

The artwork is very dark and smooshed together, making SEEING this incredible world of the silo difficult to visualize. I feel like I had a better vision from the BOOK than the comic. Also, the flow from one panel to the next is a bit challenging to track.

The story was on hyperspeed! The novel was HUGE! And this 100-odd pages of a graphic novel was the entire omnibus, Wool! While on one hand, I appreciated the trimming of the fat (my complaints about the book included one about how it meandered and wallowed in fluff), but on the other hand, lots of story elements get condensed or simplified, characters are omitted (what's the point of mentioning Scottie and Shelby if you barely see them?!), and in general, the whole feeling is one of "Rush, rush, hurry to the next scene!" instead of letting the story sink it.

Lastly, the characters. I had no connection with ANY of them. Not Holston, and his tortured self-exile into cleaning, to follow his wife. Not Juliette, in her quest to uncover the truth. Not Lukas, in learning the secrets of the Silo. They all were pale, pale, boring, flat counterparts to the novel version - but no wonder! They had to be so flat, to fit in such a short format!

Honestly, had this been expanded to at least two volumes, I think the story and characters would have improved exponentially. This is an intricate story, one that isn't done justice here. Palmiotti and crew did a good job of trimming some of the more boring parts of Wool, but in doing that, they also took out the heart.

This certainly isn't the worst graphic novel out there, and if you really want to know what Wool is about, it's a good introduction and/or refresher. But I definitely consider the book to be the superior format.
Profile Image for Rose.
4 reviews
Want to read
October 7, 2013
Oh god, I MUST HAVE THIS.

As you were.
Profile Image for Donovan.
734 reviews106 followers
May 25, 2018
Conspiracy and fascism in a brilliantly designed post-apoc world. Mystery and rebellion, letting truth have its day. My only complaint is convenient plot points or character knowledge.
Profile Image for Emma.
2,677 reviews1,085 followers
April 5, 2019
Because I’ve read the novel, I can give this 4 stars- I enjoyed it. However, if I hadn’t read the novel, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to pick up the story clearly. The artwork was good.
Profile Image for Andi.
2,202 reviews
August 16, 2014
While I read--and loved--Wool Omnibus, this graphic novel just couldn't do justice to such a meaty book. Sent in six parts, I found myself anxiously awaiting each chapter, but feeling as though each was somewhat lacking after reading them. I do believe this would be better experienced after reading the full-length novel first.
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Part 1 - 3 stars If you haven't read the novel, this graphic novel will be very hard to follow. And the illustrations were just ok, and not nearly the quality that I had expected. I will update my review after subsequent deliveries, but for now, I'm a bit disappointed.

Part 2 - 3.5 stars - Part 2 had a better flow than Part 1, but overall, this graphic novel is not on par with the novel.

Part 3 - 4 stars - The story is speeding along, and it was condensed in a way that was easy to follow. I'm still not fond of the art, but at least I'm getting used to the flow.

Part 4 - 4 stars - This was a meaty installment, giving enough detail to be able to easily follow along.

Part 5 - 3 stars - We are nearing the end, and the story is wrapping up fast. I liked this section in the novel more so than here.

Part 6 - 3 stars - What a quick ending!
Profile Image for Annie ⚜️.
615 reviews20 followers
March 29, 2019
I don't know how I much I would have enjoyed it had I not already read the novel but, having done so, I totally enjoyed it. I was already into this huge book so this was an easy reread of the story. I think I would have found it a mite confusing otherwise.
Profile Image for Josh.
1,003 reviews44 followers
June 14, 2014
My review for volume 1 only (may adjust for additional installments).

The artwork was not impressive. Not what I was hoping for at all. But that is subjective. I will say though that the characters don't really stand out and I can't get a good sense of the silo with the lack of detail and the blandness/sameness of the colors.

There are way too many panes, which limited the artist from drawing more detail. There isn't enough text or dialogue - it would probably make little sense to anyone unfamiliar with the story.

The pacing is too fast - this is partially brought on by the lack of dialogue. There's no real sense of the depth of the backstory here.

I'm at a loss for how long this took to come out as it looks like it was just thrown together without much planning at all.
Profile Image for Quentin Wallace.
Author 34 books178 followers
May 14, 2015
Overall a decent read, but if you haven't read the original books then this could be very confusing. It almost was written like you were expected to have read the original books before reading this, which is fine I suppose, but to bring in a new audience I would have thought they'd have aimed for a more complete graphic novel version.

Art is good, but not enough to truly carry the book. Overall I'd say read this if you're a big Wool fan and have read the novels. If you haven't read the novels, just read those instead.
Profile Image for Dan.
2,234 reviews66 followers
November 11, 2015
So this was yet another book that was hyped up on booktube(not the graphic novel version, but ya know what I mean), and sadly I found this to be very average and kinda blah. Honestly I do not know if I will still read the novel format now...considering this was originally a short story that the writer expanded due to reader demand. It seemed more like a political thriller than a post apocalyptic book that it is toted as being.
Profile Image for Chad.
10.3k reviews1,060 followers
December 21, 2015
I feel like you had to have read the original story to know what's going on at points of this book. That being said, I liked it enough to want to pick up the original novels these are based on.
Profile Image for Sud666.
2,330 reviews198 followers
October 7, 2017
The idea driving Wool was a good one. But often times the end result of an interesting idea falls flat. This, unfortunately, is the case with Wool.

Mankind lives in silos spotting a devastated world. Juliette Nichols works on a very low level of the silo. She works to maintain the mechanical construct that keeps the Silo running. But after the Sheriff dies, she is tasked with becoming the Sheriff. As she learns her new job she begins to suspect there is something that is not being told to the inhabitants. We find that the IT department has been limiting the flow of information and this leads to a huge cover-up about the true function of the silos and who created them.

This is the story that drives this comic. It is a rather decent concept. By itself I might have given it a 3 star rating. Sadly the story is hampered by subpar art. Thus the overall rating is 2 stars. A decent story, poor art and an unfinished ending (sort of) since I assume there will be a volume 2? I hope..

Is it a bad story? No. Is the art awful? Yes. Does it seem like there ought to be more (maybe even a hint of a volume 2)? Yes. All of these make it a 2 star rating.
Profile Image for 'kris Pung.
192 reviews26 followers
January 30, 2015
This is one of the more grounded post apocalyptic comics I've read recently that didn't leave me scratching my head pondering WTH was going on (East of West I'm looking squarely at you). Give this a go if your looking for something a bit different.
Profile Image for Missy.
10 reviews
June 8, 2014
I ordered this book after seeing it referenced and recommended on reddit.com. Wow! I lost a lot of sleep, while totally immersed in this book. The character and plot development are perfectly paced. It is my understanding that Howey originally shared Wool as a novella online and invited readers to add, edit, and revise his work before publishing it as a big beefy novel. If this is true, it's brilliant! Although it is the currently trendy, post apocalyptic, distopian society genre, it's not intended for young adults. It's not gory or sexual, just more complex and cerebral than Hunger Games or Divergent.

I'm currently reading the prequel to Wool, Shift. It is equally engaging, and well written. I'll add a review when I'm done.
Profile Image for Guillermo  .
80 reviews97 followers
January 26, 2016
Strange. I loved the middle 5 books of the the Wool series that I've read so far, but this graphic novel just fell flat for me. The drawings were uninspired and just well... boring. Stick to the novels and skip this adaptation.
Profile Image for Joel.
734 reviews250 followers
June 26, 2016
Essentially the same story contained in the novel Wool, but in graphical format. I do not read (or enjoy) many graphic novels, but I enjoyed the flowing dialogue and art style of this piece. It's a good accompaniment to the normal novel, and might make it more accessible to folks who prefer to consume the graphic novel or comic medium moreso than books.
Profile Image for Mkittysamom.
1,467 reviews53 followers
June 16, 2018
Beautiful Work

It was gorgeous to see Hugh Howey’s vision in color and in pictures! I have only read the first book and I forgot so I thought I’d read the graphic novel and it jogged my Memory! The silo looks how I pictured it, the people are a little different like Lukas. Kinda sad it’s over but now I can read the next book! I would recommend reading the book first and then Graphic novel only because they couldn’t put everything in it and there was more details in the novel, like the war was longer for example 😉
Profile Image for Wing Kee.
2,091 reviews37 followers
September 3, 2014
Hollow, lifeless, empty and unfocused these are the words that spring to mind when I was reading this graphic novel adaptation to Hugh Howey's amazing Wool (Silo #1). I will try to be as non spoiler as possible but at the same time I will make a lot of comparisons between this and the book that it was based on.

When Jet City announced that they would be doing a graphic novel adaptation of Wool I was super pumped. I wanted to see the Silo, I wanted to meet the characters and the world in a visual way that the book did not allow (it allowed for imagination, but I was interested in seeing an artist's interpretation of Howey's amazing work). So, I pre-ordered the graphic novel, waited impatiently for it to arrive and then...I read it...and frowned:

World: The world created by Howey was amazingly deep, and full of character and I had hoped that the graphic novel would show us an amazing interpretation of it, however this is not the case. The world here is all intact from the book, but the problem is that not enough time is every given to the world for it to become a character. This story lives and dies with the world, the claustrophobia, gloom, brooding world of the silo. Here, the art does not support world building, I had expected the art to allow for the world building to be expressed in it...but it's not, it's muddled, the colors are dark and full of shadows ( I know that was the point...but it also made seeing the world...unclear...). The reader has no way to learn the rich history and back story of the silo and it's sad...

Story: The story in the book was amazing and it does mostly translate it here, but the problem with the story is the pacing and the adaptation and characters (which I'll get to below). The pacing is off, it does not have the sense of slowly creeping and unsettling gloom that the books had, it also feels like it jumps way too fast which leads into the problem of this adaptation. The adaptation feels sloppy, it feels like someone took a pair of scissors to the book and glued pieces of it back together to form the graphic novel, a lot of the character and world building moments are missing and the first two events in the book (no spoilers) were handled so poorly that you felt nothing and and it was a just a throwaway...terrible. I also did not like the ending, why this change, it serves no purpose and does not honor the book and it's amazing climax...terrible.

Characters: There is no character development in this adaptation, all the great character building and relationship building parts in the novels are ripped away and we are left with soulless copies of these characters. I barely recognize these characters...especially the great supporting cast. I have nothing else to say other than they were cardboard cutouts of what the characters were in the book...

As I write this review I am getting more and more angry at this graphic novel...I went from giving it 3 stars to 2 stars...but now I even want to give it 1. It's not worth your time. If you really want to enjoy an amazing story, read the book...if you don't have time to read the book, DON'T READ THIS...it won't save you time, it won't make you like Hugh Howey's work and it won't make you want to read the book...all it will do is ruin the story for you...it's a shame...

Onward to the next book!
Profile Image for Karyl.
2,131 reviews151 followers
May 24, 2017
I really enjoy graphic novels, and I've just now realized that there are those out there based on other novels, which I think is just a fantastic idea. I've recently read Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, a gorgeously redone version of the original novel by Octavia E. Butler. But whereas Kindred could be read without having read the original novel first, I feel like the graphic authors of Wool expect the readers of the graphic novel to be completely familiar with the original books. Unfortunately, I have never read the books, so initially I was completely lost. I caught up quickly, but I still felt maybe I was missing on some points of the story that I would have known about had I read the original books first.

The artwork also didn't do it for me. Some characters in some places were so beautifully drawn, so detailed that they looked almost like photographs, but most of the time the art was dark and confusing. It was too easy to visually skip over frames, as they all rather blended into one another.

I'm actually sorry to give this such a low rating since I loved the idea of the story, but without having read the original books first (which I don't feel should be a prerequisite), the story line was just too unclear for me.
Profile Image for Emily.
2,050 reviews36 followers
June 19, 2023
If you're thinking of reading this before or instead of the novel, think again, my friend. Don't do it.

I loved the novel, and I was looking forward to this adaptation, but it made me sad instead. People who have already read this book will be able to fill in the blanks, but the people who haven't will probably be wondering what all the fuss is about. It's more like an illustrated outline--it gives away all the important stuff without any development or tension. It moved too quickly from scene to scene, and the artwork was so dark it was hard to see what was happening (yes, I get why it was dark, but the effect was more frustrating than atmospheric).

If you've read the book and you're curious about the graphic novel adaptation, do what you will. I won't try to stop you.

But you probably won't love it.
Profile Image for Licha.
732 reviews124 followers
April 2, 2015
This book was picked out for me by my librarian just for me.

I definitely think that it would help to read the book first. I had a hard time understanding what was going on and had to go back and reread the beginning three times so I could make some sense of it. I'm not quite sure exactly what this is all about even now, but I'm intrigued enough to go on to the next book. I've always been on the fence about reading the actual book, but this made me curious enough to give it a try.

The artwork was not the best. It never clearly shows character faces and certain characters I couldn't recognize unless the name was mentioned. Panels were hard to distinguish at times, almost seeming to blend into each other. Overall, the artwork was dismal and dark.

Intrigued to see where the next issue is going to take me, but I do hope it will be a little better than this.

Profile Image for Wade McGinnis.
239 reviews13 followers
August 2, 2014
I received this book through the GoodReads FirstReads program. I love comics, graphic novels, and Wool, so thought it was pretty cool when I was chosen to win this book through the giveaways. I think that a first-time reader of the series may have a hard time following the story; it accelerated quite quickly, clearly with the intention of focusing on Juliette and not so much the first couple of Wool books with Holston, Marnes as main characters. BUT: for a fan of the series, To see the story, characters, and the silo itself brought to life through this medium is a real treat. The art was rendered well, and the artist's perspective is sharp and dark.
Profile Image for Dregus Ilies.
116 reviews24 followers
January 31, 2017
2.5/5
This was a joke, right?
I don't think someone that hasn't read the original novel would understand what happens. Even I struggled to understand things from time to time.
You can't adapt a 5-parts big novel into 6 issues, for the name of God...
The latter parts were better than the first two, while the first issue was simply put a disaster. The adaptation focuses mostly on Juliette, while the books gives all the PoV characters importance.
Who even approves this kinda adaptations, anyway?
This is exactly like reading Shakespeare vs watching Modern Romeo + Juliette, speaking of Juliettes.
The only enjoyable part was reliving and remembering the original :>
Profile Image for Greta Sayle.
10 reviews
August 12, 2014
Very cool, I liked the art. I do agree that it works much better if you've read the book and know what's going on, as the comic has to skip a lot, or it'd have to be crazy long. Overall had a good time with it though.
Profile Image for Cudeyo.
1,255 reviews65 followers
September 9, 2023
Hace tiempo que quiero leer esta historia pero nunca encontraba el momento. Hoy, enredando por los mundos de Amazon, encontré en Kindle Unlimited la versión en novela gráfica del libro, aunque en inglés. Así que ya no tenía excusa.


La trama es la eterna lucha entre la verdad y el engaño, entre los poderosos aferrados a su trono h la gente que quiere la verdad/libertad... 


La historia se desarrolla en un silo subterráneo donde la humanidad sobrevive a un desastre que ocurrió años atrás en la superficie. La gente del silo, o al menos las que nos presentan, está dividido entre los IT (los dirigentes, los que manejan los servidores) y los mecánicos (los obreros). Jules, la nueva sheriff, ha sido nombrada en contra de la opinión del jefe de IT y cuando descubre un misterioso archivo en el portátil de su predecesor .... Y hasta aquí puedo leer.


Los dibujos me han gustado, transmiten tensión, movimiento. La historia es interesante, tiene "chicga", aunque necesito más contexto para entender del todo el contexto de la historia. Vamos, que tendré que leer el libro en un futuro
Profile Image for Peacegal.
11.7k reviews102 followers
May 5, 2018
It was okay....interesting concept for a dystopian graphic novel. I do wish they would have gone into more background regarding how things got to be this way and why. This one has had a lot of hype that I'm not sure I completely understand.
Profile Image for Runa.
635 reviews33 followers
Read
January 17, 2021
This translates really well to graphic novel format, but uh, I would like the other two books to be graphic novels as well???
Profile Image for Heather.
570 reviews148 followers
August 30, 2014
So if you are a regular reader you will know that I love the WOOL series and all the books that it has given birth too, you will also realise that when I saw this graphic serialisation there was no hesitation in clicking the send to Kindle option.

First of all if you haven't read any of the WOOL books stop now and go here to my back catalogue of reviews and features on the WOOLiverse as even though the graphic novel will be an enjoyable read for you I highly recommend actually reading the original novel so you get a better understanding of what is going on.

WOOL as you know is set mostly underground in the Silo's and when I started reading the books I got images in my mind as to what I thought the inside of these massive structures looked like so to actually see the story in graphic form came as a total shock to my system, a good shock!

Now I have only ever really read one graphic novel before which was the first Walking Dead issue so I am by no means a veteran of reading these but in graphic form WOOL looks amazing, the illustrations are all in beautifully subdued hues,reds, purples, blues it just looks incredible but the one thing that totally threw me was the design of the silo.

The stairs to start with spiral down the centre of the building where as I had always pictured them running around the sides. The actual floor heights are massive about twice the size I had imagined, areas such as the cafeteria and the gardens are just vast, one scene where you see the mayor walking through the gardens just gives you an amazing perspective on how big the actually are, they are almost cathedral like with the pillars of plants in rows up each side.

The actual shape of the silo too was nothing like I imagined, I pictured it straight up and down like a massive pipe almost but it flairs out at the bottom, my mind is totally blown.

Everything is bigger, I really feel I need to go back and read the story again with these new images in my mind to appreciate it from a new perspective, yes the graphic version is a more condensed version of the story but a picture tells a thousand words and from just looking at Juliette's eyes or the panic on Bernard's face you get an pretty good idea of whats going on.

I don't know if Shift and Dust will be getting the graphic treatment but I hope they do as WOOL the graphic novel has really enhanced my enjoyment of this already spectacular series.

If you have read it, I'd love to hear if it has changed your idea of what the silos look like, it certainly changed mine!

Awarded 5 out of 5
Profile Image for kaitlphere.
2,023 reviews40 followers
January 21, 2024
I enjoyed the story and the protagonist. The art was very dark and at times I didn't know which character was portrayed in a panel.

After reading the original novel and watching the Apple TV show, I feel like this adaptation moves so quickly that a lot of the dynamicism of the characters is lost.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 329 reviews

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