Story: 5/5 
 1: Being Vague, rambling plot with no little believable storyline 
 5: Ripping yarn, clever, thought provoking 
 If Goodreads allowed half stars then I am going with four and a half, since they do not, I have to stick with four stars, but it is oh so close to five. 
 I was introduced to this book via a friends review, where the author became part of the discussion. I liked what he had to say and decided that I would buy the book and give it a try. I have to admit to not being a big Dystopian fan. I am kind of over the whole post apocalypse thing, there is very little that I find new and engaging in the stories and I don't think that Wool gives anything really new in the whole after disaster story, but what it does do, is tell a good story at a great pace. 
 The book is an omnibus of 5 books. I can see after reading book one why a lot of readers were asking for more. It was an interesting short read, had an interesting story line and begged for a story to be expanded on. Whilst the author builds the story with 4 more books I felt the entire read is one big novel, not 5 separate books. The stories flow on like chapters and I am sure a year from now, when this book is main stream and in its 4th print, that it will become one book. 
 One thing that I loved about this book was the pace in the second half. There are a couple of POV's going on and it often cut away on the moment of danger, excitement or pending disaster and I found myself reading faster and faster to get back to the other POV. During the second half of the book I couldn't put it down. I could during book three, which I found the slowest. but in book five I read like a maniac. There is a section in the book where on of the lead characters Juliette has to dive deep under water with a hose system (like the old diving days) and the story slowly builds to the inevitable, and the tension is stunningly written. Even knowing what was coming, i still felt ill reading about the predicament she was in. 
 There are parts that are a little rushed in the book and a couple of "oh that is convenient" moments, which I am sure will come out in all their glory with goodread reviewers, but you know what? This was a great story. I can totally see this adapted for tv and I would buy another installment of the story in an instant. The story itself could be huge, only limited by the time available to the author and how much he wants it to grow. 
 Characters: 4/5 
 1: Unrealistic/unbelievable. Feel nothing for these characters 
 5: Fully engaged with the characters, believable. Researched. 
 Characters in this books I would rate at about three and a half. There was some really good builds and I really felt like I got to know some of the characters well. Early characters in books one and two were excellent and I tink the Juliette role was pretty well done. I struggled with the Bernard character somewhat and didn't like the Lukas personality at all. I thought the way Bernard was being told in the second half of the book that there was devious nefarious plan in the background, but there wasn't and I kind of felt let down, that the story conveniently changed the personality to suit a quick resolution to a dilemma. 
 Read Weight: Solid 
 Fluffy, Light, Solid, Heavy, Struggle 
 Engagement: 4/5 
 1: Not fussed about finishing 
 5: Could stay up all night 
 The last third of the book had to be read in one sitting. I could not imagine putting it down and coming back to it. 
 Recommend: 5/5 
 1: Would advise you to read something else 
 5: Go read it now. It is THAT good 
 Considering this was a self published book it was brilliantly written. I have read some many professionally published books that lacked the writing skill here. I would have no qualms recommending this book, I think it has something for all.