I am a huge Hugh Howey fan, the Wool trilogy resonates with me today years late. I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as his others. I did realize it was a YA Fiction book soon after starting, and that might have something to do with the lack of depth I felt. Many of the characters seemed a little shallow, and the plot could have been more developed as well. The overall concept of survival on the surface of a harsh new world was good, with the Colony controlling things from a far with their own agenda. It just felt a little stale, and "been there, done that." A decent read, and quick as well.

“Half Way Home” feels like a novel half way written. The concept is original, yet the characters and the plot line are riddles with holes and gaps so large that it strains the already weak threads of the plot.

I liked the premise of this book, and the idea of the protagonists being teenagers, but it came off a little bit cliche. All the drama and big questions about what to do with their situation felt staged and predictable and I was wanting something a little deeper and edgier. Middle school or teen readers may thouroughly enjoy this book since it's geared toward that age group. Nicely tied up at the end, and leaves the reader with a hopeful conclusion. It felt like a book version of the tv show The 100.

I actually DNF this one. I started it and really liked it but quickly found myself rolling my eyes at the premise and the characters. If I pick it up again and finish it I will amend my review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy of this book. I love Hugh Howey as an author and the way he is able to draw you into his worlds.
In this book spaceships are sent out to colonize other planets. The novel opens with a crash landing of one such ship and the kids aboard are awakened 15 years before they are supposed to. I had a hard time really feeling invested in any of the characters, unlike I did in his Wool book series. It was still an intriguing story that carried me along, and a quick read. I will always check out whatever new books he writes.

Half Way Home
by Hugh Howey (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Aug 03, 2019 · edit
really liked it

A starship is on route to colonize a distant planet. On board are 500 blastocytes, each in it's own pod allowing for their progressive differentiation into well trained and educated colonists ... all under the charge of the ship's AI ... termed "Colony" However, they are prematurely awoken at age 15 while their ship has apparently crashed and is engulfed in flames. Less that 50 of the teens survive the fire ... and are presented with the challenge to survive and prosper without a full education. Somewhat disconcerting is the AI's insistence on diverting their efforts to building a rocket to be sent back to Earth with "vital info" rather than encouraging plans to provide immediate housing, clothing and food gathering. Splinter groups immediately form along with the development of guns to enforce compliance to ensure the rocket is built quickly. Naturally desertion groups form to obviate the enslavement .... leading to the exploration and survival in this somewhat bizarre world.
Howie proves to be a master storyteller and unwinds a twisted and compelling narrative detailing the struggles amongst the surviving teenagers for dominance ,survival and purpose. Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishing for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. The fans of the "Wool" series will not be disappointed in this tale.. which may prove to be a stepping off point with further adventures to follow.

I have been a fan of Hugh Howey since I read the Silo series. This book had a lot of his unique quirks: dusty, tunnels/shafts/overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. This one did feel a bit of Lord of the Flies to me. Although I liked the ways they all woke and began their assumed duties, it still feel like it lacked depth into why they were chosen for said positions. I like his suspenseful writing, and it is a page-turner in that I wanted to keep finding out what happens next.

I could not put down this book. It was so interesting and the writing was great. I will definitely be recommending this to customers at my work!

An excellently well written story about a group of young people struggling to survive on an alien planet. I enjoyed watching Porter as he developed in to the best kind of leader despite his internal doubts and fears. And I loved the idea of giant worms who eat metal and bore tunnels through mountain sides. (there frequently seem to be giant worms in space - Dune has a lot to answer for!) Hugh Howey is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to read and review. I enjoyed this story, even though it took a bit to get into. I've read and liked many High Howey books over the years, but this one is definitely not for the younger crowd.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I saw this perhaps was published a while ago and now is being republished or sent out again? Perhaps there were corrections made or something happened to send it out again I'm not sure. I will have to read the older one to truly compare the two but I thought this was a good story and I definitely enjoyed myself! I have the Wool series waiting on my shelves to read soon so if course I will read more from this author in the future!

It took awhile for me to get really immersed into this story but I stuck with it and am not disappointed. I appreciated the perspective from the narrative standpoint. I'll be keeping a eye on this author.

I mostly enjoyed this novel, in which colonists raised in tanks are awoken early by the AI that governs their lives. Of 500, only 58 survive, and, only half-trained in their various areas of specialization--psychology, farming, geology, mining--they make a go of living on the planet they're supposed to colonize. But politics and alliances and the development of power groups appears immediately, and it's only by leaving the colony at great peril do some of the colonists discover the truth about the planet, the AI, and how they will need to function to live. There's a lot of action and thinking (and some scenes that feel a bit like they were written for a film treatment) that works, but there's also quite a bit of gender essentialism, and none of the characters really feel developed or even individual. There's room for improvement, and since this seems like the beginning of a series, I hope those improvements come about in future installments.

Another astonishing tale by Howey. Wool knocked my socks off and Half Way Home did the same. Cannot wait to add to science fiction collections!

Hundreds of “people” grown in vats, are being sent across the stars to colonize a new world. Kept in stasis and trained through virtual reality simulations during the voyage, they should wake up just as their each their new home, thirty years old and ready to colonize a planet. But midway through the voyage something goes wrong and a fire aboard their ship kills most of the passengers and their supplies. The 60 who do survive colonists are only 15 years old, untrained, naked and afraid. It becomes a struggle just to survive and it won’t be long before the survivors realize they are their own worst enemy. Like Lord of the Flies in space, this is an unflinching look at the unchanging nature of human kind
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