Happy INDIEpendence Day

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to score a guest post at Musings of a Procrastinating Author. I decided to do a piece for independent writers, so you should totally check it out if you happen to be one. Coincidentally, today marks the beginning of the INDIEpendence Day blogfest over at The Indelibles. And as part of the celebration, we've been asked to highlight an outstanding indie book. I've been reading indie books for several months now (ever since becoming an indie author myself), and in so doing I've come across the good, the bad, and the not particularly beautiful. But of all the indie books out there today, one of the most outstanding is Hugh Howey's science-fiction novella, Wool.

I discovered Wool around the same time Mr. Howey became a regular at the Kindleboards Writers' Cafe. At the time, the series was already starting to make waves. And being the science fiction buff that I am, I was more than happy to dive into the book. Admittedly, the story started a bit slow for me, and I was indeed wondering what all the noise was about. But as the story progressed, I started to feel a real connection with the main character, Holston.

By the end of this bittersweet adventure, I was not only blown away, but eager to start the next book in the series. Put simply, Wool has one of the best endings I have seen in years. It is a book that shares story elements with recent games like Rage and Fallout 3, and movies like Inception and Solaris. But it still manages to feel fresh and ground-breaking at the same time.

I am currently reading the next book in the series, so the verdict is not yet out on that one. But from what I've been reading so far, it is already shaping up to be even better.