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h3dakota's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this novella! I wish it had been longer. Unlike some other reviewers, I loved Porter and felt that Howey portrayed his character and his thoughts beautifully. I would also argue that this story is purely YA. These are 15 year olds, true. But let's face it, they are certainly not the same as today's 15 year old teens. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone that loves sci fi.
jmoses's review against another edition
4.0
An quick and interesting read. I didn't like it as much as [b:Wool|12287209|Wool (Wool, #1)|Hugh Howey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327889474s/12287209.jpg|17263666], but it was very much in a similar style.
terranovanz's review against another edition
4.0
I love Hugh Howey, and although this was a bit of a departure from his other works, and definitely more YA, I enjoyed it very much. Great main character, as always!
blebbing's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning and end were great. The middle...not so much.
lizella's review against another edition
3.0
Promising in its premise, Half Way Home was entertaining, but did not contain the same level of depth or nuance that I've come to expect from Howey's work. This story felt more in keeping with the Young Adult genre it fits within: a strong premise with a lot of action taking characters from here to there without leaving much time for serious character development. That being said, it would still rate highly within the genre.
books4biana's review against another edition
4.0
BRILLIANT!
The characters are all 15 but it's not about teen angst. It's about intelligence and survival and learning. I loved it. And now I will look for more books by this author!
The characters are all 15 but it's not about teen angst. It's about intelligence and survival and learning. I loved it. And now I will look for more books by this author!
carmiendo's review against another edition
4.0
it's great? definitely read it?? why haven't i read everything by this guy yet???
sarahlopod's review against another edition
3.0
This review can also be found on my blog.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
Half Way Home was originally published in 2010 but was recently re-released. I’ve consistently enjoyed a lot of Hugh Howey’s books so I was excited to pick up this one, which was no exception. Quite an original concept, Half Way Home explores the potential future of space colonization. Colonists are sent to planets and raised sleeping in vats as an AI sets up the start of the colony. After 30 years, the colonists awaken fully-grown, trained, and ready to take over. In Half Way Home something has gone wrong, and the colonists are awakened early. They must figure out how to make it without their full training program and without all of the resources they were supposed to have.
While it had a lot of potential, this really just missed the mark for me. There were a lot of interesting bits — in particular, the flora and fauna unique to this new planet — but there wasn’t enough to impress me. It felt like there was just something… missing, and I felt a bit let down by the ending. Part of this can probably be chalked up to a lack of proper world-building. Howey definitely has skill when it comes to building a sci-fi world (Wool speaks to that), but there was a lot here that felt like it should have been expanded upon. I just never felt fully convinced by the environment he had created here. It felt so limited; we’re only really introduced to a couple of new species with the implication being that they are the only ones.
Besides that, I felt really uncomfortable about the characterization of the main character. He’s gay, and the “hints” towards it are quite heavy-handed. He’s also often likened to a woman and is made fun of by the other characters for being a “sissy.” This isn’t at all challenged or addressed, and doesn’t do much except play into existing stereotypes. There’s also a love triangle that doesn’t really get resolved; the drama with it feels forced and even the main character admits that it’s ridiculous to think so much about dating when lives are on the line.
For all my criticisms, this is a pretty enjoyable read. I ended up getting sucked in whenever I’d pick it up, and had no problem jumping back into the story. The pacing is good and I was always intrigued to see what would happen next — even if it didn’t seem like much would. Overall, this is a decent sci-fi novel, but nothing I’ll be scrambling to recommend.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
Half Way Home was originally published in 2010 but was recently re-released. I’ve consistently enjoyed a lot of Hugh Howey’s books so I was excited to pick up this one, which was no exception. Quite an original concept, Half Way Home explores the potential future of space colonization. Colonists are sent to planets and raised sleeping in vats as an AI sets up the start of the colony. After 30 years, the colonists awaken fully-grown, trained, and ready to take over. In Half Way Home something has gone wrong, and the colonists are awakened early. They must figure out how to make it without their full training program and without all of the resources they were supposed to have.
While it had a lot of potential, this really just missed the mark for me. There were a lot of interesting bits — in particular, the flora and fauna unique to this new planet — but there wasn’t enough to impress me. It felt like there was just something… missing, and I felt a bit let down by the ending. Part of this can probably be chalked up to a lack of proper world-building. Howey definitely has skill when it comes to building a sci-fi world (Wool speaks to that), but there was a lot here that felt like it should have been expanded upon. I just never felt fully convinced by the environment he had created here. It felt so limited; we’re only really introduced to a couple of new species with the implication being that they are the only ones.
Besides that, I felt really uncomfortable about the characterization of the main character. He’s gay, and the “hints” towards it are quite heavy-handed. He’s also often likened to a woman and is made fun of by the other characters for being a “sissy.” This isn’t at all challenged or addressed, and doesn’t do much except play into existing stereotypes. There’s also a love triangle that doesn’t really get resolved; the drama with it feels forced and even the main character admits that it’s ridiculous to think so much about dating when lives are on the line.
For all my criticisms, this is a pretty enjoyable read. I ended up getting sucked in whenever I’d pick it up, and had no problem jumping back into the story. The pacing is good and I was always intrigued to see what would happen next — even if it didn’t seem like much would. Overall, this is a decent sci-fi novel, but nothing I’ll be scrambling to recommend.
seang81's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed the Wool series and was looking forward to this novel a lot, however, I just could not get into it! I look forward to reading the next novel by Hugh but the pacing and plot just didn't pull me in. It's an okay sci-fi so if you're looking for something easy to read then this would not be a bad choice.
sadie1202's review against another edition
5.0
It was a great read. I was going to give it 4 stars until the last part where it touched upon my own inner voice, which prompted me to up it to five stars! Great work, Hugh Howey!