Book Series Guide
Hugh Howey

Author guide

Hugh Howey Books in Order

Hugh Howey is an American author of science fiction, young-adult fiction, short fiction, nonfiction, and graphic works. He is best known for the independently published Silo novels Wool, Shift, and Dust, and also wrote the Sand Chronicles, the Bern Saga, Beacon 23, Half Way Home, and Machine Learning.

science fictionyoung adult fictionpost-apocalyptic fictiondystopian fictionnonfiction

Catalog record updated .

Hugh Howey's Newest Book

Cover of Across the Sand

Across the Sand

novel · First published 2022

The first original novel from author Hugh Howey in six years, Across the Sand takes us back to the world of Sand, to a far future many generations after a disaster has destroyed civilization as we know it, where four siblings struggle to build their futures amid the harsh wastes of endless desert. ?The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes, a land of howling wind and infernal sand. In this barren home, siblings Conner, Rob, Palmer and Violet daily carve out a future. They live in the shadow of their father and oldest sister, Vic, two of the greatest sand divers ever to comb the desert's depths. But these branches of their family tree are long gone, disappeared into the wastes beyond, leaving the younger siblings scratching in the dust, hopeful for a better life. On the other side of No Man's Land, Anya was born beside the abundant mines knowing her prospects would be to marry, have a family, and work in ore, in service to the Empire of the East. But when an atomic bomb delivered by a stranger destroys most of her town--murdering all her friends and community--she follows her father to a strange land of dunes to bring vengeance to their enemies.

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of Wool

Wool

The primary entry point to the Silo series and Hugh Howey's best-known work.

Cover of Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue

Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue

The opening book of the Bern Saga.

Cover of Sand

Sand

The opening novel of the Sand Chronicles.

Cover of Beacon 23

Beacon 23

A self-contained fix-up novel that introduces the Beacon 23 setting.

Wayfinding Part 1: Rats & Rafts

The opening volume of the Wayfinding nonfiction series.

Cover of Half Way Home

Half Way Home

A standalone science-fiction novel.

Read in order

Books by series

series · complete

Silo

A post-apocalyptic science-fiction series about humanity surviving in a vast underground silo and uncovering its secrets.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Wool

    Book 1 · fix-up novel · 2012

    The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a single silo. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who…

  2. 2
    Wool: Holston

    Book 1.1 · short story · 2011

  3. 3
    Wool: Proper Gauge

    Book 1.2 · novella · 2011

  4. 4
    Wool: Casting Off

    Book 1.3 · novella · 2011

  5. 5
    Wool: The Unraveling

    Book 1.4 · novella · 2012

  6. 6
    Wool: The Stranded

    Book 1.5 · novella · 2012

  7. 7
    Shift

    Book 2 · fix-up novel · 2013

    "The technology has an almost limitless capacity for good—but in the wrong hands, it could have an equally boundless capacity for evil. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of…

  8. 8
    First Shift: Legacy

    Book 2.1 · novella · 2012

    The incredible first part of the follow up to bestseller Wool. Donald Keene has been recruited by the government to design a shelter. He has been told that it is just protocol. That it won’t really be used. That it is ‘just-in-case’. It…

  9. 9
    Second Shift: Order

    Book 2.2 · novella · 2012

    This is the second part of the SHIFT trilogy.

  10. 10
    Third Shift: Pact

    Book 2.3 · novella · 2013

  11. 11
    Dust

    Book 3 · novel · 2013

    "Jules knows what her predecessors created. She knows they are the reason life has to be lived in this way. And she won't stand for it. But Jules no longer has supporters. And there is far more to fear than the toxic world beyond her…

series · ongoing

The Bern Saga

A young-adult science-fiction series following Molly Fyde, a teenager in the twenty-fifth century.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue

    Book 1 · young-adult novel · 2009

    It wasn't easy for Molly being the only girl in Flight Academy, but getting expelled was even worse. Abandoned by her family when she was young and now tossed from the only home she's ever known, her future looks bleak. But then Molly…

  2. 2
    Molly Fyde and the Land of Light

    Book 2 · young-adult novel · 2009

  3. 3
    Molly Fyde and the Blood of Billions

    Book 3 · young-adult novel · 2010

    It's been ten years since Molly last set foot on her birth planet, and this isn't how she'd imagined her homecoming. The sky is full of an invading fleet, one powerful enough to threaten the entire galaxy. The new family she has come to…

  4. 4
    Molly Fyde and the Fight for Peace

    Book 4 · young-adult novel · 2010

    In the highly anticipated conclusion to the Bern Saga, Molly and her friends are reunited while two wars erupt and collide. An entire universe hangs on the actions of Parsona's crew, and not all of them will survive. Reading Order: 1.…

series · complete

Wayfinding

A nonfiction self-help and travel series combining reflections on human behavior with Hugh Howey's sailing experiences.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Wayfinding Part 1: Rats & Rafts

    Book 1 · nonfiction · 2015

  2. 2
    Wayfinding Part 2: Hell & Heaven

    Book 2 · nonfiction · 2015

  3. 3
    Wayfinding Part 3: Hot & Cold

    Book 3 · nonfiction · 2015

  4. 4
    Wayfinding Part 4: Old World & New

    Book 4 · nonfiction · 2015

  5. 5
    Wayfinding Special: Food & Fitness

    Book special · nonfiction · 2015 Optional

series · complete

Beacon 23

A science-fiction series about lighthouse keepers stationed at interstellar beacons.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Beacon 23

    Book 1 · fix-up novel · 2015

    For centuries, men and women have manned lighthouses to ensure the safe passage of ships. It is a lonely job, and a thankless one for the most part. Until something goes wrong. Until a ship is in distress. In the 23rd century, this job…

  2. 2
    Beacon 23: Part One: Little Noises

    Book 1.1 · short story · 2015

  3. 3
    Beacon 23: Part Two: Pet Rocks

    Book 1.2 · short story · 2015

  4. 4
    Beacon 23: Part Three: Bounty

    Book 1.3 · short story · 2015

  5. 5
    Beacon 23: Part Four: Company

    Book 1.4 · short story · 2015

  6. 6
    Beacon 23: Part Five: Visitor

    Book 1.5 · short story · 2015

series · ongoing

The Sand Chronicles

A post-apocalyptic science-fiction series set in a far-future world transformed into an endless desert.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Sand

    Book 1 · fix-up novel · 2014

    The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. Their father was a sand diver, one of the elite few who…

  2. 2
    The Belt of the Buried Gods

    Book 1.1 · novella · 2014

    A powerful post-apocalyptic thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Silo trilogy. The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four…

  3. 3
    Out of No Man's Land

    Book 1.2 · novella · 2014

    The wind blows from east to west. It brings with it the sand, deposited in dunes, to bury and torment the unfortunate souls who live here. Life on the sand is miserable. Life below it is even worse. From the New York Times bestselling…

  4. 4
    Return to Danvar

    Book 1.3 · novella · 2014

  5. 5
    Thunder Due East

    Book 1.4 · novella · 2014

    A family long scattered reunites as danger approaches Springston. Brother and sister rush to sound a warning, but that warning will come too late. Bombs will thunder like the pulse of a terrible god. The great dune will flow as the sea.…

  6. 6
    A Rap Upon Heaven's Gate

    Book 1.5 · novella · 2014

  7. 7
    Across the Sand

    Book 2 · novel · 2022

    The first original novel from author Hugh Howey in six years, Across the Sand takes us back to the world of Sand, to a far future many generations after a disaster has destroyed civilization as we know it, where four siblings struggle to…

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (6)
  1. Half Way Home

    young-adult novel · 2010

    Five hundred colonists have been sent across the stars to settle an alien planet. Vat-grown in a dream-like state, they are educated through simulations by an artificial intelligence and should awaken at thirty years old, fully trained,…

  2. The Hurricane

    young-adult novel · 2011

    Daniel Stillman's Life: 42 Facebook friends 18 Cell phone contacts 6 Twitter followers 4 blog subscribers Now a category five storm is about to take this all away. And replace it with a neighbor he's never met.

  3. The Plagiarist

    novella · 2011

    Adam Griffey is living two lives. By day, he teaches literature. At night, he steals it. Adam is a plagiarist, an expert reader with an eye for great works. He prowls simulated worlds perusing virtual texts, looking for the next big…

  4. I, Zombie

    novel · 2012

    This book contains foul language and fouler descriptions of life as a zombie. It will offend most anyone, so proceed with caution or not at all. And be This is not a zombie book. This is a different sort of tale. It is a story about the…

  5. The Shell Collector

    novel · 2014

    "The oceans are dying. The sea is growing warmer and is gradually rising. Seashells have become so rare that collecting them is now a national obsession ... Supreme among these collectors is Ness Wilde, CEO of Ocean Oil. Ness owns many of…

  6. Wool: The Graphic Novel

    graphic novel · 2014

    In a ruined and toxic landscape, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. In a society full of regulations meant to protect the community, Sheriff Holston, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: he…

Short fiction (7)
  1. Peace in Amber

    short story · 2013

  2. Second Suicide

    short story · 2014

  3. Glitch

    short story · 2014

  4. The Walk Up Nameless Ridge

    short story · 2015

  5. The Box

    short story · 2015

  6. Promises of London

    short story · 2015

  7. Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories

    short-story collection · 2017

    A collection of new and previously published stories by New York Times best-selling author Hugh Howey, including three set in his Wool universe

Children's books (1)
  1. Misty: The Proud Cloud

    picture book · 2014

Frequently asked questions about Hugh Howey

Who is Hugh Howey, and what is known about his early life?

Hugh Howey is a science-fiction author born in 1975 who developed an early love of reading and sailing. Before writing full time, he worked in computer repair, roofing, yacht captaining, and bookselling.

Sources: hughhowey.com (opens in a new tab)wired.com (opens in a new tab)

How did Hugh Howey become a successful author?

Howey completed his first novel in 2009 and published the first Wool story independently through Kindle Direct Publishing in 2011. Strong reader word of mouth turned the project into a major bestseller and established his writing career.

Sources: hughhowey.com (opens in a new tab)today.cofc.edu (opens in a new tab)

What influenced Hugh Howey’s writing?

Howey has identified George Orwell, Jonathan Swift, and Aldous Huxley as major influences. He has also said that travel, nonfiction reading, and his experience seeing the world through media helped shape Wool.

Sources: hughhowey.com (opens in a new tab)wired.com (opens in a new tab)

What awards has Hugh Howey won or been nominated for?

Wool received the 2012 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Award in the science-fiction/fantasy category. The Science Fiction Awards Database also records Wool Omnibus as a 2013 Locus Awards nominee, placing 12th in the collection category.

Sources: today.cofc.edu (opens in a new tab)sfadb.com (opens in a new tab)

Why is Hugh Howey important to self-publishing?

Howey became a prominent example of author-controlled digital publishing by independently releasing his work while retaining ownership and e-book rights. His success and advocacy helped establish him as an influential voice in the indie-publishing movement.

Sources: kirkusreviews.com (opens in a new tab)wired.com (opens in a new tab)