Book Review
Title: Halfway Home
Author: Hugh Howey
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: ***
Review: I haven’t read anything by this author before, so I was eager to discover something new. The opening of Halfway Home was interesting we are introduced to a unique society by an unknown narrator who tells us that humans are being sent into space to conquer viable planets – ones that will sustain human life. However, they are being sent as embryos nurtured for 30 years by an AI and when they are “born” they are adults fully trained in a specific career. Our narrator is a psychologist. We learn that this colony for some reason has gone wrong. The story truly starts with many of the people being born early in their teens rather than adults and it seems like the colony is being attacked. In the attack 50 of the 500 humans escape, the rest are lost along with the command module. Even though their bodies have been kept in peak physical conditions adults and they have been given a wealth of knowledge they have no experience using their bodies which was interesting to see. Even though they look like teens with the brains of adults they are nothing more than newborn babies on a strange world they may not know much about and I’m intrigued to see where the story goes.
We learn the narrator’s name is Porter and he is one of only 59 to survive the devastation. Another survivor named Stevens converses with the AI and it tells him that their mission is the build a rocket to send classified information back to Earth but because they awoke early many haven’t fully completed their training and their resources are slim at best. Stevens takes charge and splits the group up into scientists, workers, and support and this gives the colony a purpose and a will to survive. However, we can see tensions building already mainly with a man named Hickson who is trained for security and Porter advises Stevens to find something else they can direct his attention to like predators. So far the world-building and character introductions are great, but I am cautious as stand attention line sci-fi novels can seem very rushed as they have to pack everything into one book. Things take a dramatic turn when Stevens ends up dead and the two witnesses aren’t sure if Hickson pushed him or whether he fell. We also learn through a conversation that Porter has with Oliver that Porter is gay as he doesn’t have feelings of desire towards Tarsi or Maci but felt that way towards Stevens. Hickson takes over the command role and soon people are working more and losing weight and Porter knows that if someone doesn’t do something they won’t have long before they are all wiped out.
Things begin to change very quickly as Hickson moves more of their resources into building the rocket rather than surviving. Many of the colonists aren’t happy with this and Porter tries to talk to the colony who only provides a vague answer. However, within days Hickson is making guns and bullets and moving people from menial duties to become enforcers, forcing the other colonists to work day and night in order to finish the mission. Porter is immediately worried, but Oliver planted a seed of doubt when he says that the colony has already sanctioned all of their actions, but I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse. On top of all this, Porter is trying to come to terms with his sexuality in a world where survival is the key directive and his sexuality goes directly against that. Things get worse when an enforcer shoots a colonist, furthering the divide between the two factions. That night Mica and Peter escape into the wilderness, it is also what Kelvin and Tarsi are considering but she changes her mind after Hickson puts up the electric fence making them prisoners. This isn’t the only reason Tarsi stays, she stays because she wants to be with Porter, but he doesn’t have the heart to tell her he wants Kelvin more than her, even though Kelvin likes Tarsi. Instead, he agrees to go with them into the wilderness to keep the three of them together even though he had told the pair the idea was suicidal.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Tarsi, Porter, and Kelvin have made preparations ready for their escape but things don’t quite go plan as the hole in the fence, Mica and Peter used to escape has been patched up and when Kelvin tries to cut through he sets off the alarm which causes the enforcers to descend upon them. Porter tries to distract them to give Kelvin enough time to cut through the fence, drawing the gunfire away but more people are trying to escape with them and it’s a close call and Porter thinks he’s been shot. It turns out to be a bit of stone stuck in his leg and when he checks over the others, another group including Britny, Jorge, and Vincent along with some others have also escaped. Together the large group are trying to track down Mica and Peter and eventually come to a mysterious tree with an upward arrow carved into it. Everything seems to be going good for the escaped colonists, but they could briefly hear the sounds of target practice from the colony and Porter is worried that Hickson will come after them as their numbers are needed to complete the mission.
Immediately there is a debate about whether or not they should climb the tree and investigate. Porter eventually voices the idea that half of the group should explore the tree and the other half should make camp, Porter ends up staying on the ground with the girls while all the other boys head up into the unknown. We follow the ground group on their domestic day dealing with the weather expecting the boys back the next morning, but they actually don’t arrive for 2 days. During the two days, Porter and the girls talk about how they feel on leaving the colony and whether it was the right thing to do. All the while Tarsi is trying to get closer to Porter while he is trying to find a way to explain to her and Kelvin that he isn’t interested in women. When the boys finally make it back they try to explain the view from the canopy but find it near impossible, but they haven’t come back alone as they have brought what can only be described as huge caterpillars, which they nicknamed Vinnies down to eat. Porter is very uncomfortable with the idea of eating something that was alive and sticks to the bomb fruit while almost everyone else eats meat for the first time. Now, the group is back together they discuss what their next move should be, most are of the opinion that they should move away from the colony, but the direction is debated. Porter believes that Mica and Peter would have headed towards the mountains the boys mentioned as it provides them with a good source of water and shelter options and eventually most side with him despite the objections from certain members of the group.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, the group decides to head towards the mountains, but the boys want to travel across the canopy as they have less chance of being caught by Hickson up there and many agree. As they travel up the tree everything seems to be going fine until something huge begins pushing past them and they have no choice but to wait it out. In the mayhem, they have to dangle from the edge of the tree and not everyone makes it, one of the people lost was Britny which really affects the group’s morale but when they get on top of the canopy they know that their journey can begin in earnest. Porter is made to be the leader as he is one of the lightest males but after almost falling through a soft spot, Kelvin makes him a lifeline which comes in really handy later when he crashes through again. As they approach the end of the canopy they set up camp just as a storm hits and are trying to decide the best way to proceed to the mountains that has the least risk. The group decides heading for the mine straight away is the best thing to do with the weather. When the group gets below ground they find Mica and Peter, but Mica is injured after falling from the canopy, together they eat and try to work out a plan but before they can they hear an approaching tractor from the colony. As Mica can’t be moved and Peter won’t leave her as he still hopes the colony will take them back and provide medical attention they leave the others behind to hide.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, things get even darker as Oliver leads a small gang to retrieve everyone but threatens to shoot them if they don’t come out. They have already heard a gunshot, so they are panicked and looking for a way out, an escape route, and there are none. When they feel like all is lost, a creature like the one in the tree comes barrelling down the mine heading straight for them. Porter tries to reason with Oliver but gets nowhere but that ultimately results in Oliver’s death, with no choice the group runs hoping to escape the creature and the mine, but they remember the gunshot and head back to find Mica and Peter. Mica is still alive, but Peter has been shot and killed probably as he was protecting Mica but now they are once again faced with the grief of losing one of their own and for the first time Porter breaks down into tears. With less than 50 pages left of the novel, I am not sure how it is going to end as it is a stand-alone and I have a feeling it is going to be left on a cliffhanger. The group suspects that these huge creatures that eat through solid rock and metal are the real reason that the colony was deemed unviable, but they still are unsure as to why the abort sequence was cut off halfway through.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, we learn the truth about the way the colony was going to be aborted and then stopped and together the group has come up with a way for preventing the AI’s plans. They go back to the colony and finds things exactly how they thought it would be but they put steps in place days before their arrival so they would have the upper hand. Together the many rallies against the few and overthrow the AI gaining control of the planet and the whole book has been a transcript sent back to Earth as a warning not to come for their resources and to think carefully about all the aborted missions and lives lost. Overall, Halfway Home was a bit of a struggle to get through but the emotional payoff at the end was worth it. I did have a problem with the way homosexuality is used in the novel but it does make sense within the context of the novel but that didn’t make it any less problematic to read. I have heard nothing but good things about Hugh Howey’s Silo series which I will be reading in the future.
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