4.5 stars

This was nothing at all like any previous Hugh Howey book I've read thus far. More a romance and character study than an apocalyptic recovery story, it was very well-written. The narrator was perfect for the story, too, and the Audible version was very well done. ( )

This book was not exactly what I had expected but over all I really enjoyed it. It had none of the feel of Howey's previous book which I had read which was Wool. This book is set in a not too distant future when oil companies have devestated the oceans where sea life has nearly been obliterated and shells are rare and expensive artifacts. Maya is a reporter doing an exclusive story on Ness Wilde...4th generation heir to the worlds most devestating oil company and target of an FBI operation investigating him for making high quality fake seashells for some reason. Maya realizes that not all the stories she's heard are true about him and Ness is searching for redemption for the damage his family has done to the sea. ( )

Set in the near future when sea levels have risen and the oceans have grown warmer, The Shell Collector is told from the point of view of 32-year-old Maya Walsh, a reporter as well as a shell collector.

Maya is heading up to Maine from New York to interview Ness Wilde, who invited her to talk with him after the first part of her exposé on Wilde and his family began to run in “The Times.” She is also wearing a wire because the FBI suspects Wilde of being part of a shell forgery scam, and Wilde is also a shell collector.

Maya wants to ruin Wilde; she blames his family and their business, Ocean Oil, for destroying the ecosystem in general and the oceans in particular. Shells are valuable collector’s items only because so much of marine life has been destroyed. And according to Maya, it is all Wilde’s fault:

“. . . a man who played a large role in ushering our damaged world along. . . . Ness Wilde has made billions not just by drilling oil, but by collecting the shells made rare - and valuable- by the burning of fossil fuels. A double whammy.”

Here is the first huge hole in this story. Are we to believe that Maya, allegedly a top-notch reporter, has no knowledge of the role the rest of the world (besides this one company) has played in destroying the ecosystem? Furthermore, although she claims to have put a great deal of research into her exposé, she knows surprisingly little about what Wilde’s company has been up to for the prior forty years (longer in fact than Ness Wilde has been alive in any event, so it’s not as if he personally is responsible for any past environmental degradation). I can’t believe the paper’s lawyers and fact-checkers would let her get away with all that misinformation, even if I could be convinced that somehow a star reporter would (a) be so ignorant about her subject matter and (b) write a story so short on fact.

Ness has invited Maya to Maine to provide her with an alternate truth about his family and his company, but she is so incredibly prejudiced against him she doesn’t trust anything he says. (Ironic, especially because the definitive influence of her own life has been unwarranted prejudice against her as a mixed-race person, and ironic as well because one would think a reporter would be open to new information.)

The next big problem I have with this story comes when Ness falls in love with Maya, notwithstanding her having been a total witch the entire time they are together. We are given to believe instead that the fact that she loves shells and that she makes lots of shell analogies endears her to Ness in spite of her awful personality.

Finally, towards the end, Maya is beginning to see the light (thank the Lord) but still can't resist a totally unwarranted betrayal of Ness. Nevertheless, this too doesn't seem to affect Ness's feelings, or he never finds out, which may even be worse, given what happens next.

Evaluation: I love most of Howey’s writing, but I wouldn’t recommend this one. Nevertheless, I actually liked all the metaphors about shells, although some readers may find them a bit too frequently employed. ( )

I really enjoy Hugh Howey's writing and was really looking forward to this new book. It is good (as expected) but very different. I still found it well paced and with lots of intrigue.
Being a romance meant I found it slightly predictable at times, but I still enjoyed it. I like that Hugh Howey is able to switch genres so easily, his writing is just as good in this one.
It's well worth a read and I'm eager to read Hugh Howey's next book. ( )

Fascinating, if depressing, future. ( )