Okay, not really my first piece of fan e-mail, but the first that I’m posting. If you kids dig the feature, I’ll post some more. And yeah, I’m getting permission to do this, and I’ll do the same in the future.

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Hugh Howey!

My name is CENSORED and I’m currently deployed onboard USS The Sullivans. I just finished Wool book 5, and I wanted to send you some love. I would also like to let you know that your books have been passed around this ship like a (insert sailor expletive here). After finishing one of the books, I passed it on to a buddy, who passed it on to another, and another, and another, and so on. Your series has been running around the back pocket of our coveralls like a viral train. Anyway, we have a lot of down time out here and just wanted to say thanks for taking some of that up. I have The Plagiarist on the way, and I’ll be ordering the Molly Fyde series soon and I’m sure these will follow the same route. We’re all looking forward to any more of your work.

Thanks Again!
CENSORED
USS The Sullivans (silo 68)

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Silo 68, indeed. These men and women live in a floating silo, a self-contained world apart. I can’t tell you what this e-mail meant to me. It puts into perspective how trivial my hobby/job is. And yet, it’s also humbling to think that I helped these servicemen pass some of their time away from home and hearth. I am just floored.

A care package will go out to these guys and gals on Wednesday. Some signed books, some prophylactics, some menthols . . . And I might have to make up a special USS The Sullivans silo 68 t-shirt.

Speaking of The Sullivans, the story of this ship is amazing. First of all, it’s a badass boat, an Aegis class destroyer (one of the fastest big boats in the Navy). It was named after the five Sullivan boys who died aboard a ship back in 1942. (One of my favorite war books of all-time, THE LAST STAND OF THE TIN CAN SAILORS, details this battle). And get this: the USS The Sullivans was the first bombing target (failed) of what would become the USS Cole disaster.

Needless to say, I have a new favorite warship.