I highly recommend this book!!!As a novel it was a compelling read. I read it "from cover-to-cover" as fast as I could. The plot was intriguing and moved along nicely; the characters were solidly depicted.I grew up in a machine shop, and appreciated some of the details that were included. For example, when Jules adds an air hose to a helmet she describes how she used the tap to create the thread. I've done that hundreds of times and this made her actions more realistic. Details like this would probably be overlooked in a movie.I am a software developer by profession, so the idea of IT was familiar. However, in Wool the IT function was more political and media-control than "IT". That's Okay.After finishing the book I thought about how "complete" the story was. It's like a miniature world history of people we can relate to (to some extent...) placed in a "smaller world" and living under different rules ("religion"). Whether the author intended to or not, the story touches on survival, political, military, media manipulation and environmental issues. Makes you (or at least me...) think!Great job, Hugh! 

Question: How is character development?
Answer: the characters were solidly depicted