Category: Books

Red Shirts by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You don’t need to be a Trekkie to be familiar with the “redshirt” phenomenon. During the three-year run of the original Star Trek tv series in the 1960’s, fans noticed a certain trend of crew members being briefly introduced and rapidly killed in bizarre ways whenever landing on some new planet. Whenever the anonymous characters beamed down with one or more of the main characters, you could practically hear the last grains of sand passing through their hourglasses. The writers seemed to have a passion for wiping out the crew around Kirk, Spock & Bones at a dramatic rate just to illustrate how perilous the missions were. In all, fans calculated that some 75% of the characters killed on the show were wearing red shirts, which is to say nothing of the other nameless crew members whose shirt color didn’t prevent them from suffering the same fate.

John Scalzi’s Hugo Award winning novel Redshirts sends up this phenomenon in an amusing fashion, following a fresh new recruit, Ensign Andrew Dahl, who has just arrived on the flagship Enterp-sorry, Intrepid. A number of other new faces have been assigned to the Intrepid, which needs all the bodies it can get, since the ship keeps losing people on every away mission the crew undertake. Along with his fellow recruits, Dahl begins to recognize that anyone selected to participate in an away mission had better not start any long books. In fact, any team members on a mission with certain Senior Officers are dead crewmen walking, and together the recruits begin to look for a way to stop this trend. After all, each of them has a backstory, but only barely, leading them to wonder if they are even the protagonist in their own story, or merely extras…

It’s a clever story, helped markedly by being a quick, well-paced read. The novel obviously works best if you are an avid Star Trek fan, but it isn’t reliant on the fact. I know the films and the original series pretty well, but am by no means a big Trek fan. A decent familiarity with sci-fi in general is adequate for most of the jokes here. I caught some great little tips of the hat and missed probably many more – it doesn’t matter – the story works mainly because it is not a spoof, but a very solid story that is funny on its own merits.

The dialogue is top shelf, which I have come to expect from Scalzi and the action is well written. The whole thing is breezily read and it all too easy to visualize as a living, breathing show. (I understand plans for a series are afoot.)

The book is advertised as “a novel with three codas” and these codas are really quite interesting. I have no intention of spoiling the story by explaining the inclusion of this “extra” material, but I they are very welcome additions and help to tie up the whole story.

Highly recommended.

[schema type=”book” url=”http://whatever.scalzi.com/” name=”Redshirts” description=”Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expendedon avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives. Redshirts is the winner of the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel.” author=”John Scalzi” publisher=”Tor Books” pubdate=”2012-01-01″ isbn=”0765316994″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]

Lock In by John Scalzi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In John Scalzi’s new sci-fi thriller, Lock In, human civilization has been ravaged by a disease that kills many and leaves many more in a coma-like state. At the outset, Haden’s Syndrome comes on like Avian flu before escalating to meningitis in a second stage. And then it gets really tricky…

Scalzi has come up with a fascinating and wholly unique premise; that of humans trapped in their own bodies – fully aware but incapable of any physical movement or speech. The syndrome and the resultant solution – transmitting consciousness into a robot (“threep”) or another receptive human being (“integrator”) make for fantastic science-fiction by themselves, but it is the larger issues created by this new reality that make the tale so interesting. As with most great sci-fi, the novel deals with troubling larger issues of identity, reality, morality, discrimination and what it means to be human.

The story is told from the perspective of Chris Shane, a “Haden” child of a famous businessman & former basketball player. The novel opens with Shane’s first week as an FBI agent, ambulating in a high-end threep (so named for the robots resemblance to a certain famous film robot). Shane’s partner is a former integrator and the two are uniquely qualified for their first case together, that of a murder that may have been perpetrated by an integrator – or someone else in their head…

The story mostly plays out as a police procedural mystery, but a spellbinding one. It is absolutely a captivating read that I could barely stand to stop reading. The ending was slightly less satisfying, being a bit too neatly wrapped up for a novel that raised so many interesting and thorny problems, but I’m not totally sure I wasn’t just annoyed that the story was ending…

The characters are very interesting with great dialogue, although the protagonist unsurprisingly is drastically more developed than any other individual. One sort of remarkable note about the character: the audiobook, produced by Audible Studios was actually created in two separate versions with different narrators, Amber Benson & Wil Wheaton. When they first promoted this, they offered both editions for the price of one if you pre-ordered – I was intrigued, so I did.* The author said this: “There’s a really excellent reason for Lock In to have two entirely different versions.” I have to admit that I read/listened to the entire novel without ever realizing why. It was only afterwards, when I was no longer afraid of spoilers that I listened to an interview with the narrators and was made aware that the author never specifies the gender of the main character. I was stunned – equally impressed that Scalzi pulled this off and that I read the entire book without recognizing this. While in another situation I might have interpreted my failure to pick up on this lack of detail about the main character as inattentive reading on my part, I can clearly recognize the skill on the author’s part here; he makes the gender irrelevant.

This is really rather impressive, and it’s not the only instance of this skill in the novel, although I don’t want to spoil the story. I’m not spoiling anything by noting the casual introduction of gay characters in the same manner; the author is merely fleshing out descriptive information about characters in the same way he notes physical appearance or mannerisms. There’s nothing revolutionary going on here, but utilizing gay characters in non-stereotypical ways – allowing gays to be powerful, corporate jerks just like everyone else is refreshing and another great example of how elegantly Scalzi writes. Much like the novella that teased this novel, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome, the story feels like something the author just observed and reported; the writing seems effortless (I know it isn’t).

The action in Lock In is well written, but this really is a book more about ideas. It would be hard to believe that many of the issues the characters struggle with will not rear their heads in our lifetime. The prospect of a massive viral outbreak and our inability to stem it is bone-chilling plausible as are the myriad political, technical and societal responses dealt with here.

Lock In is top-shelf sci-fi and highly recommended. Now, do we get a sequel?

Update #1 – 09/04/2014

* I sort of half-read, half-listened to the the story. Although I initially bought the audio version, it was so immediately satisfying that I picked up the Kindle version so I could switch back and forth to maximize reading time. I started with the Wheaton version and will listen to Benson’s narration on my re-read, which will start in about 5, 4, 3…

I do highly recommend the well-made audio versions, found here: http://www.audible.com/mt/LockIn?bp_ua=yes&source_code=AUDGBWS0701149A1E

Update #2 – 11/10/2014

Just finished the Amber Benson narrated version, which I’ve been picking away at a bit at a time for the past 2 months. It’s equally fantastic! It’s very interesting to hear another narrator of equal quality with an entirely different take on each character and situation. Made the story fresh and different on my second read.

[schema type=”book” url=”http://whatever.scalzi.com/” name=”Lock In” description=”A novel of our near future, from one of the most popular authors in modern SF Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. Four percent suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And one percent find themselves “locked in”—fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. One per cent doesn’t seem like a lot. But in the United States, that’s 1.7 million people “locked in”…including the President’s wife and daughter. Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering, America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can restore the ability to control their own bodies to the locked in. But then two new technologies emerge. One is a virtual-reality environment, “The Agora,” in which the locked-in can interact with other humans, both locked-in and not. The other is the discovery that a few rare individuals have brains that are receptive to being controlled by others, meaning that from time to time, those who are locked in can “ride” these people and use their bodies as if they were their own. This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded, and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse…” author=”John Scalzi” publisher=”Tor Books” pubdate=”2014-08-26″ isbn=”0765375869″ ebook=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome by John Scalzi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just wrote possibly my longest book review ever (odd considering this is a novella) and lost it when I hit save because I changed editions mid-review. Sigh…

Ok, MUCH shorter now:

Unlocked is a novella that appeared on TOR.com as a preview or teaser for Lock In, which just came out. The story is in the “oral history” style of writing, and gives the back story behind Haden’s Syndrome, a super-flu type disease which radically affects all of human civilization in author John Scalzi’s new book.

I’d never read anything in this style previously – it’s a fantastic exposition tool here and far more interesting than I would have expected. The novel itself has a clever tool of opening with an introduction written like an online encyclopedia article. It is very effective and gives all of the information you need to enter the world the author has created for his novel. But the additional background provided in Unlocked certainly provides greater depth and clarity to the overall story.

Had I been aware of the publication of this story earlier this year it probably would have been better to read it at the time, further whetting my appetite for the full novel. But I was already pretty eager for Lock In as it was.

My own odd method of consuming the story worked pretty well in hindsight. I purchased the Audible version of Lock In, narrated by Wil Wheaton (there’s also a version narrated by Amber Benson) and listened to the first 4-5 chapters yesterday. Then last night in bed when I wanted to read not listen, I purchased and knocked this out quickly. It absolutely added to my enjoyment of Lock In and proceeded to purchase the Kindle version of the novel as well, and stayed up too late continuing the story. It’s a grabber…

Long story short (too late), you don’t need to read this in order to enjoy Lock In, but it will certainly enhance your appreciation. It’s not a long read, but more substantial than I expected and very engaging on it’s own. And it will absolutely make you want to continue the story…

Highly recommended.

[schema type=”book” url=”http://whatever.scalzi.com/” name=”Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome” description=”A new near-future science fiction novella by John Scalzi, one of the most popular authors in modern SF. “Unlocked” traces the medical history behind a virus that will sweep the globe and affect the majority of the world’s population, setting the stage for Lock In, the next major novel by John Scalzi. Available as an e-book or via Tor.com, acquired and edited for Tor.com by senior editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/unlocked-an-oral-history-of-hadens-syndrome-john-scalzi” author=”John Scalzi” publisher=”Tor Books” pubdate=”2014-05-07″ isbn=”1466871792″ ebook=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]

Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Grabbed this from the Kindle Lending Library and whipped through it quickly. It’s a very fun read.

The main character Martin Banks stumbles upon the truth that his (our) world is really nothing more than a complex and detailed computer simulation and he’s found the source file. Before you can say “there is no spoon”, he’s making edits to the source code to alter his height, enlarge bank account balance and try to teleport. In an alarmingly quick amount of time he has attracted the attention of the authorities, but he has wisely programmed an app that will let him escape from this reality into the past. His research has led him to believe that he can return to the Middle Ages and pretend to be a wizard with his new found “powers”. But it just may be that he’s not the first one to try that particular trick…

Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0 #1) is a great read; funny, light and just the right length. First-time novelist Scott Meyer writes the online cartoon Basic Instructions (http://basicinstructions.net/) and has a great comic tone here. The characters are fun and interesting and the whole thing is just plain enjoyable. I’ll be reading the sequel, Spell or High Water (Magic 2.0, #2).

[schema type=”book” url=”http://basicinstructions.net” name=”Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0 #1)” description=”Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard. What could possibly go wrong? An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.” author=”Scott Meyer” publisher=”47North” pubdate=”2013-03-29″ isbn=”0615786596″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” ]

The Fracking King: A Novel by James Browning

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really don’t know what to make of The Fracking King. It is obviously penned by a talented author. I found it fascinating and wanted to keep reading. It was very engaging. It just was kind of a hot mess.

The protagonist, Winston Crwth is a teen Scrabble prodigy. I was completely unaware such things existed. The entire book is very focused on Scrabble – obsessively so. While I can’t claim to have been misled – the synopsis clearly talks about “hardcore Scrabble” – I never expected that something so seemingly meaningless to me could be so massively important to a story.

Winston is an awkward student entering his third high school, this one a bizarre and isolated boarding school filled with half-developed characters. The school is so backwards and weird that it can only be based on personal experience.

The other main theme of the novel is about the controversial practice of fracking, where pressurized liquids of questionable content are injected into wellbores to break up rock formations and stimulate mining of gas. The author seems to be extremely knowledgeable on the subject and calling attention to the environmental issues is undoubtedly the main purpose of the novel. But it’s simply not digestible. For something that is talked about so much it is explained so little. The book assumes a similar amount of expertise on the part of the reader and speaks in shorthand; it’s an ill-advised presumption.

Mainly, it’s a frustrating novel. There’s a great story in here, but the hyper-focus on the specifics of Scrabble and fracking don’t leave much room for development of the characters and the story is very disjointed. But it’s really interesting at the same time. I really have very mixed feelings about it. While I start to conclude that it was poorly written, I realize that I couldn’t put it down, so it certainly possessed some great qualities. I suppose I’d say that it wasn’t enjoyable but was engaging.

[schema type=”book” name=”The Fracking King” description=”A striking debut novel about boarding school, hardcore Scrabble, and fracking—a new kind of environmental novel by an important voice in the debate about fracking in America. When the tap water at the Hale Boarding School for Boys bursts into flames, people blame fracking. Life at Hale has always been fraught—the swim test consists of being thrown into the pool with wrists and ankles tied, and a boy can be expelled if he and a girl keep fewer than “three feet on the floor.” But the sight of combustible drinking water and the possibility that fracking is making Hale kids sick turn one student into an unlikely hero in the fight to stop the controversial drilling practice. Winston Crwth, a Scrabble prodigy whose baffling last name rhymes with “truth,” knows what it’s like to be “fractured,” having grown up with his father in Philadelphia and his mother in California. On Winston’s comic journey to the Pennsylvania State Scrabble Championship, where he hopes to win an audience with beauty-queen-turned-governor Linda King LaRue, he matches wits with Thomasina Wodtke-Weir, the headmaster’s prematurely gray daughter and the most popular (read: only) girl at school; the state poet laureate, whose verse consists of copying out dictionary entries and restroom graffiti; and David Dark, son of the CEO of Dark Oil & Gas, the source of Winston’s scholarship money. The Fracking King is a fantastically inventive debut about rowing crew, using all your tiles, and trying to save the world.” author=”James Browning” publisher=”New Harvest” pubdate=”2014-07-01″ isbn=”0544262999″ ebook=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]