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books2013-07-08 02:52 pm
angel_negra) wrote in books2013-07-08 02:52 pm
Entry tags:
Book Review: Redshirts, John Scalzi
So I've been craving a new science fiction book for a while now. Most of the stuff on my eReader is either fantasy or non-fiction and I just wasn't feeling it. So I went on a hunt for some good sci-fi to pick up. I'd heard about John Scalzi before, mostly due to his posts on his blog and when he popped up in an episode of Tabletop - a gaming web series hosted by Wil Wheaton - it reminded me of him again. I've had it before where I've liked how an author presents themselves, but didn't jive on their writing, so I decided to start with one of Scalzi's one-shot books.
So I bought Redshirts. The basic premise of Redshirts is a riff off the older Trek seasons, particularly the Original Series, where on various episodes, it was always the red-shirted ensign who gets killed instead of the starring characters. The plot itself follows five new ensigns on the starship Intrepid where they slowly start to discover that everyone on board is just a little bit weird about away missions. People have a habit of conveniently hiding when the command crew come around. And people have a tendency to die on away missions. A lot.
I had a lot of fun reading this book, to the point where I wasn't just reading it on my work breaks, but I was skipping internet messing around time to read instead. The humour is sly and doesn't go for the obvious jokes, which was really refreshing. The characters were nicely fleshed out and felt real. While the lead male and female characters were initially set up as a potential romance - I say set up but it's more... if the female character had been a male it would have been the hallmarks of a good friendship building, but mainstream media has a habit of taking that same set up between men and women and making it the start of a romance - and I was actually impressed with Scalzi for not going that route, the pair of them developed into a good friendship that was fun to read.
I'm not going into heavy detail on the plot twists, mainly because I found them so much fun when I didn't see them coming. And they weren't predictable to me, which was also a nice change. Or rather, they were twists that you take for granted when you watch a show or read a book and Scalzi spun them on their head and gave us a very fun take on them.
There are three codas to the book, and they were all unexpected, but really thoughtful character studies about three character who weren't the main characters, but all had to deal with the fallout of the conclusion of the story and they all felt like natural reactions.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book, especially if you're a fan of Star Trek and Galaxy Quest. It's fun, easy going and really though provoking. It does poke fun at Trek and various Trek-like shows, but it does it in an affectionate way. The book isn't trying to make you feel bad about liking those shows at all. While there is some character death in the story, and in fact is one of the main points, the deaths are never glorified or written with detailed descriptions of gore.
At its heart, it gives us a slightly more realistic look at what life in the future might be like in a Trek-like society, but it still holds onto that hope that humanity can get there in the end. So, if you're like me and on the look out for some good newer science fiction to pick up, I highly recommend picking up Redshirts.
So I bought Redshirts. The basic premise of Redshirts is a riff off the older Trek seasons, particularly the Original Series, where on various episodes, it was always the red-shirted ensign who gets killed instead of the starring characters. The plot itself follows five new ensigns on the starship Intrepid where they slowly start to discover that everyone on board is just a little bit weird about away missions. People have a habit of conveniently hiding when the command crew come around. And people have a tendency to die on away missions. A lot.
I had a lot of fun reading this book, to the point where I wasn't just reading it on my work breaks, but I was skipping internet messing around time to read instead. The humour is sly and doesn't go for the obvious jokes, which was really refreshing. The characters were nicely fleshed out and felt real. While the lead male and female characters were initially set up as a potential romance - I say set up but it's more... if the female character had been a male it would have been the hallmarks of a good friendship building, but mainstream media has a habit of taking that same set up between men and women and making it the start of a romance - and I was actually impressed with Scalzi for not going that route, the pair of them developed into a good friendship that was fun to read.
I'm not going into heavy detail on the plot twists, mainly because I found them so much fun when I didn't see them coming. And they weren't predictable to me, which was also a nice change. Or rather, they were twists that you take for granted when you watch a show or read a book and Scalzi spun them on their head and gave us a very fun take on them.
There are three codas to the book, and they were all unexpected, but really thoughtful character studies about three character who weren't the main characters, but all had to deal with the fallout of the conclusion of the story and they all felt like natural reactions.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book, especially if you're a fan of Star Trek and Galaxy Quest. It's fun, easy going and really though provoking. It does poke fun at Trek and various Trek-like shows, but it does it in an affectionate way. The book isn't trying to make you feel bad about liking those shows at all. While there is some character death in the story, and in fact is one of the main points, the deaths are never glorified or written with detailed descriptions of gore.
At its heart, it gives us a slightly more realistic look at what life in the future might be like in a Trek-like society, but it still holds onto that hope that humanity can get there in the end. So, if you're like me and on the look out for some good newer science fiction to pick up, I highly recommend picking up Redshirts.
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(Also hi! I didn't know you were on this comm as well. <3)
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(Hi, yeah. I haven't posted in forever, but I've been meaning to get back into it.)
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(Well, it's not like I ever post here anyway, I just tend to lurk.)
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(lurking is fun too. :) )
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(it is. XD)
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