Book Review: John Scalzi's Redshirts UPDATED

I've been told I was not critical enough in my review, so I have added a sentence or two to this post in the spoilers section.

Those of you who know anything about my reading habits can probably already see a Scalzi obsession forming. I have a reputation (mainly with myself...) for finding an author that I like, and reading most of their back catalogue. But this time, instead of reading on in the Old Man's War series (the next book is called The Ghost Brigades), I decided to go straight to his latest book- Redshirts.

I wrote a recommendation for this book as part of a requirement for work, and managed to make it less than 200 words:

John Scalzi’s Redshirts

What would you do if you discovered you were expendable, an extra in a story that is simply using you for dramatic effect?  Dahl and his crewmates decide to take action, to find out why their fellow ensigns aboard the Intrepid keep dying in ridiculous situations, and why, at times, the Captain makes decisions that take them directly into the path of danger and drama.  Scalzi’s knack for presenting heavy ideas (in this case predestination, taking action against insurmountable odds, and being the protagonist in one's own story) in a light, often humourous, and enjoyable read is why I think I will carry on reading his back catalogue.  If you enjoy this book, you might also like Scalzi's 'Old Man's War', and Connie Willis' 'To Say Nothing of the Dog' for more big ideas wrapped in a humourous, seemingly light read.

Like what I did there?  Remember TSNotD and how much I liked it?  I genuinely believe that if you enjoyed that, you will easily see the same appeal in Redshirts.  Now I look at it and think "there's not all that much more I want to say".  Don't get me wrong, I am really excited about the book, but I don't think I want to pull it apart like I have most of the books I've reviewed on here (also, I'm writing this review a while after I finished the book and I have already returned it to the library!).  So there are very few spoilers if you click on the picture below.

Imagine how excited you'd be, after having graduated from space academy, to be stationed on the fleet's flagship. The Intrepid's xenobiology department is Dahl's very first posting and he couldn't be more eagre to participate in his first away mission. Now imagine how creepy it would be if the members if your department disappeared every time a command-level officer came looking for volunteers for away missions. Dahl finds his co-workers 'getting coffee', 'checking the storeroom', or.. well, hiding under their desks when the chief science officer needs assistance for a run of the mill away mission.

Soon we learn that away missions are not opportunities to explore new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations... They are instead ways to boldly die where no man has died before. The ship's course is set by how much drama can be encountered along the way. The same decks are hit every time the ship is fired upon. People have random monologues. If you knew the bad guy at the Academy, you will die. If you are a command officer, you will not die of mortal wounds. People know convenient things about each other than they never knew they knew... The list of things that make Dahl, and others, think that there's something screwy going on on the Intrepid is obviously longer than Scalzi had time to detail.

A chance encounter with a hermit (yup, space ships can have those too), enables Dahl to find out what is going on - they're on a tv show. That's right, they don't exist outside of the imagination of several writers, producers, directors, and actors. Dahl and his friends kidnap one of the command-level 'characters', jump through a wormhole, and end up in our present day, intent on stopping the tv show at all costs.

I liked this part of the book the best. Most of the characters meet themselves, which is cute and trippy, and there is a lot of running about without pants, gate crashing night clubs, and kidnapping. But the two things that will stick with me are Dahl's visit to the actress who played Jenkin's wife, and how they manage to convince the show's director to cancel it if he could have his son back.

Okay, so here's the critical bit, and I'll be brief, the book tended to drag a little in places, and lacked the action one would expect from a 'bad science fiction show'. But as I say, the writing almost completely makes up for this. Also, there are three 'codas' at the end of the book. I had to return it to the library before I could finish these, but I did read a little of the first one and it made no sense to me. It didn't continue the story, but instead seemed to be a portion of the story from another person's perspective (remember I didn't read it all, so I can only judge by what I did read). A friend read this book on my recommendation and she insisted I include this little critique because she thought the codas were terrible. I will get the book back out one day, and read them, and let you know!

Scalzi is skilled in writing stories about realistic characters that react to imaginative situations in a way that we could see ourselves reacting. He creates a detailed world around the characters that is believable - the suspension of disbelief is not a stretch for his books. He does all of this with humour, as I mentioned in my previous post about Old Man's War, and so it is never a chore to read his books - they seem light, but the heavy ideas are there. In Old Man's War, ideas about the role of the military and the reaction of the human psyche to warfare, as well as the ethics and ramifications of cloning and post-humanism, were all explored but never forced and rarely brought to the foreground of the story. In Redshirts, ideas about predestination and control over one's own life, taking action against insurmountable odds, and being the protagonist in your own story are covered - albeit a little more obviously. Still, info dumps are not Scalzi. Yes, I'm basing this on reading two of his books, and yes I could very well prove myself wrong when I go on to read the next one, but I do doubt it.

Okay, spoiler-free now.  I know this review is not as well put-together as (I think) the others have been, and I have no real excuse other than writing it in pieces and only now putting them together about a month after finishing the book.  I shall try to be good next time - I'm currently reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Book Review: John Scalzi's Old Man's War

You may remember that weeks, or even months ago, I posted about starting Connie Willis' All Clear, and how excited I was about it.  You may be wondering why I haven't told you more...  Sadly, I have to admit that I have had to put the book on the back burner (which means 'returned it to the library') for now.  It's such a heavy book so I can't take it on the bus to work, and I've had trouble reading in bed lately (lonnng days at work and lonnng bus trips = yawn).  Please don't take it as an indication of the quality of the book!  It's still fabulous, but as I've said before, I find it hard to get into Connie Willis' books at first, and despite this really being the second half of Black Out, it's still a new book.  I can't wait for Christmas when I have some time off so I can get back into it!

Meanwhile, I picked up John Scalzi's Old Man's War while wandering through the science fiction and fantasy section at the library (yeah, I know, right?!  We have a science fiction and fantasy section!).  I almost literally could not put it down, and I finished it in less than two weeks (you may have realised, I'm a very slow reader)!  Not only is the book gripping with brilliant character development and subtle but striking themes, but it is the most honest and funniest piece of science fiction I have read.  Ever.  Not to mention hostile aliens, galactic war, cloning, posthumanism, military technology, extra-solar colonies, faster-than-light travel...  Basically, everything  you could want from good science fiction.  Except length.  It was over wayyy too fast for my liking.  On with a spoiler-free review (just trying something different!), that's still pretty long (so nothing new there) - so click on the picture to continue.

The very first paragraph of a book is often an indicator of the tone of the book, and the first paragraph of Old Man's War is short, punchy and equal parts shocking and amusing - "I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday.  I visited my wife's grave.  Then I joined the army."

John Perry and his fellow recruits know two things when they turn their backs on their lives on Earth to do something that most people who enjoy science fiction long to do - see the galaxy.  The first is that they will never see the planet of their birth again, and the second is that somehow, the CDF (Colonial Defence Force) will make them young again.

I think the most important aspects of this books were world-building, character-development, and humour.  We are given just enough information to make the universe, but not so much to feel encumbered.  As I said, this book is short, it doesn't have room for great info dumps.  We know that there are colonies and we know who lives there, but we never see them or talk to them.  We know that we have contact with some alien races, but we don't have a history lesson about our first contact.  It's all need-to-know, and we, frankly, don't.

John seems like the regular guy down the road who keeps up with modern technology but doesn't understand everyone's reliance on it.  He works hard and thinks up practical solutions to what seem to be pretty tricky problems - just because he doesn't seem to notice their complexity.  He quickly makes friends with the other recruits, but doesn't fall into a depression when they go their seperate ways.  He doesn't care that his closest friend in the corps is gay, because it's nothing to do with him.  I really like him; he has my sense of humour.

I think the theme of posthumanism is underplayed, and not in a bad way.  Without giving too much away, Scalzi looks at what it means to be human through showing how his characters don't really suffer lasting change as a result of their physical changes - instead it is their experiences that have the greatest impact on them.  And these changes are so subtle; everyone remains themselves at their core, like we all do. He also debates personhood through a painful encounter with a special operative who, it turns out, doesn't know how to be human.

I highly recommend this book if you're looking for something amusing, that's light enough to read in a day (if you're that way inclined) but has enough substance to really make you care about what's going on and to stay with you when you're not reading it.

Not A Review: Blackout by Connie Willis

Hi there, I just finished reading Blackout by Connie Willis, and usually that would mean my posting a review and trying to convince you to read it.  However, Blackout is the first part of a two part story that is concluded in All Clear, so I don't feel like I can really give the book justice, not knowing how the story ends.  So, I'm going to wait until I have read All Clear to tell you about both.

For now, let me tell you that this is well-written, compelling, and interesting, despite the fact that this is the first book in the time travelling Oxfordian set where the present is completely absent (see what I did there?) from the narrative further than when the last person travels back in time.  Oh, that's another thing we haven't seen before - Blackout follows more than one time traveller.  And it's set during World War II - which seems to be Willis' favoute time period.  But this is all I will say for now!

Book Review: Connie Willis' To Say Nothing Of The Dog

Okay, I know I said I wouldn't repeat myself, but I just looked at my stats, and it says that noone's found their way to this post (remember that blogger backdated the post to when I started, rather than when I finished it?).  I really enjoyed this book, so I'm hoping someone will read the review so they're inspired to read and enjoy it too!

It's official, I love Connie Willis.  Yes, I know, I'm only three books into her repertoire, but until I find evidence against it, I stick by my statement.  This is the second novel in the Time Traveling Oxfordians universe (I don't think the series has a title...), and is almost the polar opposite of Doomsday Book in tone, setting, and characterisation.

Ned is busy in the past trying to find out what happened to the monstrosity that is the Bishop's Bird Stump, last seen in Coventry Cathedral before its bombing in 1940.  This almost impossible task has been set him by Lady Shrapnell, who has basically taken over the history department (with her 'generous donations') to aid her in recreating the Cathedral exactly as it was moments before the bombing.

Because of the number of drops (ie time traveling trips) Ned has done in a short amount of time, he becomes ill with time-lag, causing "Maudlin sentimentality, difficulty in distinguishing sounds, fatigue... tendency to become distracted by irrelevancies.  Slowness in answering.  Blurred vision" and his almost being hit by a steam locomotive.  The only cure for this is rest, but because of Lady Shrapnell, that just wont happen in (Ned's present) 2057, so Mr Dunworthy (yes, the very same from Doomsday Book and Fire Watch) sends him to 1888.  Where else could be more relaxing - punting on the Thames, playing croquet, and drinking tea.  Except that Mr Dunworthy has set Ned a task, something that Ned has since forgotten due to the time-lag. And here's where the spoilers start!  Click the picture below for a much shorter than usual review...

I think the main, and perhaps the only theme, of the book is the conflict between the idea of free will and destiny/fate/coincidence. One of the most obvious illustrations of this is when TJ runs computer simulations of the Battle of Waterloo, changing certain important events through the introduction of an historian time traveler.  It is almost impossible to force a different outcome to the battle - Napoleon always loses.  Although that is the most obvious example, the entire story is an illustration of this idea.  Mrs Bittner exerts free will in breaking into the lab and traveling back to the air raid to save elements of the Cathedral, but destiny sets Ned and Verity in the Cathedral at the right time for Tossie to cause the argument that ensures Miss Sharpe does not write to the the papers in 1940, thus informing the Nazis that the Allies had prior knowledge of the raid. Destiny also stops Ned and Verity from being in the wrong place at the wrong time (ie, when Mrs Bittner travels back to save artifacts from the Cathedral).

I think one of the most endearing things about the book in the little side project Dunworthy sets for Finch.  I hate the idea of a future without cats just as much as I hate the idea of people drowning unwanted kittens.  So the two are very nicely cancelled out by his efforts.  I also really like the way romance is featured in the book.  Although it is one of the main foci of the book, it's not at all mushy or sentimental.  In fact, it's more about stopping people from falling in love.  Although I had a very firm belief that Tossie would end up with the butler (as always, the butler did it), I was losing hope as time ran out.  The scene where Baine throws Tossie into the fish pond (which would make a great scene in a movie.  In fact, with the lack of good movies at the moment, may I suggest to Hollywood that they make this book into a film?  PLEASE?) is the most romantic of Tossie's story, and even Verity and Ned are less than lovey dovey.

I think it takes a really skilled author to be both entertaining and thought-provoking, especially in both a lighthearted story and a serious story.  If you found Doomsday Book too heavy to finish, do try To Say Nothing of the Dog.  Also, give her short stories a try.  I dug Fire Watch out of the library's stack (it was published in 1984) to read the Hugo and Nebula award-winning titular story, set in the same universe as Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, and Blackout/All Clear (which I'll definitely be reading soon*), and read on through the rest of the stories.  I found A Letter from the Clearys (Nebula award winner), And Come from Miles Around, and Service for the Burial of the Dead the most enjoyable, though the imagery of Daisy in the Sun (Hugo award nominee) has stayed with me.

If I have inspired you to buy this book, please consider purchasing it from Mighty Ape.  You can also get the book that inspired the title here, and you can get second-hand copies of Fire Watch here.

Using this link doesn't cost you anything and gives me credit to spend on more things to tell you about!

*Because this has been sitting in my draft-posts for so long, I'm now actually on to reading Blackout.  I'm only three or four chapters in and I'm already hooked.  I don't think it's a spoiler to say Colin (from Doomsday Book) makes an appearance!

Book Review: Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog (and Fire Watch)

It's official, I love Connie Willis.  Yes, I know, I'm only three books into her repertoire, but until I find evidence against it, I stick by my statement.  This is the second novel in the Time Traveling Oxfordians universe (I don't think the series has a title...), and is almost the polar opposite of Doomsday Book in tone, setting, and characterisation.

Ned is busy in the past trying to find out what happened to the monstrosity that is the Bishop's Bird Stump, last seen in Coventry Cathedral before its bombing in 1940.  This almost impossible task has been set him by Lady Shrapnell, who has basically taken over the history department (with her 'generous donations') to aid her in recreating the Cathedral exactly as it was moments before the bombing.

Because of the number of drops (ie time traveling trips) Ned has done in a short amount of time, he becomes ill with time-lag, causing "Maudlin sentimentality, difficulty in distinguishing sounds, fatigue... tendency to become distracted by irrelevancies.  Slowness in answering.  Blurred vision" and his almost being hit by a steam locomotive.  The only cure for this is rest, but because of Lady Shrapnell, that just wont happen in (Ned's present) 2057, so Mr Dunworthy (yes, the very same from Doomsday Book and Fire Watch) sends him to 1888.  Where else could be more relaxing - punting on the Thames, playing croquet, and drinking tea.  Except that Mr Dunworthy has set Ned a task, something that Ned has since forgotten due to the time-lag. And here's where the spoilers start!  Click the picture below for a much shorter than usual review...

I think the main, and perhaps the only theme, of the book is the conflict between the idea of free will and destiny/fate/coincidence. One of the most obvious illustrations of this is when TJ runs computer simulations of the Battle of Waterloo, changing certain important events through the introduction of an historian time traveler.  It is almost impossible to force a different outcome to the battle - Napoleon always loses.  Although that is the most obvious example, the entire story is an illustration of this idea.  Mrs Bittner exerts free will in breaking into the lab and traveling back to the air raid to save elements of the Cathedral, but destiny sets Ned and Verity in the Cathedral at the right time for Tossie to cause the argument that ensures Miss Sharpe does not write to the the papers in 1940, thus informing the Nazis that the Allies had prior knowledge of the raid. Destiny also stops Ned and Verity from being in the wrong place at the wrong time (ie, when Mrs Bittner travels back to save artifacts from the Cathedral).

I think one of the most endearing things about the book in the little side project Dunworthy sets for Finch.  I hate the idea of a future without cats just as much as I hate the idea of people drowning unwanted kittens.  So the two are very nicely cancelled out by his efforts.  I also really like the way romance is featured in the book.  Although it is one of the main foci of the book, it's not at all mushy or sentimental.  In fact, it's more about stopping people from falling in love.  Although I had a very firm belief that Tossie would end up with the butler (as always, the butler did it), I was losing hope as time ran out.  The scene where Baine throws Tossie into the fish pond (which would make a great scene in a movie.  In fact, with the lack of good movies at the moment, may I suggest to Hollywood that they make this book into a film?  PLEASE?) is the most romantic of Tossie's story, and even Verity and Ned are less than lovey dovey.

I think it takes a really skilled author to be both entertaining and thought-provoking, especially in both a lighthearted story and a serious story.  If you found Doomsday Book too heavy to finish, do try To Say Nothing of the Dog.  Also, give her short stories a try.  I dug Fire Watch out of the library's stack (it was published in 1984) to read the Hugo and Nebula award-winning titular story, set in the same universe as Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, and Blackout/All Clear (which I'll definitely be reading soon*), and read on through the rest of the stories.  I found A Letter from the Clearys (Nebula award winner), And Come from Miles Around, and Service for the Burial of the Dead the most enjoyable, though the imagery of Daisy in the Sun (Hugo award nominee) has stayed with me.

*Because this has been sitting in my draft-posts for so long, I'm now actually on to reading Blackout.  I'm only three or four chapters in and I'm already hooked.  I don't think it's a spoiler to say Colin (from Doomsday Book) makes an appearance!

Book Review - Connie Willis' Doomsday Book

I know I don't usually post this kind of thing, but I found I had a lot to say about this month’s Women in Science Fiction Book Club book – Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book - so I thought I would make a blog post about it where I can prattle on as I like without filling up the forum.  PLEASE NOTE I have put a lot of spoilers in this (and a lot of words), so if you haven’t read the book and would like to, and you like surprises when you read, then stop reading now until you’ve read the book.  I mean it, go read the book.  Read it?  Good, now let’s begin (Click on the image to show my review).

I hadn't heard of Connie Willis prior to signing up for the book club, and now that I've read this book, I intend to go on to read the rest of the books/stories set in the same universe.  As a reminder, this book focuses on two time periods and two intertwined stories as Kivrin, a young anthropology and archaeology student travels back in time to study the Middle Ages and the people who she leaves in our near future deal with the outbreak of a deadly influenza epidemic.  The confusion of the epidemic and the illness of the 'net' technician leads to Kivrin being stranded in the wrong year - the year the Black Death arrived in the small village she is studying.  While she attempts to protect those she has come to care about and to change the past, in the future Mr Dunworthy and Dr Ahrens attempt to discover the origin of the influenza and thus a cure, while trying to convince the acting head of the university department to go back and collect Kivrin.  The book is formatted as a chapter or two in a row in each time period - I found just enough happened in each time period to make me need to know more before switching to the other time period.  This really kept me motivated to read on.

The book club that I signed up to that recommended this book focuses on science fiction written by women.  I found this book to be a brilliant cross-genre story with elements from science fiction (the time travel technology is based upon and limited by a lot of complex physics, the medical technology) and historical fiction (the entire plot for Kivrin once she arrives in the Middle Ages).  I think the two genres were equally paired, though the science fictional influence was subtle.  For example, everything that occurred regarding the influenza outbreak, including the back story of a contagion outbreak in the recent past, had a technological basis.  One commenter made the point that none of the characters used mobile phones, instead relying on landline-based technology, and that this made it difficult to believe the setting was in the future, however I felt this omission made the setting very close to our own time (particularly because this book was written over 10 years and published in 1992).

At times I preferred the near future chapters, and at other times (particularly as the story progressed) I enjoyed the past chapters more.  Luckily (unlike the forum moderator) I had a book whose cover only hinted that Kivrin had been sent to the wrong time period, so, although I suspected it fairly early on, I was still shocked when my suspicions were confirmed.

I don't know enough about physics to judge how convincing the time travel aspect was, but I appreciated the fact that there were limitations, inconsistencies, variables, and that a whole lot of work had to go into the preparation for a trip. I thought this was very realistic, especially as the book is set in the not too distant future. I can imagine that time travel technology would be fairly complicated, and in this story, though it is well established as a research tool, it seems to be a relatively new tech.

I have a degree in anthropology and archaeology, so I found the motivation of all of the characters to be really convincing.  Kivrin seems to be a post graduate student and is naïve, eager to learn, and so motivated; just like most post graduate students she bites off far more than she can chew (I particularly loved that Kivrin had prepared and learned to speak all of the languages thought to be important, but that she couldn't understand anyone - one of my pet peeves is that we are so sure how ancient and historical languages were spoken, without first hand evidence).  Gilchrist reminded me of early archaeologists who cared little for anything other than the fmae and glory associated with the discovery of new artifacts and sites (while letting others do all of the work for them), while Dunworthy is the more cautious and careful kind who cares deeply for the safety and wellbeing of his students. I found myself identifying mainly with Dunworthy due to his reservations, his cautious and concerned demeanor, and his inability to give up on Kivrin.

Did I cry?  Oh yes, I cried when I thought Bahdri was going to die, I cried when I realised that black death had come to the village despite Kivrin's efforts, I cried when the little girls died, I cried when I found out Dr Ahrens died (so much that I had to put the book down), I would have cried when Roche died, but I so emotionally drained! I also cried at the end. This might make me seem like a crier, but honestly, I don't think I have ever cried so much in a book! This really surprised me because in the beginning, I found the story extremely difficult to get into and throughout the book found the characters quite clinical and not at all personal. It was only when people started dying that I realised that the story and the characters had such an impact on me.  This is the main reason I want to read the other books in this universe.

Lastly, the tension and quiet suspense that built up over the course of the story was great.  Until Dunworthy and Colin actually arrived in the Middle Ages, I was certain they wouldn't end up going back, that something would go wrong - Dunworthy would realise that Colin had jumped into the net and cancel the drop, for example. Until they actually found Kivrin I didn't think they would, that she would have already left for Scotland. I was convinced to the point that I didn't realise the boy in the kirkyard was Kivrin until after Dunworthy did.  But the one thing I would change about the book would be that we are left not knowing where the hell the head of the department is and why on earth noone could get in contact with him. It was a great plot device, but not tying that up at the end made it feel like it was JUST a plot device.

Spoiler-free again now.  To sum up, I strongly suggest reading this book if you like time travel, anthropology and archaeology, science fiction and health, or just a good adventure story about people struggling against forces outside of their control that does not have a necessarily 'happy ever after' ending (that is not a spoiler as there are so many possible endings that fit that criteria).