Redshirts

The premise of this book is what attracted me to this book. To be honest, I didn't come in with high expectations, because, redshirts. The only other thing I've read of Scalzi's is The Dispatcher, which did a good job of making me think. I didn't think of this as a book with a message, but a quick look on Goodreads indicates others see a possible deeper message. That message falls more into the election camp, to use a theological term, to which I personally don't fall into and won't argue that here.

I listened to the audio read by Wil Wheaton from Audible. It took a few times for me to be able to get into the story and follow it. Wheaton does a fine job of reading the story, but I had a bit of a hard time keeping some of the characters straight, especially Dahl and Duvall. Further, every time a character speaks, it is followed by “Character said”. That did help me know who was speaking, but makes me appreciate those who use a variety of ways to help the reader know who was talking, such as adding character behavior in with the dialogue.

I liked the premise of the story and how it unfolds with the characters. There are familiar nods to sci-fi fan favorite shows with what many I know love and hate about them being mixed in. It was a fun story, for sure. The three codas following were interesting, though not as entertaining to me. The third coda seemed to be the most introspective of the lot, but felt weird in a voyeuristic kind of way.

I didn't like the proliferation of swearing in the book. As was pointed out in the TV show Chuck with Captain Awesome, overuse of the word robs it of the meaning and impact. Take out 90% of the f-bombs and then it doesn't feel like it's being used as often as the word “said” in the script. This and the “you owe me a sex act” references take fun out of the story for me.

Would I recommend this book to a friend? I would say it depends on what one wants to read. If one is looking for something irreverent and entertaining, but lacking much substance and enjoys Star Trek or a spoof of it, then sure. If one is looking for a book with some substance, I say move along. Ultimately, I would compare this book to a prize from an arcade game. Fun for awhile, but disposable in the end.