Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

AudioFile Best Voices - Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Audio Theater, 2014

A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome", rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined.

BONUS AUDIO: Audible's audio edition of Lock In contains the bonus novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome, written by John Scalzi and narrated by a full cast.

"I love working with Audible, in no small part because they’re committed to doing what’s right, both for my books, and the people who listen to those books. There's a really excellent reason for Lock In to have two entirely different versions, so when it came time to make the audiobook, Audible did an ingenious thing: they asked both Wil Wheaton and Amber Benson to record entire versions of the book. As the author, I’m impressed with Audible’s commitment to my narrative - and I’m geeking out that both Wil and Amber are reading my book. This is fantastic." (John Scalzi)

2 editions. 2 narrators. 1 thrilling story. You can enjoy Amber Benson's narration here.

©2014 John Scalzi (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hugo-winner Scalzi successfully shifts away from space opera with this smart, thoughtful near-future thriller resonant with the themes of freedom, ethics, and corporate greed….This powerful novel will intrigue and entertain both fans and newcomers." ( Publishers Weekly)

"The novel--which contains plenty of action, great character development, vivid and believable worldbuilding and a thought-provoking examination of disability culture and politics--is definitely worth the ride." ( Kirkus)

"Another brilliant novel from a writer who has quickly become one of the genre’s most successful and intriguing practitioners." ( Booklist)

"With narrator Wil Wheaton attacking Scalzi's text with both vigor and nuance, this story tells about a silent minority being given voice, then having that voice threatened.... Thanks to Wheaton's skillful efforts, this production is an enjoyable melding of narrator and material." ( AudioFile)

Interesting story but very short.

Overall I liked the premise and story, but it’s far too short. The last two plus hours is novella on backstory of the novel. Why not put more into the main story instead of a long drawn out backstory that, I’m sorry to say, I had no interest in listening to?
The audio is a bit off at times. Kind of like the narrator cut in to fix portions but no one bothered to make sure it sounded the same. It’s not really worth the credit I’m afraid.

Awesome novel! Ok

This book is interesting and very well written. It’s the first time I have read one of the author’s books, and I’m not disappointed. And of course, Wil Wheaton did an excellent job of reading as usual. I will definitely be really the next one in the series soon.

self-sabataged

an interesting story that is self-sabotaged with copaganda and a complete avoidance neuodiversity and transgender realities

Hood. Not great. But good

As previously stated in other reviews, awesome idea that kind of got lost in a mediocre detective story. Still enjoyed it though. Really wish Scalzi would stop using Will Wheaton. Don't understand why so many people enjoy his narration. As I've said in other reviews, it's like being read a story by your annoying little brother. Oh well, what are you gonna do.

great story and narration...except 1, ok 2, things

Took a while to figure out what was going on, had to listen to the intro and first chapter twice, but when things finally came together I enjoyed the story. I love Will Wheaton, but was confused why a white person would be narrating a book where the narrator is black. It felt a bit disingenuous.

I like the option of having the narrator male or female, would have also been nice for a non-binary narrator.

Loved the story and narration overall.

Excellent intro to the Lock In Series,

More Please! Great story, great characters and excellent narration. I hope there are more after #2 which I am almost finished with as I type.

Very Clever and Timely during Covid

I found this to be a very clever and innovative story. Written in 2014, in seems timely during our Covid situation. On one hand it’s the oft told story of the young FBI agent and his jaded and gruff partner working together to solve a crime. But this story has a science fiction twist that reads as quite plausible.

Years back, a devastating virus has left some of it’s victims “locked in” their paralyzed, non-verbal bodies while maintaining alert mental status. Technology has developed droids that are paired with active brains of those locked within damaged, unmoving bodies. The droids live active lives controlled by the brains of the those with virus damaged bodies. Politics, greed and discrimination are inevitable in this brave new world.

If this sounds depressing, it is not. I did have a lot of curiosity about how the author imagined the background story leading up to the novel. There is a rather long back story that’s included as a free appendix. This novella was as fascinating as the novel itself, told as interviews of those who developed the droid technology.

Will Wheaton has become one of my favorite Audible narrators. The novella appendix has a slew of different readers for each of the “interview” characters. All do a great job.

Anything Wil Wheaton Reads

Great story, I’m torn but I think I liked the dispatcher more! But I also love Wil Wheaton as a Narrator, so maybe if I hadn’t done as audiobooks. Idk

Soooooo good!

Scalzi is so incredibly creative with his books and this is no exception! Can't wait for the next one!

Fantastic fun interesting

What did you love best about Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)?

Will kills it. A great story about what might be our future.

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

Wheaton makes this story so good.

Any additional comments?

I held off for some time. Scalzi has some good stuff and some so so stuff. This was some really good stuff! I was so happy with the plot and story. The extras at the end made a big difence. A fun story. I would like to see more in the same works as lock in.