Redshirts

A Novel with Three Codas

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

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 facts 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 expended on 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.

©2012 John Scalzi (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Love Scalzi and Wheaton

Fabulous writing with perfect narration. Quick plot, and great characters with just enough snark. If you even remotely enjoy Sci Fi you will enjoy this.

wonderfully meta

It's not just that there was a hilarious story spoofing Star Trek. It's that the tale broke the fourth wall in so many creative ways, again and again.

Scalzi has phenomenal stories. This isn't one.

The premise has been done, which does get addressed in the book if you can make it that far. Even so, it's a cool premise and could be worth re-exploring for the umpteenth time if done right. It isn't.

Personally I almost gave up about five minutes in when, during a conversation between a couple of characters, the words "Dan Said" are for some reason repeated so many times that I thought that the audible recording must be skipping (it wasn't). This is just one example of how the somewhat juvenile style of Scalzis writing distracts from the story and pace of the book, and is only so disappointing because it's not on par of what I expected being a fan of Scalzis other books.

Wil Wheaton is a fantastic narrator, the best in the scifi genre at least, and probably too five overall. Sadly even his ability to bring characters to life wasn't able to make up for what seems like a story that didn't need to be told. There are a lot of characters. Correction, there feels like there are a lot of characters. I don't actually think there are, but since you never really end up caring about any of them, it becomes almost hard to keep track of who's who.

Overall I would have to say this one is a hard pass and recommend checking out of one the other Scalzi books, preferably one with Wheaton narrating.

This is the Monty Python of space adventures!

If you are or ever were a fan of Star Trek The Original Series, you'll love this humorous and inventive story which borrows from and builds upon the genre it so effectively mocks. With fun and interesting characters and interesting plot twists, you never quite know what will happen next. You only know that, whatever happens, you'll enjoy every minute of it.

And along the way, the story has some surprisingly touching moments. This is a book within a book within a book, much like the coded message coming from deep space in Carl Sagan's book, "Contact," contained a message within a message within a message. Don't think you're going to understand everything until you've finished the book. That's when you'll realize this story is not what you thought it was going to be.

This is the Monty Python of space adventures!

Surprisingly awesome!

The way this was written is great. A new twist on reality. I really enjoyed it

As good as Galaxy Quest in having fun w/ startrek

Where do I start? I have to admit I had a few preconceptions about this book when I got it. With a title like Redshirts, who wouldn't. I expected a semi-funny parody of what it would feel like to be a redshirt. What I got was so much more. This story goes so deep down the meta rabbit hole that it comes out the other side to sheer brilliance. The only other stories I've seen that manage to both skewer a genre and still pay loving homage to it, are Rhustler's Rhapsody (a send up of the old singing cowboy movies) and Galaxy Quest. Wil Wheaton's performance is darn near perfect and I loved the coda's at the end. If you like Star Trek, you have to read this. If you don't like Star Trek, you should still read this, the humor and the story are well worth it.

Very meta

This story starts slow, but picks up once the characters decide to take action. The third act of the story is very entertaining. The codas at the end are highly entertaining.

weirdly relateable!

even though these characters are in a crazy situation. I felt myself relating to them deeply. Especially by the end. well done.

Great read

This is probably the best love letter to science fiction TV shows you'll ever find. It is definitely worth a read!

so fun!

If you are a fan of Star Trek like me then you will enjoy this story. Great characters and Will does an excellent job making thrm come to life.