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.

The story is ok. The codas were painful.

Wheaton did a great job performing, no doubt there. The story just didn't have enough to go off of, and kind of ended with a wheeze. The codas were god awful, wow, so bad.

can't believe I keep listening

I can't believe I keep listening it just keep This just keep getting better and better.

Great story and yet very annoying

I loved the story, but as others have noted the "person A said", "they said", "person B said", "he said", "she said", etc. Got so annoying I almost had to take a break from listening.

This would have been the kind of book, I listen to multiple times were it not for the non-stop use of "----- said". It is really a shame that something like this gets in the way of a good story.

This is a book I will recommend with the warning that the dialog may get on your nerves.

Very Satisfying

Funny, thought provoking, and sad... all at the same time. I loved the ending, for each story. This is a nice one off that doesn't leave you wanting for more, but in a good way. It wraps everything up neatly at the end and leaves you satisfied.

Wil Weaton fits, but is still out of place

This book is good, not great, just good. Scalzi's writing style is a bit out of place in audiobook form, as none of his dialog flows. Scalzi makes a point to add "she said", "he said", etc. after every piece of dialog and therefore translates to audiobook in a very jerky and difficult to follow style. This is why Wil Weaton feels a bit out of place. He's trying to audibly read a book that's not meant to be read aloud.

The story is good, funny, and witty. And whereas the main story is well done, I wish it was more fleshed out. Things move quickly. Honestly, I felt the best portion of the book was the Second Coda. The Second Coda is extremely well written and is perfectly suited for narration. It's a shame the entire book wasn't in the same style.

Little slow to start, but good.

Good listen, took a little bit to get into the real plot, but really interesting premise.

Fun drama with great story

I loved the overall story. It was like listening to a tv show and an epic sci fi adventure. It was greatest wing to wil because his narrative abilities are heard throughout the story.
The story takes place in outer space amongst a group of intergalactic travelers. The story centers around the crew of the intrepid and in the world, things are going terribly wrong. No one knows exactly what is going on with the crew or the situations that just come up.
So it becomes the crews objective to solve something they can't grasp until they start tom play along.

he said... she said

Dialogue is painful at times with all the he said, he said, he said....

Seemed interesting, then just wanted it to be over

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Possibly the narrator. I love Wheaton, but he misfires on this one by not differentiating the characters' voices.

What was most disappointing about John Scalzi’s story?

The codas. The books itself was short and the resolution was abrupt. The 'codas' felt like fillers and writing exercises in narrative. The mechanism is a bit derived, and it seems the author deflects potential criticism by calling himself out.

Did Wil Wheaton do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Not remotely.

Do you think Redshirts needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. I couldn't suffer through the last coda as it was.

Any additional comments?

Just felt lazy. I don't know that we'd still be calling them 'phones' four centuries from now. Why make up something like 'Gawker', but still mention Facebook? And apparently in the future, everyone shares the same sarcastic sense of humor. The characters' motivations weren't always believable - no one needed much 'convincing'. Finally, the dialog delivery styles were SO repetitive. I liked that there was lots of dialog and not much description, but it needed variety.

Wow! What a great story!

Beware the fourth wall! Excellent story! Will Wheaton has great delivery in this twisted tale!
I would love to see a sequel!