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.

A Surprising Exploration of What it Means to Live

I had heard many excellent things about Scalzi's Redshirts for awhile, and after reading some of his other works (like Old Man's War and The Collapsing Empire) I thought I knew what to expect. And for the most part the bitingly sarcastic characters and crass language was as expected. The sexual content was absent, which was appropriate in regards to the specific story and the arcs of the characters involved. The main story itself was fun, hilarious, and even thrilling in moments. It was much better than enjoyable, and I found myself stealing moments to get even further into it.

As I started it, I wondered why the three codas at the end? I was curious to see why Scalzi felt a need to add them onto the main story. So I let it play out. For me, good sci-fi takes a "What if...?" and plays it out. Usually, for the genre, the core of the "What if...?" is science based: What if there were Androids and they had three primary laws governing/limiting their decision-making? What if man were to try to colonize a harsh world and things went from bad to worse? What if the space between the stars was where wars were fought - what would the weapons and the destruction look like? How many would die? For this book, Scalzi used a trope of classic Star Trek, the redshirt, to explore (and mock) what 'real' people would be like if they were stuck in the storylines written for a cheesey/crappy sci-fi program. But I also think, possibly inadvertently, Scalzi was also able to explore some elements of what it means to live and be human.

The main story itself is great and fun and clever, but its really in the Codas at the end that Scalzi's capacity as a writer shines through. Each Coda focuses on a specific character affected by the primary narrative. The brilliance, though, is that in establishing a common narrative background, Scalzi is able to go to these minor/secondary characters in the main narrative and spring off the "What if...?" of that and explore how that affected the lives of these other characters. It's pretty much a "What now?" that allows Scalzi to explore what it means to live and be. It addresses the questions of what if what you do has actual consequences? What if you could have your life given back to you after an incident should have taken it? How would knowing that a 'you' elsewhere had lived a happier and fuller life than you affect the way you live going forward?

In the end, I can clearly see why Scalzi won the awards he did for this book. But it is in its totality as a book rather than in the (rather short) novel of Redshirts itself. The true depth of the book is revealed in the Codas, and for that I do recommend it to people who enjoy science fiction. Granted, it is full of crass language and the worldview is decided godless, so if either of those things offend you, go elsewhere (its okay, Scalzi has said as much himself).

As for the narration, I swear that Scalzi the voice Scalzi hears in his head as he writes is Wil Wheaton's. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Wheaton's acerbic delivery fits perfectly with Scalzi's sarcastic narrative tone. It just works and I can't really imagine any other voice reading this story. On the other hand, you can tell as a reader that Scalzi was still developing as a writer. He has said that hearing his stories read has challenged him in how he writes his dialogue. This story is quite literally filled with "he said" and "she said", almost annoyingly. Not Wheaton's fault - he actually downplays them and makes them virtually throwaway mumbles by the end of the book. They should have totally done an "edited for Audible" version which just chucked out them. And Scalzi's newer works are much more effortless conversationally. Its an annoying feature of the book and narration, but that's Scalzi's (and his editor's) fault, not Wheaton's. Still worth listening to, just wanted to warn you its in there and it WILL annoy you - but the story is worth the annoyance.

"A great story" Burt said

I loved the story and Wil does a great reading. My one major problem with the book is the "(Character Name) said" that occurs after nearly every statement made by a character. Isure it would have bothered me as much when reading the book,

Entertaining

Would you consider the audio edition of Redshirts to be better than the print version?

Most likely. Reader performed very well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Redshirts?

Well, I laughed aloud in the buss. Nough said.

What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Pauses, that built exitement, were very well timed. Extremely lively performance, that suited to the mood of the book, also made it "feel" more.

Any additional comments?

It was sometimes disturbing to hear all those "he said", "she said", lines read over and over again. I'm not sure they would disturb as much when reading book yourself, but it deffinately felt annoingly parrot like when read aloud.

Pretty good listen

I honestly can say I enjoyed it, and feel my time was well used, but I also don't think I would ever listen again, or rush out and buy a physical copy because I want to also read it with my own eyes or refer to my favorite passages (as is often the case with the audible books I love). It's an interesting concept, told ably, with a somewhat unsatisfying ending. I think the three coda at the end exist to give a more satisfying end to what was a very mediocre close, as each of them are more satisfying, and the Third Person story is the best writing of the entire book.
Wil Wheaton does his usual good job of narrating, and I am left with the feeling I always have at the end of a book he has read; it fits his niche and I enjoyed it, even if I occasionally become distracted because he sometimes just flatly rushes through portions of the story, and also occasionally sounds like Henry Rollins, but I ultimately kind of wish it had been read by a proper voice actor or narrator instead. In this book especially, which is plagued by an abundance of slightly clumsy dialogue hampered by an excess of 'character said' sentence endings, a narrator more accustomed to changing inflection or accent or time for each character would have allowed then to soften that tail on what would otherwise have been pretty good conversational dialogue. As it was, Wil blew threw them in among the dialogue, all in the same time and pace, which actually made it harder to follow and much more difficult to feel invested in the discussion. There were parts where I am certain that the '-said' tails exceed the length of the dialogue itself.
However, beyond that it was a good use of 8 hours of my time and made the work day and packing go by much faster and more pleasantly. I would recommend it to anyone in need of some decent, light sci-fi, provided they have already listened to the Bobiverse books.

damn you John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton

This is one of the most well written, and performed books I have ever heard. I've listed to it several times now and I end up crying for most of the second half. So I say again damn you John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton.

Loved it!

Great 4th wall breaking parody of all the crap sci-fi shows out there.
The he said she said dialogue feels lazy but hey, what do I know about writing?
Would recommend to any other nerds out there who just want some good old fashioned entertainment with no strings attached.

A Sci-Fi Schizophrenic Cornucopia

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Maybe, if the friend loves Star Trek, and has a sense of humor.

Has Redshirts turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but the author is unseasoned, and uses the word "SAID" about 5 million times. For instance, there are only two people in a scene, a man and a woman talking quietly. The author inserted the word "SAID" so many times, it drove me to consider turning it into a drinking game, but the threat of alcohol poisoning turned me away from the idea.

What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ah, he provides venom and joy and emotions that convey a good performance.

Any additional comments?

A great book, but it's really several books and universes and weirdness in one novel. I think the author was trying just a bit too much. I think he's talented, but seems new to the writing game, and honestly, this was just a touch too much. The original story was clever and funny, and the characters make this novel spring to life. But the way the narrative changes to become essentially another completely different novel is unnerving.

Half of a really fun book

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was very funny and entertaining. In my opinion the second part of the story was not as entertaining and could have been skipped.

Emotional sucker punch - in a good way!

Let's just say, it's much deeper and more emotional than a standard satire. If you're a fan of science fiction television tropes, you'll love this but be warned, it has a lot of heart.

Not suitable for listening!

What would have made Redshirts better?

This should have been modified to eliminate at least some of the "he said, she said" words. I noticed this in other reviews, but bought the book anyway - I could not listen to more than half an hour - it really is that annoying!

What didn’t you like about Wil Wheaton’s performance?

No differences in delivery for any characters, which could have made the removal of those "he said"(s)

Any additional comments?

The dialog I managed to listen to seemed lively and entertaining, it's really too bad the delivery is so tedious.