The Android's Dream

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

A human diplomat creates an interstellar incident when he kills an alien diplomat in a most unusual way. To avoid war, Earth's government must find an equally unusual object: A type of sheep ("The Android's Dream"), used in the alien race's coronation ceremony.

To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire, who with the help of Brian Javna, a childhood friend turned artificial intelligence, scours the earth looking for the rare creature. And they find it, in the unknowing form of Robin Baker, pet store owner, whose genes contain traces of the sheep DNA. But there are others with plans for the sheep as well: Mercenaries employed by the military. Adherents of a secret religion based on the writings of a 21st century science-fiction author. And alien races, eager to start a revolution on their home world and a war on Earth.

To keep our planet from being enslaved, Harry will have to pull off the greatest diplomatic coup in history, a grand gambit that will take him from the halls of power to the lava-strewn battlefields of alien worlds. There's only one chance to get it right, to save the life of Robin Baker - and to protect the future of humanity.

©2006 John Scalzi (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"With plenty of alien gore to satisfy fans of military SF and inventive jabs at pretend patriotism and self-serving civil service, Scalzi delivers an effervescent but intelligent romp." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great story, Childish, but adult humor

Once you get past the fart and sex jokes ( and there are enough to not let kids listen to this) , it's a creative and engaging story. Well read too.

Funny

Great storytelling I love Wil Wheaton as a story teller and John Scalzi this is wonderful sci fi

Fun quick listen

Scalzi and Wheaton are a great matchup. Enjoyed the lighthearted take, funny premise and quick character development.

Kinda meh

I normally really like Will Wheaton‘s performances, but something was missing here. This book didn’t capture my attention.

An interesting look at political advocacy, religion, and politics.

To me Scalzi is a pattern writer, but interesting and broad in his subjects. I’m enjoying his work and this book is no different. It’s a light and fun who done it with good plot lines and fun characters. IMHO

Slow Start but Entertaining

The back story was quite involved, almost too much at times.
Overall, an entertaining story that was well read.

Thrilling, suspenseful, thought provoking, fun

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. This book hits the full spectrum. If you have even the slightest interest in scifi, religious studies, philosophy, action films, extraterrestrial relations, law, biotechnology, animal science, computer science, politics, or fun you will find something to love in this book.

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

I got used to Wheaton's reading style in Agent to the Stars, where I came to appreciate his ability to convey the emotional state and personality of a character, even alien characters, with great precision. The voices he gives to the individual extra terrestrials are absolutely spot on.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The way Scalzi is able to take ostensibly parallel plot lines and weave them into the intricate climaxes (yes, I would say this book has a few) present in this book gave me goosebumps on a few occasions. I would find myself with a huge smile realizing at specific moments, "My, how clever!"

Read it twice

If you could sum up The Android's Dream in three words, what would they be?

Fast paced, witty, action-packed.

What other book might you compare The Android's Dream to and why?

Fuzzy Nation. Same combination of fast paced action, sharp laugh-out-loud humor and a similarly hilarious court scene.

Which character ??? as performed by Wil Wheaton ??? was your favorite?

Creek.

Mix it up a bit

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

I like John Scalzi's books. HOWEVER, he REALLY needs to learn to use different ways of having his characters respond to each other. I get distracted (and sick of hearing) the word "said".
John said
Jack said
etc...

Not just right....

I really like John Scalzi, this was not at all bad, but it was not one of my favorite of his books. It did have some quite funny bits, a few interesting ideas, and a several likeable (but not quite well developed) characters, but it was a bit too heavy to be light and fun, and a bit too tongue in cheek to be deeply satisfying. I am never offended by scatological humor but I don???t appreciate it as a pillar of a novel. The narration was right on.