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)

A great marriage Scalzi-Wheaton

This is the second book that I have listened to by John Scalzi performed by Wil Wheaton and I am so captivated by the pace and emotion. Looking for the next one.

Say what? About a sheep, not a robot.

Just OK. The author creates a very rich, in depth world, described in full detailed. It was a bit too complicated and rich for me. Possibly too many characters to keep track of and a lot of dialog with “this guy said” and “that guy said”, which I don’t usually notice as much in other books. The story really is pretty deep and played out well. If you want to invest yourself in a deep story and an imaginative world, then you’ll probably like this. Narrator was easy to understand but didn’t differentiate voices. If he had, that might have made the story a little easier to follow. I listened at 1.25x speed as I normally do. I liked Agent to the Stars more. Other than that one, I haven’t tried other Scalzi books and right now I’m not yet sold on this author. I own Fuzzy Nation and will read it eventually, but this one didn’t make me eager to crack the seal on it yet.

Amusing, smart and fun sci-fi romp

Didn't know what to expect coming into this audio book, but Will and John have given me quite the fun ride this past week.

What a great book

What an excellent story you can't go wrong by it right away.
It would be nice to have a part two to know how the rest of the story would end.

Going to have to listen to his other books now!

Love this book! Filled with action, adventure, and comedy! Characters were very developed and the story had so many turns I was left guessing which way the story was going to go!

Clever story-telling

The premise of this and others of John Scalzi's stories (that I have heard) is diplomacy among species in a future universe. He uses this with great creativity; I have never known of a diplomatic emergency being sparked by farting (but I could be wrong). Starting from this hilarious event, the novel moves it way through an action-packed story that alludes to a variety of real and literary figures, and culminates with a rather complex power play that shows Scalzi's amazing talent for story-telling. Wil Wheaton's narration is excellent, creating the right dead-pan delivery of the material.

One of my favorite books ever!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Android's Dream?

I don't want to ruin the surprise, but the wit, sarcastic tone, surprising twists and overall extraordinary tale were just incredible, throughout.

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

EVERYTHING! He's a great narrator, and he has a great pick of books to narrate. I highly recommend searching and listening to his other narrations.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

This is an incredible story, fantastic execution and wonderful wit. Scalzi's best, in my opinion, and a must-read. You won't be able to stop listening/reading and there are places where I simply laughed out loud. The world he creates is believable even though at times it may sound unrealistic, he sucks you right into it, I was almost wishing this world was actually real.

Awesome

Not since Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy have I enjoyed a SciFi book so much. While it was a little hard to follow on occasion (simply because it involved intergalactic politics and I don't follow any politics well) this is a very well written and highly entertaining book. Will Wheaton is a great narrator.

Loved the story but....

This was a fun book to listen to but John Scalzi unfortunately fell victim to what I call the Agatha Christie dilemma; he said; she said, you said, I said, they said. You get the idea. No-one 'states', no one 'comments' If I had a sip of wine every time Mr. Scalzi uses the word 'said' I would die of alcohol poisoning. That having been 'said', Mr. Scalzi has a wonderful imagination and great sense of humour.

I've heard Will Wheaton narrate a numbr of audio books and he can make the TV Guide sound fun so If you can get past a slight lack of imaginitive dialogue you'll love this book.

great book!

I absolutely loved this book! It's what would happen if Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, and Philip k Dick were combined and allowed to write one book.
the narration was awesome as well