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Head On (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Series: Lock In Series, Book 2
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
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Coulda done without the whole Kiva storyline
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The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. They're young, they're fast and strong, and they're totally without normal human qualms.
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Starts slow but comes together in the end.
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Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more.
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The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU’s secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance - an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they’ve invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.
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John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First, he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce - and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So, we fight, to defend Earth and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
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You know that feeling when you’re at work and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable AI you’ll listen to this century.
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Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah - its former owner (protector? friend?) - submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit. But who's going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it's caught?
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Publisher's Summary
"As much as Scalzi has the scientific creativity of a Michael Crichton, he also has the procedural chops of a Stephen J. Cannell to craft a whodunit with buddy-cop charm and suspects aplenty - most of them in someone else's body." (USA Today)
John Scalzi returns with Head On, the stand-alone follow-up to the New York Times best-selling and critically acclaimed Lock In. Chilling near-future SF with the thrills of a gritty cop procedural, Head On brings Scalzi's trademark snappy dialogue and technological speculation to the future world of sports.
Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent's head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh and bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are "threeps", robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden's Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real, and the crowds love it.
Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field.
Is it an accident or murder? FBI agents and Haden-related crime investigators Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are called in to uncover the truth - and in doing so travel to the darker side of the fast-growing sport of Hilketa, where fortunes are made or lost and where players and owners do whatever it takes to win, on and off the field.
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What listeners say about Head On (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- The Office Troll
- 03-25-19
Disappointing sequel
Didn't really feel like there was much to this story. I really enjoyed the first one, so I found this to be disappointing at best.
10 people found this helpful
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- B. Lewis
- 03-09-19
Just ok
It is a semi-interesting story that ends up just falling flat after awhile. It had great potential but it never really took off. There were a slew of characters that weren’t even really necessary. I think this series has potential if the author actually commits to it being a sci-fi murder mystery story and less a political drama (which this one felt like). Will Wheaton is one reason I bought it - he is absolutely one of the best narrators.
9 people found this helpful
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- C. White
- 04-17-18
THIS is why I read SciFi! Scalzi gets into your head (be it on or off)
I don't know if you can call this a non-bias review considering I pre-ordered the book, downloaded it at 12:01am on its release date, and then promptly put in a marathon listening session to complete the book. To say that I'm a John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton fanboy would be an understatement. With that said, I did fully enjoy the book. I felt it fell slightly short of "Locked In" (think the difference between an "A" and an "A-"). As with the pervious book, the supposedly intelligent individuals perpetrating the cover up/conspiracy do some awfully stupid things (not to mention how conveniently agent Shane just happens to be in the "right place at the right time") but that is not the point of "Head On". The point is the journey and the immersive everyday details that Scalzi incorporates into the fascinating alternative Haden reality. As with all of Scalzi's previous efforts, the book is filled with snarky quick witted characters that are maybe a bit too sarcastic for their own good, but add to the enjoyable atmosphere of the book. What I really found interesting was how Scalzi raised several thought provoking issues such fidelity in Haden culture, discrimination of "normals" in the Haden culture, and even why being a Haden doesn't preclude someone from being a crazy cat owner ;) The bottom line is simply this... This IS a John Scalzi book, if you have enjoyed any of his other works, then you will enjoy this further exploration into the Haden universe.
49 people found this helpful
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- Sara
- 08-06-18
favorite new Scalzi series
I'm a big fan of John Scalzi's novels, and the Lock In series is becoming a favorite. Head On is the sequel to Scalzi's 2014 book Lock In, and I'd definitely recommend reading Lock In first, if you haven't already. The series takes place in the near future, following a pandemic flu that has left many people 'locked in' and suffering from Haden's syndrome -- they're mentally alert but unable to move or speak. They're freed from lock-in by android-like personal vehicles ("threeps") that connect to their brains through a neural network and allow them to move around in the world. The protagonist of the series is Chris Shane, a Haden who joins the FBI and solves crimes that involve other Hadens. The world of Hadens makes for a lot of interesting plot twists and some thought-provoking moments about what it means to be human.
One of the things I really enjoy about this series, and a tribute to Scalzi's talent as a writer, is that both Lock In and Head On are written in a gender-neutral way -- Scalzi never states whether Chris Shane is male or female. So it's really fun to listen to both narrations, one by Wil Wheaton (who's my favorite narrator for anything Scalzi related) and another version by Amber Benson. Both narrators are excellent, and if you can afford to get both versions of the book, it's worth listening to both.
16 people found this helpful
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- Jacob C
- 02-06-19
Great narration, average story
I generally very much enjoy Scalzi’s books, but this one just felt like it lacked the depth, twists and turns of his others. Wheaton was a great narrator as always.
5 people found this helpful
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- T. Brown
- 05-02-18
Good Lock-in Universe Story
If you liked Lock In, then you’ll like this. Not too much rehashing of main themes. Still touches on some interesting thought experiments about a world with Lockins. Reads like a good crime novel with some good one-liners. I thought it was just a bit over complicated in the end. But in all fairness, it’s not like anybody would read the book if it was a simple whodunnit and where it took months/years to solve the mystery like it would with the real FBI.
5 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 01-24-19
Meh
Kinda boring. While listening to it while driving it was more background noise than anything that kept me engrossed. It was interesting enough for me not to return it, but I wouldn't have bothered getting it knowing what I know now.
After hearing all the other great narrators out there, I'm finding Wheaton isn't all that great.
4 people found this helpful
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- Gregg
- 01-22-19
Not Scalzi’s best
The plot was a little convoluted and the story got a little preachy. Usually when I listen to Scalzi, I find myself laughing out loud and people around me think I might be nuts. The story didn’t have one lmao moment. Okay book—but I always look forward with anticipation to a Scalzi book—I expect much better. Will Wheaton was great as usual.
4 people found this helpful
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- Kevin Kim
- 01-07-19
it was fine.
Story was fine. Just felt like a single tale in a series, but I expected something more impactful for the characters to happen. overall fine.
Will Wheaton, bless his soul, is not the most engaging of narrators. he's great, like a father reading to their child, but they don't slip into any voices beyond the occasional accents.
3 people found this helpful
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- Petra Volkhausen
- 05-07-18
Wonderful world building
Bought the follow-up to Lock In since I greatly enjoyed the world setting Scalzi came up with (don’t miss the accompanying novella which provides more details on the Hayden syndrome and how it changed the world!) and was eager to learn more about the everyday lives of Haydens. Wasn’t disappointed in regards to that, but I wish the main characters where less 2D. While the protagonist is a pleasant fella, the “I’m the biggest asshole in the room”-attitude of his partner, already too on the nose in the first book, gets old and annoying really fast this time.
Also, while I love listening to Wil Wheaton, I wonder why they chose a white actor to voice the protagonist who is also the narrator - and a black dude.
All in all, I’d love to hear more from a world with Haydens, but then hopefully with better fleshed-out main characters so I can get emotionally invested in the story.
6 people found this helpful
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- Simon
- 04-18-18
Heading in Anotner Direction
Not sure what happened here. Loved the premise, I have plenty of time for Wheaton's narrating and I've enjoyed previous books by the author. But from the moment this started I struggled to listen, felt it was trying to be too clever about the fictional sport and my head just couldn't take it in. I had several goes at it but no luck. In the end having made it to a couple of hours in I realised I wasn't paying attention.
Wrong book on the wrong day? Maybe, but I simply did not get on this one's wavelength for more than a minute or two at a time and even when I did I very soon slipped back under.
Sorry Wil, John, I genuinely like you as a combination but this one's going back.
21 people found this helpful
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- Norma Miles
- 10-03-18
I think I need a cigarette.
The Boston Bays were a popular team, so there was a large audience to see Chapman's head torn off for the third time shortly before he died of an heart attack - not long before one of the Hilketa League's top executives committed suicide. The two deaths were obviously linked.
Hilketa was primarily a Haden game, the players robot-like threeps controlled by the human sufferers of that lock in illness, able to feel and think like everyone else but without any bodily functions and needing constant care and attention to keep them alive. They accessed the natural world through the threep bodies or lived in the virtual world that had been created, the Agora.
Chris Shane was a famous Haden, son of rich parents, and also an FBI agent. So it seemed only appropriate that he and his partner, Leslie Vann, were called in to investigate the deaths. Head On is the complex and deadly investigation into corruption and betrayal in the violent gaming world of Hilketa and corporate greed.
John Scazi paints a fascinating future world where the regular bodied and threeps mix and work together. Seen from Chris'point of view, both he (my version of the audio was related by the male narrator, Will Wheaton. There is also another, female reader, version of the book so Chris' sex is unknown) and his super grouchy colleague are wonderfully characterised, as are many of the other protagonists, especially Tony, another Haden housemate of Chris'. There is even a cat. The whole is peppered with Scalzi style banter and amusing Vann outbursts of anger when things, and people, don't go her way. The narration is superb, Will Wheaton delivering a fast paced performance perfectly matched to the text. Savour every moment. A good murderous mystery in a futuristic S.F.setting which stands alone, although this reader highly recommends the excellent previous tale, Lock In, simply because it was so good.
This is one of those times I really wish Audible allowed for an additional bonus brilliance star.
16 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 07-30-19
great
I didn't think that the second book will be as good as the first one, obviously I was wrong.
3 people found this helpful
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- Smithy2011
- 05-02-18
another great listen John Scalzi legend!
cannot fault any of what I have read and listened to when John writes it comes to life I stopped reading a very long time ago and he brought back a passion for listening and reading again I listen in work and pick up the book at home and continue to read
10 people found this helpful
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- Tanny
- 08-19-19
Got even better the story progressed
During the 1st 10mins I thought this wasn't gonna be the book for me as I'm not a sports fan as thought it was going be to boringly sports heavy. It also took me a while to be able to visualise the main characters as I kept seeing the well known actor/narrator's image in my head. Luckily the character development wove lavers into each characters as they came to live in my head. The story was engaging & really made you think what living in this SiFi world would actually be like. I ft will happily try another book from this author or narrator.
2 people found this helpful
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- Adam Datoo
- 06-21-19
Looking forward to the next instalment of Lock In
Scalzi's view of the foreseeable future feels real. The writing has also improved since LockIn
4 people found this helpful
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- A
- 05-22-18
A good if not great follow up
I loved the first book, it was a fast paced whodunit story built on strong characters and a great premise. This book has the same characters and premise but the plot is convoluted and ultimately disappointing because the outcome is an obvious one. I hope the inevitable third book goes a little further with the premise and is not just a borderline story tacked on to a good premise.
1 person found this helpful
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- Laura Brand
- 05-09-18
Funny, original and fantastic narration
really enjoyable, the main characters are sarcastic and funny and Wil Wheaton is brilliant as ever ❤️
3 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 04-21-18
Großartig!
Man steigt in diesen SF Krimi ein und er ist spannend bis zum Ende! John Scalzi kann das hervorragend!
3 people found this helpful
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- Ian Goodban
- 04-19-18
Depressingly believable future gladiators
Well plotted, well written, with the new world order and the consequences well realised. And it made me laugh. Recommended
5 people found this helpful
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- Tracey Anderson
- 05-03-18
So good. So consistently good.
John Scalzi is just fun. He can write anything. I love how underneath his fast paced and humorous stories there are classic sci-fi and, therefore, sociological and philosophical themes. So smart but, at the same time, so accessible.
2 people found this helpful
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- ozgribbo
- 07-09-18
Crime detection meets Sci Fi
Another great read from John Scalzi. There are very few in the Sci Fi world who can combine crime detection and Science Fiction successfully. The only others I can think of are Isaac Asimov and Peter F Hamilton.This follows on from "Lock in" nicely - but can be read as a stand alone. The author runs with a pretty far -fetched premise but makes it very believable. As per usual, Wil Wheaton does a sterling job with narration and characters. John Scalzi writes consistently goo sci fi and this does not disappoint.
1 person found this helpful
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- Aussielee
- 12-22-19
Love this universe
This is the second book which features Chris Shane, an FBI agent who suffers from Haden’s, a disease which keeps its sufferers completely immobile or ‘locked in’. To allow Hadens to interact with able bodied humans, a network is placed in their brain and they then communicate via a couple of options, the most common using a robot-like body called a Threep.
This book has Shane and his partner, Leslie Vann, investigating a death during a new sport invented for Hadens called Hilketa. Hilketa reads like a mixture between American football and a Roman Gladiator battle. The game involves one team protecting the Goat (a player supposedly chosen at random) whilst the opposition tries to rip off the Goat's head to use as a ball (which will subsequently be punted through goal posts to score). The title, therefore, becomes pretty clever -- keep your head on to win, face the danger head on etc.
Although still a police procedural at heart, there’s probably more action scenes in this installment, especially more featuring Threeps. There’s scenes featuring Tank Threeps which are Hulk-like ramming robots created especially for the purposes of Hilketa. There’s inert Threeps coming to life (I found this particularly creepy actually) and the opposite situation, ie Hadens leaving an empty shell of a Threep after they’ve committed a crime. I won’t, however, go into the whole sex model Threeps which feature (LOL!).
Actually, I will go into the sex models slightly... They do strengthen the whole argument I’ve read on the internet regarding several characters, including Shane, never having their gender and/or sexuality really specified (pretty much every character has a non-gender specific name - Leslie, Chris, Taylor etc). A lot of readers say it’s a bit of a social experiment as to how you ‘see’ the characters but, as I listened to Wil Wheaton’s narration via Audible, I must admit I probably failed some sort of feminist test and think of Chris as male.
Talking of Wheaton, his narration again is superb. He has great comic timing. I literally laughed out loud at Shane and Vann’s witty back and forth banter. (Vann’s cranky old lady act will never get old.) There’s also some very funny scenes involving a cat. (This reminded me a lot of Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing of the Dog, so if you’re a fan of that book, I suggest you grab this one and give it a go.)
I must admit some of the passages explaining the politics and money and business interests surrounding the game got a little boring and, dare I say, a little American. Not enough to annoy me though.
I do recommend that you read Lock In before you attempt Head On. Although the mystery/crime plots are completely separate, I think you’d need to read the first book in the series to fully appreciate and understand Head On.
This is an instant 5 out of 5 favourite and I hope Scalzi comes back to this universe soon. In the meantime, I will give some of his other books a go.
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- Anne
- 08-25-19
Great Fun
Lots of humour, good snark and an intriguing mystery. The narrator does a wonderful job although for me now the main protagonist will always be male!
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- Anonymous User
- 02-25-19
Good story Wil was a bit all over the place
Not a bad performance but the accents were a bit all over the place in sections.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-18-18
Fun
Fun book, keeps you listening and intrigued however the story is not as strong as the first.
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- zenihama
- 07-15-18
A sequel that doesn't disappoint!
I found "Lock In" to be intriguing and thought-provoking on many levels and was looking forward to "Head On".
Agents Shane and Van return to investigate the mysterious sudden death of a player during a "Hilketa" match; a violent gladiatorial sport developed to be played by Haden athletes operating specially designed threeps. The investigation takes many twists and turns as layers of corruption, prejudice and greed are uncovered.
The novel is a sequel but also stands on its own - while I'd recommend reading "Lock In" first, the main themes are all explained and recapped in "Head On".
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- Kira Moloney
- 06-25-18
LOVED IT!
The author listened to how annoying the first book was with "he said" "i said" ect aaaalll the time and this book was so much better! It was such an easy read (listen), it had me laughing out loud on many occasions too! I want more now!!
Not that the other book was terrible or anything but this book was an improvment and I loved it!!