Lock In (Narrated by Amber Benson)

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Amber Benson

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Two editions. Two narrators. One thrilling story. You can also choose to download Wil Wheaton's narration.

"I love working with Audible, in no small part because they’re committed to doing what’s right, both for my books, and the people who listen to those books. There's a really excellent reason for Lock In to have two entirely different versions, so when it came time to make the audiobook, Audible did an ingenious thing: they asked both Wil Wheaton and Amber Benson to record entire versions of the book. As the author, I’m impressed with Audible’s commitment to my narrative - and I’m geeking out that both Wil and Amber are reading my book. This is fantastic." (John Scalzi)

A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome", rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined.

BONUS AUDIO: Audible's audio edition of Lock In contains the bonus novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome, written by John Scalzi and narrated by a full cast.

©2014 John Scalzi (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hugo-winner Scalzi successfully shifts away from space opera with this smart, thoughtful near-future thriller resonant with the themes of freedom, ethics, and corporate greed….This powerful novel will intrigue and entertain both fans and newcomers." ( Publishers Weekly)

"The novel--which contains plenty of action, great character development, vivid and believable worldbuilding and a thought-provoking examination of disability culture and politics--is definitely worth the ride." ( Kirkus)

"Another brilliant novel from a writer who has quickly become one of the genre’s most successful and intriguing practitioners." ( Booklist)

What a great imagination!

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

Yes.

What other book might you compare Lock In to and why?

This book isn't like anything I've read before.

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

I couldn't put it down. I looked like I had Hayden's while I listened to the book, I was so engrossed in the book I didn't move for long periods of time.

Any additional comments?

This is the best Scalzi so far and I loved Redshirts and Agent to the Stars. The idea of Hayden syndrome is so believable in this day of global viruses. I was fascinated with the description of how the Hayden's experienced the world. The plot was good but for me it was just a vehicle to carry the story of Hayden syndrome and how it was addressed.

Great storyline with one exception!

The story is great. The characters development is interesting, albeit a little hard to follow at times.

There was one very annoying part of this book. It was the word "said" at the end of each characters statement. It was SAID so many times I lost track of the story at times.

Fun premise

It's a fun premise and an entertaining whodoneit BUT. One, there are TWO versions of this; the Wil Wheaton recording is the SAME book as this one. Audible did NOT make that clear when they were running the sale.
Two: Amber's reading is LITTERED with "she said" "He said" "I said" after nearly EVERY line of dialog to the point that it goes beyond distracting and well into the realm of the irritating. Also, the character voices she comes up with all make everyone sound stoned. She slows everyone's speech patterns down and it's just...weird. So this was probably the worst performance I've heard so far.
BUT the story was entertaining enough, and anyone with a kid with disabilities will enjoy the places their imagination takes them with this. Good enough to try one more by this author but NOT the reader. Bleh.

Very timely virus story

it took a few chapters before I was hooked. the characters seemed unreal and banal. but then I got into the story and started to enjoy the plot. I hope our world never come to this point.

Thought provoking

Although this was fictional it all turns out to be surprising predictions of how things could turn out with future SARS/Corona type viral contagions. Imagine a world of artificial intelligence being used (Hey ALEXA, go do my job)

When I understood what was happening .... WOW!

It took me a minute to understand exactly what was happening but once I did (about 1/4 way into the book) ..... I was hooked. John Scaalzi books are engaging and fantastically narrated. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Scalzi Scores

What did you love best about Lock In (Narrated by Amber Benson)?

I was doing some significant (for me) commuting the last few months and so I made some good use of my Audible account and picked up some books to listen to. Lock In is only my second book by John Scalzi, but it won't be my last.Lock In is about social issues and the breaking down of barriers for those with accessibility issues in a sci-fi setting. A virus, a strain of the bird-flu, strikes the earth and when the wife of the devoted President of the United States is struck with the syndrome that will be named for her (Haden's Syndrome), the President devotes his energy and resources for finding help for sufferers of the syndrome.Lock-In is when a person becomes trapped in their own bodies. Their minds are as able and agile as ever, but there is absolutely no motor control over their bodies. What is ultimately developed is a robot body and the means for mental transfer. Someone with Haden's Syndrome can have a physical body that is cared for in a medical 'tomb' while the person inhabits a durable body, allowing them to walk and talk and do pretty much whatever they would in their flesh body. These 'shells' are referred to as 'threeps' due to their similarities with C-3PO, a robot from the film Star Wars. This process of mental transference can also be done with humans (an 'integrator'), so that a living, breathing person can host the mental and psychological 'being' of a 'Haden' so that the person with Haden's can experience things like taste or (most often) sex.But the Haden's (the sufferer inhabiting a robot body) come to experience discrimination and they begin to bond, having a common experience ... the stereotyping and discrimination of their being based on their illness and subsequent robot-like appearance. So it's big new when the FBI hires Chris Shane, a rookie and a possibly the second-most famous Haden (after the First Lady) in recent history. Shane is partnered with a veteran, Leslie Vann, and the two are immediately on a case of what appears to be a hate crime against Haden's. A Threep in a carbon-fiber shell is difficult to kill, but the physical human form is still susceptible to injury and Shane has to uncover a series of mysteries and protect her outside life.Scalzi's writing is quick and easy and also entertaining. He blends genres here, with the mystery story and the medical sci-fi, and he does it extremely well. I recently also listened to Mira Grant's Newsflesh series and there are some interesting similarities, mostly dealing with the advanced medicine and diseases. Grant's virus creates zombies, Scalzi's, androids.What I find most interesting and wonderful about this is that Scalzi writes a best-seller style sci-fi book that is entertaining, but he also manages to make some very strong commentary about social issues and how we as a people deal with handicaps and discrimination.I mentioned that this was an Audible book. Lock In is available by two different readers, Amber Benson or Wil Wheaton. It happens that when I went to look for a book to purchase, Benson's version was on sale, so that's the one I bought. While I've listened to other books read by Wheaton, and enjoyed them, I'm really glad that I bought the Benson narration. It was sharp, exciting and Benson really brought the character of Chris Shane to life for me.I realize that the name Chris Shane is pretty much gender-neutral, and in my mind, because of the narration of Benson's, the character is female. It changes very little in the story (a couple of lesbian-type references that would be heterosexual sex references otherwise). But as I look at other reviews, I see people referring to 'his' and 'he' when mentioning Shane. To me, Shane is feminine. I don't think this is a mistake, but that Scalzi planned it that way. I think he's sneaky like that.This is a book worth reading, and if you enjoy listening to books, I highly recommend the Amber Benson reading of Lock In. My Audible edition included a novella with a great deal of background information on the virus and the timeline of what was done to develop the Threeps.Looking for a good book? Lock In, by John Scalzi is an exciting medical sci-fi mystery story that manages to have a strong social impact as well. It is a MUST for science fiction readers.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Chris Shane ... though it's hard to pick just one. They are all well-drawn characters. Interestingly, as narrated by Amber Benson, I was sure Chris was female. I've since read other reviews and they refer to Chris as 'he.' This is surely no accident! But as to why I liked Chris...? Shane has a background that makes her/him uniquely qualified for the job, and the information about this past comes out in bits and pieces and is a fun part of the book.

Which character – as performed by Amber Benson – was your favorite?

Chris Shane.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The entire sensibility of how we deal with handicaps was very moving.

Any additional comments?

I haven't read a whole lot of Scalzi, but that will change. This was just brilliant.

I call it "Sucked In"...to the story that is

If you could sum up Lock In (Narrated by Amber Benson) in three words, what would they be?

totally chilling concept

What other book might you compare Lock In (Narrated by Amber Benson) to and why?

not sure what other book I'd compare it to but the main premise of this story is the world found a way to keep sick people alive. I might compare it to Westworld, in a way.

Which scene was your favorite?

I think when the main character meets the new roomates

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

The whole idea kept me engaged and wondering, "what if" and "what's going to happen next here?"

Any additional comments?

I did not even realize the reason there are 2 different narrators, a male and a female, is because it's not defined if the main character IS male or female. The main character takes on the gender the reader chooses to assign it. I LOVE THAT!

Not bad, I said.

Quick and to the point:
- Scalzi books have a "said" problem. It is noticeable in almost every one of his books and is glaring in an audio book.
Acknowledge it and move forward, I said. This is covered in other reviews.
- The story was quick, the premise was interesting, the characters were detailed, but the plot was fairly straight forward. Don't expect tons of misdirection and hidden meanings. The primary suspect early in the book is the guy who did the thing.
- Be aware that the last 2 hours of the book are a fictional "history of the disease." It was well done, but sleep inducing.
- The narrator was excellent. Highly recommended.

Liked the story, hated the narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

The range of voices was comical rather than believable.

Any additional comments?

This story is more of a study in sociology. I wish Sci-fi had a sub-genre that focused more on social consequences rather than technology. You could throw Red Mars into that genre too.