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.

Quite an enjoyable read

It's not without its flaws but overall it was certainly worth a credit.

Laugh out loud funny at several points and it prompted me to put several of his other books on my TBR list.

If you know what a Redshirt is, then you'll probably enjoy this book.
If you're a fan of Wil Wheaton, then you'll probably enjoy this book.

If you know that you are likely to be distracted to the point of RageQuit by the overuse of a word, then I wouldn't recommend this. The only nitpicky negative critique I have about this book is that is a dialogue heavy book and the word "said" is used to the point of annoyance.

Regardless of that, it is a fun book and I enjoyed it.

Dr. McCoy Disproven

As to the genre… I, J. Hardspear de la Azotea don’t “get” the whole science fiction slash satire or fantasy slash satire thing. Or usually I don’t. I don’t “get” Douglas Adams. I don’t “get” Terry Pratchet. Howevurrr… Redshirts by John Scalzi is different. It is meta. Maybe meta is different from satire. As I started to listen to the Audible version of Redshirts, I thought, “Oh no. Here we go again”. Before long though, I became totally enmeshed in a geek get-off sort of way. It is impossible not to if you have any affinity for Star Trek.

As to the plot… “In this galaxy there’s a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all that, and perhaps more...only one of each of us”. -Dr. McCoy, Star Trek, “Balance of Terror”.

WELL… NOT ACCORDING TO JOHN SCALZI! According to John Scalzi, in some weird alternative time-line there CAN be more than one of us. Just ask Ensign Andy Dahl and his other low ranking, red-shirted compatriots.

The Three Codas… Towards the end, the cadence of the book changes from a fast paced and funny warp 9 to a slower, thoughtful, thrusters only velocity. As I liked things nicely wrapped up, I would not have minded six or even more codas.

The narrative and the narration… Wil Wheaton reads with élan and gusto and excitement. The last coda he reads with emotion and compassion. Many of the Audible reviews comment on the distraction of the overuse of character perspective indication. It’s complicated… How do I explain. In the narration there are conversations between characters where the sentences are short and all of them end in “he said, she said” or “Dahl said, Duval said. This is especially rampant at the start of the book, but grows less. I have not seen the complaint in reviews of people who read the book as opposed to listened to it. Maybe the book is written to read like the script of a TV episode, I don’t know. I just thought it added to the book’s overall quirkiness.

As to quality, yes it is worth to use your monthly free credit. As to length, it was a bit short. I usually try to get more minutes for my money. (Remember, my monthly Audible subscription costs 130 South African Rands)

Fun, entertaining, and worth it.

The first 80% of the book is quite entertaining and funny. My only complaint, the constant, use of the word "said". No one remarks, commented, replies, asks, etc. There must be 10 or 15 ways to say "he said", it would have been nice to use any of them in addition to the he said/she said combination. After awhile your brain gets numb to it. The last part (20%) of the book is what I would call a 3 part epilogue, and without giving anything away, is some of the most human writing I've read in a while, and by itself, almost worth the price of admission. I've new found respect for John Scalzi. Wil Wheaton does a very good job reading. I'd be surprised if anyone buys this audiobook (or the real book) and feels that they didn't get their money's worth.

From Amusing to Amazing

John Scalzi blends well written sci fi romps with thoughtful twists. Redshirts starts about as campy as expected ??? Star Trek from the Redshirt point of view. It is funny and silly, and if that was all it was, I would have been very happy; instead, when the silliness is almost ridiculous, the story morphs into an insightful character analysis with a thought provoking story ideas. There are jokes, meta-jokes, and meta-meta-jokes, which I really enjoyed. This book succeeds at several levels. The narration is spot on, sometimes getting laughs beyond the writing.

"Fascinating" - Spock

was too young to watch the 79 episodes of Star Trek in their original run (1966 - 1969). As after school reruns in the late 1970's - well, 'TOS" (as "The Original Series" is now referred as) was on after reruns of "The Brady Bunch (1969 - 1974) and "The Partridge Family" (1970 - 1974). Star Trek:TOS was perfect for winding down after a grueling day in Junior High School, which equaled the TV screen for alien life forms and mysterious rituals.

Even back then, I remember that the men, women, and telepathic beings that wore 'Redshirts' weren't going to live to the end of the episode, and maybe even to the first commercial break. Unless, of course, James Doohan's "Scotty" was in red - and he was known to wear science blue or command gold from time to time. The 1999 Sci-Fi parody film "Galaxy Quest" illustrated the quintessential Redshirt, "Guy" (Sam Rockwell), killed off on his only appearance on that fictional show, captured the resigned terror perfectly.

John Scalzi's "Redshirts" (2012) explores an alternate universe where the unnamed writer (adroitly narrated by Wil Wheaton) is literally [reviewer's pun intended] a god to the Redshirts. In our 'real world', a Redshirt goes on an 'away mission' and is cannon fodder, gone by the first commercial break. In Scalzi's alternate universe, Redshirts are working folks who know when to disappear to another level of the ship to avoid a deadly away mission, and who are well aware of the misfortune of a promotion to the bridge or a Deck 6 to 12 assignment.

I'll guarantee that as someone who remembers Star Trek:TOS; still hasn't seen many of TNG episodes; and is somewhat aware that there are other Star Trek series, but never watched them; and saw a couple of the movies when they got to Netflix, there must have bern a ton of inside references I missed. But that didn't stop me frown enjoying "Redshirts" anyway.

I did have to listen to the last couple of chapters more than once. Let your mind wander for a few seconds when your Prius is cut off on the 5 North at the end of a day when the Santa Ana winds are relentless, and you'll miss a major plot twist.

And did I mention Wil Wheaton? Oh, only once. For so many reasons, he was absolutely perfect narrating this book.

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

Interesting story, too many he said she saids

What did you like best about Redshirts? What did you like least?

The story was odd enough to be interesting. Listening to the reading, sometimes I got lost with who was said what to whom. One reader, sounding the same for most characters, with a lot of similar sounding names, ie: Dahl and Duval made listening confusing. Also a lot of conversations with the character saying something followed by "he said" or "she said" or "Dahl said" or "Duval said". Once I picked up on that, it made it groan worthy listening to an exchange of conversation between characters.

Would you be willing to try another book from John Scalzi? Why or why not?

Perhaps. I would wait for some reviews.

What three words best describe Wil Wheaton’s voice?

little character variation

Could you see Redshirts being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Probably not.

Any additional comments?

Still kept my attention, overlooking the he said she said moments.

Good, but not quite as good as I'd expected.

The main part of the novel was pretty much what it's billed as... a fun romp poking fun at Star Trek. I kind of wished I'd stopped there, though. The three codas on the end, while great "tying up loose ends" stories, had an entirely different serious/sentimental tone. It was a poor match for the main book, and totally ruined the humor/satire tone I'd been enjoying. My advice would be to read just the main part of the book, savor the experience, then go back later for the codas.

Had me at the title

I loved this book based on concept alone. I loved the first half, I liked the second. I enjoyed this book so much I was giddy while listening.

So meta it hurts

If you could sum up Redshirts in three words, what would they be?

Trek, meta, Wheaton

What did you like best about this story?

Star Trek references

Any additional comments?

Towards the end of the story it starts to get more and more convoluted. Seemed like an effort to be as "meta" as possible. Enjoyable book for the most part, just tried too hard at points.

Real Scalzi book

I'm fan of Scalzi since I read Old Man's War. I could hardly wait to lay my hand on Redshirts. If you've read Scalzi before, you have some idea what to expect. Interesting plot, good characters and sarcasm, which mix into an enjoyable story. And I got it this time, too.

I love the story. Besides being a story on its own, it is a tribute to Star Trek. I was too young to watch the original Star Trek series, but I was deeply involved in The Next Generation and Voyager as audience. So the message comes through just fine.

Spoiler here, so you may want to skip this paragraph if you haven't listened to the book. The "protagonist realize that he is within a story, being a puppet of the writer" can be a cliché, but Scalzi does it well, and I like the part when the story characters come into the real world. The way Hester (I'm spelling it after hearing, I hope it spells like this) saves Matthew's life is really original.

It is a nice touch that Wil Wheaton narrates the book, who himself was part of the show, being more than an extra :) I have one problem with the narration, though. He does it on the same voice, no matter which character speaks. The intonation is very good, but I miss that the tone of the voice doesn't change (as, for example Nick Podehl performs in The Wise Man's Fear).

And I have another problem: every time somebody speaks, there is that " he said". Or "she said". Or "(place the name here) said". Sometimes "asked" instead of "said". Every time the dialogue goes to another character. Every. Time. It drove me crazy at the beginning, then it faded to slightly irritating.

I like the codas, by the way. I enjoy those stories, which have cross-references to other stories, or feature characters from another one. They give a deeper layer to the book, and they have their own message.