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)

Brilliant, clever!

What did you love best about The Android's Dream?

John Scalzi has created another clever masterpiece with Android's Dream. The twists and turns were captivating.

Still one of his best

Third time I have listened to this book. Still one of my favorites. It’s hilarious and so well read.

Fun exciting listen.

Good story. Excipients fight scenes. Will Wheaton is a top notch reader. I will follow him.

Great combo by Scalzi and Wheaton.

Great story and performance by Scalzi and Wheaton as usual.

Though I wish Wheaton could put just a tiny bit more effort in to using different voices for the different characters. it gets really difficult to tell who's staying what when most of the characters sound the same.

Fantastic Combo of Adventure Sci-Fi

Scalzi was not familiar to me, so reliance on other reviews was crucial. I am so glad I took the chance--am queuing up his other books now. The best way to describe this book is to say it's the melding of Phillip K. Dick and Carl Hiaasen, with a dash of Barry Eisler thrown in. The sci-fi stuff was top shelf, the kind that explains itself casually or trusts the reader to imagine it happening, without the mind-numbing exposition that crops up in some of today's stuff. Great action descriptions, not too long to be boring but with enough detail to satisfy the fight lovers. And the humor...ah, I love it understated and implied, and this had lots of both. The proverbial twinkle of the eye...but how can John write with his tongue so firmly stuck in his cheek? The title was a clue, referencing as it did what became Bladerunner. And let's not forget the narrator--Wil Wheaton is fantastic and has a wide range. He could read the phone book and be captivating. I can't recommend this selection enough--at last, a wonderful new author to explore!

Great story with interesting twist

The story is a great combination of murder, mystery, espionage and action. The characters are portrayed in a way where you known them instantly.
Will Wheaton gives a superior performance in narrating the story. His spot on interpretation of characters keeps your interest and makes you wish the story never ends. Master storytelling.
It's is a keeper.

I almost returned it!

So glad I stuck it out. Absolutely worth the time. Before I knew it I was laughing and couldn't stop listening. Great story and narration!

my new Fav author

this is great
this is the third story I have listened to from this author and he is great. love the stories the characters. I can not believe he is not more popular.

Definitely far out.

This story was interesting and entertaining. It has some very funny parts.
There is certainly some language, sexual discussions, and violence. Thankfully, the sexual discussions were not explicit but they were deviant. It is NOT a book for children.
I really liked the characters. They ranged a great deal in temperament and morals, but they all felt real. Some of them I was quite fond of.
The plot has twists that I certainly didn’t see coming, and I enjoyed watching it resolve itself.
I really appreciated the title and it’s nod to older Sci Fi, but in case you’re wondering it really doesn’t have anything else connecting it to that other story.
I would recommend this book to adults, particularly those with a slightly warped sense of humor.
The reading is quite good.

good story, poorly executed - dialogue tags!!!!!!!

this is a decent story, reminding me a bit of what could be a Hitchhikers Guide side-story. however, Wil Wheaton does not give one of his better performances, it seems bland and like he is uninterested.

John Scalzi has a great mind and tells a funny, well crafted and entertaining story. but the dialogue tags kill me!!!! how has his editor not coached him on this? half of the book is a dialogue tag: "he said" "she said" "Henry said" "Robin said" "Bill said". until he can get this fixed I just cant listen to another book of his.