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.

Its Good

Take Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, and the movie Galaxy Quest. throw in references from Star Wars, Dune and The Six Million Dollar Man, and you've got Redshirts a pretty funny, and touching story.

Loved it. When;s the movie coming out?

What was one of the most memorable moments of Redshirts?

Andrew Dahl's time in the bar with his bartending "friend". I thought it was a very poignant moment.

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

Wil Wheaton is one of the best out there, in my opinion. I like his style so much that I have sought out his performances directly regardless of the author and subject matter.

Any additional comments?

I have listened to other Scalzi books after getting Fuzzy Nation. I liked his style, mostly, except for his "he said, she said" moments. This book was a great story idea and an excellent nod to the science fiction series of old.

I said what he said and she said

This is my third foray into John Scalzi's books. I read Lock In and Agent to the Stars previously. I highly recommend Agent to the Stars by the way.

First I'll address the elephant in the room. Yes, Scalzi overdoes it with the he saids and she saids. It'll drive you nuts if you let it. Some day I'd like to hear what he has to say about it. If you click on any of his books and read the reviews you'll find people continuously complaining about it. Does he not read these reviews? Does their content not get back to him? Does his editor not care? You're either going to have to ignore the he saids she saids, let them drive you nuts, or not read his books. They seem like they're here to stay, as he's been practicing his art for a long time and doesn't seem to be changing his methods.

Second I'll address the book itself, that being the story without the three codas. It's a cute story with good plot and good characters. I was a little turned off by the female character. She didn't seem to fit in with the theme of all the others. For some reason Scalzi chose her to be the foul-mouthed, sex-crazed one, but not in a good way. He's done other female characters much better. The time travelling stuff gets a little convoluted, as do all time travel books. It's best you just let the finer points wash past you than think too deeply about the science and the consequences. Overall I liked the story.

Third, the codas. Yikes. I don't know what John was going for here. I think he could have woven them into the story itself rather than the stylized and dramatic way they appear. I found myself continually checking the amount of time left on my phone and hoping they'd be over. They are a complete disconnect from the light-hearted theme of the story. It's like you buy a fun science fiction book and you get an unwanted philosophy text for free.

All in all I liked the book. I must have: I finished the whole thing in two days. If I were his editor I would have gone through and eliminated 60% of the appearances of the word "said" and would have suggested he find a way to weave the codas into the story rather than have them separate. It could have been done and would have made for a better, deeper story.

Oh and one more thing. Wil Wheaton rules. There's no better choice for a sci-fi narrator. I noticed he does a lot of Scalzi's books, and if I'm a representative of the general audible-listening public, Scalzi owes A LOT of book sales to Wil Wheaton. He's the main reason I got into Scalzi, and from perusing the reviews it seems the same for a lot of other listeners.

great book, mainly great performance

What did you love best about Redshirts?

The concept and the smart alecky dialogue

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Loved Wheaton's performance however the number of times 'he said, she said' was vocalized really took away from the snappy dialogue.

Fun story with perfect narrator

The show is a fun parody of Star Trek from the view of the redshirts, the disposable ensigns who frequently died on away missions. This story tells of how they come to understand what's happening and try to regain control. There are gruesome, fast deaths (by land worms, ice sharks, and flesh melting diseases to name a few methods), bad physics and timely swearing, such as one would when encountering killer robots.

Will Wheaton was the perfect person to narrate this book! It made it more enjoyable knowing he was reading it. He also is extremely good at it. Listen to "What If..." Also narrated by Will Wheaton.

The final 2 hours of the book are a type of epilogue, in case you come to that point and start wondering, like we did, what more is there. There is the telling of how the crew's mission impacted 3 people. The first is as funny as the rest of the book. The second a little more serious with a moral. The third was a little sad but wraps up quite satisfactorily.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Gets better as it goes along

I like the Scalizi/Wheaton combo so I took a chance on this, even though some listeners found Scalizi's frequent use of "he said" a major impediment. I think maybe it's more noticeable in an audio format. At first I thought it was just a matter of fast-patter dialogue, sometimes between three characters, dictating this style (this book is fairly light on descriptive passages and moves at a good clip). Gradually, though, I started thinking this was a style choice--a clue early on that all is not what it appears. Anyway, at 1.25 speed the he saids and she saids, and all their variations, are soon swept away in the action.

Though the overall tone of the book is glib--perfect for Wheaton--by the end (especially the last chapter, and the third coda) we've arrived at some strange metaphysics and good character development. I've come to rely on Scalizi for creative sci-fi romps; there's always a twist or two (or three) and something to think about. This one did not disappoint.

So-so Narration, Great story.

Sorry Wil Wheaton, this was not the right fit. I did like the story line, it was difficult to get through with the narration. Personally, I think this one would be fantastic with more voice actors. Too bad, I really like John Scalzi's writing style, just short of the mark with narration.

Worth the listen.

Much better than I thought it was going to be. Started out not so great, but immediately improved and continued to improve.

Loved it

I wasn't sure about this book since it's not the kind of book I read, I'm more into horror, but it turned out to be a great book. it was funny and well written. I also loved that Wil Wheaton was the one to narrate. I remembered watching him in Star Trek. He did an amazing job. Of course he did, this book was made for him to narrate it.

If you like John you will like this book

Not at all what I thought it would be, but turned into something I did not know I wanted or needed. I was more than pleased with this! I don’t want to say too much because spoilers and what not but worth a listen!