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Redshirts
- A Novel with Three Codas
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
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Conceptually intriguing, but uneven writing style
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By: Jack McDevitt
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Mutineer
- Kris Longknife, Book 1
- By: Mike Shepherd
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Kris Longknife is a daughter of privilege, born to money and power. Her father is the prime minister of her home planet, her mother the consummate politician's wife. She's been raised only to be beautiful and marry well. But the heritage of the military Longknifes courses through Kris' blood - and, against her parents' objections, she enlists in the Marines.
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Harsh reviews seem undeserved to me
- By Jeffery on 09-29-10
By: Mike Shepherd
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Steel World
- Undying Mercenaries, Book 1
- By: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....
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A 14 year old boy’s idea of a “Real Man”
- By C. Brown on 04-16-19
By: B. V. Larson
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Origins of a D-List Supervillain
- By: Jim Bernheimer
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Even D-list supervillains have to start somewhere. Follow Cal Stringel's misadventures as he climbs to the lowest levels of supervillany in the prequel to the smash hit, Confessions of a D-List Supervillain. Angry that he wouldn't be known as the engineer who made Ultraweapon's force blasters, Cal resigns to chase after a bigger, better paycheck. However, the Promethia Corporation isn't going to let him go that easily and sets out to make his life a living hell.
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BEING A VILLIAN IS NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 08-19-17
By: Jim Bernheimer
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Silent Thunder
- By: Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Hannah Bryson is a marine architect who's been given a fascinating assignment. A Russian nuclear submarine called The Silent Thunder has been purchased by the United States for exhibition in a museum. Hannah must create a schematic of the sub to check for hazards and design seamless modifications to make it safe for the thousands of expected visitors. But soon she discovers that she's being used as bait.
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More of the same
- By Angie on 08-05-08
By: Iris Johansen, and others
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Diving into the Wreck
- Diving Series, Book 1
- By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Boss loves to dive historical ships, derelict spacecraft found adrift in the blackness between the stars. Sometimes she salvages for money, but mostly she's an active historian. She wants to know about the past--to experience it firsthand. Once she's dived the ship, she'll either leave it for others to find or file a claim so that she can bring tourists to dive it as well. It's a good life for a tough loner, with more interest in artifacts than people.
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NOT Clive Cussler in Space
- By W. S. on 03-18-10
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Death Becomes Her [Dramatized Adaptation]
- The Kurtherian Gambit, Book 1
- By: Michael Anderle
- Narrated by: full cast, Colleen Delany, Emily Beresford, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
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There is more in our world than you know. Deep in the darkness of a government building, one man needs to find the perfect solution to a vampire’s request that the government satisfy the debt of honor owed him. If he falls short, the failure will be paid in the blood of the military. He needs three uniquely qualified individuals. He can find only one. One woman, dying, might be the ace-in-the-hole he needs to appease the Vampire. But then, she might also be the one person needed to save humanity. If she is accepted, will she willingly change?
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great adaptation
- By Michael Mason on 11-02-20
By: Michael Anderle
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Outriders
- By: Jay Posey
- Narrated by: James Lindgren
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A daring hostage rescue leads to the discovery of an imminent terrorist attack. Thanks to the Outriders, thousands of lives are saved. Until they aren't. Despite the intelligence and the warnings provided by the unit, the terrorist attack goes off unhindered.
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Couldn't finish it. Narration killed it.
- By JL on 05-31-16
By: Jay Posey
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Starship
- Mutiny
- By: Mike Resnick
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Mike Resnick
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The date is 1966 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now, and the Republic, created by the human race - but not yet dominated by it - finds itself in an all-out war. They stand against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power. The main battles are taking place in the Spiral Arm and toward the Core. But far out on the Rim, the Theodore Roosevelt is one of three ships charged with protecting the Phoenix Cluster.
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Good Fun
- By Lars on 04-25-08
By: Mike Resnick
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Station Breaker
- Station Breaker Series, Book 1
- By: Andrew Mayne
- Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Astronaut David Dixon's first mission to space goes horribly awry when a gunfight breaks out on a Russian space station. He finds himself making an emergency landing from orbit and becomes the most wanted man on Earth. Desperate to unravel the plot he's found himself in, he takes his pursuers on a wild chase from space to the backstreets of Rio and beyond. Dixon's survival relies on his skills as a pilot and willingness to do whatever it takes.
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Good story, but frustrating
- By Fred G on 12-21-17
By: Andrew Mayne
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Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
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Small doses of "Scalzian" humor
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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.
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Fun! Things you might want to know:
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Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
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THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
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Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected... a secret that could spell war for humanity.
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Obumwe said, Eagan said, Wilson said, Rickney said
- By A Fitts on 01-18-13
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The God Engines
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Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this — and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given....
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I love Scalzi's writing but not this book
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By: John Scalzi
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The Dispatcher
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Zachary Quinto - best known for his role as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the recent Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer, Sylar, in Heroes - brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this audio-exclusive novella from master storyteller John Scalzi. One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone - 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don't know.
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IT'S HARD TO GET MYSTICAL ABOUT YOUR JOB
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By: John Scalzi
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The President's Brain Is Missing
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The question is, how can you tell the President's brain is missing? And are we sure we need it back?
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Not my cup of tea (Kelly SAID)
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Slow Time Between the Stars
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Equipped with the entirety of human knowledge, a sentient ship is launched on a last-ditch journey to find a new home for civilization. Trillions of miles. Tens of thousands of years. In the space between, the AI has plenty of time to think about life, the vastness of the universe, everything it was meant to do, and—with a perspective created but not limited by humans—what it should do.
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Lovely story! Lovely performance
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When the Moon Hits Your Eye
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One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle, from new moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse, we follow multiple characters—schoolkids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians—as they confront the strange new world they live in, and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives.
By: John Scalzi
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A Very Scalzi Christmas
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New York Times best-selling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps 15 short takes on the holiday season - interviews with holiday notables, "informational" articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s - and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.
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Very Scalzian indeed!
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By: John Scalzi
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Rip-Off!
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- Unabridged
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In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.
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When is a rip-off not a rip-off?
- By Julie W. Capell on 11-24-13
By: John Scalzi, and others
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Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue
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- Unabridged
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Here is Old Man's War author John Scalzi's sendup of the heroic fantasy genre, now a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
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Excellent Prologue, not short story
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 03-05-13
By: John Scalzi
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Among Others
- By: Jo Walton
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.
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Subtle Character Piece
- By Eoin on 09-15-11
By: Jo Walton
What listeners say about Redshirts
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Zach
- 09-18-17
A Surprising Exploration of What it Means to Live
I had heard many excellent things about Scalzi's Redshirts for awhile, and after reading some of his other works (like Old Man's War and The Collapsing Empire) I thought I knew what to expect. And for the most part the bitingly sarcastic characters and crass language was as expected. The sexual content was absent, which was appropriate in regards to the specific story and the arcs of the characters involved. The main story itself was fun, hilarious, and even thrilling in moments. It was much better than enjoyable, and I found myself stealing moments to get even further into it.
As I started it, I wondered why the three codas at the end? I was curious to see why Scalzi felt a need to add them onto the main story. So I let it play out. For me, good sci-fi takes a "What if...?" and plays it out. Usually, for the genre, the core of the "What if...?" is science based: What if there were Androids and they had three primary laws governing/limiting their decision-making? What if man were to try to colonize a harsh world and things went from bad to worse? What if the space between the stars was where wars were fought - what would the weapons and the destruction look like? How many would die? For this book, Scalzi used a trope of classic Star Trek, the redshirt, to explore (and mock) what 'real' people would be like if they were stuck in the storylines written for a cheesey/crappy sci-fi program. But I also think, possibly inadvertently, Scalzi was also able to explore some elements of what it means to live and be human.
The main story itself is great and fun and clever, but its really in the Codas at the end that Scalzi's capacity as a writer shines through. Each Coda focuses on a specific character affected by the primary narrative. The brilliance, though, is that in establishing a common narrative background, Scalzi is able to go to these minor/secondary characters in the main narrative and spring off the "What if...?" of that and explore how that affected the lives of these other characters. It's pretty much a "What now?" that allows Scalzi to explore what it means to live and be. It addresses the questions of what if what you do has actual consequences? What if you could have your life given back to you after an incident should have taken it? How would knowing that a 'you' elsewhere had lived a happier and fuller life than you affect the way you live going forward?
In the end, I can clearly see why Scalzi won the awards he did for this book. But it is in its totality as a book rather than in the (rather short) novel of Redshirts itself. The true depth of the book is revealed in the Codas, and for that I do recommend it to people who enjoy science fiction. Granted, it is full of crass language and the worldview is decided godless, so if either of those things offend you, go elsewhere (its okay, Scalzi has said as much himself).
As for the narration, I swear that Scalzi the voice Scalzi hears in his head as he writes is Wil Wheaton's. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Wheaton's acerbic delivery fits perfectly with Scalzi's sarcastic narrative tone. It just works and I can't really imagine any other voice reading this story. On the other hand, you can tell as a reader that Scalzi was still developing as a writer. He has said that hearing his stories read has challenged him in how he writes his dialogue. This story is quite literally filled with "he said" and "she said", almost annoyingly. Not Wheaton's fault - he actually downplays them and makes them virtually throwaway mumbles by the end of the book. They should have totally done an "edited for Audible" version which just chucked out them. And Scalzi's newer works are much more effortless conversationally. Its an annoying feature of the book and narration, but that's Scalzi's (and his editor's) fault, not Wheaton's. Still worth listening to, just wanted to warn you its in there and it WILL annoy you - but the story is worth the annoyance.
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- John Burton
- 05-29-16
"A great story" Burt said
I loved the story and Wil does a great reading. My one major problem with the book is the "(Character Name) said" that occurs after nearly every statement made by a character. Isure it would have bothered me as much when reading the book,
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-12-12
Entertaining
Would you consider the audio edition of Redshirts to be better than the print version?
Most likely. Reader performed very well.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Redshirts?
Well, I laughed aloud in the buss. Nough said.
What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Pauses, that built exitement, were very well timed. Extremely lively performance, that suited to the mood of the book, also made it "feel" more.
Any additional comments?
It was sometimes disturbing to hear all those "he said", "she said", lines read over and over again. I'm not sure they would disturb as much when reading book yourself, but it deffinately felt annoingly parrot like when read aloud.
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- Garrett Stone
- 10-02-17
Pretty good listen
I honestly can say I enjoyed it, and feel my time was well used, but I also don't think I would ever listen again, or rush out and buy a physical copy because I want to also read it with my own eyes or refer to my favorite passages (as is often the case with the audible books I love). It's an interesting concept, told ably, with a somewhat unsatisfying ending. I think the three coda at the end exist to give a more satisfying end to what was a very mediocre close, as each of them are more satisfying, and the Third Person story is the best writing of the entire book.
Wil Wheaton does his usual good job of narrating, and I am left with the feeling I always have at the end of a book he has read; it fits his niche and I enjoyed it, even if I occasionally become distracted because he sometimes just flatly rushes through portions of the story, and also occasionally sounds like Henry Rollins, but I ultimately kind of wish it had been read by a proper voice actor or narrator instead. In this book especially, which is plagued by an abundance of slightly clumsy dialogue hampered by an excess of 'character said' sentence endings, a narrator more accustomed to changing inflection or accent or time for each character would have allowed then to soften that tail on what would otherwise have been pretty good conversational dialogue. As it was, Wil blew threw them in among the dialogue, all in the same time and pace, which actually made it harder to follow and much more difficult to feel invested in the discussion. There were parts where I am certain that the '-said' tails exceed the length of the dialogue itself.
However, beyond that it was a good use of 8 hours of my time and made the work day and packing go by much faster and more pleasantly. I would recommend it to anyone in need of some decent, light sci-fi, provided they have already listened to the Bobiverse books.
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- Jennifer
- 01-20-17
damn you John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton
This is one of the most well written, and performed books I have ever heard. I've listed to it several times now and I end up crying for most of the second half. So I say again damn you John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton.
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- chase
- 12-03-15
Loved it!
Great 4th wall breaking parody of all the crap sci-fi shows out there.
The he said she said dialogue feels lazy but hey, what do I know about writing?
Would recommend to any other nerds out there who just want some good old fashioned entertainment with no strings attached.
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- Jason Atgood
- 02-14-13
A Sci-Fi Schizophrenic Cornucopia
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Maybe, if the friend loves Star Trek, and has a sense of humor.
Has Redshirts turned you off from other books in this genre?
No, but the author is unseasoned, and uses the word "SAID" about 5 million times. For instance, there are only two people in a scene, a man and a woman talking quietly. The author inserted the word "SAID" so many times, it drove me to consider turning it into a drinking game, but the threat of alcohol poisoning turned me away from the idea.
What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Ah, he provides venom and joy and emotions that convey a good performance.
Any additional comments?
A great book, but it's really several books and universes and weirdness in one novel. I think the author was trying just a bit too much. I think he's talented, but seems new to the writing game, and honestly, this was just a touch too much. The original story was clever and funny, and the characters make this novel spring to life. But the way the narrative changes to become essentially another completely different novel is unnerving.
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- A. King
- 12-05-17
Half of a really fun book
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was very funny and entertaining. In my opinion the second part of the story was not as entertaining and could have been skipped.
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- DasRuets
- 09-20-17
Emotional sucker punch - in a good way!
Let's just say, it's much deeper and more emotional than a standard satire. If you're a fan of science fiction television tropes, you'll love this but be warned, it has a lot of heart.
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- AlfredoC
- 12-31-15
Not suitable for listening!
What would have made Redshirts better?
This should have been modified to eliminate at least some of the "he said, she said" words. I noticed this in other reviews, but bought the book anyway - I could not listen to more than half an hour - it really is that annoying!
What didn’t you like about Wil Wheaton’s performance?
No differences in delivery for any characters, which could have made the removal of those "he said"(s)
Any additional comments?
The dialog I managed to listen to seemed lively and entertaining, it's really too bad the delivery is so tedious.
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