John Scalzi’s REDSHIRTS
November 28, 2012 at 8:43 am 3 comments
I haven’t had this much fun reading a book for ages. I literally chuckled through the entire book. I’m not a sci-fi reader but am a big sci-fi watcher which works perfectly for this book.
Whether we watched it religiously or not at all we are all pretty familiar with Star Trek. And we’re also familiar with the coloured shirts they wore in the 60s TV series. Captain Kirk, Spock and co wore the blue and yellow ones. And the poor unfortunates who usually got killed off wore the red ones. Well this is the redshirts’ story…
The novel opens like your classic sci-fi story. We are introduced to five characters who are about to the join the crew of the starship Intrepid. However these new crew members quickly realize that all is not well with Intrepid and its crew. Firstly there seem to be an above average number of highly dangerous “Away Missions” where a crew member is nearly always killed except for 5 officers who always manage to escape being killed or narrowly avoid death. The rest of the crew do anything they can to avoid these “Away Missions” and try to hide whenever one of the 5 officers enter a room. The new crew members, led by Ensign Andrew Dahl, soon learn that there is more going on than bad luck and the colour of their shirts.
“Avoid the narrative”
This works on so many levels it may possibly give you a headache as you try to get your head around it. It is a great sci-fi adventure with lots of action and tech. It is also great satire that will have you laughing out loud wherever you’re are reading it. And it is totally brilliant metafiction. It breaks down the sci-fi genre, the writing process and the omnificence of the narrative. John Scalzi does all this while entertaining the pants off you.
The novel finishes with three codas. I had be warned off reading the codas and had heard some dissatisfaction about the end but I think they are great. They take the metafiction up another notch and if your brain wasn’t already spinning enough they give it another few, fast rotations.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and wish it had come out in Australia at the same time as the US rather than 6 months later. But in saying that it is a perfect book for Summer reading and having a good laugh out loud. And it may lead me to read a bit more sci-fi.
“It is to Sci-Fi, what Chinaman is to cricket.” — P.M. Newton
ISBN: 9780575134294
Format: Paperback
Price: $29.99
Imprint: ORION
Publication date: 27/11/2012
Price:$ 16.99
Publisher: Orion
ISBN: 9780575134317
Pages: 320
Format: EPUB
Entry filed under: Book Reviews. Tags: books, meta fiction, sci-fi, Star Trek.
1.
John Scalzi’s OLD MAN’S WAR « Bite The Book – Book Reviews and Industry Views | December 20, 2012 at 10:20 am
[...] As I wrote in my Redshirts review I am a big fan of watching sci-fi but haven’t ever really read the genre. I’m not sure why that is. Some of the reasons that come to mind are that generally the big space operas from the likes of Iain M. Banks and Peter Hamilton are quite daunting; in size, scope and concept. There’s also preconceptions of what the genre is. And also fitting a new genre into an already jam-packed reading life isn’t necessarily something I’m looking to do. But probably the main reason, and this would apply to any new genre, is knowing where to start. [...]
2.
John Scalzi’s ZOE’S TALE | Bite The Book - Book Reviews and Industry Views | February 26, 2013 at 9:41 pm
[...] naturally tell a great story but he also thoroughly understands the nuts and bolts of storytelling. Redshirts and Zoe’s Tale both thoroughly demonstrate this genius and if you dismiss his work because of its genre then you are missing out on a truly remarkable [...]
3.
John Scalzi’s THE HUMAN DIVISION | Bite The Book - Book Reviews and Industry Views | May 8, 2013 at 8:57 am
[...] Firstly, WOW! John Scalzi has already blown my mind with Redshirts and the previous Old Man’s War series but his new book is something else. For any literary snob that still looks down on genre writers I pity you because the way Scalzi has constructed this novel is something to behold. [...]