AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Redshirts
Title: Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas
Author: John Scalzi
Audiobook Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Ensign Andy Dahl has just begun his first posting on the Universal Union flagship Intrepid. During his first day on the job he immediately notices something strange about the crew, who seem to magically disappear from the room whenever a senior officer enters. The longer he stays on, the more he notices that the ship has a rather high mortality rate when it comes to away missions. Can it be a coincidence, or is there a larger reason for why Andy's fellow ensigns keep dying?
Normally my reviews are spoiler free, but I'm going to make a exception for Redshirts as I want to get into some of the twists in the plot. If you haven't read the book, just know that I highly recommend it and give it five stars. If you have read it, please proceed!
Despite the fact that I loved Scalzi's Old Man's War when I read it back in January, I am still somewhat floored at how much I enjoyed Redshirts. The novel is presented as a parody of the tropes that plague Star Trek: The Original Series, of which I have seen a handful of episodes and some of the movies (I'm more of a Next Generation Fan myself). I thought the book handled the parody aspect really well, skewing not only the shows tendency to kill off expendable extras, but the over the top drama, and technobabble that can make the experience seem a little ridiculous at times. If you're a fan of Star Trek, you will find plenty to laugh about. Interestingly the reason why I enjoyed it so much is only partially due to the humor.
About a third of the way into the book, the reader discovers why all of the Ensigns are dying off. They are all, in fact, characters on a science fiction television show called The Chronicles of the Intrepid. Everyone's lives progress as normal until “the narrative” takes over. At this point, characters find themselves in increasingly illogical situations, and begin to act dramatically instead of logically. I think this is the part where Redshirts becomes less about Start Trek, and more about criticizing bad writing in science fiction. There's this great sequence where the central characters travel back in time to ask the head writer to stop the show so the threat of dying it a little less imminent. During one particular scene, the characters berate the head writer for thinking that he can get away with bad writing just because he happens to be writing science fiction. It's always been a pet peeve of mind that people assume just because a story just happens to be in the sci-fi (or are type of genre really), that a drop in quality is somehow expected. Bad writing is bad writing, regardless of what type of writing it is.
Interestingly, the novel ends with three codas which explore the experiences of three secondary characters that are impacted by the events in Redshirts. At first I was a little confused, but the further I read the more I seemed to get it. Scalzi writes about how the writer has a responsibilities to treat a character with respect regardless of how much time he or she spends on the page. Even if they are present for only a scene, they still have their own back story, wants and needs. The three codas are a great way of expressing this concept. Granted, I don't think a lesser writer could have gotten away with it, as the second and third codas have radically different tones than the novel itself.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: What could be more brilliant than having Wil Wheaton, who was an actor on The Next Generation, narrate Redshits? Although Wheaton doesn't posses the arsenal of different voices you find from many professional voice actors, he does a really good job with the funny parts. I'm pretty sure I still would have laughed had I read the regular book, but listening to the audiobook made me laugh harder.
Final Thoughts: Redshirts is fast moving, uproariously funny parody of the original Star Trek series. On top of that, it has a lot to stay about the importance of being a good writer and respecting your characters, regardless of the time they spend on the screen. As a result, I would recommend this book not only to fans of sci-fi comedy, but to aspiring writers as well. Five Stars
Author: John Scalzi
Audiobook Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Ensign Andy Dahl has just begun his first posting on the Universal Union flagship Intrepid. During his first day on the job he immediately notices something strange about the crew, who seem to magically disappear from the room whenever a senior officer enters. The longer he stays on, the more he notices that the ship has a rather high mortality rate when it comes to away missions. Can it be a coincidence, or is there a larger reason for why Andy's fellow ensigns keep dying?
Normally my reviews are spoiler free, but I'm going to make a exception for Redshirts as I want to get into some of the twists in the plot. If you haven't read the book, just know that I highly recommend it and give it five stars. If you have read it, please proceed!
Despite the fact that I loved Scalzi's Old Man's War when I read it back in January, I am still somewhat floored at how much I enjoyed Redshirts. The novel is presented as a parody of the tropes that plague Star Trek: The Original Series, of which I have seen a handful of episodes and some of the movies (I'm more of a Next Generation Fan myself). I thought the book handled the parody aspect really well, skewing not only the shows tendency to kill off expendable extras, but the over the top drama, and technobabble that can make the experience seem a little ridiculous at times. If you're a fan of Star Trek, you will find plenty to laugh about. Interestingly the reason why I enjoyed it so much is only partially due to the humor.
About a third of the way into the book, the reader discovers why all of the Ensigns are dying off. They are all, in fact, characters on a science fiction television show called The Chronicles of the Intrepid. Everyone's lives progress as normal until “the narrative” takes over. At this point, characters find themselves in increasingly illogical situations, and begin to act dramatically instead of logically. I think this is the part where Redshirts becomes less about Start Trek, and more about criticizing bad writing in science fiction. There's this great sequence where the central characters travel back in time to ask the head writer to stop the show so the threat of dying it a little less imminent. During one particular scene, the characters berate the head writer for thinking that he can get away with bad writing just because he happens to be writing science fiction. It's always been a pet peeve of mind that people assume just because a story just happens to be in the sci-fi (or are type of genre really), that a drop in quality is somehow expected. Bad writing is bad writing, regardless of what type of writing it is.
Interestingly, the novel ends with three codas which explore the experiences of three secondary characters that are impacted by the events in Redshirts. At first I was a little confused, but the further I read the more I seemed to get it. Scalzi writes about how the writer has a responsibilities to treat a character with respect regardless of how much time he or she spends on the page. Even if they are present for only a scene, they still have their own back story, wants and needs. The three codas are a great way of expressing this concept. Granted, I don't think a lesser writer could have gotten away with it, as the second and third codas have radically different tones than the novel itself.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: What could be more brilliant than having Wil Wheaton, who was an actor on The Next Generation, narrate Redshits? Although Wheaton doesn't posses the arsenal of different voices you find from many professional voice actors, he does a really good job with the funny parts. I'm pretty sure I still would have laughed had I read the regular book, but listening to the audiobook made me laugh harder.
Final Thoughts: Redshirts is fast moving, uproariously funny parody of the original Star Trek series. On top of that, it has a lot to stay about the importance of being a good writer and respecting your characters, regardless of the time they spend on the screen. As a result, I would recommend this book not only to fans of sci-fi comedy, but to aspiring writers as well. Five Stars