Monday, September 3, 2012

Redshirts by John Scalzi

I put Redshirts on my library queue after first hearing about it. It sounded like something I would like. And I did enjoy it.
Redshirts is perfect for people who like Star Trek although it reminded me more of Galaxy Quest. Kind of campy but with plenty of pokes at sci fi movies and books. The story starts with five new crew members joining the Intrepid, the Universal Union's flagship. The Intrepid is the ship all new Star Fleet members want to join. The Intrepid develops more new technology and does the most interesting work of any of the ships in the fleet. Dahl and the other new recruits quickly realize that something is very wrong with the Intrepid. Crew members die on every away mission, cures to viruses are discovered just before the patient runs out of time, and five of the senior officers who go on most of the missions never die.
I really did love Redshirts. It doesn't take itself seriously and enjoys skewering sci fi cliches. I enjoyed how the characters developed and how the story twisted to expose what was really going on. I loved Coda 1 at the end. All the Codas were good but one was my absolute favorite. It was all one very enjoyable ride. I would recommend it to sci fi fans. Those without a love for sci fi probably wouldn't find it as enjoyable. Others who shared their thoughts on Redshirts: The Little Red Reviewer, The Mad Hatter's Bookshelf and Book Reviews, Dragon Page, Alexia's Books & Such, and Walker of Worlds.

2 comments:

  1. That book sounds like sci-fi fun, I think I'll recommend it to my brother!

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  2. I'm not a Star Trek fan nor a fan of sci-fi but I sometimes think I should try to read outside my comfort zone!

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