Book Report #91 - Redshirts by John Scalzi

Book 15 of 52
Page count - 314

I thought I'd try something new in picking my next book.  Up until now I've just followed my nose; this time I thought I'd pick an author who's birthday is celebrated in the current month, May 10th by the way.  Preferably I'd also have a book already on my shelf; Scalzi's name popped out and I have two of his books ready to read.  I've also read two of his books and enjoyed them very much.  The reading of those books, Old Man's War and Zoe's Tale, predate this blog so there are no reviews posted here.

Anybody who is even slightly interested in science fiction will get the Star Trek reference from the title and know that it will follow the "adventures" of those lowly ranked folks who tend to come to sticky ends on away missions.

The book is a fun romp through the TV SF tropes and was just a joy to read.  The book centers around a group of five "Redshirts" who begin to suspect that something very strange is happening on board the Intrepid, a ship much like the Enterprise.   Somewhere along the line our "heroes" find out their reality is being influenced by something unexpected

I loved this book, it was a wonderful way to roll around in TV SF lore and just laugh about it and enjoy it for what it is.  But then the book takes a turn, a wonderful turn, a turn that makes the book important, serious and wonderful.  There are three codas at the end, comprising the last 80 pages, that give the book weight; three codas written in three different voices, first, second and third person; that bring into focus the importance of the events of reality and fiction; of fiction on reality and reality on fiction.

If this sounds confusing, it should, and you should read this book.

The author has a blog HERE.

John Scalzi