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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
My disdain for this book is proportional to how much I liked Lock In. Head On is just an overly complicated police procedural murder investigation that just happens to have an FBI agent who embodies a robot. No commentary on modern life or projection of what the near future may be like. Just an episode of a bad cop show... with robots.
For a dialogue driven book, the dialogue was terrible. The constant sniping at one another was less charming and witty, more annoying and nerve-grating. I enjoyed Lock In, the first of this series but I didn't care for the plot or characters at all in this one. Will likely not continue the series. Also Will Wheaton really phoned in the narration on this one. No distinction in voices between characters and part of me wonders if he was adding a defensive tone to dialogue that wasn't meant to be defensive.
This was okay and I'm sure I'd read another if this turned into a series. Unfortunately I found the audio book a little grating.
Yep. Still like John Scalzi books.
This one used the same tropes, inventions, and ideas as the last one and so probably slightly less enjoyable than the first book, but only slightly.
still fast paced. It got a bit confusing in the middle. There were a lot of characters for a little while.
Wil Wheaton is a great book reader.
This one used the same tropes, inventions, and ideas as the last one and so probably slightly less enjoyable than the first book, but only slightly.
still fast paced. It got a bit confusing in the middle. There were a lot of characters for a little while.
Wil Wheaton is a great book reader.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I gave “Lock in” 4 well deserved stars and “Head On” continues in more or less the same track, so why am I not blown away ?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, Scalzi knows his stuff and I was well entertained throughout the story.
However the cartoon like style with a lot of cliches and a witty quick dialogue is always a fine balance and in this case it tipped over for me, especially Chris’s partner Vann annoyed me immensely.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, Scalzi knows his stuff and I was well entertained throughout the story.
However the cartoon like style with a lot of cliches and a witty quick dialogue is always a fine balance and in this case it tipped over for me, especially Chris’s partner Vann annoyed me immensely.
I love this world. I love these characters. I love the dialogue and the banter and how even though I don’t always understand the details, the author ties it all together at the end. I genuinely laughed out loud so many times. I want to be Vann when I grow up. I will absolutely be reading more by John Scalzi and maybe even stalk his socials in the hopes he’ll write more of the Haden universe and the characters in it.
There's no question about it- John Scalzi is a brilliant author. In this sequel to Lock In, he deftly tackles disability rights and a tense mystery with android bodies a plenty and an entirely new sport to boot.
Chris is a newly minted FBI agent. He's also a Haden, one of thousands of Americans with 'lock-in' syndrome that uses a threep, or android, body to navigate the world. Together with his partner Vann, they set out to investigate the sudden death in the new Haden-centric sport of Hilketa, where android bodies score goals using each others' heads, and no body part is off limits.
Not only is this an incredible mystery, unraveling in ways unexpected but not unrealistic, but I have to commend Scalzi for his subtle political commentary throughout. Though not an unduly prominent part of the novel, the passing of the Abrams-Kettering law, effecting how other Haden patients can gain access to threep bodies and gain other governmental subsidiaries, is nonetheless an important aspect of the plot and a clever criticism of both contemporary ADA law loopholes and the lack of basic healthcare that plagues so many places today. Equally important are the anti-Haden protestors who pop up a few time, individuals who feel the sport is discriminatory because it features only Haden players. As a disabled individual, I felt the utter absurdness of the situation deep within my soul, laughing while shaking my head because it was all too true, and close to home.
The mystery itself is excellently propelled forward, just enough bodies piling up to make the stakes feel real and mounting without feeling overwhelming. My only critique is that the parade of names could, at times, get to be a bit much, and I sometimes forgot who was who. A list of major characters in the front or the back might be helpful, though I also freely confess that I'm not great with names.
There's a fantastic moment, without spoiling anything, where the entire plot hinges on a cat, so the novel certainly isn't without humor despite dark circumstances. It's this ability to blend together so many different elements to form a cohesive whole that truly makes Scalzi a force to be reckoned with. I can't recommend this book enough!
Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Chris is a newly minted FBI agent. He's also a Haden, one of thousands of Americans with 'lock-in' syndrome that uses a threep, or android, body to navigate the world. Together with his partner Vann, they set out to investigate the sudden death in the new Haden-centric sport of Hilketa, where android bodies score goals using each others' heads, and no body part is off limits.
Not only is this an incredible mystery, unraveling in ways unexpected but not unrealistic, but I have to commend Scalzi for his subtle political commentary throughout. Though not an unduly prominent part of the novel, the passing of the Abrams-Kettering law, effecting how other Haden patients can gain access to threep bodies and gain other governmental subsidiaries, is nonetheless an important aspect of the plot and a clever criticism of both contemporary ADA law loopholes and the lack of basic healthcare that plagues so many places today. Equally important are the anti-Haden protestors who pop up a few time, individuals who feel the sport is discriminatory because it features only Haden players. As a disabled individual, I felt the utter absurdness of the situation deep within my soul, laughing while shaking my head because it was all too true, and close to home.
The mystery itself is excellently propelled forward, just enough bodies piling up to make the stakes feel real and mounting without feeling overwhelming. My only critique is that the parade of names could, at times, get to be a bit much, and I sometimes forgot who was who. A list of major characters in the front or the back might be helpful, though I also freely confess that I'm not great with names.
There's a fantastic moment, without spoiling anything, where the entire plot hinges on a cat, so the novel certainly isn't without humor despite dark circumstances. It's this ability to blend together so many different elements to form a cohesive whole that truly makes Scalzi a force to be reckoned with. I can't recommend this book enough!
Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.