Reviews

Redshirts by John Scalzi

negative40's review against another edition

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4.0

What I really liked about this book was its structure. First we have the interesting hook. Instead of going into straight Star Trek parody, we get a weird meta look at TV sci-fi. Finally, it's the three codas, which gives the story its surprisingly earnest heart.

On the downside, Scalzi does seem to like all of his protagonists to be somewhat sarcastic everymen, so don't expect anybody to be terribly memorable. I think that it works here for the most part. I will note that I think that the best part of the book is the three codas, and the characters there are a lot more intriguing.

I hate to say too much spoilery stuff, and most of the good stuff is the spoilery stuff. In the end, I really liked this book. Its earnestness and sendup of a section of pop culture reminded me of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, which was another book I enjoyed. I recommend this book if you like Star Trek, talking about the nature of sci-fi, or writing sci-fi.

dragonflymorning's review against another edition

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4.0

A solid sci-fi read with some fun twists. I didn’t find it to be as funny as some reviewers found it, but it was good. I found the end touching and rewarding.

sarahetc's review against another edition

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A nice, fun little story. Very enjoyable.

gilroy0's review against another edition

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5.0

Fantastic, funny, and surprisingly moving and deep

On one level, this is just a funny tale exploring the lives - and excruciating deaths - of the throwaway extras on bad tv shows. But Scalzi uses that to explore questions of identity, meaning, and purpose in life. It's both very readable and very thought provoking.

a_chickletz's review against another edition

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4.0

My friend, the same friend who told me to read Stranger in a Strange Land (that I gave up on -- ugh) told me that I should read this. I asked him if it was like Galaxy Quest meets Rozencranz and Gildenstern are Dead? He said 'sort of'.

My basis was not THAT far off, but it's one of those books that is a great addition to the sci-fi world. What if the expendable 'red shirts' discover that they are, in fact, expendable and decide to put a stop to things. How do they do this? What if in the million of alternate universes they live lives of people who don't die, who live to see another day?

I'm not going to give away the twists and turns, but I do recommend that you read this book. It has some real punch-ups towards Sci-Fi writing on tv shows.

shazz21's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

peashooterpatty's review against another edition

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adventurous

3.25

chrylo's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

4.0

rkdesko's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

rajs's review against another edition

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4.0

Pretty fun book from Scalzi, goes meta and then some. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to read a parody of Star Trek, and also anyone that enjoyed Old Man's War