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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed this, it was definitely fun. Not the most substantial read, but it wasn't supposed to knock you over, either. I did enjoy how, as it moved into the second half and things got ~weird~, that I thought "okay, John saw the movie *Stranger than Fiction* and decided it needed spaceships. Then, in the appendices, a character apparently decides to reach out to the person who wrote or produced that film, and somehow warped the fabric of reality one more time. Sheesh. John, I can only handle so much mind-blowing, thank you.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"Redshirts" by John Scalzi is an amusing novel which should appeal to anyone who has watched Star Trek and felt sorry for the way in which it is always an extra, or redshirt, that dies when the crew visits a planet. The book has actually been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now but I decided to finally read it as part of a 2013 Eclectic Reader Challenge which required me to read a humorous novel and this book really fit the bill.
The story itself follows the starship Intrepid and its voyage to explore new worlds and new civilizations. However, rather than focusing on the captain and his senior staff, it focuses on Ensign Andrew Dahl and his fellow low-ranked crew members who slowly begin to realise that their fellow Ensigns are dying at an alarming rate. As they dig deeper into this mystery, they uncover an uncomfortable truth that leads them on an unexpected journey through time and space.
At its core this novel could simply be taken as an entertaining spoof of Star Trek in the same vein as Galaxy Quest. However, I think there is more to it than that as it gets quite metaphysical with a link between the voyages of the Intrepid and people in the 21st century writing a Science Fiction TV show. This is further enhanced by the fact that around half the novel is actually made up of some additional codas. These codas further explore the 21st Century world after the crew of the Intrepid have visited and influenced several people.
To be honest, I think it was the Codas that appealed to me the most in this novel. The main story was funny and enjoyable but these Codas added a little bit more variety and depth to the story and I found myself forming much more of a connection with the characters.
The writing itself was probably the weakest element in the novel as it felt very lazy. There was basically little to no descriptive exposition meaning I had no idea how anything looked etc. It was mainly just dialogue which actually began to get on my nerves as I progressed through the story as it was very choppy and got bogged down by the constant use of “X said” and “Y Said” as shown below:
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Dahl said.
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Hanson said.
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Dahl said.
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Hanson said.
And so on! All I can say is that I am glad I read the book and didn’t pick up the audiobook as this would probably have driven me mad if I was listening to it. I just wish he had tried other ways to bring across conversations instead of always reverting to this format.
Overall, this was an entertaining and enjoyable lampoon of Star Trek with some deeper meaning held within the various Codas. The writing does let the book down in my opinion and this helped to ensure that I never really engaged with the main characters. However, if you are a fan of Star Trek then I am sure there will be something you find in this book that can make you smile.
The story itself follows the starship Intrepid and its voyage to explore new worlds and new civilizations. However, rather than focusing on the captain and his senior staff, it focuses on Ensign Andrew Dahl and his fellow low-ranked crew members who slowly begin to realise that their fellow Ensigns are dying at an alarming rate. As they dig deeper into this mystery, they uncover an uncomfortable truth that leads them on an unexpected journey through time and space.
At its core this novel could simply be taken as an entertaining spoof of Star Trek in the same vein as Galaxy Quest. However, I think there is more to it than that as it gets quite metaphysical with a link between the voyages of the Intrepid and people in the 21st century writing a Science Fiction TV show. This is further enhanced by the fact that around half the novel is actually made up of some additional codas. These codas further explore the 21st Century world after the crew of the Intrepid have visited and influenced several people.
To be honest, I think it was the Codas that appealed to me the most in this novel. The main story was funny and enjoyable but these Codas added a little bit more variety and depth to the story and I found myself forming much more of a connection with the characters.
The writing itself was probably the weakest element in the novel as it felt very lazy. There was basically little to no descriptive exposition meaning I had no idea how anything looked etc. It was mainly just dialogue which actually began to get on my nerves as I progressed through the story as it was very choppy and got bogged down by the constant use of “X said” and “Y Said” as shown below:
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Dahl said.
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Hanson said.
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Dahl said.
“Blah, Blah, Blah.” Hanson said.
And so on! All I can say is that I am glad I read the book and didn’t pick up the audiobook as this would probably have driven me mad if I was listening to it. I just wish he had tried other ways to bring across conversations instead of always reverting to this format.
Overall, this was an entertaining and enjoyable lampoon of Star Trek with some deeper meaning held within the various Codas. The writing does let the book down in my opinion and this helped to ensure that I never really engaged with the main characters. However, if you are a fan of Star Trek then I am sure there will be something you find in this book that can make you smile.
This book had loads of Scalzi's particular flavor of humor. There are few laugh out loud moments, but lots of moments where my wife had to ask what I was smiling about. Then came the end of the book in the form of the three codas. At that point the smiles stopped. These were bittersweet looks at the aftereffects of the story told through three different extremely minor characters. I'll admit to having a hard time with these, not the quality of the writing or the content, it just seemed like a downer after the ending of the book
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Very funny, entertaining read. Leans on the fourth wall a few times, which I find hilarious. Surprisingly emotional at times, but that's a small part of the book.
Near the beginning, the dialogue is distractingly poor and there are a few punctuation issues, but it improves.
Content bumps this to an adult rating.
Near the beginning, the dialogue is distractingly poor and there are a few punctuation issues, but it improves.
Content bumps this to an adult rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Incest, Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual harassment, War
Language:
h*ll, @$$, @**holes, jack*ss, scr*w, d**n, sh**, sh***y, cr*p, b**ch, p*ss, p*ssed
G*d, J-s, J-s Chr-st, for Chr- sake, G*d***ned
And a whole lotta the f-word, in all its many forms.
Sexual content:
Lots of jokes involving overt sexual content, sexual favors, and a variety of sexualities sci-fi and otherwise.
Bl**job, ha**job, t*ts, h*rny, h**kers, and lots of the f- word.
Listed sexual content as moderate because it is not on page, but it goes beyond innuendo and is pervasive.
Violence level exaggerated for comedic effect, such as being eaten by a large monster or blended"to a pulpy red mist" by killer robots.
Motorcycle accident leading to severe injuries and coma. Repeated but mild until the epilogue, when it's shown in 1st person and bodily angles are described graphically.
Heavy drinking depicted
Drug trafficking shown (comedically), but the drugs are fictional and the only on-page use is to knock someone out.
G*d, J-s, J-s Chr-st, for Chr- sake, G*d***ned
And a whole lotta the f-word, in all its many forms.
Sexual content:
Bl**job, ha**job, t*ts, h*rny, h**kers, and lots of the f- word.
Listed sexual content as moderate because it is not on page, but it goes beyond innuendo and is pervasive.
Violence level exaggerated for comedic effect, such as being eaten by a large monster or blended
Motorcycle accident leading to severe injuries and coma. Repeated but mild until the epilogue, when it's shown in 1st person and bodily angles are described graphically.
Heavy drinking depicted
Drug trafficking shown (comedically), but the drugs are fictional and the only on-page use is to knock someone out.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
Decent read, a little too existential for my tastes or what I was expecting given the title.