Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Lock In by John Scalzi

1 review

bsparx's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

There’s a lot going on straight away when you first begin Lock In and it can be overwhelming. This is one reason why I recommend reading Unlocked first, it helps to set up the story. Another reason? I enjoy some science fiction like space, aliens, dystopia, medical and virology, so when I read the synopsis I got the impression the story not only had a mystery aspect to it, but there would be the virology and societal adaptation too. The story touches on that, sure, but it’s more to explain and set up for the mystery, the politics, the prejudice, that sort of thing. Whereas Unlocked talks more about the virology and the societal adaptation.

I would have preferred my impression of the synopsis more, but I still enjoyed the mystery. I found the mystery itself to be intriguing and executed well. The science on the other hand…

You know when you read something and it’s badly written? Not executed well, characters are underdeveloped, and the story line has plot holes? That’s not Lock In. Lock In is on the other side of the coin. It’s executed well, the characters are developed and likeable, and the story is well written, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea

I’m not really into crime, for starters, and the science made me sleepy. The whole neural network idea and how it was done was fascinating, yes, but towards the end of the novel there’s more detail and I started to fall asleep. Apparently I can only listen to and watch things about technological detail rather then read it.

As for the story itself, as I said it is well-written, the characters are developed and likeable. I enjoyed the characters quite a lot. Vann has a lot of issues, but I feel this makes her more well-rounded and relatable. I like messy characters for that reason. I would like to have known more about the twins, but it’s not pivotal to the story.

While the mystery and crime are taking place, in the background there’s a huge civil rights movement underfoot. The ideas of lock in with the virus and how it isolates them from the rest of society, yet they adapt to be in society, really showcases prejudice towards others. It also shows some of the complexity dealing with disabilities in, an able-bodied biased, society. It’s a shame it takes place, in real life, but I feel having issues like these come up in stories not only brings them to your attention, makes you think, but also mirrors society. It makes the story more relatable. It’s a shame, as I said, but unfortunately arseholes exist.

I guess I’m disappointed, but I know it’s not the stories’ fault. I’ve heard so many great things about Scalzi’s writing and I’m not giving up just yet, I’ll try something else. I’ve read some intense science fiction in the past, so it’s not like I can’t enjoy SciFi, but I will have a break and then I will try something else by John Scalzi.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...