Reviews

Frontal by John Scalzi

maddox22's review against another edition

Uninteresting characters and I didn't really care about the story

oopsydeb's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

Another good crime procedural, with some great development of the Haden world, nods to issues of ableism, non-hadenism.

myevilgnome's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

shanshantastic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Head On is an excellent follow-up to Lock In - a new story with the same MCs that continues to explore how Hadens move through this version of the country as their status becomes more uncertain. Scalzi’s use of the “corruption in sports” angle is accessible for nearly any reader and adds an interesting dimension to the richness of Haden life…and the parallels to real-life marginalization of groups in our society. 

I also want my own Agent Vann as a partner. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

cwhite616's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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

5.0

asagetiger's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

writelock's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

mercutio's review against another edition

4.0

Great follow up. Standard police procedural fare, but with interesting scifi twist. It's fortunate that the main protagonist is a rich kid, because he keeps destroying his threeps - feels like a shortcut though.

dragonflymorning's review against another edition

4.0

I finished reading this in one day immediately after reading Lock In. It was the perfect snow day read with the clues to the mystery metered out slowly enough to keep it interesting but quickly enough to keep up a pace. Over all a very solid read!

twocents's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sci-fi cop procedural/mystery in Scalzi style.