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A review by laurenjodi
Lock in by John Scalzi
3.0
Lock In
3.5 Stars
In the near future, humanity has been decimated by a deadly contagion. Of those who survive, some are left unscathed while others suffer the horrific symptoms of "Lock In" - being fully conscious and aware without being able to move or respond. 25 years after the outbreak, the world has adapted to accommodate those with "Haden's Syndrome" with the invention of neural networks, personal transports and "Integrators" - humans capable of "lending" their bodies to Hadens for a short period of time. Law enforcement has also changed, and the FBI now investigates crimes connected with the Haden community. Thus, agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are called in when an Integrator is suspected of murder. However, as the agents begin to unravel the threads of the mystery, they expose a terrifying conspiracy that will have far-reaching consequences for both Hadens and humanity as a whole.
Note:A prequel to the novel entitled Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome is available free from Tor.com. It is highly recommended as it provides the necessary backstory on Haden's as well as explanations for the terminology, which is quite confusing in the first few chapters.
The world that Scalzi has created is truly fascinating and the idea of the "Locked In" is both terribly sad, but also exceedingly creepy, especially the notion that another person's mind could have control over one's body.
While the mystery starts out well with some compelling twists and turns, it ends up being rather predictable as human nature, i.e., greed and selfishness, remains the same regardless of disease or technology. Nevertheless, the climax is exciting and the resolution cleverly plotted.
The most problematic issue with the book is actually the writing, which is dialogue heavy and Scalzi has a habit of ending almost every line of dialogue with "he said", "she said", "I said". This is very distracting, especially when listening to the audiobook. There is also a great deal of cyber-speak and concepts related to computer programming that all begin to run together after a while.
Speaking of the audio, Wil Wheaton's narration is superb and his voice and inflection make it easy to become immersed in Scalzi's cyberpunk world.
All in all, an intriguing if somewhat scary look into one possible future for the human race.
3.5 Stars
In the near future, humanity has been decimated by a deadly contagion. Of those who survive, some are left unscathed while others suffer the horrific symptoms of "Lock In" - being fully conscious and aware without being able to move or respond. 25 years after the outbreak, the world has adapted to accommodate those with "Haden's Syndrome" with the invention of neural networks, personal transports and "Integrators" - humans capable of "lending" their bodies to Hadens for a short period of time. Law enforcement has also changed, and the FBI now investigates crimes connected with the Haden community. Thus, agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are called in when an Integrator is suspected of murder. However, as the agents begin to unravel the threads of the mystery, they expose a terrifying conspiracy that will have far-reaching consequences for both Hadens and humanity as a whole.
Note:A prequel to the novel entitled Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome is available free from Tor.com. It is highly recommended as it provides the necessary backstory on Haden's as well as explanations for the terminology, which is quite confusing in the first few chapters.
The world that Scalzi has created is truly fascinating and the idea of the "Locked In" is both terribly sad, but also exceedingly creepy, especially the notion that another person's mind could have control over one's body.
While the mystery starts out well with some compelling twists and turns, it ends up being rather predictable as human nature, i.e., greed and selfishness, remains the same regardless of disease or technology. Nevertheless, the climax is exciting and the resolution cleverly plotted.
The most problematic issue with the book is actually the writing, which is dialogue heavy and Scalzi has a habit of ending almost every line of dialogue with "he said", "she said", "I said". This is very distracting, especially when listening to the audiobook. There is also a great deal of cyber-speak and concepts related to computer programming that all begin to run together after a while.
Speaking of the audio, Wil Wheaton's narration is superb and his voice and inflection make it easy to become immersed in Scalzi's cyberpunk world.
All in all, an intriguing if somewhat scary look into one possible future for the human race.