Redshirts

Aug 03, 2012 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, tv, sci-fi, humor

Halfway through this book, I was thinking that I could do something funny in this review with Will Farrell’s character from the movie
Stranger Than Fiction. But then it had to go and actually reference Stranger Than Fiction and ruin my plans.

Thanks for nothing, Scalzi!

Anyhow, in the distant future the starship Intrepid explores
the galaxy with a crew led by a bold captain and his logical science
officer. A group of newly assigned crew members quickly notice that
odd and bizarre things happen when th...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf, funny, the-scalz, 2012

The starship Intrepid seeks out new worlds and boldly goes where no man has gone before. However, as Ensign Andrew Dahl soon discovers, low-ranked crew members die more often aboard the Intrepid than brain cells at a Spring Break weekend while the senior officers, besides Lt. Kerensky, always survive without a scratch. As they dig deeper, what will Andy and his friends uncover?

Anyone who's watched more than two or three episodes of Star Trek knows that it's always the extra, or redshirt, that di...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All sci-fi fans

Shelves: science-fiction, signed, john-scalzi

Tor released a free preview of the book -- the prologue and first two chapters -- here.

This book is 230 pages of over-the-top, exponentiating meta-physical fun, and three codas of "wait, what are the philosophical consequences of all that meta-ness?" It lampshades Star Trek, inverts Galaxy Quest and thematically parallels Bill Willingham's Down the Mysterly River, while still distinctly maintaining John Scalzi's own voice.

Update: I saw John Scalzi speak last night on his book tour, and it was a...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Phoebe added it

Shelves: intergalactic-academy-reviews, science-fiction, dying, geek

Full review at The Intergalactic Academy.

Parody can be a hard sell when you’re a fan of the source material.

Take, for example, the works of Lev Grossman. Many fantasy fans take umbrage with his intentional riffing on the tropes of epic and children’s fantasy. Harry Potter afficianados often accuse him of hating on Hogwarts. It doesn’t so much matter if his criticisms of the genre are right, incisive, or interesting. These fans are primarily concerned with whether his jokes come from a place of l...more Full review at The Intergalactic Academy.

Parody can be a hard sell when you’re a fan of the source material.

Take, for example, the works of Lev Grossman. Many fantasy fans take umbrage with his intentional riffing on the tropes of epic and children’s fantasy. Harry Potter afficianados often accuse him of hating on Hogwarts. It doesn’t so much matter if his criticisms of the genre are right, incisive, or interesting. These fans are primarily concerned with whether his jokes come from a place of love.

Essentially, they’re scrutinizing his genre cred. It doesn’t matter if he loves Wizard Rock or Narnia–it matters if he seems to love Wizard Rock or Narnia. Geeks can be especially prone to this sort of defensiveness. After all, we often grew up in environments hostile to us and the things we love.

It’s through this lens that I inevitably viewed John Scalzi’s NY Times bestselling Redshirts. A very transparent and intentional parody of classic Star Trek, which I love, I found myself wondering again and again how Scalzi feels about the source material–even though I knew that I was setting the bar unfairly high.

Overall, I’m just not sure that this is a loving riff on Classic Trek. It’s difficult not to hold Redshirts up against Galaxy Quest, its closest analog. While Galaxy Quest included similar criticisms of Trek’s bad writing, self-satisfied stars, and corny tropes, it also did a good job of replicating what Trek always did well; by the movie’s end, it became a celebration of sacrifice, teamwork, hope for the future, and wonder in the wider universe. Redshirts never quite hit any of these notes for me, though it did remind me, again and again, that Star Trek is badly written (as Scalzi says in his acknowledgments, “Redshirts is not even remotely based on the television show Stargate: Universe . . . Indeed, I would argue that Stargate: Universe was all the things that The Chronicles of the Intrepid wasn’t–namely, smart, well-written, and interested in having its science nod in the direction of plausibility”).

But perhaps such criticisms miss the mark–maybe the author does heart Star Trek with all his heart. And to be fair, Redshirts does, in fact, do some interesting things in parodying Trek. Though the exposition is often painfully written, the dialogue is snappy. Whedon fans will love the clever turns of phrase and the characters’ geeky self-awareness. The primary, uh, narrative follows Ensign Dahl, who finds himself a redshirt on an Enterprise-esque spaceship. He and his fellow below-deck cohort realize that there is an unusually high death rate among their kind, and set out to discover why. Redshirts eventually becomes an onion-peel of a book, with several layers of metatextual narrative.

It’s undeniably clever, and the book’s rules are twisty and mind-bending in the best way. Unfortunately, I rarely found it funny or meaningfully engaging. The characters are cardboard cutouts–perhaps intentionally so, but I never really felt invested in their story and so their quest to save themselves from certain phaser-fire eventually wore thin. I thought the main narrative would have worked better as a concise, sharp short-story. In novel form, I eventually lost interest. Being clever isn’t always enough.

Nowhere was this more clear than in the first of the three codas, a metatextual exercise which struck me as painfully indulgent and yet not quite boundary-pushing enough. In it, Scalzi takes on the fictional mantle of an Author on the Internet. But I really wanted one level deeper, that moment that Kilgore Trout finally meets Vonnegut, so to speak. It never came. Disappointing.

And yet the final coda was the one that finally convinced me of Redshirt‘s worth. It’s a beautifully written interlude, one which actually reminded me of my favorite Trek novel, AC Crispin’s lovely Sarek. It gave me faith in Scalzi’s prose ability–up to this point, I had my doubts–and actually left me a little choked up.

Did it make Redshirts worth it? I’m not sure. Though many of the individual parts didn’t quite work, it’s definitely an entertaining read–and oddly challenging, too. I suspect Redshirts will work better for readers who are a little less metatext-weary and Trek-wordly, which, admittedly, is most of them(less)

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Jul 15, 2012 Joel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, audiobooks, meta, sci-fi-fantasy

I was going to write a review for this one, but then I realized I could basically just cut and paste my review of Agent to the Stars, changing relevant details like "plot" and "character names" and just keeping everything else exactly the same. Because this book, like all of Scalzi's books except maybe Old Man's War and the two Old Man's War books I didn't read because I didn't really like the second book, suffers (or maybe benefits, I don't know, apparently people love this dude) from being wri...more I was going to write a review for this one, but then I realized I could basically just cut and paste my review of Agent to the Stars, changing relevant details like "plot" and "character names" and just keeping everything else exactly the same. Because this book, like all of Scalzi's books except maybe Old Man's War and the two Old Man's War books I didn't read because I didn't really like the second book, suffers (or maybe benefits, I don't know, apparently people love this dude) from being written by John Scalzi. More specifically, John Scalzi, Popular Blogger and Honorary President of Internet Nerds.

The plusses of being a book written by John Scalzi: you probably have a good premise, you can be read in about three hours, and you are probably going to sell pretty well. The negatives: you won't be as funny as you think you are, the cleverness of your premise will be worn thin even at a three-hour reading length, and all of your characters will sound exactly the same as not only each other, but all of the characters in all of John Scalzi's novels (more specifically, they will sound like a blog post by John Scalzi). Oh, also on the downside, Wil Wheaton will narrate you as an audiobook, which is bad news not only because you don't work very well as an audiobook (unless your listeners like it when every single line of dialogue is attributed, even during long, quippy back-and-forths, though I guess you could argue it is necessary since everyone sounds the same), but because Wil Wheaton is kind of shockingly terrible as a reader of audiobooks (though he does make all the characters sound the same, so maybe that's intentionally meta).

Speaking of meta: this book is very in love with itself, especially the second half, and especially especially the three codas, which are kind of infuriating, if only because they reveal how lazy of a writer Scalzi is: he hints that there is this deeper level beyond his story, one worth exploring, even though he didn't bother writing a story interesting enough to make me care to do it.

Because Scalzi is kind of lazy. I mean, the incredibly hard-working kind of lazy, where you get everything done, but you get it done just enough, and you think it doesn't matter because your boss didn't notice, or your teacher doesn't grade very hard and you got an A anyway, or you are a really nice guy and your fans are going to praise everything you do regardless of quality (hi, Joss Whedon!).

I mean, consider: all the problems in this book, from the samey characters to the limp plot to the unearned sentimentality to the not-very-funny funny dialogue, could probably have been cleared up with, I don't know, another draft or two. But Scalzi is very busy being Scalzi, so he wrote this one in five weeks (because NaNoWriMo just isn't enough time to do a thorough job), sent it off to his editor, and proceded to write 11 blogs posts and attend five comic book conventions before finally dropping into bed, exhausted, but confident that his teacher was probably still going to give him that A, because he's a really nice guy and always makes funny comments in class.

And, judging by his NYT best-seller status, he got that A! But not from me. (less)

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Aug 16, 2012 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, science-fiction, humour, meta

When people talk about a book being “meta”, I have to admit that I often wonder what they are talking about because it really doesn’t say anything about the book itself but it is a good way to sound pretentious. John Scalzi’s Redshirts is so meta; I think the author must have had a lot of fun writing this novel and playing with the red shirt concept. For those people that don’t know what a Red shirt is; it’s a concept made famous by Star Trek in which the character wearing the red shirt on a mis...more When people talk about a book being “meta”, I have to admit that I often wonder what they are talking about because it really doesn’t say anything about the book itself but it is a good way to sound pretentious. John Scalzi’s Redshirts is so meta; I think the author must have had a lot of fun writing this novel and playing with the red shirt concept. For those people that don’t know what a Red shirt is; it’s a concept made famous by Star Trek in which the character wearing the red shirt on a mission was always the one that died for dramatic effect.

The book Redshirts follows a copy of characters who decided why there was a high mortality rate for the people on missions with high ranking officers. Through their research they found that the only other ship with the same mortality rate was the USS Enterprise. This drives the story in a comedic dig at science fiction television shows.

This book starts off so strong, it has an interesting premises but it turns out all downhill from there. I really think this book would have worked a lot better as a short story and I think Scalzi was just adding filler in to make the book longer. I did enjoy the meta elements of this book and I found it was an entertaining look at the Star Trek storylines but once you hit the halfway point you might as well stop reading. Think of it as Star Trek parody meets Stranger the Fiction jammed together in a very sloppy way.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and I think that was one of the best parts of my experience of this book. The audio version was read by Wil Weaton adding a whole new element of meta to this book. As a geek, I’m a fan of Wil Weaton and this was the main reason why I read this book. Redshirts could have been an entertaining book, but I don’t think it really came together as well as I was hoping for. Luckily it was a very short book; which could have been shorter. The comedy and meta elements of the novel were worth checking out but the rest of the book didn’t work.(less)

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Jun 26, 2012 Gerhardt Himmelmann rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nobody :(

Shelves: read-2012

This one went straight to the top of the "to-read" list on the strength of this review: http://juliasherred.com/2012/05/redsh...

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This is far from the worst book that I've ever read, but I'm pretty certain that it's the most disappointing. Part of this no doubt stems from Julia Sherred's glowing review linked above and the disappointment is therefore more a reflection of my own expectations than the book itself.

Redshirts certainly starts out as an interesting read, and Scalzi plays with questi...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Book Report: The book description says:
“Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship "Intrepid," flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better...until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship's capt...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: hugo-nominee, science-fiction

This is a book that struck me as being extremely stupid within about 15 pages but managed to charm me as it continued its dissection of the phenomena of "redshirts" in science fiction. It became, in essence, so bad that it was decent, at least for a while.

The plot is simple. If you're on the away team and you aren't one of the senior crew, you will die. So what does the crew, who realizes this, start to do to cope? They go varying degrees of insane, it turns out. The veteran redshirts have an en...more This is a book that struck me as being extremely stupid within about 15 pages but managed to charm me as it continued its dissection of the phenomena of "redshirts" in science fiction. It became, in essence, so bad that it was decent, at least for a while.

The plot is simple. If you're on the away team and you aren't one of the senior crew, you will die. So what does the crew, who realizes this, start to do to cope? They go varying degrees of insane, it turns out. The veteran redshirts have an entire system worked out about how to avoid the senior officers to never be selected to go on an away team. This is ridiculous, and, while never exactly good, is funny.

Then the problem arises: the book goes fucking meta as shit as the characters realize they are a science-fiction television show, a sad Star Trek knockoff that isn't even particularly good. Some of these redshirts meet their creators and even meet the extras who played them and others who died. No, really, they time-travel to the year 2012 and bargain with the writer and executive producer to not be killed off. I could have written this book when I was 16. The prose would have been more of a mess but I could have written it.

I would have easily ended up filing this under guilty pleasure, except for an extremely cheap Philip K. Dick-like "But what's REALLY going on?" moment towards the end, and then the three Codas. After the story closes in the science fiction world, some characters visit the philosophical implications of what they've experienced.

One is told in first person, and the big problem with this is that a character writing a blog is not as interesting as any author thinks it is. Also the gimmick of said character (a screenwriter) putting things in page format is stupid. Another is told in the second person, which should never be used in any extended length of time beyond Choose Your Own Adventure books. These might have been fine but they only frustrated me. I didn't mind the third one.

The thing that's most frustrating about this book is it probably could have been great if it didn't get all the meta. What if the characters were in this situation and then it turned out that the senior officers were in on some huge conspiracy and they then had to fight for their lives/careers/whatever against mysterious controlling forces? The movie Hot Fuzz on a space ship, maybe. That could have had a fine balance of drama and comedy and probably been interesting because you could care more about the characters rather than just have them be vessels that offer an elaborate excuse to make jokes about science fiction fan conventions. Just don't get all meta! Seriously, don't get meta.

At the very least, John Scalzi did not literally make John Scalzi a character, so he's got that over Stephen King.(less)

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May 18, 2013 Crystal Starr Light rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Crystal Starr Light by: Jason

Shelves: science-fiction, humor, book-club, characters-to-fall-in-love-with, in-tears-that-it-s-over, simply-the-best, so-good-it-s-awesome

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Intrepid, the flagship of the Universal Union. Quickly he realizes something is wrong - the lower ranked officers that are sent on away missions end up dead. The captain, his science officer, the chief engineer, the chief medical officer, and the astrogator, however, always come out alive. What's going on and can Dahl get to the bottom of this?

How can I possibly describe my experience with "Redshirts"? I've finished it a couple of minutes ago (aft...more Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Intrepid, the flagship of the Universal Union. Quickly he realizes something is wrong - the lower ranked officers that are sent on away missions end up dead. The captain, his science officer, the chief engineer, the chief medical officer, and the astrogator, however, always come out alive. What's going on and can Dahl get to the bottom of this?

How can I possibly describe my experience with "Redshirts"? I've finished it a couple of minutes ago (after tearing through the book in record time - and I should mention, I am probably one of the slowest readers in the world), and my heart has been torn out of my chest and is lying limp on the floor. I've laughed my @ss off, I've been glued to the edge of my seat, and now I'm blinking away tears at the poignant ending.

"Redshirts" is a parody, a satire of the cheesy science fiction television. It pokes fun at the cliches in "Star Trek" and other science fiction series. It points out the bad science, the plot holes, the bad characterization, the silly events that happen in the worst of science fiction - and yet never does it become condescending or outright mean to what it is parodying.

"Redshirts" is a commentary on writing. It's a reminder to authors to keep up at the top of their game, to not get lazy, to not treat the characters cheaply but also not to be afraid to sometimes pull the plug. It's a reminder that the audience isn't filled with a bunch of dumb idiots that need to be talked down to. It's a reminder that good art takes work.

"Redshirts" is a commentary on life. What does it mean to be real or fictional? What is important? Who is important? Does it matter if love is fictional if it is love?

I really enjoyed "Redshirts". Maybe not "Ready Player One" "I want to make your baby" Love, but definitely "You can be my wingman anytime" Love. "Redshirts" rode that balance of contemplative and funny; tongue-in-cheek and serious; fictional and real.

The writing style took some getting used to; there aren't many descriptors, and it's hugely dialogue heavy (expect to read the word "said" A LOT). But there's a reason for that - and when I got to that reason, I was like, "OMG, Scalzi's the most brilliant man in the world!"

I loved the characters. Sure, I wish there were more women, and I had some idea what they looked like. But the point of this book is to poke fun at the scifi TV cliches; plus, the women that were here were very well developed and just as interesting (and important!) as the men.

I loved the story. The main story made me think just enough to blow my mind; the codas lent a fascinating conclusion to the main thread. I personally liked the first coda and the last (tore my heart out, it did) best; I'm not sure the second person point of view worked well in the second coda, but it certainly is not the worst I've read.

And really, I don't have much more to say. I guess I could try to delve deeper, but honestly, I think it'll be more fangirling than anything. If you want to laugh, to think, and possibly to cry, then check out Scalzi's "Redshirts".(less)

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Jul 02, 2012 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

Damn you, John Scalzi, for making me giggle helplessly at death. A quick, fun read. Full review to follow.

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The title of John Scalzi's new novel, Redshirts', is as irresistible as the premise. For those not familiar with the term 'redshirt' the first chapter serves as a quick introduction. On his first away mission, a young ensign is unprepared and overwhelmed. Trapped on a rock and surrounded by 'landworms', he fires into the dirt, driving the voracious predators into a frenzy and then deci...more Damn you, John Scalzi, for making me giggle helplessly at death. A quick, fun read. Full review to follow.

--+--

The title of John Scalzi's new novel, Redshirts', is as irresistible as the premise. For those not familiar with the term 'redshirt' the first chapter serves as a quick introduction. On his first away mission, a young ensign is unprepared and overwhelmed. Trapped on a rock and surrounded by 'landworms', he fires into the dirt, driving the voracious predators into a frenzy and then decides to make a break for it. He is devoured before he reaches the tunnel entrance, of course. The captain utters a few words of commiseration but the reader gets the sense the situation is all too familiar. The loss of a low-ranked crew member, new and untried, barely mars the mission. A redshirt ensign is expendable.

In fact, every away mission led by certain crew members ends in disaster...for someone else. The captain always survives, as does his chief science officer. Lieutenant Kerensky is less fortunate, he is often injured. He always recovers, however. Any accompanying ensign is at risk and even the superstitions cobbled together by the terrified crew of the Universal Union Capitol Ship 'Intrepid' don't always prove true. The death of one ensign does not necessarily provide protection for the others and the greenest crew member doesn't always count as a reliable sacrifice.

A handful of new ensigns quickly pick up the fact something is amiss. The crew scatter when the captain approaches or an away mission is planned; closets suddenly need reorganising. When picked for a mission, they bid tearful goodbyes to friends and then bicker amongst themselves over laws of averages and then they die. The new ensigns, led by Andy Dahl - whom the captain repeatedly calls 'dill' - hunt for answers.

In Science Fiction, all is rarely as it seems. In 'Redshirts', it's really twisted. The loss of low-ranked crew members is not entirely due to incompetence, nor is it merely coincidence. Some other factor is in play and once it is proposed, it makes a horrible kind of sense. Even the crew members who chose not to believe the explanation find it difficult not to be affected by it the very idea of it. I don't want to ruin the surprise in my review, however, so I'll leave it to the reader to discover just what is happening on board the Intrepid.

John Scalzi writes funny books. 'Agent To The Stars' is one of my favourites and I can remember laughing so much I was asked to read in another room. 'Redshirts' is written in a similar style. Despite the body count, I giggled my way through it, soft chuckles turning to outright laughter at one particularly senseless death. Yes, I laughed when someone died. I felt bad; I liked the character and had hoped he'd make it through to the end. The novel is a quick read, I finished it in about three hours and thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though I was not as entertained by the Codas at the end of the book.

Scalzi's wit and humour works as well in his more serious novels, but reading 'Redshirts' felt a bit like taking a well deserved holiday. It's a great book, one I'll re-read and recommend to others.

Written for and originally published at SF Crowsnest.(less)

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Nov 24, 2012 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

In a galaxy far, far away, a group of ensigns and other junior officers aboard the “Intrepid” (flagship of the Universal Union, their mission to boldly go…) notice that strange things are afoot on this ship. Everything seems off, from the bizarre over-dramatic way their captain and commander act, to the ridiculously high fatality rate of junior officers on away missions, to the flat-out illogical events that seem to occur on a weekly basis (why do they always send the navigator out on away missi...more In a galaxy far, far away, a group of ensigns and other junior officers aboard the “Intrepid” (flagship of the Universal Union, their mission to boldly go…) notice that strange things are afoot on this ship. Everything seems off, from the bizarre over-dramatic way their captain and commander act, to the ridiculously high fatality rate of junior officers on away missions, to the flat-out illogical events that seem to occur on a weekly basis (why do they always send the navigator out on away missions? Why do only decks six through twelve sustain damage during fights? Why do electrical components on the bridge sustain visible damage when the ship’s hull is hit with a torpedo?). With the help of an eremitic engineer who has spent his entire career hidden in the cargo tunnels to escape the captain’s notice, the crew realizes to their horror that, as real as their pasts and their experiences are to themselves, they are actually figures on a weekly television show (“and not a very good one”) produced in Hollywood, 2012. The crew concocts a ludicrous plot to go back in time and across the galaxy to confront their writer, and the actors that play them, to stop the show, and thus the carnage that impacts their own very real lives.

This is a pretty fun, but flawed, book that doesn’t take itself too seriously – though that might be a point against it, really. I felt that Scalzi used the meta-Narrative trope a bit too liberally, serving to excuse rather clunky chunks of exposition at times, especially at the beginning. Though the idea and the execution is quite good, Scalzi’s prose is unimpressive; he seems firmly in the camp of “tell don’t show” when it comes to character interaction. He constantly uses shorthand for emotion rather than description, using bland phrases such as “Duvall sat down, pissed,” or “’Thanks,’ Dahl said, irritated” or “he gave her a ‘what?’ look.” Scalzi also seems to think he has to explain jokes that would better off remaining subtle, as when an officer and the actor that plays him do a “freckle check” to ensure their exact match; this seems to me to be obvious, with no explanation needed, but Scalzi explains it anyway. He does this a lot: “’You met Lou at Pomona,’ Samantha says, mentioning her sister’s alma mater.” That last phrase is so unnecessary it’s distracting: clearly if one says you met your spouse at college, it’s understood that you attended that college with him, not that, say, you drove by one day and picked him up there. Finally, I felt that Scalzi didn’t think through the finer points of his universe. For example, the writer makes a decision to not televise the final show, hoping that it will affect the Universal Union universe “anyway;” since an enormous amount of life and happiness depends on this final show, it seems absurd that he would so recklessly gamble that such a change (never tested, unrepeatable, and unobservable) wouldn’t scuttle everything. I did enjoy the four final endings, which wrapped up a lot of the minor plot points. I felt that Scalzi was at his best here, putting a human face on the tragedies, loves, and challenges of the various people (once unnamed characters who became real people with entire lives and dreams) who were affected by the show’s universe-altering properties. So, nitpicking aside, this was a good read, and quite clever overall.(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fun satire on the Star Trek trope (famously (originally?) lampooned by Eddie Murphy) of the high death-rate on away missions for the all-but-anonymous ensigns - the Redshirts. I think I would have preferred a straight satire, but Scalzi decides to find a rationale for why this happens, and, whilst I know it is all post-modern and self-referential, actually, to me, it made it feel more like straight, light science fiction. Or at least it does for 75% of the book, then there are three codas (tol...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Libby rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, year-without-a-theme

If you're even the least bit savvy about the Star Trek universe, you're familiar with redshirts, those ill-fated ensigns who always end up getting eaten by monsters, vaporized by booby traps, or blown up to show that, hey, exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life is dangerous. In this book John Scalzi makes the extras the heroes who become aware that people like themselves are dying much more frequently than is statistically probable, set out to find the reason why, and stop it, if...more If you're even the least bit savvy about the Star Trek universe, you're familiar with redshirts, those ill-fated ensigns who always end up getting eaten by monsters, vaporized by booby traps, or blown up to show that, hey, exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life is dangerous. In this book John Scalzi makes the extras the heroes who become aware that people like themselves are dying much more frequently than is statistically probable, set out to find the reason why, and stop it, if they possibly can.

The premise is marvelously clever, and the story is filled with throwaway gags and fandom shibboleths that go some way toward lightening the comic tone, especially once the hapless ensigns manage to end up in Los Angeles in 2012. And while the adventure part of the book is fun, the heart of the story lies in its three tie-in "codas," which include a first-person freak-out by a guy who writes for a science fiction show figuring out how to treat his characters respectfully, a second-person medical mystery, and a third-person Cloud Atlas-esque love story. The good thing about the codas is that they explore the motivations and fears of people who are minor characters in the story, which is an effective way for the author to put his money where his mouth is, regarding seeing characters as actual people with lives and hopes and dreams. The bad thing about the codas is that they make you realize that the primary narrative is pretty slight.

I think the biggest reason for this is hinted at in the afterword, where Scalzi takes great pains to say that nothing in the primary narrative is meant to parody Stargate: Universe, the TV series on which he was a creative consultant and did some writing. My questions is, "Why the hell not?"

It strikes me as ironic that a book that does so much hand-wringing over lazy, by-the-numbers plot-writing is set in a lazy, by-the-numbers stand-in for the original series of Star Trek. Instead of seizing the opportunity to tread satirical ground through newer and more relevant material, the book sticks to well-trodden jokes and gags (e.g., "Ha ha! There's bad science in science fiction!"). By shackling the satire to a single, often-parodied universe like ST:TOS, there's a missed opportunity to broaden the satire to the whole genre. Scalzi can do whole-genre parody; his short story "Shadow War of the Night Dragons" is a hysterically funny spoof of overwrought epic fantasy, but instead of "Blazing Saddles," this was "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," albeit with a killer commentary track.
(less)

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Jul 10, 2012 Skip rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found this book to be a very enjoyable light read. It didn't even feel like I had blown through just over 300 pages in a few hours.

The main story runs for about three-quarters of the book, followed by essentially three short stories (titled Coda I: First Person, Coda II: Second Person, and Coda III: Third Person, also written as such) which function as the epilogue of sorts.

I'd recommend this book for just about anybody in the mood for a humorous book, whether they are a science fiction reader...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Francine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, humor, sci-fi

What a terrific premise! Fans of Star Trek will be familiar with the ever-revolving cast of "Redshirts" (from the original to TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise) and will be amused by this story written by Scalzi, who was a consultant on Stargate Universe.

I definitely would've given this book 4 stars for the story - it was inventive, creative, funny and very meta. Also, I can't remember ever reading a book that had a first-person, second-person and third-person narrative. It was definitely an unco...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Megan (Book Brats) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found out about REDSHIRTS through my father, who mysteriously knew about a book I didn’t. Then again, this is the same man who recommended DUNE to me, which turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time, so I shouldn’t take his recommendations lightly. My dad is a closet Trekkie, so I know well what a Redshirt is in the world of Star Trek. And everyone knows that the poor Redshirt dies. This book is about that phenomena, and it’s wildly hilarious, but there is just something missing…

RE...more I found out about REDSHIRTS through my father, who mysteriously knew about a book I didn’t. Then again, this is the same man who recommended DUNE to me, which turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time, so I shouldn’t take his recommendations lightly. My dad is a closet Trekkie, so I know well what a Redshirt is in the world of Star Trek. And everyone knows that the poor Redshirt dies. This book is about that phenomena, and it’s wildly hilarious, but there is just something missing…

REDSHIRTS follows Andy Dahl, recently assigned to the starship Intrepid. Dahl quickly begins to realize that there is something peculiar about the ship’s away missions – the captain, the science officer, and other select crew members always live even despite apparently insurmountable odds while the poor ensign (or more) dies. But the truth about this strange phenomenon is stranger than the phenomenon itself.

This is a laugh-out-loud type of book. In fact, for me, most of its laurels rest on the fact that it is a comedic book for geeks who have seen a few too many episodes of Star Trek. The poor Redshirt who is never really mentioned will be the first to die while Kirk and Spock and McCoy will randomly live even though they should be very, very dead. This entire story is cemented around one concept which is innately full of humor, and for the most part, it manages to carry the novel – even as the story takes a very strange, unexpected turn and becomes a very philosophical story.

Oh, and it’s very meta.

The characters are quite enjoyable, as is the plot. The writing is serviceable enough, although it was a bit disjointed and could have used some polish. It came off a bit dry, to be honest. Unbelievable. The transitions are awkward and the characters, while enjoyable as I said, do not have much substance. We know little about them, their personalities, and after awhile several began to blend together. For example, Hanson for me was just there. I don’t know anything about him after finishing the story. Even Dahl was somewhat dull. He was a priest in an alien religion, but that is the extent of what we find out about him really.

The ending, as well, left me wanting more, but the laughter from the earlier parts made up for some of the slow parts.

REDSHIRTS will appeal, in my opinion, mostly to geeks and nerds who are familiar with science fiction television. If you are not a geek, I think a lot of the nuances will go past you, since this one has a lot to do with science fiction television – in more ways than the synopsis will tell you. But be prepared for rather dry story to get to the buckets and buckets of laughs.

VERDICT: Extremely humorous but belayed by a rather dry writing style, REDSHIRTS is one of those ultimate geek novels – it won’t appeal to everyone, but to those who enjoy science fiction, it will be quite enjoyable.(less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Teri Pell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-favorites, owned-audiobook, science-fiction, wil-wheaton, 2012

A philosophy-fillled, meta-packed, sci-fi fun fest!

NOTE: This review is for the Audible.com audio edition narrated by Wil Wheaton.

I love Scalzi's take on the cliched disposable 'Red Shirt' ensign phenomenon. As even the casual Star Trek viewer will tell you, you NEVER volunteer for an away mission if you're not a main character. On the UU's flagship, the Intrepid, the ensigns and other secondary crew members have learned this as well. While the premise is based on the perils of the 'redshirt eff...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Michael by: Krista

I will give this the highest praise I can think of: This is the GalaxyQuest of books.

I'm a big fan of spoofs and parodies. One of my favorite movies is GalaxyQuest (a parody of Star Trek), another is Hot Fuzz (a parody of action movies). Redshirts is pitch perfect in its meta deconstruction of Star Trek. The premise is hilarious, the plot turns unexpectedly, and it payoffs nicely. Finally, it's such a quick read at 300 pages that anyone who has watched Star Trek and even people who haven't and j...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Robert Aldrich rated it 4 of 5 stars

I started reading this novel yesterday, stayed up WAY too late reading it (a common issues I have with all of Scalzi's work is that I lose sleep) and finished it today.

While I am sure it was not in record time, I am deeply satisified with my whole reading experience of Redshirts.

This is just another in a long line of books that John Scalzi has written that I have loved and I cannot say more than I HIGHLY suggest you read Redshirts and all John's other works; the hours you spend reading them will...more

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Apr 09, 2013 G. Branden rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to G. Branden by: Tim Stough

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. On the upside, it was actually a fun read. I laughed aloud a few times. And while I could see the nature of two major twists coming (the nature of the big "deal" that gets made near the end of the book, and the oddity of Hanson's character), there were many, many small touches that made sense (where/how did Jenkins get his preternatural insights?), and, importantly to me, things were wrapped up tidily, and--mercifully--not at the headlong pace of a Douglas Adams novel.

On the downside, I prefer m...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Nicholas rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, kindle

This was an interesting book. I will likely read it again and my ultimate view of it may hinge on the second reading. That said, I'm not sure which way my future opinion will swing. I tend to be charmed by Scalzi's writing, so I'm going to guess that future me will decide he likes it a lot. Going on that hunch, I'll describe the annoyances of the book first, then its charms.

Annoyances:
This is a book about writing. At least the writer part of Scalzi's brain makes a huge appearance in the text. So...more This was an interesting book. I will likely read it again and my ultimate view of it may hinge on the second reading. That said, I'm not sure which way my future opinion will swing. I tend to be charmed by Scalzi's writing, so I'm going to guess that future me will decide he likes it a lot. Going on that hunch, I'll describe the annoyances of the book first, then its charms.

Annoyances:
This is a book about writing. At least the writer part of Scalzi's brain makes a huge appearance in the text. Sometimes this is a good thing: think about the movies Adaptation and Barton Fink. Sometimes the writer loses the readers who don't want to see the making sausage/law part of the creative process.

The supposed plot is pretty weak. This is clearly intentional and not really an annoyance, but we warned, the book isn't about what it might seem to be about at first. Actually, the ending is a pretty brilliant way of signalling to the readers that this isn't a book that is described by its plot. Speaking of that:

The ending. (You only get one of those, Scalzi. I hope it was as much fun as it looks.)

Charms:
The three codas. Without spoilers: these are the payoff. These are what the book was about. These could not be told without the lead in. These were heartwarming, wise, and wonderful.

Doing something completely different, well. I can't imagine that someone who isn't established in his craft could have sold the idea behind this book to her/his publisher. It is new and risky. I liked it.

Humor. Scalzi is good at making me laugh. Even when the jokes are shallow tripe being offered up as cheap distraction for a longer con he's working on, they still work.

Fuck it, OK, I like Star Trek and this, among other things, is a nice elegy for pulp sci-fi on TV, with many Trek tropes acknowledged and fondly given a roast.

Final Assessment
As with many self-reflective ambitious works, this could end up being self-indulgent crap. I don't think it will. It does enough well that I think it will go down as at least a cult novel, well and fondly remembered by Trekkies and readers alike. With Fuzzy Nation and then Redshirts, Scalzi seems to be going to his roots for inspiration. I like the results, but I'm also kind of hoping that now that his next books will offer something different. (Note: his next book is The High Castle, set in The Android's Dream universe, so it pretty clear he's going to stick w/ referential inspiration. Which is cool, too.)(less)

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Dec 15, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, read-2012, sci-fi, e-book, books-i-own

This review can also be found on Written Permission

This was the first book of Scalzi's that I have read. And even though I wasn't really a huge fan of Star Trek when I was younger (nor am I now, for that matter) I still enjoyed the book. I think the key is to not take it too seriously. This might be easier said than done if you are a Scalzi fan, as I understand his work can be quite deep. But aside from some existential questions, this book is all fun and spoof.

Scalzi is light on the descriptive...more This review can also be found on Written Permission

This was the first book of Scalzi's that I have read. And even though I wasn't really a huge fan of Star Trek when I was younger (nor am I now, for that matter) I still enjoyed the book. I think the key is to not take it too seriously. This might be easier said than done if you are a Scalzi fan, as I understand his work can be quite deep. But aside from some existential questions, this book is all fun and spoof.

Scalzi is light on the descriptive prose, which makes the book very lightweight and streamlined, but it also makes it hard to follow at times. I lost track of which person was which at times, and had to go back and remind myself. We don't really get a sense of what any of the characters look like, nor what the environment looks like. It is a little unnerving, coming from a high fantasy background where everything is descriptions and backstory heavy to something so slick and streamlined.

The narrative has a great voice, and there are a lot of tongue-in-cheek moments. The humor is relatable and at no time did it feel like it was being pushed too hard.

Plot-wise, I know the very last chapter upset a lot of people, but honestly I thought it was great. The thing that made me the most upset was that Scalzi never seemed to take the time to get invested in his characters or his plot. Was this a product of the subject matter? Was it because the characters were supposed to be "expendable"? I don't know. But it lessened the reading experience. And I hate that nothing was really explained in the end.

Scalzi is a good writer. This is illustrated exceptionally well in the second of the three codas, which are essentially epilogues. The second coda is written in second person. It is still an awkward way of writing, but it is the least awkward second-person prose I have ever read. Bravo, Mr. Scalzi.

Bottom Line: A fun and fast read that is not to be taken too seriously. Very meta, and highly recommended for the Trekkies out there. More of a 3.5 for me, not because I didn't enjoy the book, but because I am not as huge a fan of the meta as some. Rounded up because the book WAS entertaining.(less)

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Dec 19, 2012 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, favorites

Initial review 6/12 - I loved this book - it was really well written and is a cool concept that Scalzi really made work. For something that could have been a throw-away comedic joke of an idea, he really gave it meaning and heart. I thought the codas might detract, but in the end I liked them and the closure they gave. Two thumbs up! I did find several big editing mistakes, don't know if it was just the kindle edition. In one conversation, it should have been Jenkins speaking, not Kerensky (K wa...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Veeral rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, space-opera, funny

If you happen to be a Trekkie, I don’t have to tell you what a “Redshirt” is. If you are not, then just know that that the term “Redshirts” was coined from the science fiction television series Star Trek in which the extras (who wore a red uniform) got killed on a regular basis while the main characters like Kirk and Spock survived each ordeal. It was no conspiracy; it's just how the fictional universe has worked since the time immemorial. Main guys survive while the faceless extras are sacrific...more If you happen to be a Trekkie, I don’t have to tell you what a “Redshirt” is. If you are not, then just know that that the term “Redshirts” was coined from the science fiction television series Star Trek in which the extras (who wore a red uniform) got killed on a regular basis while the main characters like Kirk and Spock survived each ordeal. It was no conspiracy; it's just how the fictional universe has worked since the time immemorial. Main guys survive while the faceless extras are sacrificed to raise the stakes.

John Scalzi has used that particular pop culture trivia to write this novel. The thing with John Scalzi is, regardless of the subject matter, his books are always fun to read. Most of the time, we need to be in a right frame of mind to read certain books. But not with John Scalzi. You can pick up any of his books anytime with the assurance that it won't disappoint. But somehow it is not the case with most of the modern science fiction authors today. They have sucked the joy right out of the science fiction universe. Their characters have no sense of humor whatsoever. Seriously, what’s with the other modern science fiction authors who unfailingly churn out drier than a sand pit kind of characters in every book they write? Don’t they read this guy?

Scalzi intentionally renders his characters with a weird and often coarse sense of humor, even if the subject matter is a serious one. And I like his books exactly for that very reason. He is a genuinely funny guy. Just go over to his personal blog and you will see what I mean.

True, I didn't like this book as much as I liked Old Man's War and Fuzzy Nation. World-building sucked a bit and it was not as funny as his other works are. But having said that, it’s really unfair to compare this book especially with Old Man's War as it is the kind of book that is very hard to top. Not just for John Scalzi, but for any other science fiction authors out there.

So if you haven’t read any books by John Scalzi yet, I suggest you start with “Old Man’s War” and take it from there. And if you already happen to be a fan of his works as I am, by all means get yourself a copy of “Redshirts” and be prepared to get lost in his science fiction world, again.(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor, science-fiction

Scalzi's always had a cutting sense of humor, and here he lets loose on the old trope of the redshirt, or that guy behind the Captain whose sole reason to be in the episode is to be brutally dismembered as a way of establishing tension. In the process, he also sideswipes a dozen other bad sci-fi tropes, from the ridiculousness of senior officers on shore parties to the baffling design flaws that cause bridge consoles to blow up no matter where the ship takes damage. It's rollicking fun that take...more Scalzi's always had a cutting sense of humor, and here he lets loose on the old trope of the redshirt, or that guy behind the Captain whose sole reason to be in the episode is to be brutally dismembered as a way of establishing tension. In the process, he also sideswipes a dozen other bad sci-fi tropes, from the ridiculousness of senior officers on shore parties to the baffling design flaws that cause bridge consoles to blow up no matter where the ship takes damage. It's rollicking fun that takes a sudden swerve into the meta.

It's hard to discuss much without spoilers, but overall I think the plot holds together well. The solution they find is fairly touching. (I was not sure how I felt about the big reveal at the very end--I thought the premise worked, but I didn't think the conversation itself did. Those riches should have had some kind of impact, more than they did. I had to admire Scalzi's skill in setting it all up and then revealing to us exactly what he'd done, though.)

The topic's been dealt with before, although usually not with the thoroughness of this book. Still, I'm not sure it actually felt that fresh (as the first coda alludes to). Really, my biggest objection here was that this is supposed to be a comedic book, but I feel like some of Scalzi's other books were actually funnier. The situations are humorous, but there were very few laugh-out-loud lines or truly witty observations. It's perfectly enjoyable, I was just expecting more from him.

About those codas--they've been a little controversial. (There are three, and they make up a substantial percentage of the pages.) I quite liked the topics, and was glad to see things from a couple other perspectives. I thought the first/second/third person thing was needlessly gimmicky, though. The first person one worked beautifully, as did the third. I liked the story of the second-person one, but there was no reason for it to be in second person. It would have worked better in either first or third, and I couldn't help but feel that it was mashed into an ill-fitting form just to be cute. Again, I was expecting a little better from Scalzi.

It's a solid, enjoyable book, but I think I rather prefer the far more uneven, but far more entertaining Agent to the Stars.(less)

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Jun 25, 2012 Virginia rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adam Heine

Shelves: speculative-fiction, read-2012

Fast-paced, funny, and definitely meta. The actual novel portion was interesting, but I feel as if there was too much skipping along on the surface. The story zipped along and I liked the main characters, but I didn't feel very invested in the actual characters. Part of it was that it seemed too self-referential. However, I did like the loose, easy-breezy, and accessible style that marks all of Scalzi's fiction. I loved the ending of the actual story. Laughed out loud. I read it again just for t...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Dan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: humorous, science-fiction, space-stories, time-travel, aliens

Any geek worth his or her salt will know where the title for this book came from. For those of you who aren’t Sci-Fi nerds, it comes from Star Trek and a “redshirt” is a low ranking crew member who accompanies the Captain and other bridge officers on dangerous missions away from the ship. The redshirts almost always die. This concept is so ingrained into Star Trek lore, that J.J. Abrams even included it in his movie re-booting the franchise a few years ago. Here, Scalzi puts his own unique — and...more Any geek worth his or her salt will know where the title for this book came from. For those of you who aren’t Sci-Fi nerds, it comes from Star Trek and a “redshirt” is a low ranking crew member who accompanies the Captain and other bridge officers on dangerous missions away from the ship. The redshirts almost always die. This concept is so ingrained into Star Trek lore, that J.J. Abrams even included it in his movie re-booting the franchise a few years ago. Here, Scalzi puts his own unique — and hilarious — spin on the idea in his newest novel.

Regular readers of my reviews may remember what a huge fan I am of John Scalzi, and will note that I have blogged about several of his books before. So, suffice it to say, that I’ve really, really been looking forward to this one! Ensign Andrew Dahl is a recent graduate of Space Fleet Academy and newly assigned to the Universal Union’s flagship vessel Intrepid. He makes a few friends with other new crewmen (and women) while waiting to board the ship and as soon as he’s on board he’s approached by the Chief Science Officer, Q’eeng. Dahl is accompanied to his assigned department (Xenobiology) and on the way Q’eeng asks him if he is interested in participating in away missions. Dahl isn’t necessarily keen to leave the ship on any dangerous missions, but he gets the impression that Q’eeng wants him to agree, so he does. After a few strange incidents in the Xenobiology lab, he and his friends discuss the odd start to their assignments in the mess hall — and they all seem to have noticed some of the same strange things about the U.U. ship Intrepid. Everyone on board, from bridge officers to department heads, to crewmen (and women), behaves VERY strangely about away missions.

Soon, Dahl and some fellow ensigns accompany a couple of Lieutenants to a space station which emitted a distress call to which the Intrepid has responded. The two away teams find themselves in some very deep doo-doo because the machines on board the space station have gone berserk and are killing all the humans. Needless to say, once the survivors have returned to their ship, Ensign Dahl and his crewmates begin to put two and two together about why everyone board is so twitchy about away missions and working directly with the bridge officers. As the tagline on the front of the book says, “They were expendable … until they started comparing notes.” What follows is a rollicking send up of that old sci-fi show we geeks love, which also has some thought-provoking big ideas and "meta-ness" behind it.

If you liked Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide series of books, if you enjoyed the movie Galaxy Quest, and definitely if you are a Fan of Star Trek (Trekkie or Trekker), you have got to read this new novel by this award-winning author and all around cool guy.(less)

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Mar 17, 2013 Cheryl in CC NV rated it 4 of 5 stars

More intriguing than I expected, and more quirky in the way I normally can't get into. I'm pragmatic & logical, empathizing more with Vulcans than with humans. I mean, right there, I'm distracted at the inconsistency I just noticed - shouldn't it be Vulcans and Terrans? And so I expected less quirkiness, just because that's what I hoped for.

Anyway, back on track with this review. This was not quite was a expected, which was more of an homage to the expendable characters of ST:TOS that focuse...more

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Dec 06, 2012 TFGamer rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, though probably give it more of a four and half. It was very reminiscent of Galaxy Quest which is one of my favorite movies.
The only real issue I had with the book was the amount of times the author used "said". There is so very much dialog and "said" is almost the only verb used in each instance.
Its awkward, especially to read out loud.

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Time Travel: Redshirts - John Scalzi	6	44	May 03, 2013 08:14am
The Jittery Robot...: March 2013	3	4	Apr 01, 2013 08:39pm
Goodreads Librari...: Needs a number of fixes	50	286	Feb 15, 2013 06:31am
The Sword and Laser: Author John Scalzi Q&A Oct. 5	1	42	Oct 05, 2012 10:32am

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