Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion
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Lock In
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Lock In (GR Choice Awards Buddy Read) - June 2015
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Awesome! I'll be reading this one next month.
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Girl squeal! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book. I talked my in-person book club into reading this for January, and to many of their surprise, they enjoyed it. They are not really scifi kind of people, but then, this book is really more of a (view spoiler)I will admit, I am a big ole Scazi fangirl. While he writes great scifi, his stories are always so human. Plus, he has a very entertaining way of telling a story.
Something interesting to note for you audio book fans, there are actually two versions. One is narrated by Wil Wheaton (a common narrator for Scalzi) and the other by Amber Benson (formerly Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I got both as part of a promo and switched back and forth before settling on Benson, but from what I heard, both are good options.
So, I am now to the point where I cannot say much without giving something away, so I think I'll wait until some of you finish to discuss further. I can't wait!!!
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I can't wait to hear what you think!
starting once I'm through the corrections .. which might take a little bit.
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Wish I had had time to read the prequel first, though I'm not sure it would have helped. If anyone is interested in the prequel, the link is here: http://www.tor.com/2014/05/13/unlocke...
I've read both the prequel and the novel now and I loved both (the prequel maybe even a little more). such an intriguing, yet terrifying world! I didn't love the murder mystery part, but it was ok.. and told within the setting, it was fascinating. I'm definitely going to gift this to my dad who loves crime & thrillers, but sci-fi not so much ... I'm always trying to convince people of how awesome sci-fi is (or can be).
I'll be curious to see the discussion.
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I finished. I really liked the book. I thought the story was interesting. I was a bit confused the first part of the book with the science fiction part. It was all described well enough after the fact, but initially I found it confusing. Once I sorted out what was going on, I enjoyed the book a lot more. I really wish GR would let us do half stars. I teetered between 3 and 4 stars for quite some time with this one. My true rating would have been 3.5 stars.
LOL...I totally agree. Sometimes it is a big jump from 3 to 4 stars for me and I need that half star to accurately rate something. I usually note it in my review.Many in my book club group (of not-so-scifi ppl) had the same issue in the beginning, Kristie, but ended up with about the same feeling.
Book Summary
A novel of our near future, from one of the most popular authors in modern SF
Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. Four percent suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And one percent find themselves “locked in”—fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus.
One per cent doesn't seem like a lot. But in the United States, that's 1.7 million people “locked in”...including the President's wife and daughter.
Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering, America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can restore the ability to control their own bodies to the locked in. But then two new technologies emerge. One is a virtual-reality environment, “The Agora,” in which the locked-in can interact with other humans, both locked-in and not. The other is the discovery that a few rare individuals have brains that are receptive to being controlled by others, meaning that from time to time, those who are locked in can “ride” these people and use their bodies as if they were their own.
This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded, and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse....