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Lock In by John Scalzi - Best Novel Nominee (2015)
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I really enjoyed this novel. I listened to the audiobook, which Wil Wheaton narrates, and it was fantastic. I found the ideas of disabled individuals being given these bodies and living a normal life and the culture of Haydens people to be amazing. I seemed to have gotten a lot more out of this book than some readers, and I really liked the noir mystery aspects.
This may be my favorite Scalzi book I love noir/sf mashups like Altered Carbon and Neuromancer and this book is in that same league.
I thought this book was great and in a normal year would have been nominated for a Hugo. He always has interesting ideas and a great sense of humor, but I think what sets Scalzi apart are his characters. They are relatable and generally seem like people I'd like to hang out with. Lock in is no different. Loved the characters and loved the ideas and examining the implications of a society with "locked in" people and the different ways they and society interact with each other. Also enjoyed they sf/mystery aspect of it. I'm interested in what others thought and will share more thoughts later.
I read this book in September and it was just an okay read. I felt the story had a slow start and only picked up towards the end when everything was coming together. I think I would have liked it more if I didn't have such high expectations as everyone raves about Scalzi. I will read more Scalzi albeit with lower expectations.
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I have to agree with Krazyaboutbooks saying that the hype surrounding Scalzi made me expect a lot more than what I got and although the world really worked for me the rest was just fun and fast, not deep and emotional (as I prefer).
I'll still want to read more Scalzi in the future but I think I'll go into it with less over-hyped excitement next time :-)
I liked this book. The humor was great, the characters felt real, and it was overall a fun and fast read. I really love the idea of lock in and a society with Hadens. But i can't help feeling he could have done more with it. Therefore, i gave it a 4* rating.
I thought the novella Unlocked was a great little side piece after I finished the novel. It is a documentary on Hayden's syndrome through the lives of multiple people. Added a ton of context and world building
I don't normally go in for Sci-fi but I really enjoyed this work. It was well thought out and written. The story flowed well and was easy to read and understand. This book is like a cross between the movies gamer and Surrogates. While it is not totally an original idea, the author brought new ideas and touches to the plot. I enjoyed the detective type aspects of the story that allows you to follow the steps of the novel. One of the best aspects of the story is how readable it is. The story is believable and the science of the story is easy to understand . As a reader you aren't bombarded with technical information that you have to decipher to understand where the story is going. The characters had depth and I can see myself reading more novels set in this world.
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All I know about the plot is that this focuses on the aftermath of a virus which has made a small percentage of the population 'locked in' (basically unable to move or respond, but still fully aware). This sounds to me like a pretty thought-provoking and interesting idea for a story, so I can't wait to experience it with you all and see everyone's thoughts below :)
Please use spoiler tags to hide comments about material which happens later in Lock In. To make a spoiler tag remove the spaces after each < in the following line: < spoiler> Oh Noes! < /spoiler>. It's also helpful for others if you say what chapter or page the spoiler occurs on sometime before or after the tag.