Redshirts by John Scalzi - 5 stars and I want to hug this book for existing

[Amy N.]

I love meta. I love characters that are genre savvy, I love characters that break the fourth wall, I love narratives that break the fourth wall. Give me meta and I'm there.

And this book gets so meta. The premise is already pretty meta: the crew of the Enterprise, er, the Intrepid, starts to realize that their casualty numbers are absurdly high, but only among the lower ranks. Their ship constantly gets into crazy situations that inevitably take the life of at least one crew member, but never the bridge crew. They (and one charismatic ensign) routinely walk away without a scratch.

This is obviously a parody of Star Trek (but a loving one.) But this meta premise quickly gets even more meta. And then it gets even more meta. And then it gets even MORE meta. And then the meta narrative just explodes and my mind is blown.

There is a certain type of fan fiction that is exactly the premise of this book: what if fictional characters were real/knew they were fictional? And while I secretly love that kind of story (re: my intense love of meta), I usually avoid fan fiction about it like the plague. Because most people writing that kind of story are young/immature types who are essentially playing pretend in a slightly more grown up way. Nothing wrong with that. I just don't want to read it if that's all it is.

But this... This is the best example of this trope. Because Scalzi isn't just playing pretend. He's looking at what happens to agency and choice when you have a writer controlling your every move. He's tongue-in-cheek teasing the tendency for older or lower budget sci fi to be a bit overwritten and cliche. And, yes, he's also doing the grown up version of pretend. But it's so thoroughly thought out, fun, and well-written that instead of rolling my eyes, I'm right there with him.

[Nicole R]

I really have to get to this book at some point.

[Joanne]

and...I had to look up what Meta is..lol I feel so old!

Nice review and I learned something new, thank you!

[Cora]

Have you read I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak? It is another great meta novel.

[Nikki]

This looks very entertaining, and I love the way your enthusiasm comes across in your review - thank you!

[Jgrace]

I should try this one. I've really enjoyed Scalzi's Lock In books, and The Collapsing Empire wasn't too bad. I've been a closet Star Trek nerd for years. ( For most of my teaching career, I could look from the playground to the exact place where Captain Kirk fought the Gorn).

I do have a few days. I could manage another geek book before the end of the year.

[Charlotte]

This is a great review!! Just added it to my TBR...

[Nicole R]

Jgrace wrote: "I do have a few days. I could manage another geek book before the end of the year. "

I am tempted to squeeze in one more, but I have one more Christmas novel I want to finish....

[Susie]

OMG! This sounds awesome. I’m a huge Star Trek fan and do love a bit of meta. I feel like I should try and fit this in before the end of the year. I’ve not read any Scalzi.

[KateNZ]

Succumbed - bought it from iBooks. I thought I was done for the year, lol 😂

[Amy N.]

Jgrace wrote: " ( For most of my teaching career, I could look from the playground to the exact place where Captain Kirk fought the Gorn)..."

I am so jealous.

Cora wrote: "Have you read I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak? It is another great meta novel."

I haven't, but it's now on my TBR. :)

[Karin]

I have to read this!!!!

[Olivermagnus]

This has been recommended to me numerous times. It's on my January plan for sure.

[Hebah]

I love Scalzi's blog and general internet presence, but I've still never managed to get around to reading one of his books. I need to fix that; this one sounds delightful.