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Sep 20, 2014 07:39PM
This is the discussion for our chosen Contemporary SF/F Novel read for September:
Lock In by John Scalzi
Lock In by John Scalzi
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FYI, Tor has a prequel novella, Unlocked, available online for free. You don't need to read it to understand Lock In, but it's an extended history of events leading up to the future US of the novel. (If you're an audiobook listener, that novella is at the end of the Lock In audiobook. It's not in the ebook.
If you're undecided about reading, Tor has the first 5 chapters of the novel for free as well.
If you're undecided about reading, Tor has the first 5 chapters of the novel for free as well.
Lock In is a near-future police procedural, sort of Law and Order 2040 (cue the chords.)
As an overall impression, I found it highly readable crime mystery, but pretty lightweight both in plot, character, and science fiction.
Setting (no spoiler)
Scalzi has been cagey about the exact date (among other things.) The most significant change in the future is described in 3 pages at the start of the novel: A flu-like disease, Haden's Syndrome, swept the globe, killing millions and leaving millions more mentally alert but physically paralyzed, a condition known as "Lock In".
After trillions in research, neural technology was developed to allow the Locked In to communicate directly by thought and later expanded to allow them to participate in the outside world through drones they could pilot. The current, sophisticated remote piloted vehicles are humanoid in appearance, so-called threeps (after 3PO. Cute.)
An extended description of the Great Flu and its consequent technological developments can be found in the free novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome.
The closest I could come to pinning down the exact date was the "25 years ago" at the start of "Unlocked". So, ~2040?
I thought Scalzi's vision of the future is a little narrow, focusing mostly on the technology developed as a consequence of Hadens (plus self-driving cars, which still don't fly.) Not a lot else in the world has changed, even with relation to his Haden-funded neural tech advances. (In contrast, Charles Stross's Halting State, which is a police procedural only half a dozen years in the future, teems with technological extensions of current research, even if his prediction of an independent Scotland seems to have been scuttled.)
As an overall impression, I found it highly readable crime mystery, but pretty lightweight both in plot, character, and science fiction.
Setting (no spoiler)
Scalzi has been cagey about the exact date (among other things.) The most significant change in the future is described in 3 pages at the start of the novel: A flu-like disease, Haden's Syndrome, swept the globe, killing millions and leaving millions more mentally alert but physically paralyzed, a condition known as "Lock In".
After trillions in research, neural technology was developed to allow the Locked In to communicate directly by thought and later expanded to allow them to participate in the outside world through drones they could pilot. The current, sophisticated remote piloted vehicles are humanoid in appearance, so-called threeps (after 3PO. Cute.)
An extended description of the Great Flu and its consequent technological developments can be found in the free novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome.
The closest I could come to pinning down the exact date was the "25 years ago" at the start of "Unlocked". So, ~2040?
I thought Scalzi's vision of the future is a little narrow, focusing mostly on the technology developed as a consequence of Hadens (plus self-driving cars, which still don't fly.) Not a lot else in the world has changed, even with relation to his Haden-funded neural tech advances. (In contrast, Charles Stross's Halting State, which is a police procedural only half a dozen years in the future, teems with technological extensions of current research, even if his prediction of an independent Scotland seems to have been scuttled.)
To me 30 years, during which a terrible epidemic wiped out millions and left millions more "Locked In", doesn't seem like enough time for any really significant changes, especially with a major focus shift for scientists into Hayden's Syndrome research.After all, in the last 30 years we've mostly just made our tech smaller and easier to cart around.
What surprised me was that everyone (who could afford it) without Hayden's hadn't gone out and gotten brain tech implanted. I'd want to access the web that way, I'd probably become a VR addict. Interesting that all the new stuff was limited to Hayden's survivors only.
The mystery itself didn't seem all that mysterious and I didn't get many thrills from the action scenes, but I did enjoy the book overall. Standard Scalzi writing, clear, clean, easy to tear through, thoughtful. But maybe the overall thriller parts suffered a bit from the focus on the social aspects of the disease survivors. Maybe the dangers were blunted by the whole robot body thing. Not sure, but I thought it was good anyway.
Did you understand the two different narrators before you reached the end? I was so busy with the plot I didn't even realize what that implied until I was almost done.
Michele wrote: "After all, in the last 30 years we've mostly just made our tech smaller and easier to cart around."You seem to have missed digitalization, the WWW and Industry 4.0 somehow ;) Those are live-changers and can't be counted in "smaller and easier".
I fully expect some large revolutionary invention in the next 15 years.
Well, 30ish years ago (I was a preteen) I had a computer and I could dial up through it (brrrrreeeeeeeppppppttthhhhrrrrrr), and I could record things off the tv with a VCR (my mom had a betamax lol).Sure all that stuff is better and faster and cheaper and smaller now, and you can wear it on your wrist. Info is much more instant and global. Advances are being made in science, physics and medical areas.
But a lot of the focus seems to be on tech - new, cool, buy-another-iphone stuff. Drones to deliver my Amazon purchases! My TV is Smarter than a fifth grader! My car tells me where to go! I can drive and talk and surf the web and crash and chew bubble gum all at the same time! And it's okay cuz my car has airbags and a camera on the bumper! I can tweet a selfie on the way to the hospital!
But no flying cars, not even a hoverboard, and barely getting those shoes that lace themselves up. I still wash my own dishes with my HANDS fur goshsakes! No robots do my laundry, I can't visit Mars for the weekend, my cats still ignore me, and I can't have my DNA adjusted to allow me to breathe underwater. I still can't live forever, or download my brain into a computer. Beam me up, Scotty!...Scotty?
I'm just saying, everyday life isn't that much different now, despite the interwebs. We all still get up, drive or walk to school/work, watch tv shows (on the computer maybe), eat microwaved food. The Middle East is still a mess, children still starve in 3rd world countries, even if Madonna and Angelina and Sandra have adopted a few. We still pump crud into the atmosphere and the oceans and cut down the rainforests.
What do many people use the web for? "News," pirating stuff, ranting about stuff, trolling, games, kitten pics, and porn. And bookclubs.
At least in the 80s we didn't have the Kardashians. Though we did have mullets and parachute pants and shoulder pads, so that's improved. And we had Weird Al too - my second album purchase (after Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun)! He needs to live forever. Get on that, Science!
TL; DR...Old person 80s nostalgia rant over. I'm gonna go find that dial up sound on youtube or somewhere :)
Read Lock In, it's good.
Ha I found it! Thanks internet! I love the advance of civilization!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR...
I read Unlocked after I got about 10% in, and found it made Lock In a whole lot easier to follow. More comments later :)
Michele wrote: "Did you understand the two different narrators before you reached the end? I was so busy with the plot I didn't even realize what that implied until I was almost done...."I'm assuming this is in the audiobook version? I don't remember reading any other POV's besides Chris. How were the two narrators employed?
Michele wrote: "There were two different audiobook versions you could buy. [spoilers removed]"Oh! Well that's interesting. (view spoiler)
Yup, I went back and checked to make sure.
Michele wrote: "Did you understand the two different narrators before you reached the end? I was so busy with the plot I didn't even realize what that implied until I was almost done...."
I'm honestly not sure when the penny dropped.
I "read" Lock In 3 times: first as an e-book, then I "read" it once each with the two audiobooks. (Yes, I should know the plot pretty well by now. :)
(view spoiler)
It's an interesting trick, and one I'm sure Scalzi had to devote considerable effort toward, with a thoughtful purpose (beyond selling extra audio books, I presume.)
(view spoiler)
I'm honestly not sure when the penny dropped.
I "read" Lock In 3 times: first as an e-book, then I "read" it once each with the two audiobooks. (Yes, I should know the plot pretty well by now. :)
(view spoiler)
It's an interesting trick, and one I'm sure Scalzi had to devote considerable effort toward, with a thoughtful purpose (beyond selling extra audio books, I presume.)
(view spoiler)
I'm afraid I also (view spoiler)Wow, huge chunks of this story are difficult to discuss without spoilers.
Integrators
One of Scalzi's stranger suppositions in his Haden Syndrom future is the existence of Integrators, a small subset of Haden survivors who can accept neural networks and allow Locked In Haden patients to operate their body, much like a meat threep.
That's a pretty generous act by a body donor, even if the donation is temporary and subject to immediate override. I assume they are well-paid. Is this akin to kidney donation? (How many people donate kidneys to non-relatives?) Or is this more akin to prostitution? (view spoiler) We're told there are 100,000 or so Integrators in the US compared to the 4 million Locked In.
I don't think altruism is the main motive, certainly not with Integrators like Nicholas Bell or Brenda Rees, who seem to loan themselves out to CEOs and high-priced lawyers.
(No Scalzi does write something about there being a government program to provide Integrators for a day to those who can't afford them.)
By the way, bacon cheeseburgers would not be on the top of my Integrator to do list.
One of Scalzi's stranger suppositions in his Haden Syndrom future is the existence of Integrators, a small subset of Haden survivors who can accept neural networks and allow Locked In Haden patients to operate their body, much like a meat threep.
That's a pretty generous act by a body donor, even if the donation is temporary and subject to immediate override. I assume they are well-paid. Is this akin to kidney donation? (How many people donate kidneys to non-relatives?) Or is this more akin to prostitution? (view spoiler) We're told there are 100,000 or so Integrators in the US compared to the 4 million Locked In.
I don't think altruism is the main motive, certainly not with Integrators like Nicholas Bell or Brenda Rees, who seem to loan themselves out to CEOs and high-priced lawyers.
(No Scalzi does write something about there being a government program to provide Integrators for a day to those who can't afford them.)
By the way, bacon cheeseburgers would not be on the top of my Integrator to do list.
SPOILERY CONTENTSTor has posted a discussion on the issues raised by Michelle and discussed above. Scalzi has also weighed in on his blog.
Unless you don't mind a major spoiler, I would not suggest checking these out until after you have read the book.
Michele wrote: "I'm just saying, everyday life isn't that much different now, despite the interwebs. We all still get up, drive or walk to school/work, watch tv shows (on the computer maybe), eat microwaved food...." [Some "old person 80s nostalgia" has been redacted for brevity of citation :]
You could view the Victorian period the same way (minus the TV watching. What did people do with themselves before radio? :) Still, technology has changed how we work and spend our leisure time in the last 25 years. Changes don't have to be as extreme as people with gills to simply crop up in every day life. Just the fact that a previous technology has become sufficiently better, faster, cheaper, and smaller to pass from a curiosity into every day life is worth noting in a sci-fi book purporting to show 25 years in the future. (Yes, you could use the Great Flu as an excuse why technology didn't advance much.)
If you read an older sci-fi book, you notice the lack of newer tech in everyday life: cellphones, Internet (Google, Wikipedia, maps), digital photography, GPS (seriously, people used to stop at gas stations to get directions?) The future should have its own version of these things.
The kind of changes I tend to look for in near-future sci-fi are the self-driving cars (that Agent Vann, like Will Smith in "I, Robot", prefers not to use :) Something just experimental now that's become a part of everyday future life, even if it hasn't made humans into fish.
Now, perhaps it's totally unfair to ask Scalzi to turn into a futurist. He wants to take just one technological idea and imagine some consequences of just that one thing, and that's probably perfectly valid.
You could view the Victorian period the same way (minus the TV watching. What did people do with themselves before radio? :) Still, technology has changed how we work and spend our leisure time in the last 25 years. Changes don't have to be as extreme as people with gills to simply crop up in every day life. Just the fact that a previous technology has become sufficiently better, faster, cheaper, and smaller to pass from a curiosity into every day life is worth noting in a sci-fi book purporting to show 25 years in the future. (Yes, you could use the Great Flu as an excuse why technology didn't advance much.)
If you read an older sci-fi book, you notice the lack of newer tech in everyday life: cellphones, Internet (Google, Wikipedia, maps), digital photography, GPS (seriously, people used to stop at gas stations to get directions?) The future should have its own version of these things.
The kind of changes I tend to look for in near-future sci-fi are the self-driving cars (that Agent Vann, like Will Smith in "I, Robot", prefers not to use :) Something just experimental now that's become a part of everyday future life, even if it hasn't made humans into fish.
Now, perhaps it's totally unfair to ask Scalzi to turn into a futurist. He wants to take just one technological idea and imagine some consequences of just that one thing, and that's probably perfectly valid.
Michele wrote: "What surprised me was that everyone (who could afford it) without Haden's hadn't gone out and gotten brain tech implanted. I'd want to access the web that way, I'd probably become a VR addict. Interesting that all the new stuff was limited to Haden's survivors only...."
I think that's the main technological gripe I have with Scalzi's future in this novel. You'd think the technology would have been spread as widely as possible (for example, to anyone wheelchair-bound) just in the interest of building a large a constituency as possible. This is the single central technological advancement the novel pushes, and he could have explored it in a dozen other ways.
Installing Scalzi's neural net requires literal brain surgery, but apparently it's a fairly safe procedure.
Virtual meetings in the virtual reality of the Agora would seem to be an attraction, and not just for gaming and other entertainment. (There would of course be VR addicts. Seems to me I've read and watched some sci-fi on that subject.)
One point, Agent Shane needs to travel from Washington to Arizona, and all it requires is swapping control to a different threep and Shane is magically there. (And it's a cute joke about the threep being broken and thus needing a wheelchair.) That sort of telepresence would seem to be a big sales point. (I recall movie, Xchange, that had body swapping as a quick transportation tool, and it's central to Morgan's Altered Carbon novels.
Also, Agent Shane, as a Haden in a threep, can automatically perform facial recognition on people the threep meets, or use her "inner voice" for telephone calls. (Apparently Agent Vann can't, which seems a shame for an FBI agent, though it's possible the tech is available but Agent Vann doesn't use it, like the self driving car.)
At one point in , Vann uses some sort of "glasses" to join Shane in a private space in the Agora (looks like the Batcave), so clearly it can be done. (In Stross's 2020 Edinburgh, cops have augmented reality glasses connected to "cop net", for automatically identifying people, vehicles, and addresses.)
Scalzi mumble something about Haden's subtly changing brain structure so that only certain Haden survivors are eligible to get neural networks installed to become Integrators.
Near the end he talks about some of the companies providing this tech considering branching out to the wheelchair-bound because Abrams-Kettering is reducing government subsidies for the Hadens. Which begs the question, why not already?
I think that's the main technological gripe I have with Scalzi's future in this novel. You'd think the technology would have been spread as widely as possible (for example, to anyone wheelchair-bound) just in the interest of building a large a constituency as possible. This is the single central technological advancement the novel pushes, and he could have explored it in a dozen other ways.
Installing Scalzi's neural net requires literal brain surgery, but apparently it's a fairly safe procedure.
Virtual meetings in the virtual reality of the Agora would seem to be an attraction, and not just for gaming and other entertainment. (There would of course be VR addicts. Seems to me I've read and watched some sci-fi on that subject.)
One point, Agent Shane needs to travel from Washington to Arizona, and all it requires is swapping control to a different threep and Shane is magically there. (And it's a cute joke about the threep being broken and thus needing a wheelchair.) That sort of telepresence would seem to be a big sales point. (I recall movie, Xchange, that had body swapping as a quick transportation tool, and it's central to Morgan's Altered Carbon novels.
Also, Agent Shane, as a Haden in a threep, can automatically perform facial recognition on people the threep meets, or use her "inner voice" for telephone calls. (Apparently Agent Vann can't, which seems a shame for an FBI agent, though it's possible the tech is available but Agent Vann doesn't use it, like the self driving car.)
At one point in , Vann uses some sort of "glasses" to join Shane in a private space in the Agora (looks like the Batcave), so clearly it can be done. (In Stross's 2020 Edinburgh, cops have augmented reality glasses connected to "cop net", for automatically identifying people, vehicles, and addresses.)
Scalzi mumble something about Haden's subtly changing brain structure so that only certain Haden survivors are eligible to get neural networks installed to become Integrators.
Near the end he talks about some of the companies providing this tech considering branching out to the wheelchair-bound because Abrams-Kettering is reducing government subsidies for the Hadens. Which begs the question, why not already?
This was a compelling fast read to me, and I was happy that the Great Flu would knock everything but Haden-tech into the long grass. I only read Unlocked when I saw it linked upthread, and its a nicely done piece of supporting material.(view spoiler)
I intend to get the audio book too, although as its not exactly suitable for young children am not sure when I'd have a chance to listen to it!
Just ordered the book, and I have to read the last quarter of Cyteen, yet. I'll probably start reading next week.
Threep Culture
I wonder to what extent threeps can be customized by their... owner. (Was there a term in the book? Pilot? Rider? Inhabitant? Possessor? User?)
Apparently there are child threeps. (Agent Shane seem to use one when learning to ride a bike, according to a related backstory. Or did I read too much into that? Looking into the story again, it seems entirely possible it was a standard adult threep just being piloted by a child?) Would you expect threeps to be sold in male and female models? I wonder if those Locked In during adulthood would have a gender identity, and might prefer to use a threep that reflects that identity (especially if there's still a belief/hope that a cure will be found to Hadens.) Those exposed to Hadens in early life, such as Cassandra Bell and Shane, would probably have minimal gender identity.
On the other hand, Agent Shane uses a variety of threeps over the course of the story: an original, a new purchase, a loner, rental (there seem to be Rent-a-Threep locations around the country) and to standard government issue FBI threeps use when Shane visits other FBI offices. I suppose the purchase and rental versions could have been custom, though the government issue temporary threeps are probably pretty generic (and one was so beat up its legs no longer worked, producing the odd image of a threep in a wheelchair. :)
Would you expect custom paint jobs? Maybe molded heads that resembled the owner? Would you put clothes on your threep, just as a fashion statement? (I surmise Agent Shane at least doesn't cover the threep's chest, since it's used for some sort of display. Incidentally, wouldn't it be awfully easy to display a fake FBI badge?) I don't remember any particular reference to clothing, either on humans or threeps.
Threeps seem to project the natural voice of their Locked-In owner. I surmise this because at one point Agent Shane is walking through a park and overhears the voice of a female in need of assistance, and rushes to provided it.
This raises a couple of interesting questions: What does Agent Shane's voice sound like? Shane became locked In in very early childhood (apparently before being potty trained, if the backstory told about using an Integrator is accepted.) Surely this FBI agent isn't going around using the voice of a child?
And then there's Cassandra Bell, who was born already Locked In. She apparently doesn't use threeps, but in the Agora she has a virtual voice. I wonder if she picked it from a set of presets, like designing a character in some video games? Clearly Miss Bell actively believes in a distinct threep culture existing in the Agora completely divorced from physical bodies.
I wonder to what extent threeps can be customized by their... owner. (Was there a term in the book? Pilot? Rider? Inhabitant? Possessor? User?)
Apparently there are child threeps. (Agent Shane seem to use one when learning to ride a bike, according to a related backstory. Or did I read too much into that? Looking into the story again, it seems entirely possible it was a standard adult threep just being piloted by a child?) Would you expect threeps to be sold in male and female models? I wonder if those Locked In during adulthood would have a gender identity, and might prefer to use a threep that reflects that identity (especially if there's still a belief/hope that a cure will be found to Hadens.) Those exposed to Hadens in early life, such as Cassandra Bell and Shane, would probably have minimal gender identity.
On the other hand, Agent Shane uses a variety of threeps over the course of the story: an original, a new purchase, a loner, rental (there seem to be Rent-a-Threep locations around the country) and to standard government issue FBI threeps use when Shane visits other FBI offices. I suppose the purchase and rental versions could have been custom, though the government issue temporary threeps are probably pretty generic (and one was so beat up its legs no longer worked, producing the odd image of a threep in a wheelchair. :)
Would you expect custom paint jobs? Maybe molded heads that resembled the owner? Would you put clothes on your threep, just as a fashion statement? (I surmise Agent Shane at least doesn't cover the threep's chest, since it's used for some sort of display. Incidentally, wouldn't it be awfully easy to display a fake FBI badge?) I don't remember any particular reference to clothing, either on humans or threeps.
Threeps seem to project the natural voice of their Locked-In owner. I surmise this because at one point Agent Shane is walking through a park and overhears the voice of a female in need of assistance, and rushes to provided it.
This raises a couple of interesting questions: What does Agent Shane's voice sound like? Shane became locked In in very early childhood (apparently before being potty trained, if the backstory told about using an Integrator is accepted.) Surely this FBI agent isn't going around using the voice of a child?
And then there's Cassandra Bell, who was born already Locked In. She apparently doesn't use threeps, but in the Agora she has a virtual voice. I wonder if she picked it from a set of presets, like designing a character in some video games? Clearly Miss Bell actively believes in a distinct threep culture existing in the Agora completely divorced from physical bodies.
Just finished reading Unlocked and going to start Lock In tomorrow. Amazing story and an exceptional writer, I am absolutely thrilled! Thanks for the suggestion!
Does a threep flinch? And other unanswered questions....
"The threep flung the knife at me, and I flinched involuntarily. It pinged off my head and back onto the kitchen floor."
Since FBI Agent Shane has been a threep since earliest childhood, what would be normal reaction? There's the old saying that a child learns not to stick a hand in fire after the first time. But a threep offers no such experience (unless it's a rental, which apparently have their pain sensors set pretty high :). Is flinching purely instinctual, embedded in our DNA, or is it learned?
Tangentially related, should police departments have a bunch of threep cops for SWAT teams and other dangerous work?
Should the military hire a lot of Lock Ins for piloting drones (not just airborne but for clearing hostiles on the ground?) Seems to me the whole military applications part of this cybernetic technology is just waiting to be explored.
"The threep flung the knife at me, and I flinched involuntarily. It pinged off my head and back onto the kitchen floor."
Since FBI Agent Shane has been a threep since earliest childhood, what would be normal reaction? There's the old saying that a child learns not to stick a hand in fire after the first time. But a threep offers no such experience (unless it's a rental, which apparently have their pain sensors set pretty high :). Is flinching purely instinctual, embedded in our DNA, or is it learned?
Tangentially related, should police departments have a bunch of threep cops for SWAT teams and other dangerous work?
Should the military hire a lot of Lock Ins for piloting drones (not just airborne but for clearing hostiles on the ground?) Seems to me the whole military applications part of this cybernetic technology is just waiting to be explored.
I've seen little babies just stand there when you toss them a toy (yes a soft toy!) and let it hit them, so I doubt flinching is completely instinctive or involuntary. But since the threeps do feel pain of some kind, I'm guessing Chris learned to flinch as a child in a similar way. Or maybe it's from being scolded for letting something damage the expensive robot body.
Also, regarding military matters, I'm wondering if the pandemic and subsequent refocusing of national funds on Haden's research might not have stalled out both the need for and money for large military action. Scalzi doesn't really address the ramifications worldwide, so we can't know how badly other nations suffered. I would guess China was devastated (because of overpopulation/overcrowded cities), but the Middle East might not have changed much, being both a different climate and social structure. So who would they be preparing to fight against, and what would the military resources of that country be able to fight with? No need to create super droid armies when you can just drop some bombs and shoot some missles from afar.
But I'm still assuming there is definite action somewhere in the US military to use the threeps in combat if necessary. Because reasons.
Michele wrote: "I doubt flinching is completely instinctive or involuntary. But since the threeps do feel pain of some kind, I'm guessing Chris learned to flinch as a child in a similar way....."
Threeps do have pain transmitters (it's mentioned at one point that the pain sensors are cranked up really high for rental threeps to discourage customer abuse of the units.) But it also seems they can be turned off. Apparently useful for FBI agents when being shot. (At another point, Chris tells a childhood story of trying to do flips on a BMX bike and getting whacked by a truck, actually "disintegrating" the threep. There didn't seem to be any pain associated with that event, just confusion at being suddenly disconnected.)
I was thinking threeps should be more reckless than meaty people. And indeed, in one scene Chris intentionally interposes the threeps between a gun and Vann.
Michele wrote: "Or maybe it's from being scolded for letting something damage the expensive robot body...."
How to discipline your child robot.... Okay, kid, you're grounded. No threep for you.
I wonder if teachers can tell if the mind in the threep has decided to go to the Agora to play video games?
Threeps do have pain transmitters (it's mentioned at one point that the pain sensors are cranked up really high for rental threeps to discourage customer abuse of the units.) But it also seems they can be turned off. Apparently useful for FBI agents when being shot. (At another point, Chris tells a childhood story of trying to do flips on a BMX bike and getting whacked by a truck, actually "disintegrating" the threep. There didn't seem to be any pain associated with that event, just confusion at being suddenly disconnected.)
I was thinking threeps should be more reckless than meaty people. And indeed, in one scene Chris intentionally interposes the threeps between a gun and Vann.
Michele wrote: "Or maybe it's from being scolded for letting something damage the expensive robot body...."
How to discipline your child robot.... Okay, kid, you're grounded. No threep for you.
I wonder if teachers can tell if the mind in the threep has decided to go to the Agora to play video games?
Michele wrote: "Scalzi doesn't really address the ramifications worldwide,..."
I think that's indicative of the general narrow focus of Scalzi's world building (if I can even use that term for it.) In technology (as I've already mentioned), social change, economics and politics, Lock In's universe has extreme tunnel vision, concentrated only an Haden's Syndrome and threeps. Almost all the characters have background in the Haden's subculture (pretty much guaranteed by the fact we're looking at an FBI team dedicated to threep/Integrator crime.) Even the plot (which, interestingly, we haven't discussed at all, yet) is focused entirely on Haden's, threeps & Integrators, both in means and motive.
Michele wrote: "But I'm still assuming there is definite action somewhere in the US military to use the threeps in combat if necessary. Because reasons."
There always has to be a war somewhere :(
I think that's indicative of the general narrow focus of Scalzi's world building (if I can even use that term for it.) In technology (as I've already mentioned), social change, economics and politics, Lock In's universe has extreme tunnel vision, concentrated only an Haden's Syndrome and threeps. Almost all the characters have background in the Haden's subculture (pretty much guaranteed by the fact we're looking at an FBI team dedicated to threep/Integrator crime.) Even the plot (which, interestingly, we haven't discussed at all, yet) is focused entirely on Haden's, threeps & Integrators, both in means and motive.
Michele wrote: "But I'm still assuming there is definite action somewhere in the US military to use the threeps in combat if necessary. Because reasons."
There always has to be a war somewhere :(
I haven't read this yet, but as I understand it, it's about a virus outbreak (the prequel is)...and today the news says we got a case of another virus, Ebola, in Tx....weird.
Lock-In as a possible TV series
I mentioned earlier (before this discussion began) that Lock In has been optioned by for possible development is a television series.
Lock In Acquired for Television by Legendary TV (Scalzi's blog)
Legendary TV Buys John Scalzi Novel ‘Lock In’ (Variety)
It's probably going to end up being a police procedural featuring Shane and Vann, but with one of the partners being a mechanical person, looking a bit like Star War's C3PO which gives the mechanical body it's slang name, threep. (Although they might decide to make the threep look human so it can be played by a simple actor, in which case it's like last year's canceled "Almost Human".)
It occurred to me that one of the interesting aspects of Lock In, and one we've discussed the most so far, has been the (view spoiler).
Assuming this actually gets far enough and development to produce a pilot, it also occurs to me as soon as they assigned actors to the roles (view spoiler) At which point it becomes another police procedural.
I mentioned earlier (before this discussion began) that Lock In has been optioned by for possible development is a television series.
Lock In Acquired for Television by Legendary TV (Scalzi's blog)
Legendary TV Buys John Scalzi Novel ‘Lock In’ (Variety)
It's probably going to end up being a police procedural featuring Shane and Vann, but with one of the partners being a mechanical person, looking a bit like Star War's C3PO which gives the mechanical body it's slang name, threep. (Although they might decide to make the threep look human so it can be played by a simple actor, in which case it's like last year's canceled "Almost Human".)
It occurred to me that one of the interesting aspects of Lock In, and one we've discussed the most so far, has been the (view spoiler).
Assuming this actually gets far enough and development to produce a pilot, it also occurs to me as soon as they assigned actors to the roles (view spoiler) At which point it becomes another police procedural.
I enjoyed this, but I agree with some of the earlier comments that some of the world-building is a little narrow.One area I was really surprised Scalzi didn't run with more was the more radical Cassandra Bell view of threep/locked in culture. It's clearly an extension of existing areas such as deaf culture. I'm just a little disappointed that more wasn't made of it.
I have finished it and I really enjoyed it, but I totally agree with you guys about the world-building and some inconsistencies. I read it more like if I were reading a crime novel than a sci-fi book, I confess.
Luciana wrote: "I read it more like if I were reading a crime novel than a sci-fi book, I confess...."
Glad you liked it.
Lock In is at its heart a police procedural, sort of Law & Order 2040, a pair of FBI agent partners investigating crimes. Since those crimes involve tin men and body-swapping minds (or is it mind-swapping bodies?), it's still sci-fi, just a genre hybrid.
And speaking of a crime novel, I think Scalzi needs to work on his mystery writing. He really doesn't throw out lot of suspects. Pretty much everyone involved is either a victim, FBI, or the murderer. The plot could've used a couple of red herrings, perhaps (it is a pretty short novel; my Kindle says it's about 330 pages, but for some reason it felt shorter. Maybe it was just so interesting it felt faster.)
And speaking of police procedures, I'm not sure I entirely bought the "integrator/client privilege", at least as it applies to the witness to a murder.
Glad you liked it.
Lock In is at its heart a police procedural, sort of Law & Order 2040, a pair of FBI agent partners investigating crimes. Since those crimes involve tin men and body-swapping minds (or is it mind-swapping bodies?), it's still sci-fi, just a genre hybrid.
And speaking of a crime novel, I think Scalzi needs to work on his mystery writing. He really doesn't throw out lot of suspects. Pretty much everyone involved is either a victim, FBI, or the murderer. The plot could've used a couple of red herrings, perhaps (it is a pretty short novel; my Kindle says it's about 330 pages, but for some reason it felt shorter. Maybe it was just so interesting it felt faster.)
And speaking of police procedures, I'm not sure I entirely bought the "integrator/client privilege", at least as it applies to the witness to a murder.
I've read a third of the novel and would say that it is quite typical Scalzi: Very light and easy read, bringing you right into the characters, world, and action, but no spectacular awesomeness.It is a very good change after having read slow Cyteen and dense Annihilation.
I can see the typical Scalzi flaws where I think that he shouldn't always stay on the surface but dive a bit deeper but in general the detective story works fine for me. As you might know, I'm not that into crime stories and so I don't have problems with any missed chances here.
G33z3r wrote: "my Kindle says it's about 330 pages, but for some reason it felt shorter. "
I've got the Tor hardcover edition which has got 334 pages in a quite large font and generous spacing. In addition, it has 25 chapters ending with a page break each. A denser typesetting would bring it down to some 230 pages or so.
Andreas wrote: "G33z3r wrote: "my Kindle says it's about 330 pages, but for some reason it felt shorter. "
I've got the Tor hardcover edition which has got 334 pages in a quite large font and generous spacing. In addition, it has 25 chapters ending with a page break each. A denser typesetting would bring it down to some 230 pages or so...."
Okay, not too surprising, then. Amazon offers "Real page numbers" for many e-books, which basically means a page number display at the bottom of each screen that corresponds to a print edition. I've noticed that some books run several screens per "real page", while "Lock In" almost matched 1-to-1 on my 8.9" screen. (Screen count depends on screen size and my font size choice.)
SPOILER WARNING
There are SPOILERS beyond this point
.
I've got the Tor hardcover edition which has got 334 pages in a quite large font and generous spacing. In addition, it has 25 chapters ending with a page break each. A denser typesetting would bring it down to some 230 pages or so...."
Okay, not too surprising, then. Amazon offers "Real page numbers" for many e-books, which basically means a page number display at the bottom of each screen that corresponds to a print edition. I've noticed that some books run several screens per "real page", while "Lock In" almost matched 1-to-1 on my 8.9" screen. (Screen count depends on screen size and my font size choice.)
SPOILER WARNING
There are SPOILERS beyond this point
.
I loved the excursion to Navajo Indians and references to Navajo code talkers. It is always good to be remembered that you don't need RSA or some other fancy algorithm to encrypt a message if you just have a couple of native indian friends.Here are two catches that I seem to have missed the first half of the book. I'm not entirely sure if they were resolved somewhere:
1. Chris Shane's gender isn't revealed. I always thought that this first person narrator is male and wondered why he would be paired with a female agent - but then I didn't care because I don't nothing about U.S. FBI practices.
I digged a bit deeper on that topic and found a longer answer by Scalzi and a Tor article about it.
2. Similar for Chris' race: Shane's father is black which is revealed on page 247 with "the image of a really big angry black man...". I probably could have guessed it with his background as a famous basketball star. But then again there is Dirk Nowitzki, right?
His mother's race on the other hand isn't clearly defined, only hinted at - old Virginian family with ties as runners for the Confederacy seems to imply white. I know there is an exception to everything but it would make a nice confusion regarding Chris :)
SPOILERS BELOW
Andreas wrote: " I seem to have missed the first half of the book. I'm not entirely sure if they were resolved somewhere:
1. Chris Shane's gender isn't revealed...."
No, you didn't miss that. I think that's one of Scalzi's points (and one of the more interesting aspects of the novel) is that the Haydens using threeps are essentially genderless. You can't tell by looking at the mechanical body anything about the physical body behind it, so why must it be revealed? There are, if you will, a new, third gender, pure mind divorced from biology.
It's also one of the reasons there are two audiobook editions (at least in US English), one narrated by a male and one by a female.
Think of it as a Rorschach test.
Or the internet.You are completely unaware that I'm really a 8"-tall green-skinned, 10-tentacled alien.
And incidentally, writing about the book here makes me appreciate Scalzi's writing of the book all the more, because it's hard to talk about Agent Shane without resort to pronouns (which are either gendered or sound clunky ("it") in English. Compare and contrast to Enemy Mine, where the hermaphrodite aliens are consistently referred to as "it".
Andreas wrote: "Similar for Chris' race: Shane's father is black which is revealed on page 247 with "the image of a really big angry black man...". I probably could have guessed it with his background as a famous basketball star. But then again there is Dirk Nowitzki, right?..."
Ditto with Chris's race.
The basketball player turned politician example I thought of was Bill Bradley: NBA Hall of Fame player for the NY Knicks 1969-77, Senator from New Jersey 1978-1996, and Presidential candidate in 2000. But then I'm old enough to I watched Bradley play ball. (He's also the only Pro basketball player I can think of who was a successful politician as well.)
Scalzi is clearly making a point. You will recall there is some anti-threep prejudice and even violence associated with the political march in Washington (and returned violence by some of the threep protesters).
In fact, Chris Shane is somewhat of a celebrity among Haydens (something about a photo of a threep, a flower, and the Pope.) But the fame is strictly for the name, since no one can recognize a threep.
Andreas wrote: " I seem to have missed the first half of the book. I'm not entirely sure if they were resolved somewhere:
1. Chris Shane's gender isn't revealed...."
No, you didn't miss that. I think that's one of Scalzi's points (and one of the more interesting aspects of the novel) is that the Haydens using threeps are essentially genderless. You can't tell by looking at the mechanical body anything about the physical body behind it, so why must it be revealed? There are, if you will, a new, third gender, pure mind divorced from biology.
It's also one of the reasons there are two audiobook editions (at least in US English), one narrated by a male and one by a female.
Think of it as a Rorschach test.
Or the internet.You are completely unaware that I'm really a 8"-tall green-skinned, 10-tentacled alien.
And incidentally, writing about the book here makes me appreciate Scalzi's writing of the book all the more, because it's hard to talk about Agent Shane without resort to pronouns (which are either gendered or sound clunky ("it") in English. Compare and contrast to Enemy Mine, where the hermaphrodite aliens are consistently referred to as "it".
Andreas wrote: "Similar for Chris' race: Shane's father is black which is revealed on page 247 with "the image of a really big angry black man...". I probably could have guessed it with his background as a famous basketball star. But then again there is Dirk Nowitzki, right?..."
Ditto with Chris's race.
The basketball player turned politician example I thought of was Bill Bradley: NBA Hall of Fame player for the NY Knicks 1969-77, Senator from New Jersey 1978-1996, and Presidential candidate in 2000. But then I'm old enough to I watched Bradley play ball. (He's also the only Pro basketball player I can think of who was a successful politician as well.)
Scalzi is clearly making a point. You will recall there is some anti-threep prejudice and even violence associated with the political march in Washington (and returned violence by some of the threep protesters).
In fact, Chris Shane is somewhat of a celebrity among Haydens (something about a photo of a threep, a flower, and the Pope.) But the fame is strictly for the name, since no one can recognize a threep.
A lot of good questions and comments. I liked the book (would have rated it somewhere near 3.5 stars, but had to round it) but like most of you wished Scalzi had developped his world and the impact of his good idea more. That book would, to me, have deserved at least 4 stars.How does the fact that some people can do what basically amounts to teleporting themselves changes the world? How are you sure you're actually talking to who you think you're talking to, when all you see is a robot? What happens when 2 people use the same threep? How is not any Haden using any threep? What happens to really poor Hadens who can't afford a threep?
"Apparently there are child threeps. (Agent Shane seem to use one when learning to ride a bike, according to a related backstory. Or did I read too much into that? Looking into the story again, it seems entirely possible it was a standard adult threep just being piloted by a child?)"
If I'm remembering well, the way the picture with the Pope is described strongly implies Chris was using a child-sized threep-to me, at least.
"Seems to me the whole military applications part of this cybernetic technology is just waiting to be explored.""
I'd assume the ennemy would just create some kind of jammer to cut the connection, or better yet, hack a threep and turn it on its squadmates. We'll probably see something like this with the drones.
"At any rate, reading the e-book I seem to have defaulted to my own gender, but apparently not very strongly; then listening to the Benson narration, I decided Chris was female."
I read it, not listened to it, and pictured Chris as a guy (a white one who later became black :), but I wonder whether it is because I'm a guy or because I think of "Chris" more easily as a guy's name.
Angela wrote: "The protag is a youngish man with Haden's, who's just joined the FBI. His first week at work is a killer.,..."
I boosted this comment from one of the "What are you reading?" topics. I just thought it was interesting that Angela automatically categorized Agent Shane as male. I assume she read the print version.
I boosted this comment from one of the "What are you reading?" topics. I just thought it was interesting that Angela automatically categorized Agent Shane as male. I assume she read the print version.
G33z3r wrote: "Angela wrote: "The protag is a youngish man with Haden's, who's just joined the FBI. His first week at work is a killer.,..."I boosted this comment from one of the "What are you reading?" topics...."
I did read the print version. [nod] Now that you mention it, I do remember Scalzi talking about how he didn't really nail down the protag's gender, but Chris just felt male to me. And now I want to go back and reread at least the first few chapters, watching for it. [wry smile]
Angie
Angela wrote: "Now that you mention it, I do remember Scalzi talking about how he didn't really nail down the protag's gender, but Chris just felt male to me...."
I flip-flopped on Chris's gender. Audible had a deal on both audiobooks for the price of one, plus the usual Amazon whispersync discount for the e-book, so I got & read the whole magilla. Yes, I read/listened to Lock In 3 times. :0 Since I listened to the Amber Benson-narrated audiobook last of the three, I got stuck on Chris as female. :)
I flip-flopped on Chris's gender. Audible had a deal on both audiobooks for the price of one, plus the usual Amazon whispersync discount for the e-book, so I got & read the whole magilla. Yes, I read/listened to Lock In 3 times. :0 Since I listened to the Amber Benson-narrated audiobook last of the three, I got stuck on Chris as female. :)
I finished Lock In last night and gave it 3 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I really enjoyed reading your comments, even though this group read happened long before I was a member of this group. Michele, I thought you were dead on with your assessment of this book and G33z3r I liked your observations about how Scalzi's future world doesn't really seem sufficiently advanced considering it's supposed to be about 25 years into the future and also about how people would want to customize their Threeps.
This was my first Scalzi. It was somewhat interesting and the world was well-imagined. But there were just so many cliches! What's that? An FBI agent who stumbles into a murder/conspiracy ON HIS VERY FIRST DAY ON THE JOB?!? You don't say! I kept waiting for some meta-snark that would at least affirm that the author was in on the joke, like maybe his partner Vann saying: "I'm getting too old for this $#&*!" The characters were indistinguishable from one another and the plot was so trite I had to force my eyes not to roll back into my head. The ending, where the plot is neatly summarized by the villain, made me want to barf. Scooby-Doo, where are you?
To be fair, I think Scalzi was more interested in playing around with the world he created and the story was just an excuse to do so. He enjoyed seeing how Hadens would act towards non-Hadens and vice versa, especially in times of stress. But there's no emotional impact to anything that happens in this story because we don't care about any of the characters and the world never feels real to us. There's no suspense either, because it becomes obvious in the early going that Sir Deus Ex Machina will ride in to save the day anytime a major character is in peril.
Regarding the whole gender/racial thing, I assumed Chris was male all along because I felt like Scalzi wrote him that way, even if it was never explicitly stated. I accurately guessed Chris to be black (I assumed his mother was white) although like you G33z3r I thought of Bill Bradley due to Shane's father's political aspirations. Playing around with readers' gender and racial assumptions is a fun gimmick but not enough to carry the entire book.
I still enjoyed the book in spite of all these issues. Scalzi has a light, fun tone to his writing style. It's easy to read. The world is interesting. It was a solid 3-star book. I can understand a 2- or 4-star rating depending on personal tastes and preferences. But I'm overwhelmed by all the 5-star ratings on GR. Really? I don't see it.
Randy wrote: "An FBI agent who stumbles into a murder/conspiracy ON HIS VERY FIRST DAY ON THE JOB?!? You don't say!..."
This happens all the time. Don't you watch any television? :)
Yeah, the "first day on the job" trope is a lazy way to provide exposition. Since it's the first day, you get to be introduced to all the characters and get your hand held while someone explains everything.
I'm not sure lampshading it would help.
This happens all the time. Don't you watch any television? :)
Yeah, the "first day on the job" trope is a lazy way to provide exposition. Since it's the first day, you get to be introduced to all the characters and get your hand held while someone explains everything.
I'm not sure lampshading it would help.
G33z3r wrote: "This happens all the time. Don't you watch any television? :)Yeah, the "first day on the job" trope is a lazy way to provide exposition. Since it's the first day, you get to be introduced to all the characters and get your hand held while someone explains everything.
I'm not sure lampshading it would help."
The level of suspension of disbelief required to complete the book was, let's just say, substantial. It reminded me of a mashup of Michael Crichton (who enjoyed showing off his cutting-edge research and was fun to read but whose plots were often ridiculous and characters were two-dimensional) and Nelson DeMille (whose characters are slightly better than Crichton's and rely on their witty banter to move the story along but whose plots start off interesting until you realize it's like an airplane with mechanical failure and he just wants to land the thing without any real collateral damage).
So I enjoyed Lock-in quite a bit, but I would never recommend it as a first Scalzi. That would probably be old Mans war or red shirts if you're a Trekkie
Rachel wrote: "So I enjoyed Lock-in quite a bit, but I would never recommend it as a first Scalzi. That would probably be old Mans war or red shirts if you're a Trekkie"I'm up for Redshirts next. Old Man's War someday when I'm ready to handle another series.
Rachel wrote: "So I enjoyed Lock-in quite a bit, but I would never recommend it as a first Scalzi. That would probably be old Mans war or red shirts if you're a Trekkie"I've read all three of these and they were all quite enjoyable, I need to read some more Scalzi, he's a good author.
I've really enjoyed all his random stand-alone. Excited for a new world from him in a few months - the collapsing empire I believe
Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
Annihilation (other topics)Cyteen (other topics)
Lock In (other topics)
Cyteen (other topics)
Altered Carbon (other topics)
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