When most of you hear the name “John Scalzi,” you probably think Redshirts. I haven’t read that one yet, but I have heard alllll about it from fellow nerds. His new book, Lock In, while still very much sci-fi, is a very big change from the spoofy Star Trek fanfiction genre. Instead, Scalzi has written a cyborg cop drama, and I absolutely loved it.
Lock In is set in an America that has been ravished by a mega flu that infects the person’s nervous system. The Haden, as the victims (although they hate to be called victims) are called, is locked in to their body. Their brain is alive, but their body is essentially useless. So robots have been built to which their brains can be linked, and the Hadens can function in the world essentially as normal human beings would. It’s pretty sweet technology, really.
Scalzi’s book is set during a major civil rights march for these Hadens, as there is a big healthcare law being launched. That’s where the criminal part of the book comes in. I have to stop myself now before I give anything else away. The book is just so good I could talk and talk about it. Seriously, go read this one as soon as possible!
As I Lay Reading 