Review: The Consuming Fire

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good follow-up to the first. Disaster movies about politicians sticking their heads in the sand to avoid listening to scientists about upcoming disasters feeling a bit on point, just at the moment.

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Review: The Collapsing Empire

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun, well-written space opera with galaxy-spanning empires and sneaky politics. Kind of loved that the "good" guys and the "bad" guys are both trying to save humanity (with themselves, of course, on top of the resulting pecking order) - the only real difference is which scientist they believe about the upcoming catastrophe...

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Review: Redshirts

Redshirts by John Scalzi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What the heck? _This_ is what you give Scalzi a Hugo for?

Don't get me wrong; it's not a terrible book. It's just probably the least-interesting one he has written. I'm something of a Scalzi fanboy - really enjoy his light touch on deep topics, and snappy Tarrantino-esque dialogue - but this was merely workmanlike. Go read literally everything else he's written first.

The first two-thirds are a well-written but uninspiring Galaxy Quest-like running joke poking fun at Star Trek. Mildly amusing, but two stars (ok) at best. It reads like a late-night-at-the-bar-at-a-con idea that got away from itself. The last third adds some depth to some of the characters, which dragged it up to a third star in my book, but felt a bit tacked-on. I got a chuckle out of this, but that's about it, and I'm thoroughly dumbfounded at the amount of lavish praise heaped on it.

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Review: Head On

Head On by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again with an interesting mystery, embedded in a backdrop that poses some interesting societal questions, without being too heavy-handed about it. This time those questions are mostly about the use of augmentation in sport, and whether the handicapped who have come to terms with - and in some cases flourished despite - their handicaps, actually need or want to be cured. Somewhat reminiscent of Speed of Dark in that respect, Enjoyable and thought-provoking.

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Review: Lock In

Lock In by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating look at some of the societal consequences to telepresence technology, in a near future where it has become commonplace due to a strange disease. And yet it doesn't devolve into lecturing; still manages to tell an entertaining mystery story in the foreground.

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