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Lock In (Lock In #1)

by John Scalzi (Goodreads Author)

3.84 · Rating Details · 30,444 Ratings · 3,657 Reviews

A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Loc ...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published August 26th 2014 by Tor Books

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Can't Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2014

19th out of 494 books — 2,552 voters

Best Picks: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Novels of 2014

20th out of 271 books — 1,407 voters

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

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Sep 24, 2014 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it really liked it

Shelves: end-of-the-world, netgalley, read-2014

3.5-4 stars.

When I first started reading this book I was so confused I thought I was going to give up. Then my friend Mike came to my rescue explaining that there is a novella to this book up at Tor. http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/un.... I really think that part needs added to this book, it's very hard to figure out what's going on without it.

Once I read that I was sucked into this book.
A flu type virus has been transmitted globally. At first it starts flu like, if you survive that the secon ...more

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Nov 16, 2014 Patrick rated it it was amazing

I've read pretty much everything John Scalzi has written at this point, so when I pick up one of his books, I don't expect anything in particular. I just know he's going to take me somewhere, and I trust that he's going to make the ride a pleasant one.

Even so, I was a little surprised by this book. In some ways it's sci-fi but not rocketships-and-lasers sci-fi. In other ways it's a mystery, but not the Victorian-style Sherlock sort of thing. It's also kind of a police procedural. Maybe a bit of ...more

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Sep 30, 2014 Nataliya rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-reads

If you ever want a morbid exercise to kill some time, imagine living through this: full consciousness, full comprehension - and the complete inability to control your body, a physical paralysis that does not affect your mind, a complete and total helplessness that does not even provide you with a merciful unawareness but instead leaves you just lying there, conscious but immobile and unable to communicate.

This is what hell is like, I'd imagine - imprisonment within your own self. This is what li ...more

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Sep 14, 2016 Lyn rated it really liked it

This one is going to be made into a movie, sooner rather than later. Go ahead and call Fandango and decide which candy goes best with your buttered popcorn (Junior Mints). I would not be at all surprised if Scalzi did not have some preliminary discussions with Hollywood.

Lock In is a delicious combination of Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov with Scalzi’s signature snarky characterization and dialogue. This is also vaguely reminiscent of Poul Anderson’s Harvest of Stars books where consciousness ca ...more

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Jan 21, 2016 mark monday rated it liked it

Shelves: murdertime, futuristik, earth-journal

from the Earth Journal of Scientific Analyst SLJLK92349UO, Earth Invasion Exploratory Unit

It’s tough to be a human: that is something I’ve learned during my lengthy time studying the human species on this planet Earth. Life itself is hard, of course, with its everyday pitfalls and each individual’s long-term ambitions and disappointments… but for humanity that difficulty is compounded by all of the –isms that exist to divide humanity from itself. Isms based on race and culture and gender and ori from the Earth Journal of Scientific Analyst SLJLK92349UO, Earth Invasion Exploratory Unit

It’s tough to be a human: that is something I’ve learned during my lengthy time studying the human species on this planet Earth. Life itself is hard, of course, with its everyday pitfalls and each individual’s long-term ambitions and disappointments… but for humanity that difficulty is compounded by all of the –isms that exist to divide humanity from itself. Isms based on race and culture and gender and orientation and age and socio-economic status and family background and personal appearance; all those things, whether intangible or physical, that help form a human’s identity. I have always been fascinated by this construct “identity,” at least in how it affects the human species. Back home on Robot Planet we seldom are concerned with such things; if we feel anxious about or disappointed in our current form, we simply upload into a more pleasing iteration.

Scalzi appears to share my interest in identity; specifically, the mutability of physical identity and the distance that can lie between a person’s interior and exterior. From Scalzi’s perspective, the clothes do not make the man – nor does the body or the gender or the age or many other things. It is a forward-looking perspective and one that I fully endorse. This perspective has been present in much of his work; his exciting science fiction saga starting with Old Man’s War posits that the mutable physical self is but a prop or costume or useful tool for that which exists within. He takes that interest to a new level in his novel Lock In. A world full of a sizeable minority who only engage with the world in mind and spirit, whose prone “locked in” bodies slumber peacefully while their minds roam the world through robotic suits or as guests in human bodies or in a kind of virtual landscape constructed for this minority. It's as if Scalzi finally went for it in this novel and decided to put his interests right up front. He is truly a classic version of the “speculative” science fiction author in that he hypothesizes where the human race may go to next while still concerning himself with how we operate as individuals and as a society right now.

Perhaps I am just a typical liberal robot of the old model, but I find a touching connection between his progressive blog posts and his ongoing interest in illustrating how a person is so much more than what their body does or looks like or comes from.

As far as the novel itself goes, it is a futuristic mystery. Agent Chris Shane is new on the scene, and on his first day he has to deal with a crime that has far-reaching implications for that sizeable minority who are locked in, as well as the rest of humanity. Agent Shane is also locked in, so there was a lot of enjoyable detail about how Chris and others who are locked in often interface with the physical world through robotic bodies nicknamed "threeps." Chris Shane's gender is never identified – an ingenious decision and one that fits right in with Scalzi’s viewpoint re what actually makes a person a person. The mystery itself is simple to solve; the prose is bland and workmanlike but not objectionable. It is all quite easy going down and made for a pleasant way to pass the time. More compelling to me than the plot were the themes and ideas mentioned above. And more appealing to me than the rather rote characters on display was the character of the author, also on display. He is an admirable example of his species. I’d welcome him on Robot Planet, where he would be the source of much interest! Although I suppose if there were more humans like Scalzi, I would feel more guilt about our upcoming invasion. And then where would Robot Planet harvest its fuel sources and capture its meat-based servants? Our moral logic would force us to find another planet for such needs! Happily, there are few like Scalzi on this planet Earth. ...more

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Dec 14, 2015 Mike rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, book-club, thriller, reviewed

First off, if you haven't read the prequel short story for this book, do so now, even if you have already read this book. It is short but does a tremendous job fleshing out the world this book takes place in. Seriously, go read it now. And if you are feeling so inclined, check out my review of it.

All done with that? Good.

So at its very heart, good science fiction is about introducing some change in technology and extrapolating how that change will affect people and societies. Good ones will not ...more

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Nov 03, 2015 Cecily rated it it was ok

Shelves: scifi-future-speculative-fict, overrated, dystopian, canada-and-usa

Imagine living your life at one remove, as through a veil; more of a passenger than a protagonist. Would you feel secure, claustrophobic, wanting release - and if so, at what cost? Would it be easier if it was the only existence you'd ever known, or if you had memories of a normal life? What is it that makes us human, anyway - surely not the efficacy of our physical bodies?

I was hooked by the situation, but infuriated by the constant and very crass exposition (for which I downgrade the book), an ...more

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Mar 28, 2016 Carmen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Science-Fiction Fans

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, traditionally-published

Scalzi does it again.

Society is struck with a form of meningitis in which certain people are 'locked in' to their bodies - able to feel and hear and see and think - but completely unable to move. These people are called Hadens. They can use droids that are uploaded with their consciousness to move around in the physical world.

Another, much smaller subset of people were affected but were not paralyzed. These are called Integrators and Hadens can hire them to serve as a vehicle for their conscious ...more

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Dec 01, 2015 Whitney Atkinson rated it it was ok

This book wasn't horrible, but I had very little motivation to return to it every time I put it down. Sci-fi isn't my favorite genre to begin with, so I was actually surprised that I enjoyed this world, yet once the whole FBI mystery aspect of this novel was thrown in as well, it lost my interest again. This book took me too long to read, so important characters introduced in the beginning of the book were meaningless to me when I reached the solution. This just resonated very "meh" with me.

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Mar 22, 2016 Char rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, science-fiction, crime, dark-fiction

4.5 stars!

Count me in as new fan of John Scalzi!

After listening to Scalzi's Redshirts, (also narrated by Will Wheaton), I knew I would be reading and/or listening to more of his books in the future. I wasn't all-out crazy about it, due to what I felt was the excessive use of "he saids" and "she saids" in the narrative, but I recognized interesting world-building and great story-telling skills and wanted to try more of Scalzi's work. I'm so glad I did!

The world-building in this book is just...bey ...more

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Jul 11, 2015 Figgy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, reviewed, favourites-2014

Featured on my 2014 favourites list!

I had a pretty good idea going in that I would enjoy this book. What I didn’t know was that I was going to spend a whole day telling myself I would read “just one more chapter” putting off breakfast… and then lunch… until there were no more chapters left to negotiate over, and it was practically dinner time.

Often, when entering a fictional world that is different for our own–be they far in the future, on another world, or in a place ruled by magic–we have to l ...more

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Sep 07, 2014 Jon added it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, read-in-my-40s, meh

2.5 stars

Meh.

Barely science fiction. Mostly police procedural.

Too much dialogue, and lacking in Scalzi's usual wit and humor. Infodumps before the novel started, over dinner and at other times (Show, don't tell!). I expected more/better from Scalzi.

Glad I borrowed it from the library and didn't buy it.

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Jun 19, 2015 Michael rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, mystery, science-fiction, bioengineering

Scalzi scores again with me in his solid storytelling and imaginative play on technology trends. The big “what-if” here concerns advances in brain-machine interfaces that allow someone who is largely paralyzed to live in the real world by controlling a robot. The premise gets pushed to a large scale following a plague resembling viral encephalitis that kills off a lot of people and leaves millions intellectually intact but unable to move, a state referred to as “lock in”. The care of these peopl Scalzi scores again with me in his solid storytelling and imaginative play on technology trends. The big “what-if” here concerns advances in brain-machine interfaces that allow someone who is largely paralyzed to live in the real world by controlling a robot. The premise gets pushed to a large scale following a plague resembling viral encephalitis that kills off a lot of people and leaves millions intellectually intact but unable to move, a state referred to as “lock in”. The care of these people’s bodies, known as Hadens, is subsidized by governments, and full rights are given for their personal drones, or “threeps”, to operate and function in jobs in society on behalf of their owners.

The story balances an exploration of the social and ethical aspects of life in this society and a murder mystery involving another class of people affected by the plague, the “Integrators”. These folks suffered some brain damage, but did not end up with the lock in disability. They have a special ability, with extensive training, to submit to having their bodies controlled through an interface with Hadens, and thus they can make a good living serving effectively as occasional human threeps for wealthy Hadens. Our hero, Chris Shane, is a Haden taking up a new position as an FBI agent. He is assigned to a brutal murder where the prime suspect on the scene is an Integrator. It helps that his feisty new female partner, Agent Vann, turns out to be a former Integrator.

I found all this pretty cool. You get all the elements of a police procedural with a rookie trying to prove himself while delving into a brave new world of a new kind of cyber-people. The legal and moral conundrums concerning privacy and attribution of crime in this new context reminds me of Asimov’s “I, Robot” series. The issues raised for the psychology of identity and meaning in life for the lock ins reminds me as well of Varley’s “Persistence of Vision”, which deals with a unique society formed by victims of a virulent measles epidemic which creates the birth of thousands of people who are blind and deaf. I appreciated Scalzi’s insight that adults struck down by the disease would appreciate a sense of agency in the world through their threeps while those affected in utero or as infants invest more time living in a virtual world created for Hadens known as “the Agora.” Unfortunately, he resorts more to telling instead of showing the nature of this latter mode of living.

Classic sensory deprivation experiments revealed how the mind starts losing its integrity even after short periods of being cut off from input. If sensory input is intact, but movement gone, as with quads and ALS, there can still be self-agency and sanity as long as communication and self expression is possible. That a mind can then begin to thrive better with amplified connections to a virtual world of people is fascinating to consider. Having an artificial body is a different kettle of fish. I love science fiction traditions for exploring such themes as science is beginning to make some of their elements a reality. Most people eat up movies like "The Terminator", "Matrix", or "Avatar" without dipping into the long writing tradition on these themes. I encourage more people who don’t generally read science fiction to give this a whirl.
...more

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Sep 07, 2014 Brendon Schrodinger rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, mystery

I have been looking forward to this one for a while now. I really enjoyed 'Old Man's War' and have had an entertaining time with a couple of his other works, but I have been reticent to jump into the larger 'Old Man's War' universe through the sequels. I'm not a huge fan of war. So when the synopsis of this came out last year I found myself excited to read some new and different Scalzi.

Lock-In is a near future sci-fi mystery that really is a well-rounded and fascinating read. There's stuff to st ...more

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Oct 17, 2015 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Like every Scalzi book this one was well plotted and an enjoyable read. It's like the retro science-fiction books of the 50s and 60 - a tense, fun, thriller with cool sci-fi concepts mixed in!

The core conceit of the society altered by Hadens (and the parallels drawn to the the internet and the Native Americans) were interesting and certainly gave me some pause for thought about internet privacy, ownership, and the vulnerability of this global system. It's light, fast and easy but you can't beat ...more

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Feb 13, 2016 Andrew rated it really liked it

Hmm this is a tricky one to comment on - you see you could zoom in on it and dissect it to the most basic elements of the story, in this case its a cop buddy story where two totally dissimilar characters team up and actually learn from each other and in the process get the bad guys and become heroes. But that is far too easy and misses a HUGE part of the story.

Or you could zoom out and see it as shocking discussion about how sooner or later any natural disaster (in this case the Hadens syndrome) ...more

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Jun 16, 2015 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A big surprise to me, but I loved this book and I am far from a lover of Science fiction. Plus I learned many new words like threeps and integrators. The thought of a flu that would affect the world as Hadens does in this novel is absolutely frightening. But I suppose it has before, the Spanish flu, but that killed people, Haden does much worse.

A murder mystery, some great characters and a fast moving pace kept me reading with great curiosity.

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Aug 25, 2014 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, mystery, thriller-suspense, review-copy, arcs-and-galleys

4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/08/25/b...

Whenever I need a good pick-me-up or book to brighten up my day I always turn to John Scalzi, and he hasn’t let me down yet. I’ve been a big fan of his ever since I read Old Man’s War, and that’s also when I started associating his work with light, humorous sci-fi that’s also accessible and not too overwhelming for someone like me, who is predominantly a fantasy reader and not always in the mood for hard science fiction 4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/08/25/b...

Whenever I need a good pick-me-up or book to brighten up my day I always turn to John Scalzi, and he hasn’t let me down yet. I’ve been a big fan of his ever since I read Old Man’s War, and that’s also when I started associating his work with light, humorous sci-fi that’s also accessible and not too overwhelming for someone like me, who is predominantly a fantasy reader and not always in the mood for hard science fiction or heavy techno-jargon. In fact, many of Scalzi’s books were my gateway to the genre; they were perfect for when I was first getting my feet wet and trying to read more sci-fi.

So I was very excited to read Lock In, his latest novel about a future society of robots and humans. Of course, the big twist here is how this robot revolution came about, and the premise is unique and unlike anything I’ve encountered before. Indeed, Lock In is also quite different from all of Scalzi’s previous books – its tone is perhaps more pensive and serious, with a few scientific and technological concepts that are more complex and may be a little more difficult to grasp.

In this near-future setting, the world has survived a virulent flu that has swept across the globe and devastated much of humanity. This deadly new strain of the disease killed many of those infected in the first stage, but some of those who survived were also relentlessly hit with a second stage of symptoms which included acute meningitis. A percentage who went on to survive this second stage found themselves “locked in”, trapped in a state of being fully awake and aware, but having no control over their voluntary nervous systems.

This condition, named Haden’s Syndrome after the president’s wife who was the most famous person afflicted with lock in, was given much attention and a lot of money was thrown at it in the hopes of finding a cure. None was found, but a way to get “Hadens” walking and talking again was developed, thanks to biological advancements in neural networks and technological advancements in robotics. The brains of those locked in were essentially linked up to humanoid personal transports affectionately named “Threeps” (after C-3PO of Star Wars fame), allowing them to interact with the world once more.

Thus Scalzi sets the stage for the real story, which most closely resembles a mystery-suspense. However most of the above background information has to be pieced together as the reader progresses through the book, as we are pretty much dropped right into the thick of things without much explanation upfront. We don’t find out until about a dozen pages in the protagonist of the novel is a Haden himself. It’s rookie FBI Agent Chris Shane’s first couple of days on the job and already he’s thrust into a what looks to be a messy could-be-murder-could-be-suicide case involving an Integrator, who are rare individuals that survived the flu and the meningitis stage and didn’t get locked in, only to develop a brain structure which would allow Hadens to link up their minds to use their bodies as if they were their own or a Threeps’.

As you can see, the concepts in this novel are quite intricate and complex, and I’m actually really impressed Scalzi was able to get all the relevant information across without having to commit the cardinal sin of shameless, wholesale info-dumping all over these pages. After having a peek at several early reviews of Lock In from readers who found themselves slightly lost and confused especially at the beginning of this novel, I was a bit concerned that I would feel the same way, but surprisingly I did not. It’s true that not all the details and answers about the world are available right away, but I still found the story easy to follow and I ultimately liked the way knowledge about Haden’s Syndrome and its history were gradually presented to us. All the information came to light eventually, and it happened very naturally and in a way that didn’t distract from the storytelling.

And while this book is a tale of mystery at its heart, what I liked best about its was its subtle societal themes and messages about topics like disability, ethics in medicine, and other tough questions for a country in which millions suffer from a very expensive and life-altering condition. Scalzi explores the implications of this and the effects that Threeps might have on the population. I’ve always thought of his books as more “popcorn reads”, like with novels such as Redshirts or Agent to the Stars, but Lock In also surprised me with its depth and moments of thoughtfulness.

That being said, this book is still pure Scalzi in terms of his light, easy prose and plenty of humorous and snappy dialogue. Lock In was fun and entertaining, and I had a fantastic time reading this, but I also feel this is a next step for the author. It’s a huge part of what made this book such a great read, because to be honest, as mystery or suspense novels go, it’s not as mysterious or suspenseful as it could be (after all, it was pretty obvious who the bad guy was, and there’s really no having to guess whatsoever). But the writing, the premise of the story along with the background of Haden’s Syndrome and what it means for the world all came together in one perfect package for me. As a result I devoured this book in a bit more than a day and I loved every minute of it. ...more

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Sep 26, 2014 Emma Sea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, sci-fi, hardboiled-detective

What really strikes me about the book is that it's the first genderless MC I've encountered. I could be mistaken and overlooked an instance, but Scalzi goes to great lengths to never close off the possibility of Chris Shane being biologically either male or female, and, of course, once you remove the physical body from the equation, we can be whoever and whichever, or all, or none, that we want to be.

(Update 26 Sept 14: Tor has a piece about this today".

And Scalzi talks about his reasons for doi ...more

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May 31, 2015 Elyse rated it really liked it

"Locked In" is the first Science Fiction book I've read all year, (I've read very little science fiction in an entire lifetime).
'John Scalzi' fans have told me this novel is different than all his others. I have nothing to compare. But.., I liked it!!! I was pleasantly surprised at storytelling. It felt like a contemporary
fiction crime thriller. The story takes place in the future... But not so far off -- that I couldn't
Imagine cars driving themselves. ( we have these now).

I find the whole "h ...more

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Jun 17, 2015 Jokoloyo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am waiting to write my review until the buddy read event of this book is finished in SFI Group Discussion.

For now, I can say that this novel is my biggest mistake in judging book by cover/description for this year. I had expected this novel is a not-for-me book, but then I found it very enjoying. In my hype, when still reading it, I was tempted to give solid 5 star!

============

The buddy read has finished.

It is a SF with detective mystery theme. It has a great start, and keep the pace until the ...more

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Sep 11, 2015 Tim The Enchanter rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, science-fiction, 3-5-stars, book-pals, message-fiction

Unique and Complex - 3.5 Stars

This book had a great concept. I was listening to the audio version of the book as narrated by the one and only Wil Wheaton. If you do chose to listen to this, I highly suggest you physically read the opening segment. It explains the idea of "lock in" and the concept is much easier to grasp when the words are in front of you. I really did enjoy the novel but some elements left me a bit cold.

Plot Summary

The setup of the plot was somewhat complex and involves a ...more

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Oct 01, 2014 Ashley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: addictive, sci-fi, mysteries, speculative, class-gender-race, virtual-worlds, the-robots-will-kill-us-all, murder-most-foul

UPDATE 10/1/2014: If I was rating this book by the world-building alone, it probably would have gotten five stars. The idea of exploring Locked In Syndrome as a world-wide epidemic within a sci-fi framework is sooooo interesting to me. Lots of o’s to exhibit enthusiasm, there. I’m particularly interested in the ways that Scalzi, instead of focusing on the immediate effect of the disease itself, more uses it was a way to create a new social dynamic and class of people.

See, due to the high profile UPDATE 10/1/2014: If I was rating this book by the world-building alone, it probably would have gotten five stars. The idea of exploring Locked In Syndrome as a world-wide epidemic within a sci-fi framework is sooooo interesting to me. Lots of o’s to exhibit enthusiasm, there. I’m particularly interested in the ways that Scalzi, instead of focusing on the immediate effect of the disease itself, more uses it was a way to create a new social dynamic and class of people.

See, due to the high profile nature of some of its earliest sufferers, Locked In Syndrome (called Haden’s in Scalzi’s world, as its most famous victim was the fictional US President Haden’s First Lady) received a buttload of funding, both for the care of its victims, and new technologies enabling Hadens to essential live their lives in synthetic robotic bodies (called Threeps, after one of the most famous cinematic robots) and in a virtual space called the Agora. Some Hadens live almost entirely in the Agora, refusing to use Threeps, and not viewing themselves as disabled at all.

It’s really a fascinating way to examine the ways that humans stratify and codify ourselves, and Scalzi uses those same issues as a lens to mess around with reader and character expectations*. (The prequel novella–which I enjoyed more, either because it was my first exposure to this world, or because I just like reading about the social consequences more than what’s going on in the main story–is more of an oral history documenting the origins of Haden's syndrome and the way the world changed afterwards).

*I won’t be mentioning it elsewhere in my review, because I didn’t pick up on it all when I read the book, and only know about it now because of Scalzi’s blog, but (view spoiler)

Anyways, worldbuilding aside, this book is still fun, but not very remarkable in terms of character or plot. It’s essentially a murder mystery slash police procedural with a sci-fi edge, and the characters aren’t very fleshed out. The mystery itself was pretty good, but again, nothing really that new. I didn’t mind because I came for the worldbuilding, but it would be nice if there was a sequel to get a little bit more meat out of the premise and challenge the readers a bit more. It will be really interesting to see this as a TV show, because I think there will be more room for the development I’m craving.

9/6/2013: Hey, this sounds neat! And I only have to wait until August for it.

...more

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Aug 01, 2016 Rob rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, science-fiction, not-a-bookclub-club, read-2014, own, stand-alone, author-male

Executive Summary: Another fun Scalzi book. That shouldn't really surprise anyone at this point.

Audio book: I opted for the Wil Wheaton version of the audio since he's the way I prefer to consume Scalzi books. However thanks to the Audible pre-order sale, I got a free copy of the Amber Benson version that I definitely want to listen to at some point now that I've finished.

I will say the run time of 10 hours (11 for the Benson version) is a bit deceptive because the last 2hrs and 15mins or so is ...more

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Aug 24, 2014 Alex Ristea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, hardcover, science-fiction, arc

Scalzi is in fine form yet again with his newest novel. As we've come to expect, the characters leap right off the page. (See, this is why he's getting paid the big bucks—he writes well, and I write with cliches.) It's not just that they're incredibly distinctive, it's also that you get that sense after only a few paragraphs of time with each character.

The concept and story is fascinating (and scarily timely with the viral ALS icebucket challenge). I cannot recommend the prequel novella (Unlocke Scalzi is in fine form yet again with his newest novel. As we've come to expect, the characters leap right off the page. (See, this is why he's getting paid the big bucks—he writes well, and I write with cliches.) It's not just that they're incredibly distinctive, it's also that you get that sense after only a few paragraphs of time with each character.

The concept and story is fascinating (and scarily timely with the viral ALS icebucket challenge). I cannot recommend the prequel novella (Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome) enough. You can grab it for free here, and read my review here. However, while that reads like an epidemic tale, Lock In is a detective thriller and is set years after the outbreak—after society has had a chance to cope, and all the political and personal tensions appear.

It's also pretty damn funny, but not in a trying too hard sort of way (cough, cough, Sanderson). It's funny in the way of a long-time confident comedian who knows exactly what they're doing.

Now, some use this as a detraction, but this novel is incredibly easy to read. I'm not saying it's simple, but you will be so absorbed and fly through the clear and concise prose (and the wonderful dialogue—another of Scalzi's many talents) that you'll finish before you know it. If commercial fiction doesn't bother you, I highly recommend you grab Lock In this summer.

However, I never got quite invested enough to give it five stars. It was satisfying, but was missing a certain something to make me fall in love.

Nothing about this books sucks. But it also wasn't a blazing fire of awesomesauce either.

It also sort of wrapped up too quickly. Not in an exciting way with an explosive finish, but more of a two-page info dump of "aha, and here's how we did it!" Do detective novels usually do this? Perhaps I'm just out of the loop, but when you're getting to within a dozen pages of the end, and that end hasn't happened yet...well, I prefer long denouements and brilliant climaxes (not in that order).

Overall, a fun book that won't disappoint Scalzi fans, and since it's not in the Old Man's War universe, an excellent starting point for those unfamiliar with the author.

Lock In will be published on August 26 from Tor Books and you can pre-order it from all reputable (and probably not-so-reputable) bookstores. You should also go see Scalzi while he's on tour for this novel and get your books and pets signed. Full details here. ...more

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Apr 12, 2015 Jim rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi, 2fiction, apocalyptic, 3series, 1ebook

Scalzi does it again. A full blown, near-future world with a great mystery, excellent characters, & tight writing. He sucked me in from the start & never let me go. This is SF at its best.

A recent discussion in a group was bemoaning the lack of good SF lately. I mentioned Scalzi as keeping up the standards. Overall he reminds of Asimov or Heinlein at their best. He took a fairly simple problem, ran it out a few years, & tossed it into the middle of a murder mystery. Sounds simple, bu ...more

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Jan 31, 2016 Matthew rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, library, post-apocalyptic-dystopian, gr_awards_2015, 2016

4 to 4.5 stars

Bonus points for creativity. It was an unexpectedly unique sci-fi/techno mystery with nice twists of humor. I am glad that I didn't know much about this going in because it was fun to get into this bizarre new world (is it okay to say it's fun to get into a plague filled world?)

I will say that this is a very brainy story. A lot of concentration and thought must be given in order to keep up. I am still not entirely sure of everything that happened!

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Oct 03, 2014 Ben Babcock rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, science-fiction, mystery, thriller, autographed, 2014-read

This summer saw the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge splash onto social media. ALS terrifies me. A deadly disease that slowly robs you of your ability to move but doesn’t affect your reasoning? I’m not particularly fond of physical activities, but I like embodiment; I like being able to engage with the world actively. The idea of being unable to do that but remaining sound of mind sounds like a terrible way to go.

Lock In is a thriller set in a world ravaged by a disease superficially similar to ALS. Had ...more

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Oct 13, 2015 Kaitlin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: booktubesff-awards

I picked this book up as part of the BooktubeSFF awards and I was happy to do so because it was the first time reading a John Scalzi book for me. I had previously heard very good things about Scalzi and his work which made me excited to dive in, and yet whilst this was a likeable story and an interesting one, it didn't fully grip me as I had hoped.

The story follows a society in which there has, about 25 years ago, been a plague-like virus called Haden's (named after the first-lady who also got t I picked this book up as part of the BooktubeSFF awards and I was happy to do so because it was the first time reading a John Scalzi book for me. I had previously heard very good things about Scalzi and his work which made me excited to dive in, and yet whilst this was a likeable story and an interesting one, it didn't fully grip me as I had hoped.

The story follows a society in which there has, about 25 years ago, been a plague-like virus called Haden's (named after the first-lady who also got the disease) and this causes Meningitis-like symptoms and then a condition called 'lock-in' (which is a real condition). This basically means that the brain and consciousness of the person will work well and fine within the head of the person, but the body is fully paralysed and unusable.
We follow the society 25 years on from when the first few waves of this disease hit the world and millions of people have now been affected by the illness meaning that there's a lot of bodies being looked after whilst the 'people' (or at least their conciseness') have been able to directly hook up with and work through 'threeps' (essentially a robot body). It's a story which deals a lot more with the aftermath of such a virus and the way that Earth has come to deal with the rather catastrophic amount of people contracting Haden's and it also gives us a look at some near-future technology which has become a part of everyday life and sustainability for both the locked-in people and the others that the socialise and work with.

Some elements I did really enjoy about this was that the story doesn't have an 'apocalyptic' feeling to it, it instead seems like it's a good, solid foundation for the set up of a story and Scalzi has clearly thought about how this really would affect a culture both in politics, law and social ways. I thought that the ideas of threeps and their paralysed counterparts made sense in the way he explained them, and it felt like a realistic enough culture that I could get on board and enjoy the story.

Some elements I didn't so much enjoy were that this feels a lot more like a crime story than anything else and that's because we follow Chris Shane, the poster boy for Haden's as he's new to the FBI force and working on a case with his partner involving a potential Haden's victim or incident. The story reads like a fast-paced, action-packed story with some fun moments and some more sombre ones, but ultimately it's a story about solving the crime and seeing the world and how it's evolved along the way. For me I wish it had been a little heavier on the development of the characters because I do love a great character I can really connect to, and yet this book didn't have that at all for me (possibly the idea of people inside robots is more detached and so it makes sense, but even so).

Overall I would say that this is a fast, fun read with some cool ideas about what would potentially happen in this scenario and it's really easy to read in just a few hours. If you want something with more of a personality and character focus then you'll have to look elsewhere, but for a fun and intense read, filled with some cool sci-fi tech, this is a decent one. A solid 3*s overall.

(I am interested in getting to the Old Man's War Series by Scalzi still as I have heard that has more character development and I think it may be a little more to my tastes) ...more

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Jan 12, 2015 Wanda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, american-authors, read-in-2014

Actually, I would rate this book as 3.5 stars—but GR doesn’t do half stars, so 3 stars it is.

Lock In is an interesting mash-up of genres—it’s a tale set in the near-future with interesting technology, qualifying it as science fiction. Part of the scenario is a nasty illness that causes people to be “locked in” to their bodies, making it somewhat of a post-disaster novel as well. Throw in a murder mystery/police procedural where the main character/investigator is a Haden (someone who is “locked i ...more

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About John Scalzi

John Scalzi, having declared his absolute boredom with biographies, disappeared in a puff of glitter and lilac scent.

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“Making people change because you can’t deal with who they are isn’t how it’s supposed to be done. What needs to be done is for people to pull their heads out of their asses. You say ‘cure.’ I hear ‘you’re not human enough.” — 29 likes

“Rich people show their appreciation through favors. When everyone you know has more money than they know what to do with, money stops being a useful transactional tool. So instead you offer favors. Deals. Quid pro quos. Things that involve personal involvement rather than money. Because when you're that rich, your personal time is your limiting factor.” — 8 likes

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