my books. my life.

Title: Redshirts
Author: John Scalzi
Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 320
Audio: 7.6 hours
Year: 2012
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Source: Personal Collection
Book Rating: 4.5/5
Audio Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (from the Publisher):

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory.

Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expendedon avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

My Thoughts:

You don’t need to be a trekkie to enjoy Redshirts (based on those poor souls in red shirts who always died on away missions in the original Star Trek). It was full of humor and adventure and was a thoroughly entertaining read in its own right.

Wil Wheaton does a fantastic job narrating. I’m starting to think Wil Wheaton’s voice is John Scalzi. But I’m okay with that.

The book ends sooner than you expect and shifts to three separate codas, which add layers to the story. Some people didn’t like this, but I thought the codas made the book even more interesting.