Review | Redshirts by John Scalzi (Tor)

Title: Redshirts
Author: John Scalzi
Publisher: Tor
Format: Hardback
Release Date: June 2012

Reviewed by: Mark Chitty

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

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.

So, Redshirts, the new John Scalzi novel. Okay. Hmmm.

Look, I'm a fan of Scalzi's fiction. His Old Man's War books (Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony, Zoe's Tale) are excellent SF with a good story, setting, and plenty of humour in the narrative that works well. Agent to the Stars was also a really good read, as was Fuzzy Nation. But Redshirts. Man, disappointing isn't even the word.


The focus of Redshirts is the UUC Intrepid, and some newly arrived ensigns - our titicular Redshirts. The primary character is Andrew Dahl, and it's his experiences as he joins the Intrepid that we follow. There's something very wrong on this ship, and with his colleaugues miraculously disappearing at the right moments just as senior officers walk into the room, Dahl soon sets about to discover just what the hell is going on. It appears that there's a rather high percentage of crew deaths on away missions, and it is clear that certain people seem to be invulnerable to this misfortune....

I'll start with the good: Redshirts is a funny novel, a quick read, and full of references to Star Trek. I enjoyed reading it, plowing through in barely a day, simply because it's a typical Scalzi novel and his prose is easy to read - it very much has the 'one more chapter' effect. I also very much liked the fact that Redshirts focused on the minor crew members on the Intrepid, not on the bridge crew and high-ranking officials as is the case with many novels, and TV shows.

However.

Despite how much I enjoyed reading Redshirts I got the feeling, on pretty much every page, that I'd seen this before. Scalzi pays homage to Star Trek, without a doubt, and manages to do so fairly well, but that's its biggest failing. It's too similar, too many plot elements have been seen before. Adding a tongue-in-cheek take on them is good because, lets face it, the source material is ripe for mocking. But Redshirts' main draw is also its biggest letdown.

I had very high hopes for Redshirts, but ultimately it failed for me on pretty much all counts. It's a quick - and enjoyable - read, but doesn't do well when you look below the superficial elements. And the Codas - completely unneccesary, and it felt like they were there simply as padding because the main story was over so quickly.

For a bit of mindless reading if you've a spare afternoon, then Redshirts should suit you fine, but if you're looking for something deeper just give it a miss. I can't say I recommend it, because I don't, I'd much rather direct you to his previous novels where you'll find some of the most enjoyable SF stories I've read.

Mini-Review | Watch by Robert J Sawyer (Gollancz)

Title: Watch
Author: Robert J Sawyer
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 2010

Reviewed by: Mark Chitty

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
 

The Web is alive! The new SF thriller from the author of FLASHFORWARD.
Caitlin Decter could never have anticipated what was coming when she first sensed a strange presence on the internet
Webmind is an emerging consciousness that has befriended blind mathematics genius Caitlin Decter and has grown eager to learn about her world.
But Webmind has also come to the attention of WATCH - the secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat to the United States-and they're fully aware of Caitlin's involvement in its awakening.
WATCH is convinced that Webmind represents a risk to national security and wants it purged from cyberspace. But Caitlin believes in Webmind's capacity for compassion-and she will do anything and everything necessary to protect her friend.

I read Wake earlier this year and quite enjoyed it, despite that fact that it was mostly a set-up for the larger story of an AI coming into existence on the web. Watch is the second book in the trilogy and I was expecting bigger and better things from it, some of which it delivered, but it still left me a little wanting.

Once again the main focus of the story is that of Caitlin Decter and Webmind, how the two communicate and how Webmind is growing as a being. From the early chapters when WATCH discover something is going on on the web and set about planning to deal with it, to Webmind deciding to go public and reveal itself to the world, Watch is quite an interesting story that manages to once again take a realistic look at what the reaction to such a revelation could be. I particularly liked the way Webmind was discovering human behaviour and learning how to interact with other humans, when to step in to stop events, and how to respect the privacy of everyone whose information it has access to. Removing all spam mail from the internet is another little note that I liked, both for the power it shows Webmind wields, and for the effect it has on humanity's views on it.

Of course, with Webmind growing so much I was expecting something a little more... epic? Given the title of the third novel is Wonder I fully expect my doubts and reservations to be put to rest, but I'm also very intrigued as to how Sawyer will tie everything up in the end.

Review | Weird Space: The Devil's Nebula by Eric Brown (Abaddon Books)

Title: Weird Space: The Devil's Nebula
Author: Eric Brown
Publisher: Abaddon Books
Format: Paperback
Release Date: 29th May 2012

Reviewed by: Mark Chitty

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

Starship Captain Ed Carew leads a carefree life of smuggling, gun-running and other illicit pursuits in a far future ruled by the fascistic Expansion Authority. But when an Expansion judiciary ship captures Carew leaving the planet of Hesperides, an out-of-bounds world now governed by the fearsome Vetch extraterrestrials, Carew and his crew are sentenced to death...

Unless they agree to travel through Vetch territory in pursuit of a human vessel that set off for the Devil’s Nebula one hundred years ago. Why are the Expansion authorities so eager to track down the ship? Will Carew and co. survive the journey through Vetch territory? And what might they find when they arrive at the Devil’s Nebula?

The Devil's Nebula is the first book in the new 'Weird Space' shared world series from Abaddon Books, and written by one of my favourite authors, Eric Brown. I've not read many shared world books before as I've never really seen the attraction of doing so - I much prefer to read a series from one author. As this is the first book in the Weird Space setting I was pleased to be able to jump on at the start, see what Brown would set up, and just how I would perceive it knowing it was to be the first of many in this setting and to be continued by different authors. But anyway, what did I think of The Devil's Nebula? Exactly what I expected - I enjoyed it.

There are two main threads in The Devil's Nebula. The first follows Ed, Lania, and Jed, the crew of the borderline illegal trading ship The Paradoxical Poet, as they attempt to acquire a statue from a once-human world now under the control of the Vetch. With the penalty for being found here certain death, the crew know that it's a risky mission, and that's before the Captain, Ed, reveals the other reason they are there. But all does not go smoothly, and after a tight confrontation with the Vetch they escape only to be caught by the human authorities. Fearing the worst, it comes as a surprise that they are offered a mission to what is believed to be a far-flung colony world settled in secret many years ago. With their choices limited there is really only one option, and it's this exploratory mission that makes up the bulk of the story.

The other plot thread focuses on Maatja, a young girl living on the World, a planet where the small human population lives under the control of the Weird, an alien species that appears to look after them. But Maatja has suspicions, and as events unfold she realises that the Weird aren't the good-natured aliens they show themselves to be. And when Ed, his crew, and the officials arrive on the World questions finally start being answered.

There were two main things I wanted from The Devil's Nebula before I started reading it. The first is obvious: a good story. With Eric Brown at the helm I knew that was pretty much a sure thing, and he didn't disappoint. The Devil's Nebula is firmly set in an SF setting, but it isn't hard SF, nor really space opera. The small crew of the Paradoxical Poet added a nice set of characters, while Maatja allowed the World to be seen in a different view to the one most of its inhabitants have. Brown manages to convey the sense of wrongness on the World, but it does feel one-sided. It's not a bad thing, though a point of view here and there from the other side might have helped to balance it out a little. The Weird match there name well, and while they are explored throughout the story (more towards the concluding chapters), further details could have given a deeper complexity to them.

One of the few aspects I felt was thoroughly under-developed was the relationship between humanity and the Vetch. After the early stages of the novel they seem to be pushed to one side, the threat they pose to humans not really looked at in detail, and after some of the early scenes and exposition about them that raises many questions, I felt a little short-changed regarding them.

Of course, all this relates to my second requirement from The Devil's Nebula: how well does it work as a shared setting? The answer is quite simple: very well. These little things that weren't developed thoroughly here can be looked at in greater detail in future novels. Having Brown firming up all details would have been a bad idea for the future writers of this series, so it's a sacrifice that I'm prepared to allow it for the sake of future stories. And the ending certainly opens up many possibilities there.

Overall I'd say The Devil's Nebula is a spot-on first novel in a shared setting. It delivers a good story, introduces the premise of the setting and the threats and dangers posed within it, but also works well as a stand-alone. I'll be very much looking forward to the next Weird Space novel, especially one written by another author just to see where they can take it, and with Eric Brown already signed up for another book in this setting (Satan's Reach, details here), I know that it'll be a series worth following.