Redshirts by John Scalzi starts off as an off-kilter sci-fi exploration story. The starship Intrepid traverses the universe to discover new civilizations and make contact with new worlds with the crew having madcap adventures along the way. If that sounds vaguely familiar, that's because it is. Patterned loosely after Star Trek, the story even takes its name from the crew members that die - the redshirts. Not to spoil the ending, but Redshirts breaks the proverbial 4th wall and ends up far from where it begins. An homage or sorts, this book is a very witty and refreshing look at (or examination or even deconstruction of?) the sci-fi genre.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Redshirts
Redshirts by John Scalzi starts off as an off-kilter sci-fi exploration story. The starship Intrepid traverses the universe to discover new civilizations and make contact with new worlds with the crew having madcap adventures along the way. If that sounds vaguely familiar, that's because it is. Patterned loosely after Star Trek, the story even takes its name from the crew members that die - the redshirts. Not to spoil the ending, but Redshirts breaks the proverbial 4th wall and ends up far from where it begins. An homage or sorts, this book is a very witty and refreshing look at (or examination or even deconstruction of?) the sci-fi genre.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
The Future's so Bright
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu is funny, sad, touching, and thoroughly entertaining. With shades of The Hitchhiker's Guide mixed with a little bit of The Time Traveler's Wife and a portion of Slaughterhouse Five on the side, this book is an entertaining jaunt through time and space. A quick read for sure, yet for all its brevity, it packs a powerful amount of humor, angst, and metaphysics.
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