Head On

Head On

2018 • 7h 36m

Ratings120

Average rating4

15

Executive Summary: As with most Scalzi books, this one is light and fun without a ton of depth. Audiobook: Wil Wheaton is always a good fit for John Scalzi, and here is no different. I do mean to try to the Amber Benson version of the books at some point, but for me Wil Wheaton will always be my first choice for a Scalzi book.Full ReviewAt this point I've read nearly all of John Scalzi's books and enjoyed most of them. [b:Lock In 21418013 Lock In (Lock In, #1) John Scalzi https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438701397s/21418013.jpg 26115712] was no different. The idea of a disease leading to a new minority of people who trapped inside their own bodies makes for an interesting premise and some pretty creative world building.I wish more time was spent in the virtual world inhabited by many of the Haydn's, but since this is primarily a detective/murder story it's a bit hard to do so. Mr. Scalzi does ramp things up in the physical world with some pretty interesting new designs for Threeps (the electronic bodies that Haydn's can use to interact with the physical world).The premise of this one is built around a few Threeps that can have their heads taken off in a sort of blood sport (minus the actual blood). As a fan of both traditional sports and some esports, this feels like a little of both. I'm not sure I'd be interested enough to actually watch it myself however.It definitely added to the world building of the first book, and seems like the kind of thing that would emerge from the world that Mr. Scalzi created.The book is again told from the point of view an ambiguous protagonist. We still don't know whether Chris is male or female, and it doesn't matter (which I think is the main point). Chris is mostly competent at his job as they serves as junior investigator to his more seasoned partner who doesn't take shit from anyone.We get to meet some more of Chris's roommates in this book (at least I don't really remember any of them apart from Tony from the first one) but there isn't a ton of depth to most of the characters beyond the protagonist, his partner and maybe his parents. There really isn't a lot of time for much character development.This is the second book in a series, but I think Mr. Scalzi did a good job in making it read like a stand alone. I feel like you start here and not be too confused, then circle back to read the first book and/or the novella.This one was pretty short and I tore through it quickly but very much enjoyed it. I hope he writes a third one at some point, although I'd probably prefer it doesn't happen until he finishes his space opera series (The Interdependency) first.

April 19, 2018