The Android's Dream

Not a cyberpunk, despite the title. Not really scifi either, but an action thriller with a (way too) large cast of one-dimensional cardboard characters and way too many deus ex machina and coincidences. Fun for about half, but bogging down towards 2/3. Not nearly Old Men War level - and I don't consider that a masterpiece...

This book confirmed my suspicions about the author's obsession with the sense of smell. From the title, I had the question “Do androids dream of electric sheep?” in my head from another book, but that has very little to do with this story. I enjoyed the twists, mystery, aliens and future as told by John Scalzi. Although, I'm not sure a future with lab-grown meats is ideal.

This is a probably actually more of a 3.5 star book than the 4 stars I have given it. The story is fast paced and fun at times, however it didn't grab me and sometimes it felt that events were just a little too coincidental to ring true (the scene with the shoes struck me as particularly crowbarred in). Having said that, some of the characters were interesting; it would have been good to delve further into the lives of Brian and Archie in particular.

All-in-all, I am glad I read the story, but I suspect it won't stay with me too long.

Executive Summary: I found this book a lot of fun, but utterly ridiculous, even for Mr. Scalzi.

Audiobook: Wil Wheaton does his usual good job at delivering John Scalzi's snark. He reads clearly and with good inflection. He doesn't do voices, but I do feel that audio is definitely a solid option for this book.

Full Review
After my last book, I was looking for something light and fun, and John Scalzi always fits that description for me. This is one of the few books by him I haven't read. I picked up the audio on a deal a few years back and for some reason I just never got around to listening to it.

This book starts out on a ridiculous premise and just seems to keep getting more ridiculous as the book goes on. The protagonist is a bit too competent at times as well, but considering the circumstances he was put in, it didn't really matter that much.

I've always enjoyed Mr. Scalzi's sense of humor, and this one is no different. There were less times that I found myself laughing at a joke than I was simply shaking my head at the events I was listening to however.

I liked the world building a fair bit, even if they were a large part of the silliness as well. I'm a sucker for interplanetary space federations. I'd be interested in reading another book set in this world.

Overall this was a fun and fast read and was exactly what I was looking for when I listened to it. It's not as good as some of his other work, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

Short Review - A science fiction setting, but more of a spy/adventure book. Henry Creek has to find a particular breed of sheep to stop an interstellar war that the Earth will be sure to lose. It has a lot of humor so it feels like a Carl Hiaasen or Christopher Buckley book with a science fiction setting.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/androids-dream/