REDSHIRTS by John Scalzi

Narrated by Wil Wheaton

…..The Narrative Exists…..

Being a Treker from way back I found many great inside jokes to be appreciated in this book. It is clear that Scalzi is a SF fan. This is a book that many of us fans have always wanted to have; to find someone else who loves the genre as much as we do and can write a pastiche containing many tributes to Star Trek, and to do it with humor. I like the show enough that I even smile when Scalzi points out the flaws in the show.

I found the connections between the Intrepid and the Enterprise to be a useful plot device. And the method that Scalzi uses to make the characters aware of their situation and especially the convoluted manner in which they extract themselves to be quite ingenious. This is a light-hearted book that tries to satisfy the fans and even introduces some serious themes. It is a good time.

The codas elevate a witty pastiche into an introspective piece of speculative fiction that is concerned with the effects of events that would be labeled throw-away in a typical novel. I like novels that make me think, even think about things that are impossible. This is interesting for that reason.

The choice to make Wil Wheaton the narrator of this Star Trek spoof is just another layer of complexity to the punch line. Wheaton clearly is well-versed in Trek and has just the right inflection to pull off all the tongue-in-cheek jokes and yet still remain serious because he knows that there are guys out there like me that eat this stuff up.