Book Review: Lock In by John Scalzi

I never liked Scalzi all that much -- he's a bit too... self-aware for my tastes.  I approached his latest work Lock In with a bit of trepidation, but I'm happy to say I took the chance and the book was quite fulfilling (that or I'm a sucker for near future sci-fi whatever the source).

Lock In is a near-future sci-fi novel where the entire world was hit with a highly contagious flu-like disease.  The disease causes a small number of victims to experience Lock In, that is, functioning mentally but unable to control their bodies.  Through science! and a whole lot of money, victims are able to regain a semblance of functionality, either through human surrogates (Integrators) or robotic (Threeps, taken from C3PO).  Hadens, as sufferers of the disease are collectively called, operate their surrogates remotely, through a wireless network.

The novel is a detective/murder mystery where the protagonist, Chris Shane (a Haden), joins the FBI to solve deaths involving Hadens, Integrators and Threeps (well, physical damage to the latter anyway).

Scalzi spins a well-tangled yarn, with a very believable world of high technology, complete with a well thought out social and economic framework.  Since I am a bit sour at finding myself thoroughly engaged and enjoying the novel (finished listening in a couple of days), my only major complaint is that everything got tied up too neatly in the end.

The audiobook version, narrated by Amber Benson, was a joy to listen to.  Benson's main protagonist voice (that of Shane) was pretty well done, but some of her other voices, particularly of male characters, were a bit off, but not too distracting.  All in all, the audiobook was a good and easy listen, particularly suitable during driving, working out, or even working (for some of the more mindless tasks you find yourself doing, at least).

I haven't enjoyed a Scalzi book this much since Old Man's War.  If you like your books reading like TV shows, then this one is for you.  I might actually go back to reading up on his other works (Redshirts).

Verdict: Very highly recommended (4/5)

TL;DR:

++ Well written. The audiobook version is also well read

++ Very believable near-future world, excellent world-building

+ Protagonist was charming and capable, and worked well within her limitations

+ Supporting cast is also likeable

+ Plot, while somewhat predictable, was well paced and nicely excecuted

-/+ Everything was tied up neatly in the end, though there's room for more books in a potential series (I'd be happy to read more, maybe 1 or 2 more, max).

Details:

Author: John Scalzi

Genre: Sci-Fi, Near Future, Police Procedural

Book Length: 336 Pages (Hardcover Version), 10 Hours Audible Audiobook

Published: August 26, 2014

Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Lock-In-John-Scalzi-ebook/dp/B00IHCBE1C/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Movie Review: Mockingjay Part I

I really disliked what Peter Jackson did with the Hobbit: he turned a smallish novel into three unnecessarily long and dragging movies just because he could.  I've read the book and I was quite indifferent towards it (as opposed to being absolutely enamoured with The Silmarillion), even as it was directly connected to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I haven't read the Hunger Games books, so I can only judge the movie by its merits and I'd have to say I liked it quite well: Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen (best name ever) is a joy to watch, and the late Philip Seymore Hoffman gave his usual excellent performance (his eyes seem to be always smiling, giving him that jokes-on-you look).  Julianne Moore is there as President Coin and Donald Sutherland plays his villainous best.

The movie is quite... depressing and tends to pull at your heart's strings. Katniss struggles against the role the rebellion places on her and spends the time looking generally bewildered, with interleaving moments where she's back as her usual Mockingjay self.  One thing I can say is that Lawrence certainly has turned out to be quite the young woman, as opposed to being just a teenaged girl as she was when she started with The Hunger Games.

Of course, as being the first part of two movies covering the last book in the Hunger Games series, the movie spends most of its time as setup for the concluding second part.  The pace is set quite well, and I never felt any sort of padding or fluff added on.  The ending isn't quite the painful cliffhanger they sometimes leave us with (which is good, since the second part is supposedly coming out on November 20, 2015 according to Wikipedia), but it's hardly all that satisfyingly conclusive.

Should you watch it? Yes, the movie is well made, the actors giving good performances and the story sufficiently heartbreaking and depressing (though not in a stressful way).  Fans will most likely watch it anyway, as for the rest of us, it's good cinema!

Verdict: 4/5 It's worth your 200-252 pesos.

TL;DR:
++ Jennifer Lawrence
+ Excellent supporting cast
++ Story and pace quite good, no obvious padding
+/- Slightly depressing
- One more year until part 2

Details:
Release Date: November 19, 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Running Time: 123 Minutes
Notable Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland
Seen On: Fisher Mall, 2D, Regular Cinema