John Scalzi's Redshirts: A Nostalgic Look at the '90s

book nerd!: Every book I read by this guy makes me love him more (in a reader way, not in a watch him sleeping way) *! I bought this not knowing that much about it, nor Star Trek. And I am so glad I did! You get everything in his books - Comedy, Drama, Romance, Action, Loveable characters... And a good fart joke, sorta, more of a burrito incident. What's not to learn and love - Nothing! Thank you for the ride!

United Kingdom on Nov 26, 2023

denise morin: I’m not an original Star Trek fan although I do remember watching it weekly with my Dad all those years ago when orange shag carpeting was a big thing. I have watched all the other incarnation’s throughout the years. While the story could be loosely based on Star Trek, it could be loosely based on any other SF show or novel! For that matter any book..but that’s not important because this book I loved! The title grabbed me as I get the reference (unknown crew member) so I had to read it. It’s funny and characters are witty and sarcastic! It has an existentialist theme but it’s written in a light way-just enough to make you think beyond the book-gives the story more depth. I have read most of the Old Man’s War series which is also great! (Mr. Scalzi, you had me at getting a new body at age 75 ‘cause the one I have isn’t great-a new body defn would give me something to look forward to!) Thanks for great reading!!

United States on Nov 02, 2023

Robin Watts: Not quite as funny as the blurb makes it out to be, but I enjoyed it.

United Kingdom on Oct 25, 2023

Dr Dombo: Every fan of Star Trek:TOS (The Original Series) knows what a "redshirt" is - a member of the security team that is beaming down to a mysterious planet, space station or what have you, together with the heroes of the series, and whom you know is going to die horribly. This book is not about Star Trek but some other (fictional) science fiction tv series which has its own equivalent of redshirts. But these ones figure out that they are characters in a tv series and manage to go back in time to try and stop the series. The first two thirds of the book are thus a spoof of every badly written science fiction series ever, but the last part is much deeper. Not quite the laugh-out-loud I was promised but very entertaining nonetheless!

United Kingdom on Jun 21, 2023

DJGaijin: I would not call this laugh-out-loud. I would call it far more meta than I was expecting, to the point where I couldn’t tell if a section of bad writing was just an off-page or very, very purposeful. And given how much I’ve enjoyed other works by Scalzi, I’m inclined to assume the latter.

I’m left with a feeling of having been entertained, but by something a little less funny than advertised and potentially a lot deeper. I’m not sure I picked up wverything the book was trying to lay down, largely because it was not at all what I was expecting going in.

But yeah, definitely enjoyed it.

Japan on Apr 11, 2023

Kinesias: In der Fernsehserie „Raumschiff Enterprise“ (TOS = The Original Series) sterben so oft Mitglieder der Besatzung auf Außenmissionen auf unbekannten Planeten ohne guten Grund, die die rote Uniform der Sicherheitsmannschaft tragen, dass der Begriff „Redshirts“ für dieses Klischee in den Sprachgebrauch der Fans eingegangen ist. John Scalzi hat dies aufgenommen und daraus eine Geschichte entwickelt.

Wer das häufige Ableben von Mitgliedern einer Raumschiffbesatzung witzig findet, hat hier bestimmt seinen Spaß. Ich nicht. Jedenfalls habe ich beim Lesen nie laut aufgelacht und nur selten geschmunzelt.

John Scalzi ist ein sehr guter Erzähler, die Charaktere sind gut und die Story entwickelt sich weitgehend flüssig und stimmig. Seine Lösung ist halbwegs amüsant und er webt zwei Meta-Ebenen ein.

Doch die Story ist weder so lustig noch so „meta“ wie angegeben. Es ist eine gute Erzählung, die deutlich hinter meinen Erwartungen zurückbleibt.

Eigentlich drei Sterne, doch da ich die 316 Seiten für 99 Cent erworben habe, vergebe ich einen zusätzlichen Gnadenstern. Überzeugte Trekkies mögen der Geschichte mehr abgewinnen können, obwohl ich das...

Germany on Mar 19, 2023

JTF: It's a familiar meme: don't wear a red shirt on the deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise; if you do, you're likely to be killed before the first commercial break.

This not-so-inside Trekkie joke became the basis for novel of the same name by John Scalzi. Heck, there's even a Redshirt song by Jonathan Coulton (of Code Monkey fame; speaking of which, there's a graphic novel Kickstarter project and a related album of Coulton's). Clearly, Mr. Scalzi is jumping onto a fairly main-stream meme (hey, even I heard about it).

So, I hunkered down, ready for some inside Trekkie references and some serious fun. Redshirts does not disappoint on that score. It begins as expected with funny, light banter about junior officer life in space and fodder for various life forms they encounter; away missions and survival tend to be mutually exclusive for the junior officers. Soon, however, it dives a bit deeper - the senior officers go from normal to cliché in 7.6 seconds and then, flip back. Even Star Fleet officers typically don't do that. You get the picture; to say more, I'll need to leak some of the story. Before I continue on to the spoiler version of the review below, let me say a few...

United States on Apr 24, 2013

Julie W. Capell: Like most Scalzi books, Redshirts is a breezy read, so I was easily able to finish it in just a few hours. Other Scalzi hallmarks, great dialog and snappy repartee, were also present throughout and had me laughing out loud in many places. The first few chapters seemed a bit slow, the situations awkward, and the science questionable, but my faith in this inimitable author was rewarded as I got into the middle section and an explanation for all of that presented itself . . . or at least the characters thought they had found an explanation. The reader, clued in via meta-meta-meta winks and sleights of hand, is in a better position than the characters to judge what is really going on, despite all the knotty plot twists, time travel, and alternate universes, but not by much. Readers who are able to suspend disbelief and simply enjoy the ride will be rewarded by a really surprising ending that adds a welcome dose of gravitas and soul to what otherwise could have been a mere romp in nerd paradise.
John Scalzi was at my local independent bookstore just days after this book was released, and I was present when he took some time to visit with a small scifi book club at the store prior to...

United States on Jun 13, 2012