Head On: A Novel of the Near Future (Lock in)

John Scalzi has done a great job creating and altiverse in which physically disabled persons are able to join the world of the mobile (kudos, there, too!) with remotely steered ... androids, for want of a better term (besides threeps, which belongs to Mr Scalzi). He has also done a great job - in both this and the previous novel “Lock In” - of creating a rapid-turn mystery ride that blends in the unique societal aspects of the technology with good old solid mystery writing and crime solving.
Intelligently written, plausible, and definitely captivating!

Scalzi is one of my top five as far as authors go. While Head On is a stand-alone sequel, I strongly suggest reading Lock In first as it *makes* the character understanding and comprehension of the world-building. Head On is a quick read with a terrific plot. So much of this universe seems imminently possible - a blending of where SF meets reality and where the base reality of the almighty dollar does actually drive the world. I give this book 4.5 stars.

4.5 stars. Great sequel. Since I was more familiar with the world after reading Lock In, I was able to focus more on the mystery of this one. It was excellent, with new layers piling on, page after page, until the characters were able to start putting the clues together.

This is a cool premise and world with awesome characters. I hope there will be more books in this world in the future.

I think John Scalzi's audiobooks narrated by Wil Wheaton are some of my favorite listens of all time. That is saying a lot from someone who listens to an average of one audiobook every couple of weeks for the past several years. John's world building is phenomenal and Wil's delivery of the right amount of 'snark' is perfect for the various characters in the story. I hope there will be a next book in the Haden series.

This is a mystery novel (perhaps a police procedural) set in future world where some folks live in multiple mechanical bodies while their bodies lie in some safe place.
This novel follows an FBI partnership who are searching for the murderer of a Haden athlete who collapses and dies during a match when his head is torn off his body three times.

I couldn't wait for this book to come out-- I am a Scalzi fan in general, and greatly enjoyed the previous book in this series, Lock In. Scalzi continues to use the science fiction setting to explore themes of how society treats the disabled, as well as gender presentation and norms. Though personally I am not a fan of the athletic league setting for this mystery, it was a joy to see Chris and Leslie back in action, as well as the supporting characters like Chris' parents. A solid sequel that I would recommend to fans of the first!

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

A Great Flu pandemic sweeps the globe killing more than 400 million people and named Hayden after the first lady who had the disease. The symptoms, which were slow to show up, caused people who had it to spread it without even knowing they had it. The first stage of the flu, causing up to 75 percent of the deaths, was followed by viral meningitis. Those who survived the second stage suffered no long-term problems, but at least 1percent suffered from "lock in" where they were aware of their surroundings, but could not communicate or move. An even smaller number, 100,000 had their brains rewired and were able to become Integrators or those who could hold the consciousness of a Hayden sufferer and allow them a body to walk in. Those suffering from lock in could use robots to get around in and be called "threeps" after C3PO. A virtual world called Agora, was created for those with this disease so that they could communicate with others. Trillions were initially spent on finding a cure and the treatment of those suffering from it. Then after decades of this, the Abrams-Kettering Bill was passed, cutting funding for those suffering from this disease, despite the fact that on average 30,000 people would suffer from lock in annually in the US alone.

Agent Chris Shane, a former poster child for Haydens and daughter of a famous ex-basketball player who has a trust fund of her own works with her superior, Agent Leslie Vann, a chain-smoking former Integrator. Shane is at a Hilketa league pre-season game that is meant to garner support for leagues in Europe and Asia. Right now it only exists in North America with most of the teams in the United States. Her father is being courted in investing in the league that is expanding in the United States including Washington D.C. where he lives.

The game is played by having threeps play the game, so those with Haydens have the advantage and make up the majority of the players. One player on one team is chosen to be the goat and the idea is for the opposite team to capture his head and toss it in the basket. The other players use weapons like bows, swords, hammers, and bats. The pain levels on the threeps are set at a certain level so you feel some pain.

After the Toronto Snowbirds rip off the head of the goat being played by Duane Chapman whose threep is being carried off of the field, they score with it and end the game, but Chapman is dead. Shane receives a phone call from one of her roommates who tells her about the data feed on Chapman having been cut and removed so she calls her FBI partner Vann and gets to work figuring out what happened.

Things get complicated when the man who ordered the feed to be cut is found dead of a suicide in his hotel room minutes after texting the agents that he would be ready to meet with them in a few minutes. Also, Chapman was cheating on his wife Marla with someone at his lovenest which goes up in smoke the same night that he dies. The league has something to hide as well, with their lawyer, Oliver, at the top of the list of suspicious people. And then there's Amelie Parker who is looking for investors in her company MobilOn a company that will make threeps available to timeshare to those with Haydens, but mostly those without who might want to use one for travel.

The body count in this book will grow and, yes, Agent Shane will go through more than one threep. She does have a reputation for destroying them. Agent Vann will threaten all those who get in her way, which is how she works. The storyline is complex enough to make it interesting, but not too much to make it not understandable. I really enjoyed Shane's roommates. The sardonic Tony does work for the FBI as a computer consultant and they had plenty of work for him to do and there's even work for Tanya the nurse with the kind heart and sharp tongue if crossed. I really love this series and this world Scalzi has created. It's completely fascinating and opens up so many questions. Those with Haydens get treated differently than others and with the passage of Abrams-Kettering, they are becoming even more marginalized. This is touched upon in this book a bit. The mystery is quite good and it is action-packed and a real page-turner. You don't have to read the first book, Lock In in order to read this one, though I highly suggest you do. I can't recommend this book enough.

Tuesday I went to his book signing, where I confirmed my impression that John Scalzi is a pretty funny guy who is grateful and happy that he gets to make a living being a writer. Wednesday I sat down and read Head On straight through. Once again, he does an amazing job mixing science fiction, mystery, and humor into a great book. Looking forward to more from this world.

The story didn't have the staying power for a full length book. As a result, there was lots of wasted time and dialogue. I was disappointed but also happy that to confirm that I should only read this author's short stories - which he does extremely well.

As soon as I finished Lock In, I ordered Head On, and I was not disappointed. Reading it was a savory and satisfying experience. If there were 50 in this series, I would read one after the other, and wish there were more. I will be sharing this with many others, and will plan on reading it again through the years. Well done, John Scalzi... this book is a gift to the world.

John Scalzi has created a totally engrossing world that is so believable that I couldn't stop reading. There are so many levels of the book that Scalzi has mastered it amazed me. I loved his well developed characters that were real to me.

Another reliable Scalzi book. Sequel to Lock In, Head On takes established characters in a fascinating world on a whirlwind ride of an FBI procedural. But this time, the characters are a touch more polished and natural.

Follow up to Lock in, one of my favorite SYFY books. Great story. The narrator is female and the protagonist is male, which hit me as odd at first, but then really liked her voice and forgot about gender.

Apply Directly to Forehead

This book, and the previous book Lock-In, provide insight and commentary on important social issues - the intersections of privilege and disability, the paradox of professional sports as engines of wealth and growth but also as drains on society. It deals with these issues directly and deftly.

This is also top-notch science fiction - imaginative, clever, unafraid to explore the implications of it's high concept.

APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD

If you like the first book in John Scalzi's "Lock In" series ("Lock In: A Novel of the Near Future (Lock In Series)"), then you'll like this sequel, "Head On: A Novel of the Near Future (Lock in)." The books both use the same somewhat dry (though tongue-in-cheek) tone, the same protagonists and supporting characters, the same pacing, and the events in this book take place about a year after the events in the first book. It's a really well done sequel. I actually can't come up with anything to gripe about. So, I'm very happy to rate it at an Excellent 5 stars out of 5.

3.5 stars. A fun, light, fast-paced read, with Scalzi's trademark snappy dialog. Having just read the first book in the series, I went into this one with a better sense of the tone for the series, and prepared for the fact that, while interesting issues abound in this world, the books aren't going to delve into them in great detail. Chris Shane continues to be a fun and interesting character to spend time with, and I look forward to more in the series.

I loved John Scalzi's Old Man's War books. I've tried reading his latest two, this and the Collapsing Empire, and I highly doubt I'll be reading any more. The books have turned dull and predictable, the writing style sophomoric (as if these were his actual first novels) and his ad hoc insertion of social justice warrior jibes and asides has become unbearable - there's not a gender-binary, heteronormative White character in any of the new books, and besides the entire themes (the Hadens, Hilketa, etc. which could be interesting in the hands of a Heinlein) being used as social justice framing devices (i.e. Hadens become a drop-in replacement for transsexuals and 'discrimination in general', threeps for 'ableism' and microaggressions, the Agora [virtual world inhabited by Hadens when not using a threep] for 'safe spaces', Hilketa players for Kaepernick, etc.: and these are played up to the hilt along this one dimension), the Mary Sue SJWing he has every character (except the two-dimensional villains) do in the most incongruous situations has reached the level that Randianism reached in the later Sword of Truth books. It strains both credulity and the suspension of disbelief.

Scalzi has officially jumped the shark. Trump's election must have left him with trigger warning post traumatic stress disorder.

So, what do you do for a sequel for a first book about a bunch of paralyzed folks?

How about invent a brutal, physical sport where the idea is to literally take the head of one of your opponents and put it through the goal at the other end of the field?

John Scalzi not only has this vicious new Haden sport but he has also written a murder mystery. A Haden player dies on the first page of the book. The rest of the book is devoted to figuring out whodunit and more about the game of professional Hilketa (with, yes, decapitation).

I particularly enjoyed our protagonist, a famous child Haden victim who grew up to be an FBI agent.

Hadens wear "threeps" [I'm thinking short for the famous Star Wars android C-3PO because the threeps are android bodies controlled by the Haden's mind] which are either purchased (if you have the money) or rented. Hadens can quickly switch from one threep to another, distance being no obstacle. As with today's cars, there are basic models and then there are the pricier, nicer models.

This book has plenty of action, too, so our protagonist Chris goes through several threeps in short order, not his fault by the way!

So, this is actually murder mystery/thriller/action book. Very satisfying read and highly recommended!

A Great Flu pandemic sweeps the globe killing more than 400 million people and named Hayden after the first lady who had the disease. The symptoms, which were slow to show up, caused people who had it to spread it without even knowing they had it. The first stage of the flu, causing up to 75 percent of the deaths, was followed by viral meningitis. Those who survived the second stage suffered no long-term problems, but at least 1percent suffered from "lock in" where they were aware of their surroundings, but could not communicate or move. An even smaller number, 100,000 had their brains rewired and were able to become Integrators or those who could hold the consciousness of a Hayden sufferer and allow them a body to walk in. Those suffering from lock in could use robots to get around in and be called "threeps" after C3PO. A virtual world called Agora, was created for those with this disease so that they could communicate with others. Trillions were initially spent on finding a cure and the treatment of those suffering from it. Then after decades of this, the Abrams-Kettering Bill was passed, cutting funding for those suffering from this disease, despite the fact that on average 30,000 people would suffer from lock in annually in the US alone.

Agent Chris Shane, a former poster child for Haydens and daughter of a famous ex-basketball player who has a trust fund of her own works with her superior, Agent Leslie Vann, a chain-smoking former Integrator. Shane is at a Hilketa league pre-season game that is meant to garner support for leagues in Europe and Asia. Right now it only exists in North America with most of the teams in the United States. Her father is being courted in investing in the league that is expanding in the United States including Washington D.C. where he lives.

The game is played by having threeps play the game, so those with Haydens have the advantage and make up the majority of the players. One player on one team is chosen to be the goat and the idea is for the opposite team to capture his head and toss it in the basket. The other players use weapons like bows, swords, hammers, and bats. The pain levels on the threeps are set at a certain level so you feel some pain.

After the Toronto Snowbirds rip off the head of the goat being played by Duane Chapman whose threep is being carried off of the field, they score with it and end the game, but Chapman is dead. Shane receives a phone call from one of her roommates who tells her about the data feed on Chapman having been cut and removed so she calls her FBI partner Vann and gets to work figuring out what happened.

Things get complicated when the man who ordered the feed to be cut is found dead of a suicide in his hotel room minutes after texting the agents that he would be ready to meet with them in a few minutes. Also, Chapman was cheating on his wife Marla with someone at his lovenest which goes up in smoke the same night that he dies. The league has something to hide as well, with their lawyer, Oliver, at the top of the list of suspicious people. And then there's Amelie Parker who is looking for investors in her company MobilOn a company that will make threeps available to timeshare to those with Haydens, but mostly those without who might want to use one for travel.

The body count in this book will grow and, yes, Agent Shane will go through more than one threep. She does have a reputation for destroying them. Agent Vann will threaten all those who get in her way, which is how she works. The storyline is complex enough to make it interesting, but not too much to make it not understandable. I really enjoyed Shane's roommates. The sardonic Tony does work for the FBI as a computer consultant and they had plenty of work for him to do and there's even work for Tanya the nurse with the kind heart and sharp tongue if crossed. I really love this series and this world Scalzi has created. It's completely fascinating and opens up so many questions. Those with Haydens get treated differently than others and with the passage of Abrams-Kettering, they are becoming even more marginalized. This is touched upon in this book a bit. The mystery is quite good and it is action-packed and a real page-turner. You don't have to read the first book, Lock In in order to read this one, though I highly suggest you do. I can't recommend this book enough.