Lock In: A Novel of the Near Future

Grand Canyon-sized plot holes, characters with the IQ of moldy carrots and too much borrowed from "Ghost in the Shell" make this novel a non-starter. This coming from a Scalzi fan. Read "Redshirts" instead.

the story is just that good!
Believable and fantastic, this tale blends just enough of our familiar world with those things we can barely make out on our horizon and swirls them both together into a delicious cocktail of "what if..." I look forward to John Scalzi's next romp into the near future.

Very disappointing from Mr. Scalzi. We all love Old Mans War. The idea of mental transport is not new, but its general use in America after a disease is certainly a good premise. Unfortunately, the characters in the book are confusing, and more importantly, boring.

Interesting premise with some interesting cultural ramifications but... characters didn't hold my attention, plot seem overly complex and i found myself skimming madly, finally put in down 10% (Kindle!) to go to watch a so-so mid round US Open match. Have yet to pick it up again. For what it is worth, i enjoyed The Old Man's War, Ghost Brigades, Last Colony & Zoe's Tale but thought The Human Division was TERRIBLE.

There aren't any particularly new ideas here for anyone familiar with science fiction, and the story itself is a fairly formulaic thriller. The first third of the book drags quite a bit, but it finishes much more strongly. Still, it's Scalzi's least interesting book.

This book was chosen for our book club a few months ago. I went into it with an open mind but just did not care for it at all. It might just be a personal preference, though! I usually hate to leave a book unfinished, but just could not make myself get through this one.

I usually really like John Scalzi, but I thought this one fell a little flat. The best part of the book is definitely the classic snappy Scalzi dialogue, so you won't be disappointed on that front. I thought the plot itself was kind of bland, though. You kind of know who the bad guy is right from the start, and I just didn't care about the main character that much because he's just a mild-mannered generic hero type person. His partner is cool though, I would rather read a book about her. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty weak and honestly I had a hard time remembering which of the minor characters were which until the book was almost over.

There's nothing wrong with this book, but I just didn't find it as engaging as old man's war or redshirts.

Scalzi's book is more mystery than Sci-Fi, revolving around a murder by an Integrator (a human who can allow someone else temporary operation of his/her body). It focuses on a central question... Can someone really commit murder if a second individual has taken over their brain? Overall, I enjoyed the book. We listened to the audio version and it kept us glued the entire car-ride. That said, I think the outcome was a bit predictable. My husband enjoyed how Scalzi really delved into the weeds of neural networks (the process of installing a computer into someone's brain) and then hacking into that computer. I would have liked a little more world-building around this new society of comatose humans and their robot avatars. For that reason, my favorite chapter was one which veered away from the central mystery plot-line and had our robot hero do something relatively mundane - he went apartment-hunting. Apparently, most robots are totally cool with very small apartments.

John Scalzi is one of the current rock gods of the SF literary world. And I have to be honest here - I'm usually highly disappointed by today's literary darlings. After reading Lock In, I now realize that all of you were right and I've been missing out on something!

Lock In is an impeccable mash-up of SF and Police Procedural. There are simply no missteps here.

The mystery works on its own. I wanted to know who was doing what and why. And the SF is amazing. Scalzi has taken the always enjoyable (but possibly overdone) pandemic plot line and made it fresh, exciting, and highly unusual. The world building is utterly complete.

And as all good SF does, Scalzi raises sociological and political questions in the mind of the reader and makes us frankly uncomfortable when it comes to the world's treatment of the Hadens.

Absolutely Recommended!

*ARC provided by NetGalley for Review Purposes

This was my first book by Scalzi but it will not be the last. I found the story and styling of his writing and background to be a sci-fi-near-future take on Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files Urban Fantasy driven mystery series. Lock in is the first in a proposed series that takes place in a near future world where disease has crippled millions across the globe. The disease leaves a small percentage of those infected in a state of paralysis dubbed “lock in” where their minds are fully functional but the connections with their bodies are severed. Science and technology evolve along with this disease to create a connection method that allows those experiencing “lock in” to pair with android style robotic bodies or even to pair with a select percentage of those infected with the disease that never developed “lock in”.

That’s where the thriller begins in this series debut. Scalzi creates an intricate world including a break down of events as they happened that leads to the state of affairs in the novel. The characters in Lock in are multi-faceted and utterly believable as human beings and the politically charged atmospheres of the story are not unlike those affecting our world today. Agent Shane and Vann (both main characters in their own right- although the story takes place from Agent Shane’s perspective) help to propel the plot forward through an inventive take on the typical “who dunnit” mystery plot.

Not all the characters are as multi faceted as Agent Shane and Vann however. I found that the main antagonist was fairly easy to pick up on both by motive and in demeanor right from the outset. I wish Scalzi had made a more rounded villain that had motives that were more honest and pure (Killmonger from the movie Black Panther kind of ruined the old fashioned devious evil doer for the sake of evil doing with his nuance and righteous desire but wicked path styling). Other than that though this novel did exactly what it was meant to do, eating through a few hours of my life with excitement and edge of my seat thrill. I look forward to reading his follow-up effort “Head On”.

As my review title says, these novels are scary —not Steven King scary, but a more realistic type of scary. I wouldn’t call the Lock In novels dystopian fiction, because it may someday be possible, when we learn more about the brain’s “wiring” and we make great advances in neural nets, to accomplish the feats described in these books. I’m old enough to know it it won’t happen in my lifetime, but if you’re in your twenties, you might see something aporoaching this. For those who doubt, just remember that 25 years ago we still had PC programs that had to run directly under DOS because they wouldn’t run under the Windows then available.*

*For those young enough to have no idea what I’m referring to with my reference, nearly all “real” video games and many other non-Microsoft programs required editing of the autoexec.bat and/or config.sys files to specify how memory above 640K (yes, K!) was to be treated — as extended or expanded memory. For more info, Google DOS expanded memory.

LOCK IN is a near future novel set after a disease known as Haden’s syndrome left millions of people across the world “locked in” – unable to control their bodies but fully conscious. High-profile patients spurred the accelerated development of technology to allow these “Hadens” to participate in life again though neural implants, virtual reality, and robot bodies, among other things. It’s been a while since that all happened, and the government benefits that many Hadens relied on is about to be repealed, and it is an uncertain time.

This is all just background for the story, though – the actual story begins when rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is assigned to investigate a murder where the prime suspect is an Integrator (a regular human who allows Hadens to rent their body.) It stays a pretty solid mystery/thriller type novel throughout, and usually I don’t care that much about that genre, but the worldbuilding and slowly unfolding plot kept me hooked. Scalzi takes the premise and runs with it, exploring how a disease like Haden’s would affect society in both big and small ways. I felt like I identified with the main character a little more than most people because I work remotely and haven’t met many of my coworkers in person.

If you’d like to find out more about the world, Tor.com has a novella that explores the history of Haden’s (search for "Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome"). I think this is one of Scalzi’s better books, even though the content was pretty different, it reminded me a lot of the thoughtfulness of OLD MAN'S WAR. I can’t wait to read the follow up, HEAD ON.

I love unusual litle books - and this is definitely one of those
I admit I had a difficult time getting started with this book... it was like I couldn;t understand what they were talking about. Then it "clicked" and I really enjoyed the story
The story takes place in the future - when a disease (called Hadens) has spread throughout he world cause millions of people to be "locked in" - they are alive and have awareness but cannot interact with the world. They are just conscious in the own brain. A robot type of implement is built that is called "threeps" - These threeps house the conscious of the people with Hadens - in fact the brain of the threep is connected to the brain of the Haden victim
(Do you see why I was getting confused at first?)
Anyway, a murder happens. An FBI agent and her threep partner try to solve the murder. The murder involves a threep and an integrator. Wait... what is an integrator you ask? An integrator is a human that can act as a host for a Haden victim so that they can temporarily have the experience of being in a rel body and not a robot body
Anyway, once you get the terms and connections straight (pun intended) - it is an interesting story

This story takes place 25 years after a devastating epidemic hit the world. Millions died, and millions more were left with "locked-in" syndrome: conscious, cognitive, and aware, but incapable of any speech or movement whatsoever.

But -- as with all such crises -- partially-successful medical and technological interventions were developed, and eventually the epidemic becomes a "normalized" fact of life. Although their immobilized physical bodies must be carefully monitored and maintained in sophisticated medical cradles, Locked-ins (known as Hadens) now have the ability to live full lives through the use of neural brain implants which interface with human-like android bodies known as threeps (a reference which will be instantly obvious to Star Wars fans).

But there are complications to the solutions found by modern tech and pharma companies. It's been discovered that those who recovered, rather than being locked-in by Haden's Syndrome, have a special ability to serve as "Integrators" (surrogates) for Hadens. And there are supposed to be strong software prohibitions against the Integrators' clients doing harm to their surrogate bodies. But it appears that someone may be using Integrators to do great harm to others before destroying themselves, leaving no evidence of outside control.

Chris Shane has been a Haden since the age of two, and he has successfully adapted to life in the Agora -- the virtual community the Hadens inhabit -- and in the real world through the use of threeps. The son of a very wealthy and influential man, Shane had the option of skating through life -- but he instead chose to try to make a positive difference by becoming an FBI Agent.

In his first week on the job, Shane discovers he's been partnered with Agent Vann, a woman with a dry, sarcastic wit and a lot of secrets. Almost immediately, a murder occurs under extremely bizarre circumstances. As details are discovered about the parties involved, and more murders and murder attempts occur, it becomes clear that something very dark and sinister is in the works. And whoever's driving it will stop at nothing to prevent Agents Shane and Vann from discovering the truth.

The author has not only managed to create a tense, quickly-paced science-fictional mystery, but he also touches on some very real-world themes. How good, or bad, is it when Big Tech and Big Pharma create successful solutions with the motivation of earning Big Money? How much government support of crisis victims is necessary, and how much is too much? How does the presence, or absence, of that support impact the unaffected humans, the economy, and society in general? How does society prevent people with a disability from inevitably being relegated to an underclass?

The author does not presume to offer answers for those, or for the most pressing question, which parallels the controversy of the modern-day deaf community and the creation of cochlear implant technology: Does finding a "cure" for people who have overcome their disability to create a thriving alternate culture and community truly save them, or is it a form of genocide?

There is plenty of food for thought here, deftly woven into a well-plotted mystery with fantastically three-dimensional characters.

Note: There is a great prequel novella "Unlocked" available for free over at Tor.com, which provides an excellent pre-reading basis for this novel.

Hugo Award winner John Scalzi (Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas) has written an intriguing novel set in the future where the world is beset by a paralyzing virus for about five million people. The rest of the population suffer flu-like symptoms or die. The paralyzed victims are trapped in their immovable bodies. This is known as lock in. But is this novel about the virus or another way to tell a murder mystery? While I was fascinated with the unusual virus, it gradually morphed into a somewhat baffling and at times insipid story. It was almost like the story had a virus and was changing its modus operandi as I read the novel. The murder part was good, but I thought that there was going to be a conclusive theory on how the flu came about and how to protect the world from future attacks. I don’t want you to think that I didn’t enjoy the novel...because as I was thinking these thoughts, the novel re-kindled to my utmost satisfaction. After reading and reviewing Old Man's War (see my review of 11/21/2010) and The Android's Dream (see my review of 12/4/2010), I should have known that Scalzi wouldn’t let me down. Okay, so what is this story about?

First of all, the reader has to know what the Hayden syndrome (named after the U.S. First Lady) is. The millions who contracted the paralyzing variety of the flu lie in a carriage totally immobile, but still have an active brain. They are known as the Haydens and need a caregiver to take care of their bodies. The Haydens can take on a pilotable robotic body (also known as a threep), or use a integrator (a real human) to occasionally move about and communicate. A integrator is a person who had a neural network put in his/her brain so they can let a Hayden ‘borrow’ their body for awhile. The integrators are licensed and regulated practitioners who can not be forced by a Hayden to do something they don’t want to do. A Hayden needs to be somewhat wealthy to afford a robotic body by the Sebring-Warner Company. Despite the Haydens being paralyzed, they are considered another class of citizen whether they are in their carriage, in a robot, or in an integrator’s body. Far out, right? The government has spent 300 billion in research to help find a cure for the Hayden victims. Now a recently enacted law (the Abrams-Kettering Act) has curtailed the Hayden research causing bitter reactions from the Hayden community. How can anybody come up with this surreal storyline? Scalzi can.

The story starts twenty five years after the flu commenced. Chris Shane (the narrator of the story) is a Hayden in a robotic body. His father is a Hall of Fame basketball player and now running for the Senate from the state of Virginia. Chris is on his first day as a FBI agent solely investigating crimes involving Haydens. His veteran FBI partner is Leslie Vann who was previously a integrator. They get a report that someone just threw a love seat out of a window from a room in the Watergate Hotel. They go to room 714 and find a dead body on the floor with his throat cut. Local police have already subdued the man that was sitting on the bed in the room and sent him to the precinct. The alleged killer is Nicholas Bell, a licensed integrator. Apparently the dead man was using Bell’s body and was killed by Bell. Or did he commit suicide? Or was he killed by someone else, or was someone else using Bell’s body and killed the man? Or did someone invent a new type of neural network? Very confusing. Shane and Vann go downtown to interview Bell and take over the case. Bell says that he doesn’t think he killed anyone and doesn’t know why he was tased by the local police while he was sitting on the bed with his hands up.

Bell’s lawyer, Samuel Schwartz (also a Hayden in a robotic body) shows up and is distressed by the way his client has been treated. Schwartz tells the FBI agents that Bell was integrated at the time of the murder. Schwartz argues that Bell didn’t murder anyone, it was his client who did it. Schwartz tells the FBI agents that Bell can’t tell them who the client was that was using his body because it’s a integrator-client privilege. He says, “Like attorney-client privilege, or doctor-patient privilege, or confessor-parishioner privilege, and I’m not going to argue it, since the courts have already done so, and have affirmed, consistently, that integrator-client confidentiality is real and protected.” They have to let Bell go for the time being. By the way don’t think that I’m giving the story away because I’m only up to page 40. The ensuing chapters enlighten the reader regarding who the murdered man was and why he was there, how big business (concerning the Hayden people only) was involved and who murdered the man and why. So basically the story started hot in the beginning, cooled somewhat in the middle, then grew blazing hot to the conclusion. I liked the story and love the way John Scalzi writes. I highly recommend this novel.

This is the first work by John Scalzi I've read all the way through -- I started "Redshirts" but, being only casually familiar with the show that inspired it, "Star Trek," I felt I wasn't "in" on the joke and ended up not finishing it. The central premise intrigued me, however, and I was interested in seeing how the author handled said premise. I'm not a huge mystery buff, but seeing as many plots revolve around mysteries in some ways, it's not like I can escape them. And really, mysteries are enjoyable when they're accompanied by a compelling world or fascinating, well-rounded characters.

While the writing in "Lock In" isn't the best I've ever read, it's quite good... and its accompanying world and story are compellingly built, showing us a world compellingly rebuilt to accommodate the victims of the "lock-in" plague.

In "Lock In," a mysterious disease called Haden's Syndrome has left millions locked in their own minds, unable to use their own bodies. After the initial shock, the medical community and government work together to find a solution... and said solution comes in a two-fold answer -- robotic bodies that the locked-in can control with their minds, and "integrators," humans who can allow the locked-in to borrow their bodies for a time. Years later, with government funding of the Haden program about to be cut, a locked-in rookie FBI agent named Chris Shane teams up with the jaded, chain-smoking Leslie Vann to solve a murder in which an integrator is the prime suspect. The murder is nowhere near as simple as it seems, however, and their investigation will take them deep into the heart of the locked-in culture... and a conspiracy by the rich and powerful to reap even more wealth at the cost of the locked-in...

Scalzi's writing isn't masterful, but it works quite well for this type of story. He moves the story along at a rapid pace, never lagging or getting overly bogged down in the details. And he doesn't fall into the trap of many sci-fi writers who are tempted to lard their sci-fi with page after page of technospeak and scientific information. It's not that I hate hard sci-fi, but I prefer my sci-fi to be story-driven instead of a thinly disguised textbook, if that makes any sense.

The characters look to be your typical rookie-cop-veteran-cop duo that show up in every single cop movie ever, but are actually decently characterized in their own right. Chris in particular is a likable character, child of a politician who comes from money but is determined to make their own way in the world instead of riding on Daddy's wealth. (I use "their" because the book quite deliberately avoids identifying Chris' gender throughout -- yet this is never done obnoxiously and I never even second-guessed it until TV Tropes pointed it out.) Vann, too, is shown to have a realistic reason for being jaded and protective of her past as an integrator. Other characters that crop up range from nicely-developed secondary characters to flat cliches, but for the most part the book doesn't fall into stereotypes at every turn.

While the story is a bog-standard (but still quite entertaining, at least to me) murder mystery, it's made refreshing by being set in a near-future that's brilliantly realized. Scalzi does a fantastic job of portraying the world of the locked-in and how Haden's Syndrome has affected society at large. He's created a unique culture that I enjoyed exploring, and I do hope he writes another book in this world at some point. And he deftly balances world-building with story, and I never felt that one was being sacrificed in favor of the other.

I may have to give Scalzi's work another chance here -- "Lock In" is a good read, a nice combination of murder-mystery and near-future sci-fi with a well-built world and premise. Highly recommended.

This book started slow for me. At first I didn't think the premise very interesting or plausible and I laid it aside. But Zoe's universe was a great series, so I picked it up again one day. Ugh, almost as bad as Redshirts. I kept at it for a few pages and was hooked. Scalzi is a good writer and he has a wide ranging intellect. I didn't so much like it, as I wanted to read more of the story.

“Lock in” are what some tens of thousands of people are as a result of a strange variant of the flu. Their brains are perfectly functional, but no voluntary muscle works for them. An interesting premise and a little far-fetched, but not beyond the possible. People who suffer the full course of the disease have brain waves and thoughts, but they cannot control any of their voluntary muscles, they suffer lock in. Eventually, someone comes up with a programable brain prosthesis. Lock Ins, or Hadens as they are also called, can control an android/robot and go to school and have careers while their living body is kept alive via the usual methods. Some good-hearted people (integrators) have the prosthesis installed and lend their bodies to Hadens who want a tactile physical presence in the world. There is more about this in the book itself, and various personalities of those involved are fleshed out. This works out well for everyone.

Except, this is a mystery. At first, it's a mystery what the mystery is. Then things just blow up or dead people are found – things start to happen fast. before you know it, you are halfway through the book and you only have interesting facts, but no connections and no answers.

Scalzi is a good writer, a good story teller. But so many things seem just too far-fetched. I can't believe that locked into your brain with no way of responding to your environment you would emerge just an average Joe. The timeline is never discussed as the apparent rational answer would have all the lock ins raving loonies. So that's just glossed over. I knew that, but I didn't mind, The premise had always been weak, so this wasn't that much more.

Hadens semi-takeover integrator bodies for business or a getaway vacation. Of course the poor don’t get to do that so much, but insanely rich or famous Hadens may routinely attend social or business meetings in someone else’s rented body. So who you are talking to may not be the person you are talking to, but a Haden. Also, a Haden can disconnect or connect to any of a series of mechanical surrogates kept all over the civilized world, FBI offices, if one is an agent, or at rental agencies, if they can afford it. Only your own personal one if you are on the dole as far as I can tell. The main character is wealthy and politically connected. But who does pay for all of this is glossed over for the majority. But it seems that the taxpayers are paying what must be an awesome bill for all this largesse. This is one part of the story that is not fully explored. But it has rules and you can see plausibility. Suddenly you know a lot about this world and Scalzi has laid the groundwork out for you in a way that pulls you into this world he has created. It does take some suspension of disbelief.

The leads in this story are two FBI agents, partners. One is a former integrator and the other a Haden. They are an odd couple and Scalzi reveals them in dribbles and drabs. He doesn’t go into narrator mode, where he just tells you things. Scalzi works it in more organically. I like that. The story is about a week long in this book. Things happen fast, especially as the FBI agent who is a Haden can be anywhere via surrogates. Cutting through the maze of facts and understanding the underlying mystery is not easy and you think the story evolves too slowly. It does, but you have to learn a whole new PC world with all its arbitrary rules. A more practiced mystery fan than me gave it away just before I got to that part where the author explains it to the slower readers. Then I explained the hardware/software of Hadens to them.

Worth the read if you really like Scalzi. It’s a bit like a thought experiment on the unthinkable, and while the science in this book is far closer to reality than FTL travel around the universe, it’s not as likely. Even more unlikely, no one in the book is mad. Some are sad, or evil, or crazy, or even violent, but it seems to be a society on quaaludes. Some characters may be on their way to the doctor for their daily dose and act out, but they seem staged, just following the script.

Solving the psychological, sociological, and economic problems so this world can exist are just too unbelievable, give me martians.

An extremely contagious flu pandemic has infected just about everyone on the Earth, killing many, allowing some to fully recover, and leaving many "locked in," mentally active but totally paralyzed. Those locked in can enter into Personal Transports (threeps ) that are essentially avatars or integrate into neural-networked people to gain access to the outside world.

A murder is committed, and the FBI is called in to solve the crime. Threeps and Integrators are suspected, but what individual is in control?

Mr. Scalzi has created an interesting future world and a murder mystery that is unlike any other i've read. The actions and character interactions are very good, but the ending seemed to me to be hard to follow. Nevertheless it was an interesting story, as are all of his books that I've read.

Locked In is John Scalzi's latest novel. It's a quick fun read, and not very deep, but a good example of how a good science fiction writer can take a single topic, extrapolate it to the world around him, and then weave a decent story.

The story involves Hadens. Much like a movie, the world that Scalzi wants to move in is so complex that it has to have a prologue. Basically, a virus has left a large population of people locked into their bodies, so they can only interact with the world through remote-drones (called threeps), or an integrator, which is a human who's set up to receive remote control just like a threep would be. The intricacies around the plot revolve around what it's possible or not possible to do with an integrator, so Scalzi ensures that you get all that information up front. That's the science fiction part.

The main character, Chris Shane, is a Haden who's a rookie FBI agent. On his first day of work, he and his partner are assigned to a mysterious murder, and as they unravel the plot, we see that it's not just a simple murder, but also implicates that big changes are coming to the world that Scalzi has set his plot in.

The plot is by far the weakest part of the story. Not only is the villain's intentions rather far fetched and unbelievable, the means by which he aims to achieve his goals seem rather amateurish. Certainly, that a rookie agent seems to have had such an easy time unravel-ling the shenanigans makes everything seem very pat.

Nevertheless, it's a fun read and quite compelling. A worthy airplane novel. Mildly recommended.

This is a new series with great promise. The author does a brilliant job explaining the fictional disease and its bizarre long-term effects while developing a fairly complex story without boring the reader. Through fairly simple text, highly intricate and completely unusual world is woven where the crime, the perpetrators, its investigators and all their processes/interactions are novel. The construct makes even the mystery unusual, although more intriguing than the whodunit is the nature of the crime itself in this bizarre world.

The biggest drawback is an extremely quick winddown and resolution, inconsistent with everything that came before and the care with which the plot was constructed (deadline pressure?!).

John Scalzi’s skill at building full, futuristic worlds that border upon being a character themselves is on full display in Lock In. While ultimately the story of Lock In is a rather mundane one – a murder mystery – it’s the setting that gets you. In a not-too-distant future, a significant portion of the population in the U.S. suffers from ‘Lock In’, the last stage of a viral epidemic that has no cure. Those with lock in are stuck in their bodies, completely paralyzed but otherwise fully functioning.

Years later, the existence of ‘threeps’ – android body analogues used by those who are locked in to remain a part of society – is something that is relatively common, if not widely accepted. Lock In touches on several themes, from the advancement of technology to the treatment of minorities to the role of government subsidies in the tech sector. It never becomes preachy, though, and all these themes serve to build a world that is entirely believable.

The characters, however, can be a little hard to connect with. The characters don’t seem to feature the same development as can be found in Scalzi’s Old Man’s War. He tries the same tactic – small details painting broad strokes – but it doesn’t work nearly as well in Lock In. The plot, too, boils down to a rather mundane conspiracy that wouldn’t be out of place in an old techno-thriller of the 90s.

Lock In is still an enjoyable read, and a short one, but mostly for the world than the characters or plot. I’d love to see it explored more in the future.

Book Details

Book Title: Lock In

Author: John Scalzi

Publisher: Gollancz

Source: Library

Page Count: 334

Format: Paperback

Genre: Science-Fiction

ISBN: 978-0575134348

Audience: Those who love a heavy dose of science and politics, with some action

Buy? Read? Avoid?: Read

Summed up in one word: Polished

Author Bio: John Scalzi is an american science fiction author. He is also is know for his blog Whatever on which he has been posting since 1998. John Scalzi writes fiction, non fiction and columns on a wide variety of subjects and interests.

First Impression: I love science fiction, I have been reading a lot of historical fiction lately and I was really looking forward to a big dose of science, action and more science. Lock In is a well rounded, enjoyable read, was I blown away? Not really, but I did have some fun with this book. Heavy on the science and the politics, thin on action and suspense. There are elements here that I loved! The dynamics of Chris and the other Hadens was impressive. The writing was so polished and confident, which was needed for a story like this. There are a few problems here though so lets get to the the review.

Summary:
Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. Most of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. A few suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And 1 per cent find themselves 'locked in' - fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus.
It may not seem like a lot. But in the US alone that's 1.7 million people 'locked in' ... including the President's wife and daughter.
Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering, America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can fully restore the locked in, but then two new technologies emerge. One is a virtual-reality environment, 'The Agora', where the locked-in can interact with other humans. The other is the discovery that a few rare individuals have brains that are receptive to being controlled by others, allowing the locked in to occasionally use their bodies as if they were their own.
This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded, and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse...
(Synopsis from Lock In by John Scalzi)

Review

Story: This was an ambitious storyline and Scalzi did a great job with it. Starting with a world wide illness that eventually left a percentage of the population with 'Haden's Syndrome' which has symptoms ranging from the flu, to meningitis or ultimately 'Locked In' syndrome, Scalzi shows us the aftermath of such an event and what we can achieve to bring some normality back to those who lost everything. Science is key in this story and though it is not an overly complicated story line, when the characters get into the computer/coding talk, I lost my grasp on what they were explaining several times as it is filled with technical speak and deep explanations that I could not fully understand.

There are two key elements to this story that made it enjoyable to me. First, John Scalzi managed to write a half decent murder mystery wrapped in a technologically advanced version of our society set in the near future, doing this whilst also brewing an underlying plot between the Hadens (those afflicted with Haden's Syndrome) and those who don't accept their needs or existence. Secondly, creating this amazing technology that the Haden's need to maintain their lifestyle even after being confined to their beds. Unfortunately parts of this element of the book were under-developed which is a shame because they had major potential, such as 'The Agora' which is an internal social network system used by Hadens to communicate and have some interaction with other Hadens, but it is barely used and it is a shame.

Characters: The characters in this book are difficult to appreciate... The protagonist is a Haden called Chris Shane who is just starting his job in the FBI when we are introduced to him in the story. Now, he has had a troublesome life, contracting 'Haden's Syndrome' when he was 2 and becoming fully 'Locked In'. Shane was the poster child for the campaign to fund research to help those who have suffered with the disease. That said, he is a moody, reckless and childish sort of character who has some good qualities when he needs them.

Alongside Shane there is his FBI partner Vann who is a bit of cliche, hard nut with a troubled past. Other characters include, politicians, rich people, members of the Navajo Nation and computer geniuses. Each character had some good bits and some bad bits but nothing that I can really get excited about. The villain was an evil mastermind who was turning people against the Hadens to accomplish his own twisted goals, but he spent the whole book in the background and only really came into play when the book was said and done.

Themes: Several potent themes here in Lock In. Worldwide suffering, technology, science, politics, discrimination and unity.

Likes: The technology that helps the Hadens is amazing. The story telling. Diversity. Complex story with plenty of science and technology weaved in. This book is a smooth read in terms of writing, polished and confident.

Dislikes: Lost potential. Characters need some work. Lack of action or thrills. Overly technical in parts, hard for the lay people to follow the thread. Quite a lot of politics...

Rating: Overall, Lock In is immensely readable, The story and the version of our society that it occupies is top quality. The characters are a bit of a let down, they are nothing special but the characters here are just pawns in a much bigger game, The technology that the Hadens are given is interesting and inspiring, though parts that I thought could add more depth to the story were left under-developed. I would recommend this book to those who love science and technology, those who are looking for action need to look elsewhere.

7/10

In the future, the world is stricken with Hayden's Syndrome. It begins with flu-like symptoms whereupon the person then gets better, or is then hit with meningitis. The victim can then walk away with an altered brain and essentially be "fine," or have Lock In, which is like the Locked In Syndrome. The body is paralyzed, but the mind is still active and functional. This is named Hayden's Syndrome after the First Lady Hayden contracts the disease.

Chris Shane, a poster child for Hayden's, is having his first week as an FBI agent. He is also one of the most famous Hayden people in the world due to his father being a well-known basketball star, advocate, and future Senate candidate. Shane has literally lived his entire life in the limelight as he was struck down by Hayden's at the age of two.

For those who contract Hayden's but do not experience Lock In, they are able to be Integrators where Haydens are able to live through the Integrator's body and do daily tasks like go to dinners, experience amusement parks, etc. Otherwise, Haydens can use Threeps which are essentially high-tech robots that are controlled with the Hayden's brain.

When an Integrator is found dead in a hotel room and another Integrator, Bell, is there, but maintains his innocence, Shane and his partner Vann are forced to look at what other possibilities there could be. Could Bell have done this on his own? Could he have be integrated at the time?

The version I read was the audio and kindle versions. I started out listening to the audio version alone read by the great Wil Wheaton. I was a little confused at first because he did not change his voice for any of the characters and you really had to pay close attention to the details. But, once I found my groove it was much easier. I got the kindle version about 60% in. I thought this book was good, but not great. I would give it 3.5 stars, but you cannot do that, so I will round it up to 4. I thought it brought up great points such as how funding is distributed for diseases and if it should be done privately or through the government. Also, should it only be allowed for one specific area, or be more inclusive. Also, there is the issue of should it be cured at all, or should it be looked at as a community like the deaf community for example, and should it be left up to the person to decide if a cure should be issued.

Overall, I thought the book was good, but the resolution in the end was too cookie-cutter. I felt that they took a lot of information and rushed the ending into the last 10%. I also feel it was a little bit disjointed at times. I look forward to the next book in the series, even though I have found he has up to 10 years to write it.

Turn on the news and more often than not there will be a story about some new “super-bug” that has sprung up somewhere in the world. So it is with no surprise when one day in the near future another one of these bugs shows up.

Being highly contagious, it spreads quickly and soon makes its way across the globe. For most who catch this virus, the illness mimics nothing more serious than the common cold and recovery is quick. However for roughly 1% of those who contract this bug, the disease has a rather more nasty outcome. The virus causes a type of ‘lock in’, where the victim remains awake and aware but are unable to move. No matter the stimulus the person cannot respond. As the virus affects people from every walk of life, the world changes and meets the challenge presented.

Roughly twenty-five years have passed and the disease now has a name – ‘Haden’s syndrome’. There are now millions of individuals who have become ‘lock ins’. In that time technology has made leaps and bounds allowing those who are locked away in their own bodies to live a better life. Neural networks allow them to interact with the outside world through personal transport robots and Integrators – persons who contracted Haden’s but did not become a lock in but still had their brain altered. It is in this world where FBI agent Chris Shane lives and our story takes place.

In Lock In, Chris Shane is a rookie FBI agent and it’s his first day on the job. Partnered with Agent Leslie Vann their first assignment together is a Haden related murder and the prime suspect is an Integrator. If the Integrator had a Haden client controlling their moves, then naming the suspect for the murder suddenly becomes that much more difficult.

As Shane and Vann dig deeper in an effort to unravel the story behind the murder, it quickly becomes clear that it’s only a small part of a bigger story. The world is constantly changing and there are those who would manipulate it for their own gains. The two agents are in a race against time to find the true murderer before a new law comes in to effect and changes everything.

The main characters of Lock In, Agents Shane and Vann, are like two sides of the same coin. Both of them developed Haden’s Syndrome in life but their outcomes were different – Shane became a lock in while Vann became an Integrator before becoming an FBI agent. Vann doesn’t hold Shane’s hand or treat him as an invalid as they work together. She asks for his thoughts and input as the case goes on. To Vann, Shane is her partner and she treats him as such.

Lock In was one of those books I picked up at the library because it sounded interesting. I tend to do this quite often when looking for books to read and while I have been disappointed on occasion, on other occasions I have found a most excellent and entertaining story. This book definitely falls in to the latter category for me. While I did find the sheer amount of techno-babble at times a bit daunting, the well paced story and likable characters balanced it out.

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 3.75

Audio Rating: 3.50 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: Lock In by John Scalzi was my first book by him but won't be my last!

Overall Thoughts: If I were to classify this story it would be a fringe police mystery. A mystery that was very strong and equally twisty. The lead case workers, Chris and Leslie were a bit old school--think Cagney and Lacey if one of them was a guy. I liked it! The world was solid and made even more so with the bonus novella. My only complaint and probably why this didn't rate higher was because of the number of times the words "said" and "say" were used. I know it is because I listened to it in audio but it clicked me out the story a LOT. Still I will be getting book 2 if this turns into a series.

Audio Thoughts This is going to be a bit different because this one had two different audiobooks and I listened to half of each! Both narrators were good but each were better at some things than the other. I have never compared the same book by two different narrators

Narrated By Wil Wheaton / Length: 10 hrs

Wil Wheaton did an excellent job with Chris and all the Heaps. He had great pacing and seemed to just grasp their personalities. I had a bit of a problem with his voice for Leslie.

Narrated By Amber Benson / Length: 11 hrs

Amber Benson was great with all the voices but her pacing was a little uneven. She nailed Leslie but Chris was a little off (though I lend that to Wil knocking his voice out of the park).

In the end, either would be worth the listen

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, Done! Reviews

(Just remembered that I have done it once before: Harry Potter and I would take Stephen Fry in the later books/Jim Dale in the younger years).

Another wonderful Scalzi/Wheaton combo. This audiobook is available read by either Amber Benson or Wil Wheaton. I, of course, had to go with Wheaton. This novel was a little bit more on the serious side than some of Scalzi's more humorous books. As I listen to Scalzi's books, I can really see his writing develop. This book feels like it was written in 2014. I really enjoyed the diversity present in this book.

The nickname for people using, pretty much, robot bodies is excellent! All of the technology is really interesting. I love that it is reactive technology. There was an incident and science progressed the world forward in response. The Agora is also a really cool concept. I wonder how long it is until we have a similar virtual space.

This book is a police detective story at its roots, but politics and elements of the business world are also very prevalent.

There are many parallels in this book to both current and past civil rights movements. I liked the way the topics of segregation and minorities were dealt with in this novel.

I definitely recommend this book, especially the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton. I give this book a 4/5 and can't wait for the next Scalzi book!

There’s something I find fascinating about a good crime novel. There’s something equally fascinating about accessible science fiction. Smash those two together and you’ve got Lock In. A captivating science fiction crime novel that takes place in a world much like our own after a devastating meningitis-like virus hits the human population hard.

It wasn’t hard to imagine a world like the one Scalzi lays out in Lock In. With the recent rash of E. Coli breakouts, the Ebola epidemic and childhood illness likes mumps and measles making a comeback, the human nature to throw money at our problems, help the poor souls affected and legislate the heck out if was real. At points, I was drawing parallels between the novel and news stories about funding being provided (or not provided) for certain types of medical research. The availability and accessibility of medications and other technology for people with disabilities. And just our general treatment of those who are different from us. This is not a far fetched science fiction world. We are just mere steps away from Haden-world of Lock In. And in some cases, right in the middle of it.

The main characters in Lock In are fairly straight forward—the hard-nosed FBI agent and the rookie. How those characters interact is based on their experiences prior to becoming partners and there is not much new. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy Chris Shane and Leslie Vann; there’s just nothing new that I haven’t seen before, relationship-wise, in a decent cop shop or movie. The real depth of the story comes with how everyone exists and interacts in the post-Haden Syndrome world. It adds some twists and turns to the old traditional cop story that caught me a bit off guard.

I definitely recommend reading Lock In for those readers who are fans of crime fiction as well as those who like lighter science fiction. The medical details regarding Haden’s is fairly straight forward and explained well right up front. The technology mirrors technology we already have. This novel would be a great way to dip your toes in the science fiction genre if you find it intimidating. And while GoodReads does have Lock in listed as the first in a series. The book does not end in a cliffhanger and stands on its own and is well worth the read.

In the not too distant future, a new virus hits humanity. For most, the symptoms are nothing more than the inconvenience of the flu. But for approximately one percent of the population, the virus has devastating effects. It results in what is dubbed "Lock In". Those with the condition are fully aware of their surroundings but are unable to move or respond in any way to what's going on around them. Solutions are found, ranging from robotic vessels that those with "Haden's syndrome" can control and maneuver to "Integrators" who can actually allow someone who is locked in to borrow their body and control them for a period of time. While the latter may help people feel like they get a more life-like experience, it creates a situation where it may be difficult to tell who is the actor in any situation--the Haden or the Integrator. When FBI agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are assigned a case with an Integrator for a suspect, they're faced with just this question. But when more connections to others in the Haden movement are discovered, they quickly learn there is far more to their case than they ever could have imagined.

This is the first John Scalzi novel I've read, and I am certainly quite pleased with what I've found. The amount of effort and creativity that he's put into constructing this future shows in the characters, their surroundings, and the story itself. While this is science fiction, there was no moment where I really found myself saying "this could never happen." And when your goal is to present would could be a future on Earth, that's a very important quality. The mystery here is filled with twists and turns, and sometimes just when you think you've got it all figured out, you will learn you were wrong.

Definitely looking forward to the sequel for this one...

I loved this book. I don’t really do police procedurals, mostly because I don’t run across many that sound intriguing. I think I may have to look into them a little more, just out of curiosity. My only reservation is that they won’t be as cool as Lock In was. I’ll admit, despite the introduction to Haden’s in the form of a short history lesson in the prologue, I didn’t really get what was going on. I picked it up more and more as the novel progressed, and that was wonderful. By the time the book really got going, I was fully sunk into the future Scalzi created. It was masterfully done, his throwing the reader into the time and then reaffirming it bit by bit in the narrative. I was drawn along with Chris, I was intrigued and concerned about the other characters, the situation, the issues, and the divides in society between the Hadens and non-Hadens. It’s not an overly glaring issue in every day life, or between people, really. It’s an idealistic thing, mostly brought about by the passing of the policy at the onset of the story. But even that is a background issue to the main activity, and that’s Chris’s job. It didn’t make things more pressing, per se, but it did make things more inconvenient for Chris on more than one occasion. The climax and wrap-up of the plot were satisfying and surprisingly quick. I actually didn’t mind that the story ended as fast as it did once the big bad was caught. Okay, that’s a spoiler. They catch the bad guy. Are you really surprised?

As great as the story itself was, the real gem was the novella at the end, an oral history of Haden’s Syndrome. In the audio version, it’s done with multiple voice actors, and I thought it was a great addition to the story, showcasing the real thought Scalzi put into this novel. I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked at its existence, considering the three codas at the end of Redshirts, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was there. In form from the audio, it reminded me of World War Z, just how the history is told through recollections, reports, memoirs, and interviews with different people involved in different stages of the history. This oral history brought forth scientists, developers, victims, sufferers, early test subjects, everything to give real perspective to this fictional disease and the research involved in human development in coping with it. Basically, don’t stop when the story is over. Read this novella (or listen to it). It made me feel like this was really a possible future I was hearing the history of.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this book. It's my first Audible and it took me about​ an hour to get used to it (the last time someone read me a book was when my dad read me Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. I was around eleven) but now I'm hooked on (a) Audible, (b) John Scalzi and (c) Wil Wheaton.

I can see the perspective of other reviewers who don't love the storytelling style (too much of the characters talking about the story and not enough of them actually DOING the story) but I don't agree. Characters having natural conversations with each other is (at least in this instance) a very powerful way to "reveal" details of both the setting and story, as opposed to simply explaining things to the reader.

I LOVE that it took me a few chapters to figure out the jargon (I thought a threep was something very different and had no idea what an Integrator was until I met one). It made me think more about the setting and made me re-evaluate once I realized I was wrong. It also left me open to realize the theme of the book (meaning the overall "why this book was written"), which I won't spoil for you.

I'm trying not to give ANYTHING away but: if you liked Asimov's Caves of Steel, I imagine you'll enjoy Lock In. If you liked Neuromancer (Gibson), I think you'll like Lock In. This is a book that has a pretty blatant purpose and I think succeeds in it.

Lock In is a book about Humans being human, with all the beauty and atrocity, ugliness and compassion that suggests. It's the nearish-future (don't remember if Scalzi actually tells us when the story takes place but I'd call it more than 20 years in the future but probably fewer than 60) story of FBI agent Chris Shane's first case.

This is my first Scalzi book, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed with it.

Locked-In Syndrome has got to be one of the most terrifying medical conditions imaginable. So for an author to build a futuristic world in which a virus leaves millions of people locked-in - well, that should be an incredibly fascinating and compelling book, right? And yet...it just isn't. It's a great idea that is poorly executed, and as a result the novel falls completely flat.

The short prologue describing Haden's Syndrome (locked-in syndrome) had me hooked. It's a brief summary of the Haden's Syndrome, from the impact of the virus on society, to the development of "threeps" (personal robots that carry a locked-in person's consciousness), to the shift towards defunding Haden's research and support. Three short pages and I couldn't WAIT to dive into this novel.

And...by the end of the first chapter I was completely bored. And I stayed bored throughout most of the novel. The main characters are likeable enough (a pair of FBI agents investigating a murder somehow connected to Haden's Syndrome), but everyone they interact with was just a laundry list of people - all of whom were too tedious to keep straight. The murder-mystery plays out exactly as you think it will, and wraps up neatly with zero surprises. Yawn.

It's almost like the author created a fascinating futuristic world...and then ignored everything cool and interesting about it. Instead of exploring the terror and hardship of locked-in syndrome, he skips over that with an easy out - the threeps, which make locked-in people seem exactly like everyone else. He raises a fascinating ethical debate about finding a cure for the virus (VERY relevant to autism) - and then drops it. He introduces the idea of the "Agora" - a virtual world that is essentially the Matrix - but his descriptions are shallow and limited to only a few character's experiences. It's almost like the entire premise - a world shaped by a devastating virus - is just an afterthought, and the really good bits are glossed over. I wanted to slow down and experience that world, but the author kept shooing me along before I could get a good look.

Maybe part of the problem was that I just couldn't get the movie "Surrogates" out of my head. This book is essentially the same thing, except threeps look more like C3PO rather than perfect versions of humans. Kind of like how the first Cylons came to be on Caprica. It's a very fascinating idea - being able to download your consciousness into a host of some kind - but it's been done many times in the sci-fi 'verse. So instead of a terrifying thriller about locked-in syndrome, we get a ho-hum sci-fi book about robot detectives. Again...yawn.

Like I mentioned, this is my first book by this author. I liked the writing style and appreciated the hefty dose of snark in the dialogue, so I will probably give him another try with one of his other books. But Lock In didn't wow me, and as soon as I was done I had pretty much forgotten most of the details. Worth getting from the library, but not one I'll be adding to my personal collection.

'Lock In' is set in the near future, where a terrible disease has hit the world. The disease killed many people, and the ones who survived ended up in either an Integrator or a Lock In. The Lock Ins were mentally alive, but trapped in their bodies. Unable to move, talk, etc. The Integrators survived the disease, but their brains were altered to accept another person (Lock In) entering their mind and controlling their bodies.

We are introduced to Agent Chris Shane, an FBI agent on his first day, and his partner Vann (a veteran in the FBI). Shane is a Lock In who uses a robot to interface with. The robot (threep) allows him to walk and talk as a normal person would. They are immediately called to a murder scene involving an Integrator. What follows is a well woven story of high stakes business, greed, and murder. Shane and Vann must solve this mystery as the body count rises.

John Scalzi has crafted another fine story. I first read Scalzi' science fiction books and really enjoyed most of them. This book was no exception. It is a little frightening that Lock In syndrome is a real thing. To be stuck in your mind with no means of communicating...horrible. The story moves quickly and I recommend this a a great summer read.

I read this via my overdrive library.

At the heart of it, this was a crime story. While it had a futuristic, high tech backdrop and a futuristic, high tech crime, it was still just a murder/crime story.

Chris Shane is a the poster child for the lock in disease that was caused by the Haden's Virus. He is alive in his body, but he is unable to communicate, eat, or move in anyway. With the use of technology, Shane is able to hold a job using a mechanical body that is controlled by a neural net in his brain. If you want the total body experience, lock ins can hire an integrator. This is someone who has had their mind changed by the same virus, which allows them to function as a temporary body for lock ins. Integrators are aware of what is going on, and they can retake control of their body if there are any problems.

Chris starts his first day with the FBI, and he is confronted by a bizarre crime. An integrator, Nicholas Bell, has killed some unknown man for some unknown reason. Nicholas says that he didn't know if he actually killed the man, which is odd because integrators are supposed to be able to remember everything that went on during a session. A high powered corporate attorney is representing Bell, and they have claimed client confidentiality, which is some weird law that allows integrators not to give information about their clients. Shane and his partner also find out that the unknown man is a low IQ Navajo indian, and he is also an unlicensed integrator. However, you must go to college and pass psych exams to be an integrator, and the dead man's system is different from a normal integrator's system. As more crimes occur, Chris finds that they are all related and lead to a corporate conspiracy. Chris and his partner are now the people in danger as they try to solve the crimes.

It was a fast paced futuristic mystery. There was a lot of action with little internal dialogue. There was very little science in the science fiction. It was a lot like the movie Surrogates, which had human looking mechanical men and wasn't based on a disease. This was one of my first questions, why didn't they make the mechanical men more human looking? If they can put a neural net in your brain, why not make the mechanical people handsome or beautiful humans? The answer would be because there would be less need for integrators. Integrators were used in situations where the normal population would be more comfortable dealing with a person rather than a machine (They also provided taste buds, but who would pay a lot of money to taste food?). They looked mechanical, so the book would have a need to use human bodies. I found this to be a little contrived. This wasn't even my big problem.

My big problem was what the entire novel was based on. They couldn't get and couldn't hold Nicholas Bell even though he refused to release the name of his client. Under client confidentiality law, which had been upheld by the courts, Bell did not have to release the name of his client or the events that occurred while the client occupied his body. Then the author negated the releasing of the client name by stating that renting mechanical bodies or having user contracts with an integrator was available for them to view because it was like renting a car. So in fact, we learn that rentals of mechanical and human bodies are not protected under law. Their actions may be protected, but the very subsequent explanations about rentals and contracts would have in fact negated any court from stating that identities of the clients are protected under client privilege. In fact, the laws specific to attorneys only protect the content and not the identity of the client. Not only was the justification for the release of Nicholas Bell negated by the comparison in the book, but later information provided by the author showed that rentals of mechanical bodies and contracts for human bodies were not protected. Bell's very release hinged on this, and the rest of the story hinged on Bell being released.

I had a lot of problem's with Chris Shane's partner, Vann. She was a heavy drinker, smoker and whore. Her only qualification appeared to be that she had once been an integrator and received a biology degree. Her mental fitness was poor. Her physical fitness was poor. She did not work well with others. I found it unbelievable that she was an FBI agent. You can give a fictional character problems, but if the problems make it unbelievable for them to hold a certain job, then the story suffers. I did not find this to be a believable or plausible character. By the way, an enforcement agent can be off the clock; however, if something major is occurring in a case, you are back on the clock.

While I like Chris Shane's character, this doesn't compensate for the remaining characters.

I found the background story to be interesting, but I have some problems with the crime portion of the story. While the set up was good, I found the ending to be a little too convenient, and I actually found that to be a let down. Literally , it was I looked at the software, and this is your killer. Now we just have to prove it. It wasn't very exciting.

While writing quality was good, I would only call this a mediocre story with some problems that needed to be overcome or better addressed.

A very engaging, easy to read but intelligent sci-fi crime thriller, but with some logical failings.

This is a book that is strong on high-concept and witty, snappy dialogue, with tight pacing. I easily blasted through this in less than 3 days, but not necessarily because it was dull or uninteresting. The crime thriller element of this story takes center stage, though, so for those hoping for an expansive, explorative tell of a what-if future, this may not be your forte. Instead, the sci-fi concept serves as a jumping-off platform for the crime thriller story, which is solid and mostly logical from start to finish.

Now, for those who have read or know Scalzi has an author, his largest shortcoming is scene setting. He more or less eschews in-depth description of environments in favor of quick pacing and story pushed forward by smooth flowing dialogue. Depending on your preferences, it's not necessarily bad, and indeed he is great at writing dialogue ... but, he leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the visuals. For example, we never really get a complete idea of what these so called "threeps" (the mechanical avatars for the locked-in) look like. We get bits and pieces throughout the story, but never really a complete picture, and there's a lot of remaining questions.

In addition, while the crime thriller elements of this story are pretty competent, the idea of the threeps, and the locked-in victims, and the world at large is patchy. Partly this is due to a lot of things Scalzi doesn't address at all. For example: why was the focus for 20 years getting people robot bodies and not curing the disease? How does one have any guarantee about the identity of a given person using a threep or Integrator (and indeed, this predictably becomes part of the thriller aspect of the story)? Why has the government been so steadfast against others using the technology (this is passingly addressed at one point, but not convincingly)? What is to limit anyone from creating super-threeps or the military creating walking tanks (the first question is, again, not convincingly addressed, the second part not at all)? Also, there are never any signal problems for people (this is mentioned exactly ONCE, and only as a convenient plot point)?; I mean, we've had cell phones for about 30 years and still have network issues on a regular basis.

If you take the world as presented by Scalzi has is and don't think about it too much, and read this for what it mostly is (an original idea for a crime thriller), this book is fantastic. I at first thought this was going to be another version of that stupid Surrogates movie, but it's really not like that at all. It's a good, easy but intelligent read that most people will probably like.

In the not too distant future, a new virus hits humanity. For most, the symptoms are nothing more than the inconvenience of the flu. But for approximately one percent of the population, the virus has devastating effects. It results in what is dubbed "Lock In". Those with the condition are fully aware of their surroundings but are unable to move or respond in any way to what's going on around them. Solutions are found, ranging from robotic vessels that those with "Haden's syndrome" can control and maneuver to "Integrators" who can actually allow someone who is locked in to borrow their body and control them for a period of time. While the latter may help people feel like they get a more life-like experience, it creates a situation where it may be difficult to tell who is the actor in any situation--the Haden or the Integrator. When FBI agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are assigned a case with an Integrator for a suspect, they're faced with just this question. But when more connections to others in the Haden movement are discovered, they quickly learn there is far more to their case than they ever could have imagined.

This is the first John Scalzi novel I've read, and I am certainly quite pleased with what I've found. The amount of effort and creativity that he's put into constructing this future shows in the characters, their surroundings, and the story itself. While this is science fiction, there was no moment where I really found myself saying "this could never happen." And when your goal is to present would could be a future on Earth, that's a very important quality. The mystery here is filled with twists and turns, and sometimes just when you think you've got it all figured out, you will learn you were wrong.

Definitely looking forward to the sequel for this one...

I loved this book. I don’t really do police procedurals, mostly because I don’t run across many that sound intriguing. I think I may have to look into them a little more, just out of curiosity. My only reservation is that they won’t be as cool as Lock In was. I’ll admit, despite the introduction to Haden’s in the form of a short history lesson in the prologue, I didn’t really get what was going on. I picked it up more and more as the novel progressed, and that was wonderful. By the time the book really got going, I was fully sunk into the future Scalzi created. It was masterfully done, his throwing the reader into the time and then reaffirming it bit by bit in the narrative. I was drawn along with Chris, I was intrigued and concerned about the other characters, the situation, the issues, and the divides in society between the Hadens and non-Hadens. It’s not an overly glaring issue in every day life, or between people, really. It’s an idealistic thing, mostly brought about by the passing of the policy at the onset of the story. But even that is a background issue to the main activity, and that’s Chris’s job. It didn’t make things more pressing, per se, but it did make things more inconvenient for Chris on more than one occasion. The climax and wrap-up of the plot were satisfying and surprisingly quick. I actually didn’t mind that the story ended as fast as it did once the big bad was caught. Okay, that’s a spoiler. They catch the bad guy. Are you really surprised?

As great as the story itself was, the real gem was the novella at the end, an oral history of Haden’s Syndrome. In the audio version, it’s done with multiple voice actors, and I thought it was a great addition to the story, showcasing the real thought Scalzi put into this novel. I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked at its existence, considering the three codas at the end of Redshirts, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was there. In form from the audio, it reminded me of World War Z, just how the history is told through recollections, reports, memoirs, and interviews with different people involved in different stages of the history. This oral history brought forth scientists, developers, victims, sufferers, early test subjects, everything to give real perspective to this fictional disease and the research involved in human development in coping with it. Basically, don’t stop when the story is over. Read this novella (or listen to it). It made me feel like this was really a possible future I was hearing the history of.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this book. It's my first Audible and it took me about​ an hour to get used to it (the last time someone read me a book was when my dad read me Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. I was around eleven) but now I'm hooked on (a) Audible, (b) John Scalzi and (c) Wil Wheaton.

I can see the perspective of other reviewers who don't love the storytelling style (too much of the characters talking about the story and not enough of them actually DOING the story) but I don't agree. Characters having natural conversations with each other is (at least in this instance) a very powerful way to "reveal" details of both the setting and story, as opposed to simply explaining things to the reader.

I LOVE that it took me a few chapters to figure out the jargon (I thought a threep was something very different and had no idea what an Integrator was until I met one). It made me think more about the setting and made me re-evaluate once I realized I was wrong. It also left me open to realize the theme of the book (meaning the overall "why this book was written"), which I won't spoil for you.

I'm trying not to give ANYTHING away but: if you liked Asimov's Caves of Steel, I imagine you'll enjoy Lock In. If you liked Neuromancer (Gibson), I think you'll like Lock In. This is a book that has a pretty blatant purpose and I think succeeds in it.

Lock In is a book about Humans being human, with all the beauty and atrocity, ugliness and compassion that suggests. It's the nearish-future (don't remember if Scalzi actually tells us when the story takes place but I'd call it more than 20 years in the future but probably fewer than 60) story of FBI agent Chris Shane's first case.

This is my first Scalzi book, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed with it.

Locked-In Syndrome has got to be one of the most terrifying medical conditions imaginable. So for an author to build a futuristic world in which a virus leaves millions of people locked-in - well, that should be an incredibly fascinating and compelling book, right? And yet...it just isn't. It's a great idea that is poorly executed, and as a result the novel falls completely flat.

The short prologue describing Haden's Syndrome (locked-in syndrome) had me hooked. It's a brief summary of the Haden's Syndrome, from the impact of the virus on society, to the development of "threeps" (personal robots that carry a locked-in person's consciousness), to the shift towards defunding Haden's research and support. Three short pages and I couldn't WAIT to dive into this novel.

And...by the end of the first chapter I was completely bored. And I stayed bored throughout most of the novel. The main characters are likeable enough (a pair of FBI agents investigating a murder somehow connected to Haden's Syndrome), but everyone they interact with was just a laundry list of people - all of whom were too tedious to keep straight. The murder-mystery plays out exactly as you think it will, and wraps up neatly with zero surprises. Yawn.

It's almost like the author created a fascinating futuristic world...and then ignored everything cool and interesting about it. Instead of exploring the terror and hardship of locked-in syndrome, he skips over that with an easy out - the threeps, which make locked-in people seem exactly like everyone else. He raises a fascinating ethical debate about finding a cure for the virus (VERY relevant to autism) - and then drops it. He introduces the idea of the "Agora" - a virtual world that is essentially the Matrix - but his descriptions are shallow and limited to only a few character's experiences. It's almost like the entire premise - a world shaped by a devastating virus - is just an afterthought, and the really good bits are glossed over. I wanted to slow down and experience that world, but the author kept shooing me along before I could get a good look.

Maybe part of the problem was that I just couldn't get the movie "Surrogates" out of my head. This book is essentially the same thing, except threeps look more like C3PO rather than perfect versions of humans. Kind of like how the first Cylons came to be on Caprica. It's a very fascinating idea - being able to download your consciousness into a host of some kind - but it's been done many times in the sci-fi 'verse. So instead of a terrifying thriller about locked-in syndrome, we get a ho-hum sci-fi book about robot detectives. Again...yawn.

Like I mentioned, this is my first book by this author. I liked the writing style and appreciated the hefty dose of snark in the dialogue, so I will probably give him another try with one of his other books. But Lock In didn't wow me, and as soon as I was done I had pretty much forgotten most of the details. Worth getting from the library, but not one I'll be adding to my personal collection.

'Lock In' is set in the near future, where a terrible disease has hit the world. The disease killed many people, and the ones who survived ended up in either an Integrator or a Lock In. The Lock Ins were mentally alive, but trapped in their bodies. Unable to move, talk, etc. The Integrators survived the disease, but their brains were altered to accept another person (Lock In) entering their mind and controlling their bodies.

We are introduced to Agent Chris Shane, an FBI agent on his first day, and his partner Vann (a veteran in the FBI). Shane is a Lock In who uses a robot to interface with. The robot (threep) allows him to walk and talk as a normal person would. They are immediately called to a murder scene involving an Integrator. What follows is a well woven story of high stakes business, greed, and murder. Shane and Vann must solve this mystery as the body count rises.

John Scalzi has crafted another fine story. I first read Scalzi' science fiction books and really enjoyed most of them. This book was no exception. It is a little frightening that Lock In syndrome is a real thing. To be stuck in your mind with no means of communicating...horrible. The story moves quickly and I recommend this a a great summer read.

I read this via my overdrive library.

At the heart of it, this was a crime story. While it had a futuristic, high tech backdrop and a futuristic, high tech crime, it was still just a murder/crime story.

Chris Shane is a the poster child for the lock in disease that was caused by the Haden's Virus. He is alive in his body, but he is unable to communicate, eat, or move in anyway. With the use of technology, Shane is able to hold a job using a mechanical body that is controlled by a neural net in his brain. If you want the total body experience, lock ins can hire an integrator. This is someone who has had their mind changed by the same virus, which allows them to function as a temporary body for lock ins. Integrators are aware of what is going on, and they can retake control of their body if there are any problems.

Chris starts his first day with the FBI, and he is confronted by a bizarre crime. An integrator, Nicholas Bell, has killed some unknown man for some unknown reason. Nicholas says that he didn't know if he actually killed the man, which is odd because integrators are supposed to be able to remember everything that went on during a session. A high powered corporate attorney is representing Bell, and they have claimed client confidentiality, which is some weird law that allows integrators not to give information about their clients. Shane and his partner also find out that the unknown man is a low IQ Navajo indian, and he is also an unlicensed integrator. However, you must go to college and pass psych exams to be an integrator, and the dead man's system is different from a normal integrator's system. As more crimes occur, Chris finds that they are all related and lead to a corporate conspiracy. Chris and his partner are now the people in danger as they try to solve the crimes.

It was a fast paced futuristic mystery. There was a lot of action with little internal dialogue. There was very little science in the science fiction. It was a lot like the movie Surrogates, which had human looking mechanical men and wasn't based on a disease. This was one of my first questions, why didn't they make the mechanical men more human looking? If they can put a neural net in your brain, why not make the mechanical people handsome or beautiful humans? The answer would be because there would be less need for integrators. Integrators were used in situations where the normal population would be more comfortable dealing with a person rather than a machine (They also provided taste buds, but who would pay a lot of money to taste food?). They looked mechanical, so the book would have a need to use human bodies. I found this to be a little contrived. This wasn't even my big problem.

My big problem was what the entire novel was based on. They couldn't get and couldn't hold Nicholas Bell even though he refused to release the name of his client. Under client confidentiality law, which had been upheld by the courts, Bell did not have to release the name of his client or the events that occurred while the client occupied his body. Then the author negated the releasing of the client name by stating that renting mechanical bodies or having user contracts with an integrator was available for them to view because it was like renting a car. So in fact, we learn that rentals of mechanical and human bodies are not protected under law. Their actions may be protected, but the very subsequent explanations about rentals and contracts would have in fact negated any court from stating that identities of the clients are protected under client privilege. In fact, the laws specific to attorneys only protect the content and not the identity of the client. Not only was the justification for the release of Nicholas Bell negated by the comparison in the book, but later information provided by the author showed that rentals of mechanical bodies and contracts for human bodies were not protected. Bell's very release hinged on this, and the rest of the story hinged on Bell being released.

I had a lot of problem's with Chris Shane's partner, Vann. She was a heavy drinker, smoker and whore. Her only qualification appeared to be that she had once been an integrator and received a biology degree. Her mental fitness was poor. Her physical fitness was poor. She did not work well with others. I found it unbelievable that she was an FBI agent. You can give a fictional character problems, but if the problems make it unbelievable for them to hold a certain job, then the story suffers. I did not find this to be a believable or plausible character. By the way, an enforcement agent can be off the clock; however, if something major is occurring in a case, you are back on the clock.

While I like Chris Shane's character, this doesn't compensate for the remaining characters.

I found the background story to be interesting, but I have some problems with the crime portion of the story. While the set up was good, I found the ending to be a little too convenient, and I actually found that to be a let down. Literally , it was I looked at the software, and this is your killer. Now we just have to prove it. It wasn't very exciting.

While writing quality was good, I would only call this a mediocre story with some problems that needed to be overcome or better addressed.

A very engaging, easy to read but intelligent sci-fi crime thriller, but with some logical failings.

This is a book that is strong on high-concept and witty, snappy dialogue, with tight pacing. I easily blasted through this in less than 3 days, but not necessarily because it was dull or uninteresting. The crime thriller element of this story takes center stage, though, so for those hoping for an expansive, explorative tell of a what-if future, this may not be your forte. Instead, the sci-fi concept serves as a jumping-off platform for the crime thriller story, which is solid and mostly logical from start to finish.

Now, for those who have read or know Scalzi has an author, his largest shortcoming is scene setting. He more or less eschews in-depth description of environments in favor of quick pacing and story pushed forward by smooth flowing dialogue. Depending on your preferences, it's not necessarily bad, and indeed he is great at writing dialogue ... but, he leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the visuals. For example, we never really get a complete idea of what these so called "threeps" (the mechanical avatars for the locked-in) look like. We get bits and pieces throughout the story, but never really a complete picture, and there's a lot of remaining questions.

In addition, while the crime thriller elements of this story are pretty competent, the idea of the threeps, and the locked-in victims, and the world at large is patchy. Partly this is due to a lot of things Scalzi doesn't address at all. For example: why was the focus for 20 years getting people robot bodies and not curing the disease? How does one have any guarantee about the identity of a given person using a threep or Integrator (and indeed, this predictably becomes part of the thriller aspect of the story)? Why has the government been so steadfast against others using the technology (this is passingly addressed at one point, but not convincingly)? What is to limit anyone from creating super-threeps or the military creating walking tanks (the first question is, again, not convincingly addressed, the second part not at all)? Also, there are never any signal problems for people (this is mentioned exactly ONCE, and only as a convenient plot point)?; I mean, we've had cell phones for about 30 years and still have network issues on a regular basis.

If you take the world as presented by Scalzi has is and don't think about it too much, and read this for what it mostly is (an original idea for a crime thriller), this book is fantastic. I at first thought this was going to be another version of that stupid Surrogates movie, but it's really not like that at all. It's a good, easy but intelligent read that most people will probably like.

I was doing some significant (for me) commuting the last few months and so I made some good use of my Audible account and picked up some books to listen to. <em>Lock In</em> is only my second book by John Scalzi, but it won't be my last.

<em>Lock In</em> is about social issues and the breaking down of barriers for those with accessibility issues in a sci-fi setting. A virus, a strain of the bird-flu, strikes the earth and when the wife of the devoted President of the United States is struck with the syndrome that will be named for her (Haden's Syndrome), the President devotes his energy and resources for finding help for sufferers of the syndrome.

Lock-In is when a person becomes trapped in their own bodies. Their minds are as able and agile as ever, but there is absolutely no motor control over their bodies. What is ultimately developed is a robot body and the means for mental transfer. Someone with Haden's Syndrome can have a physical body that is cared for in a medical 'tomb' while the person inhabits a durable body, allowing them to walk and talk and do pretty much whatever they would in their flesh body. These 'shells' are referred to as 'threeps' due to their similarities with C-3PO, a robot from the film <em>Star Wars</em>. This process of mental transference can also be done with humans (an 'integrator'), so that a living, breathing person can host the mental and psychological 'being' of a 'Haden' so that the person with Haden's can experience things like taste or (most often) sex.

But the Haden's (the sufferer inhabiting a robot body) come to experience discrimination and they begin to bond, having a common experience ... the stereotyping and discrimination of their being based on their illness and subsequent robot-like appearance. So it's big new when the FBI hires Chris Shane, a rookie and a possibly the second-most famous Haden (after the First Lady) in recent history. Shane is partnered with a veteran, Leslie Vann, and the two are immediately on a case of what appears to be a hate crime against Haden's. A Threep in a carbon-fiber shell is difficult to kill, but the physical human form is still susceptible to injury and Shane has to uncover a series of mysteries and protect her outside life.

Scalzi's writing is quick and easy and also entertaining. He blends genres here, with the mystery story and the medical sci-fi, and he does it extremely well. I recently also listened to Mira Grant's <em>Newsflesh</em> series and there are some interesting similarities, mostly dealing with the advanced medicine and diseases. Grant's virus creates zombies, Scalzi's, androids.

What I find most interesting and wonderful about this is that Scalzi writes a best-seller style sci-fi book that is entertaining, but he also manages to make some very strong commentary about social issues and how we as a people deal with handicaps and discrimination.

I mentioned that this was an Audible book. Lock In is available by two different readers, Amber Benson or Wil Wheaton. It happens that when I went to look for a book to purchase, Benson's version was on sale, so that's the one I bought. While I've listened to other books read by Wheaton, and enjoyed them, I'm really glad that I bought the Benson narration. It was sharp, exciting and Benson really brought the character of Chris Shane to life for me.

I realize that the name Chris Shane is pretty much gender-neutral, and in my mind, because of the narration of Benson's, the character is female. It changes very little in the story (a couple of lesbian-type references that would be heterosexual sex references otherwise). But as I look at other reviews, I see people referring to 'his' and 'he' when mentioning Shane. To me, Shane is feminine. I don't think this is a mistake, but that Scalzi planned it that way. I think he's sneaky like that.

This is a book worth reading, and if you enjoy listening to books, I highly recommend the Amber Benson reading of <em>Lock In</em>. My Audible edition included a novella with a great deal of background information on the virus and the timeline of what was done to develop the Threeps.

Looking for a good book? <em>Lock In</em>, by John Scalzi is an exciting medical sci-fi mystery story that manages to have a strong social impact as well. It is a MUST for science fiction readers.

This is a novel of interesting ideas, sadly burdened by unimaginative language, two-dimensional stereotypes standing in for most characters, and rather predictable plotting. It's not terrible, but it's not much good either. Might have been an interesting short story, or a richly textured alternative universe if more attention had been paid to imaginative world-building and presenting more fully developed characters. In the end, it reads like a treatment for a four-part TV mini-series.

The audiobook version is more of the same: Amber Benson's narration is fine; not great, but not poor either.

A great flu has struck the world with over 2.75 billion infected resulting in over 400 millions deaths. The survivors are divided into three groups: those who suffer no lasting symptoms, those who appear and function normally though have experienced significant changes to their brains, Integrators, and those who's brains are fully aware, but their bodies are not responsive, they are locked in.

As a result, the worlds technical resources are directed to deal with the locked in. Advances neural nets are developed, as are PTs, personal transports, these are artificial bodies that the locked in person can link with via their neural net, allowing them to have a life outside their non-responsive body. Going one step further, the neural nets can be used by the locked in people to share the bodies of the Integrators.

This story takes place about twenty five years after the original onset of the 'flu' which is now named Hayden's Syndrome. It is common place to work and socialise with locked in people via their PTs. Rookie FBI Agent Chris Shane (locked in) and partner Leslie Vann (former integrator) are called to the scene of a crime where a working integrator has killed someone. Who is at fault, the integrator who is unaware of the actions of his client, or the unknown locked in client.

Running parallel to the investigation are social unrest and protests by the locked in to drastic cuts in their funding. Some are also against research to find a cure to the flu which is still virulent. A cure could spell the end of this new culture.

This is a fascinating story. Mr. Scalzi has created a complete world that is well adapted to the post-flu reality. He has striped away that which is irrelevant. Agent Chris Shane functions well in a PT, it never is an issue of whether Chris is male or female, either way, the agent is most capable of completing the investigation. Likewise, cultural heritage is not an issue. The PT suits are function based and haven't been described as fashion conscious. I applaud a world where gender and race take a back seat to ability.

Before reading Locked In, you might want to read Unlocked: An Oral History of Hayden's Syndrome.

What a bummer! The premise sounds so good you wonder how someone could possibly screw it up. But Scalzi manages to do this in spades and looking back, I should not have been surprised. Scalzi is not a cutting-edge author on the order of Stross, Gibson or Paul Hardy. He reminds one of the "good old days" of science fiction and that's OK if that's what you want. OK, let's get real. Nobody talks or acts like they do in movies or television shows. The writing was predictable and flat, characters were mere caricatures - brave public servants, gender-challenged "hero", evil corporate leaders, etc. Scalzi could never decide what kind of book he wanted to write - science fiction, police procedural, political manifesto.

The social commentary was unending and relentless. .I don't care if Scalzi is a leftwing activist or a neocon but I do mind that his ideology is so blatant it is a burden to the story. Worse, his pleading has all the nuance of a jackhammer stuck on high. Whether the gender fuzziness of "Chris" is a cute trick or a statement on the mutability and composition of the personal self (a political statement) it quickly gets tiring . The novel is set (where else?) in DC where talking heads ruminate over what they should do, and how we so desperately need their guidance.

The political dialogue is bad but even worse is the dialogue mouthed by the other characters. Nobody seemed real but instead were simply avatars spouting various ideas. The actions seemed forced and not at all natural. It read like a movie script and one can almost see the points where a director would yell, "Cut!". They speak in that weird language used only in books, movies and tv, a kind of snappy shortcut/scolding that affects coolness but sounds forced. I guess he committed the cardinal sin of an author - he bored

4.5 * Although Lock in was confusing to begin with, the story soon captures your attention. Since earth’s Great Flu caused paralysis of the nervous system to more than 2.75 billion humans worldwide, robots called Tweeps are being used by individuals, along with Integrators who can share their bodies. Chris Shane, a Tweep, has recently been hired as an FBI agent and assigned a partner, Integrator FBI veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two agents are given a task to investigate a murder at a nearby hotel and to question the suspect, a Tweep, who appears to be confused and unable to explain what exactly happened. As Chris and Leslie begin to uncover details about the murdered victim, they realize this is no ordinary homicide. John Scalzi has written something exceptional, with a splash of witty dialogue. Lock in is an incredible Sci-fi novel not to be missed. Highly recommended!

John Scalzi is one of my favorite authors. In his novel he creates interesting, well developed characters and places them in unique universes. This novel is a fine example of Scalzi's craft.

The action of this novel is in the late twenty-first century. There has been a pandemic. Many died, but there was a unique group of survivors. Some became lock-ins. Fully awake and aware but disconnected to their bodies. Others became integrators. These people can connect with a locked in person and allow the lock in to "borrow" the integrator's body.

Because of advances in technology, lock ins and integrators have neural nets embedded into their brains. Lock ins can use these nets to communicate with the outside world. They can also use these nets to connect with and control humanoid automatons.

This advanced technology means that lock ins can participate fully in day to day activities. They can have jobs and go to work anywhere. They live in their automatons while their actual body lies dormant miles away. Some lock ins never visit their bodies at all.

A multi-billion dollar infrastructure has grown to provide lock ins with computer networking services, and automatons.

In this novel, our main character, Agent Shane, is a lock in and uses an automaton. He has just begun his job as an FBI agent. He and his partner, a grizzled veteran who once was an integrator, have been called to a homicide scene. At the scene is a victim, and an integrator covered with blood who doesn't recall killing the victim. Of course, the evidence at the scene doesn't add up.

As they investigate, the clues lead to a nefarious individuals who want to gain control over the entire lock in infrastructure.

Will Shane and his partner discover who is behind the plot?

A novel like this, with so much original detail,would need a lot of exposition to explain the universe to the reader. In fact Scalzi has included an informative introduction which is very helpful.

Scalzi has also included plenty of action to keep the reader interested.

I enjoyed reading this novel. I like Scalzi's easy to read writing style.

The premise of this novel is very original. I'd love to read more stories about Agent Shane and his partner set in this universe.

AUDIOBOOK READING:
Familiar with Wil Wheaton's online antics in recent years, he was a good choice in the end for this snarky dialogue story. Unlike Scott Brick who dramatizes for The Passage or Dune and does different voices for many characters to highlight the dramatization; Wil barely ventured into different voices, but his reading voice was easy to listen to and follow. He did act well.

STORY:
For me this was the movie Surrogate with Bruce Willis, but in book form. . .at least for a lot of similarities.

The story itself was much more a following of clues than I had expected. Actually, I did not read anything ahead of time about this story so I had no expectations. The only thing I read was this book showed up on several people's favorites of 2014 sci-fi.

CHARACTERS:
Main protagonist is likeable and has some good lines.
Other characters are just as snarky in many ways, especially his hardened partner who suddenly -- as in flipping a switch sudden -- is able to do some bantering back and forth with protagonist as they interview a suspect. Lost it for me here. Made for fun dialog but threw characters out of character.

Our protagonist's superpower is he's from a wealthy family. The fact he is technically disabled plays very little in the story, except in one crucial scene. Otherwise, he didn't feel like he was at a huge disadvantage to the bad guy.

Speaking of antagonist, I don't feel the antagonist was equally paired with the protagonist. It was like FBI against private citizen. . .not really a challenge. The challenge only comes in the antagonist staying a step ahead of the protagonist until our protagonist figures some things out then it is pretty much over. Not real sense of threat and lacking some suspense.

ACTION:
The action scenes were good and exciting, though sparse. I do like how the 'threeps' are not super-hydrolic strong robots, but human strength. Makes for some interesting fights.

CONTENT: For those that care, there is a good amount of profanity in this story. At one point towards the end one character can't seem to say any other word but the f-bomb.

OVERALL: Enjoyable listen to. A lot of hashing out clues that go on at length, making a simple mystery appear more complex. Fairly satisfying ending.

Audiobook also had a bonus novella at the end that covers the history of haden syndrome, which had a full cast of readers/actors playing different parts. That was kinda of cool.

This is my first Scalzi story. I'd try more from him.

I’ve been branching out recently, since this like my previous few books are not my usual read. From the surface, this is like a standard mystery. The main character, Chris Shane, is an FBI agent, who is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation his first day on the job. Except Chris is not normal. He is what is considered “lock in”, where a disease called Haden’s has caused him to lose control of his body. While his body is at home, unmoving, his brain controls a threep, which is like a robot, so that he can have as much of a “normal” life as possible.

The world Scalzi describes is an interesting one filled with prejudices just like the real world. The story is set 20 years after Haden’s disease ravaged the world. There’re about 4 million people that are locked in due to Haden’s, so the government had been subsidizing brain research to help Haden’s, as well as other items Haden’s needs. At the beginning of the story, however, a law had just passed that ended government subsidies and will cause a huge change in the Haden world.

I found the background more interesting than the actual investigation. Like other crime stories, there are false leads and confusions as to the criminal’s motives. I like how the author meshed the societal chaos and problems with the murder investigation. Everything in the book is connected very well from one storyline to another.

The writing itself was OK, straightforward and not flowery. It gets the point across, though I times it feels kind of stiff. Overall, I enjoyed it and am glad I read it to see what the hype was all about.

John Scalzi’s latest book, Lock in, is one of those works of science fiction that just seems like a cool story at first, but then as the reader thinks more on it, realizes there’s a lot more going on that says something about our world today and where it’s possibly headed.

It is the near future and a highly contagious virus has swept across the globe. For most of the world population, it is nothing worse than a heavy case of the flu, but for the unlucky one percent, it causes a condition known as “lock in” or “Haden’s syndrome” where victims are fully awake and aware but their bodies are completely paralyzed. But there are “threeps,” mechanical human-looking bodies that these victim’s consciousnesses can be downloaded into and used. Then there are “integrators,” special people who after suffering from the virus who have the ability to have someone’s consciousness downloaded into their minds and have their bodies taken over for a limited time.

The story focuses on rookie FBI agent Chris Shane on his first case with tough partner Leslie Vann, investigating a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel. The victim is also an Integrator which complicates things greatly. In a world where everyone has an opinion about Haden victims and they are about to lose some significant government funding, Shane finds himself involved in a seminal case that will have a great influence on how Haden victims will be seen and viewed by everyone.

Lock in is just good science fiction, with a diverse cast of men and women who feel real, living in a very real world. It forces the reader to question their thoughts and feelings on anyone with a disability. Scalzi poses perhaps the most important thought in the book when there are those looking to “cure” Haden’s syndrome, while Haden victims just want to be accepted into society as fellow people. Science fiction is supposed to make you think and question the status quo and Lock in does this very well.

Originally written on September 19, 2014 ©Alex C. Telander.

For more reviews, check out the <a href="[...]">BookBanter site</a>.

Rookie FBI agent Chris Shane moves through the world two ways: with the assistance of a threep, a robotic mobility device remotely controlled from Shane’s home and fondly nicknamed after Star Wars’ C-3PO; or, through a shared neural-network world accessible to people living with Haden’s, which causes locked-in syndrome. The world of Lock In is one in which numerous accessibility issues — and their intersections with class, gender, wealth, and race — are frankly discussed and thoughtfully examined. Shane is shown to have a rich personal life, both online and in the real world, which is a reality for people living with disabilities even if it’s rarely depicted in our media.

Lock In was intriguing not for its mystery element, but for its world-building. In the near future, a flu-like virus infects most of the planet. Those infected either die, recover, or live with a syndrome called 'Lock In'. If they have the latter, they are alive and in complete control of their mind, but have no control over their body. With this very simple premise, Scalzi builds a vision of America that is at once resonant, logical, and intriguing.

Truly, I found the main plot to be a bit of a blur. This is indicative of the mystery/thriller genre though (and my lack of interest), rather than Scalzi's writing or scenario. The whodunnit twists and turns left me mostly disinterested, but contained enough energy and movement to keep me plugging along. As pointed out by another reviewer, Scalzi has the extremely annoying trait of 'telling' the reader what the plot is, rather than 'showing'. We are frequently told by the characters primary plot points, but never view them first hand. It is acceptable in 'Lock In', but if this tactic annoys you do not pick up 'The Last Colony'. In that piece, the entire story is told in this fashion

Central to the narrative is the idea of government subsidized health care. It is not so overt as to be obnoxious, but rather a clever example of one way in which a privatized industry might be less effective than a publicly funded one (in the novel, the support of people with Haden's Syndrome and their mechanical bodies, known as Threeps). Scalzi clearly believes that some industry's should be firmly within the control of the government, and not capitalists. Whether you agree or disagree with his view is almost irrelevant to enjoyment of the book though, as it is not shoved down the readers throat.

Overall, I liked 'Lock In' and will likely blaze through any follow up books. Read it for the amazingly logical way in which the universe is built, and enjoy the mystery to the degree to which your proclivities allow you.

The titular lock refers to an illness which leaves the victim completely paralyzed and fully aware – locked into their body. Confused? The prologue is a page from HighSchoolCheatSheet.com (is that real?) which explains the history clearly, with important words bolded. This lets the story start with FBI Agent Chris Shane meeting his new partner while without a lot of tedious explanations. For those readers, who (like me) start with Chapter One, explanations are gently woven through the first two chapters, with no annoying infodumps.

What’s life like for someone who’s body stays in its sling at home, while the mind is operating C3PO, er, a threep? Pretty normal, with variations. Chris (is that Christopher or Christina?) meets the new partner at a crime scene. Instead of needing a camera, Chris can turn on his/her internal camera. Instead of physically traveling from here to there, Chris can occasionally stay ‘here’ and transfer to a threep ‘there’, but since threeps cost about the same as a new car, most Lock-ins in there threeps have to travel by car or metro, just like everyone else.

There’s prejudice, of course, in both directions. And slang to handily insult either Lock-ins or non-Lock-ins in two syllables or less. Some of the conversation about integrating Lock-ins to ‘normal’ society reminds me of conversations about the deaf community and learning to lip-read (integrate into hearing society) or sign (remain part of the deaf community), and how The Deaf Community ™ is, in fact, not a monolith with a single opinion. Lock-ins don’t all agree with each other, either.

Since Lock-ins are able to use threeps and “Integrators,” they should not need government handouts for sick people, because using a threep makes them more able to do certain jobs! And they don’t even need to eat! So no more government entitlements! According to the cheat-sheet starting the book, the law ending government aid passed last week, so now lock-ins, who actually DO need nutrients for their bodies, and medical personnel to monitor them, are scrambling for jobs. Or staging protests in Agent Chris Shane’s bailiwick, which makes for an interesting background for this particular murder. Of a Lock-in. By a Lock-in? Hey, Chris, welcome to your first day on the job!

So, is Agent Chris Shane a boy or a girl? Neutral – the classier threeps have only the slightest hint of facial features. John Scalzi carefully uses no gendered pronouns. However: Clues!
1) The first scene has one FBI agent and one local cop, both women. Neither reacts to Chris’s threep as male, so maybe Chris is also a girl? But both other women are busy reacting to their ongoing feud, so maybe they’re too busy to react to a newcomer, especially one wearing a threep. The male cops at the murder scene don’t really react to Chris as male/female either.
2) When Chris goes home, Dad says “Hi, kiddo” instead of “hi son” – but no one ever says “hi daughter,” so that’s a hint that Chris is not a son.
3) When Chris checks on her body in its sling, she has a moment of disorientation at being in two places at once, and quickly looks at the wall instead of her body. She considers that some Lock-ins let their hair and beards grow and grow, since no one sees it, but her own mom thinks this is sloppy, so Chris keeps her hair trimmed. No mention of beard trimming, so she doesn’t have one?

Threeps don’t have skin color, either, being metallic. Besides a shoutout to C3PO, there’s mention of threep faces looking like the Oscars, with just enough difference to avoid copyright infringement. However, there are many people of color walking around this book, getting on with their lives. The only time non-whitey-whiteness becomes a plot point is when it is actually relevant to the plot.

The plot is full of quick twists where prejudiced people can work with ‘those’ people, where threeps malfunction or function differently enough to make a fist fight work in unexpected ways, and spoilerific information about Lock-ins which is carefully planted through the novel gradually grow into clues which Agent Chris Shane puts together for an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.

Very enjoyable, and action packed! John Scalzi is skilled at creating detailed universes that exist separately from each other. Most authors who are able to so fully create another world/timeline/universe, tend to stick to that same universe within all of their books. Scalzi does write this way occasionally (i.e. Old Mans War series), but I love that he is able to imagine so many different worlds and have them be stand alone novels. I actually could see this one developing as a series, but it's great as a stand alone novel as well. When I read, I tend to want to know and understand what's happening right away, so if a novel starts with slightly confusing details, and I don't fully understand what's happening, I tend to get frustrated and start asking questions of anyone who has already read the book. If you also experience this reaction, press on past the first chapter of this book. I'd say by mid-way through the second chapter you'll understand everything that is going on, and will be so enthralled you won't be able to put this book down until you finish it.

My public library has had this book for some time, but I was put off by the so-so reviews here. My 3-star rating is a compromise between some exciting detective work and the fact I could never really embrace the initial premise of human minds being routinely transferred into "prostheses" devices.

As I was reading this novel, it occurred to me that I was galloping through it at a startling rate. Finally it dawned on me that the book, despite appearing normal at first glace, was printed with an over-sized type and contained a great deal of white space. A word count of a filled page multiplied times the number of pages put this book at the lower range of the definition of a novel. With 25% fewer page lines than normal, and all that white space at the start and end of all 25 chapters, this was a really skimpy read.

LOCK IN
Written by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton

I purchased the unabridged audiobook version of this novel at www.audible.com

I rate this as 4 out of 5 stars. This book is very well written. It is a Science Fiction/Dystopian novel. But, it is also a Mystery/Thriller.

The book is set in the near future. A virus has swept across the World, but it is unlike any virus in the history of mankind.

Even though the people who are the most adversely affected only make up one percent of the world's population, that amounts to almost two million people on the United States alone.

The most severe sufferers of the disease have what is known as "Haden's Syndrome. It was named this because President Haden's wife was one of the first people to experience the worst symptoms.

What are those symptoms? And, why are they so horrific? Imagine being awake and aware of everything that is going on around you, but you are unable to speak or even move. Sufferers of Heydon's Syndrome suffer from "LOCK IN" which means that the victims are essentially in a coma, but can't move or communicate. They need to be kept alive with feeding tubes and IVs. Their bodies waste away and there is nothing they can do about it.

The horror of being "Locked In" can not be adequately described. That situation would make me want to kill myself. The problem would be that you wouldn't even be able to kill yourself.

The President makes combating this disease a top priority and spends billions of dollars on research. When someone discovers a way for these patients to control specialized robots using their exceptional brains, threeps are born.

Haden sufferers were now able to interact with the world. Their bodies stayed in one place while their consciousnesses were inside their "threep" which could walk and talk and do most everything normal humans could do.

Chris Shane is a Haden sufferer and is extremely famous. His father is a millionaire tycoon who advocates for the Haden community. Chris has suffered from Haden's since childhood.

Chris is now an adult and starts his new job as an FBI agent. His first week proves to be very eventful and he has to solve multiple murders, investigate billion dollar corporations and try to keep the peace between Hadens and humans. All in a week's work for the new FBI agent.

The intricate plot is very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

I rate this book as 4 out of 5 stars.

The reason it is not 5 out of 5 is because the concept of "threeps" reminds me of the 2009 movie, "Surrogates" starting Bruce Willis. However, this book is very different (and much better) than that movie.

I also liked the fact that the audiobook also included a short novella that detailed the history of the disease.

I will definitely read more books by John Scalzi. To find out about more books written by this author, visit http://whatever.scalzi.com/about/books-by-john-scalzi/

To read more book and audiobook reviews written by me, please visit my blog at:
http://amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com

"Lock In" is Scalzi's stab at William Gibson. So much so that the novel almost beat Gibson's "The Peripheral" to press. However, there is a reason why it takes Gibson years to write a new first trilogy novel and Scalzi's can just whip out a book a year (or more). Scalzi is writing a sci-fi story, Gibson is pushing the meaning of science fiction and literature. "Lock In" reads like a second or third work in a Gibsonian trilogy.

The book is a well-crafted cyberpunk story set a little bit in the future. It is a detective novel, it has haptic cyborg avatars and worldwide plagues but it does not have the spark of Gibson and this more than any other creation by Scalzi illustrates his origins in fandom and his limitations as a writer. It is good derivative fun but we are still waiting for him to move from craft to the novo. However, the author does leave you, the reader, with several mysteries about Chris Shane to solve. It is quite literally a mystery within a mystery.

The author's greatest strength is his humor and wit which is still evident in "Lock In" and comes to the forefront in the action scenes that keep this story moving along. So hang on and enjoy the ride!

This is something of departure from Scalzi's other works, as it is basically a police procedural, albeit in a near-future world with some significant differences from our world of today.

The basic setup imagines a world where a new pandemic disease has struck, and for some of those whom the disease did not kill outright, leaves them completely paralyzed, with no method to communicate to the outside world. So far, this is something that many other novels have explored. But Scalzi takes this three steps further: he adds a technology that allows these `locked-in' people to directly control robot avatars, although at significant cost for the research to develop the technology and to actually install the necessary hardware interface, he adds another class of people known as `integrators', very small in number, where the disease changes their brain structure to allow them to directly interface with other lock-ins, and shows the economic, political, and social changes in society that occur when a significant number of people now interact with world via these robots, a mark of writer who really understands the nuances of what science fiction is all about. The background history of the disease and its aftereffects are only briefly covered in this work, just enough to set the stage for this story. For a much fuller detailing of the events leading to the opening of this book, see his novella Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome, which is recommended.

The protagonist of this work is one of these lock-ins, Chris Shane, starting a new job as a police officer, who, on his first day on the job, is dragged in to the investigation of an apparent murder, with the original main suspect being one of these integrators. The course of the investigation quickly leads to other suspects, many of whom are very rich and politically powerful lock-ins. There are lots of events and clues that are strewn around in a very fast-paced fashion, making this a quick-reading work that keeps you intrigued and guessing. Shane himself is well portrayed, with a history that helps illuminate just what type of person he is, and his investigative partner also becomes quite full-bodied.

Philosophically, this book takes several jabs at prejudice, whether based on outer appearance, ethnicity, or economic status, all nicely done by showing, rather than any didactic discourse. Also presented is the concept that some people have an easy time of getting where they want to go, due merely to an accident of birth or position in society, while others, through no fault of their own and beyond their control, have a much harder time of things

However, one flaw I did find is that the various suspects are not detailed enough. Many of them are only very briefly on-page, making it difficult for the reader to decide if this or that character is really deserving of being a suspect. This does make the conclusion a little bit of a let-down, as there's not enough `meat' behind the finally revealed perpetrator to make the reader really care about or understand him.

A very good `what if' scenario, easy-reading prose, and a good story. It just needs more full-bodied villains.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Lock In begins its story almost a quarter of a century after the virus, that is now known as Hayden’s Syndrome, changed the world. We meet rookie FBI agent Chris Shane on the first day of his job. He is partnered with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two are assigned to a murder that took place at the Watergate Hotel. Science fiction geeks will love the technology, jobs, and abilities of this future world. For the non-geeks, prepare to get your Geek on! Scalzi describes this world, the technology and the changes brilliantly in layman terms without making your brain melt. The tale that unfolds is a murder mystery and has an old school meets technology vibe. Lock In isn’t a procedural crime novel, it’s a whodunit novel, and Chris Shane, sleuth extraordinaire is our future Sherlock Holmes.

Lock In combined two genres that rock for me; science fiction and crime thrillers. This was genre blending nirvana for me as the reader/listener. It reads like Mira Grant’s zombie novels; smooth, easy to slip into and yet has the complexities of the brilliant world in the Others series by Anne Bishop. Yes, peeps I invoked the names of two of my favorite authors, and Scalzi is worthy to sit among them. The world building is spectacular and the murder mystery is complex It was well thought out with twists and turns that kept me guessing.

The audio version of Lock In is available with your choice of narrator Will Wheaton or Amber Benson. Wheaton did an excellent job of presenting to us the character of Chris Shane. I felt his mannerisms, tones, and quirks. He created Chris just as I imagined him. Chris Shane is cool, sometimes funny; even though that is not his intent. He is brilliant, a natural sleuth and often is very literal. I cannot wait to go on more cases with him and his snarky, somewhat broken partner.

Absolutely riveting sci-fi mystery, with a heaping helping of disability politics on top. The book's concept had me snared from the beginning, and the way Scalzi uses it to weave a mystery that is not only compelling on the face of it, but entirely dependent on the future he has envisioned without that giving the mystery away, is nothing short of stunning. The prose is accessible and breezy, easy to read without ever feeling watered down or underutilized. This is my favorite Scalzi book to date, and comes highly recommended.

Josh here:

I am honestly not sure how to rate this book as I couldn't get very far (to when the new apartment was being looked at). The story had a very interesting premise but as I was listening to the audiobook edition, the constant "he said", "she said", "I said", etc. was very distracting and tore me away from the storyline. This was only the second audiobook I have to flat out stop listening to and it was because of the barrage of narration around the he/she/i/we/they saids. Wheaton is normally an OK narrator, and for the parts I did listen to he did OK, but all of these lines detracted from, and ultimately led me to stop, this story.

I enjoyed the heck out of this book! It was just what I needed. A fast pace, an interesting premise, some fun action and detective work, and an all-around ripping yarn!

The premise is that a global influenza pandemic kills a large portion of the population, but the survivors experience different fates. Some are "locked in": fully functioning mentally, but completely unable move their bodies. These are dubbed Hadens, named after the First Lady, who was the most high profile victim of this syndrome. Others are "integrators": able to channel the minds of those who are locked in, giving them a body to rent for a while.

The technology that makes all this possible (as well as the virtual reality world, Agora, which is strictly for Hadens) is also a way for some unethical and greedy people to take advantage of the situation to further their own nefarious plot.

The main character, Chris Shane, is a Haden and a new-on-the-job FBI agent. Like many other Hadens, he makes his way in the world by using a threep, basically a robot host (and a nice nod to "Star Wars") for the Haden mind. His partner, Leslie Vann, is a former integrator with some baggage.

There is nothing especially ground-breaking here. At its heart, it is a murder mystery. What made it fun for me was the near-future setting and the scifi aspect. A very enjoyable read!

Set in a future in which the result of a terrible disease has called for extremely advanced technology, Lock In is a gripping and suspense-laden novel. Chris Shane's first week as an FBI agent is unusually busy. Several murders, a research facility that is blown up, and a difficult, self-destructive partner are just the start of what he has to deal with.

Although this book has a wonderfully twisted and clever plot, the highly imaginative technological world in which it is set, truly elevates it above your average murder mystery. At first the technology seems almost incomprehensibly elaborate. Just a few chapters in, however, the author skillfully explains his world in the actions of the characters and the detail of the murder investigation.

The characters are realistic and fleshed out. Chris Shane, the main character, is your typical good guy. Not only is he determined to be an excellent FBI agent, he also cares about those he is supposed to protect.

Vann, Chris's drinking, smoking, sex-loving partner, has a troubled back story and, thus, a slightly twisted personality. Her strict work ethic combined with Chris's sense of duty, as well as his tolerance of her bad habits, makes for a good partnership. That both of them have a quirky sense of humor helps a great deal.

The bad guys in this equation are those who want to exploit a market that is supposed to help disabled people.

For a book that will appeal to readers of science fiction as well as to those who love a good, unpredictable, and suspense-laden murder mystery, I recommend Lock In as a must read. (Ellen Fritz)

A couple of days ago my bestie asked (quite nicely, as usual) that I take a break from the young adult books. While she appreciates that they take her out of her usual comfort zone, she’s had enough for the moment. Well, here’s an adult book. Also out of your comfort zone, but written for adults. You’re welcome.

Lock In is a frighteningly plausible story of the near future. Unlike the usual nasty diseases often driving such stories, Haden’s Disease, while less gruesome, is perhaps more frightening than, say, a zombie virus (wow, that was a lot of commas). For most people it’s a bit of a nasty flu. For others it’s a bit of a nasty meningitis (which, of course, kills quite a few people). For a very few, it leaves its victims locked in. As in, locked into their own bodies. They are completely awake, lucid, and alive, but their bodies are nothing more than placeholders for their minds. And you all know how much I love something that hasn’t been done before.

As with all near future books, John has created a new reality of sorts (kinda reminds me of Mira Grant’s Newsflesh world). A whole industry has evolved to support the Hadens (those who are locked in). Which is how we have a story. Shane, our main dude, is actually a Haden, something you don’t figure out until a couple of chapters in (which is super cool). His conscience rides around in a robot (called a threep, in honor of C3PO). That’s how he’s able to be an FBI agent. Even cooler, he was the literal poster child for Haden’s Disease, but he’s sick (pun not at all intended) of it and just wants to be a normal guy (as much as he can be).

Lock In is a bit of sci-fi, thriller, mystery, and comedy. The characters are well-developed and witty (I’d actually consider this an extremely character-driven book), the plot complicated yet easy to follow, the mystery complex yet solvable for those who suck at such things. If you’re a fan of any or all of those our genres, definitely check this one out.

Now I’m off to finish a super cute romance novel. I never ever promised to be consistent. It’s a huge part of my charm, right?

This review originally appered here: http://www.leilareads.com/lock-in-by-john-scalzi/

When I first heard about Lock In; I was a bit skeptical of the premise. All of these people contract this flu that has three stages and in the third stage they suffer from lock in. Which is essentially being a prisoner in your own body. This would normally, be the entire of plot the book. How does the disease progress? How do we stop it? Our intrepid young hero(scientist usually) tries to discover the answer to all of these questions and the mysterious origins of the disease. Yes, well, John Scalzi decided not to do that, thank god. He wrote a book that was a post-outbreak world. Which is even more interesting. How does the world cope with the victims of the disease? What are the political ramifications of all this? How does it effect economies all over the world? These are some interesting questions that are more or less in the backdrop of Lock in. Instead the story mostly focuses on a series of strange murders being investigated by a new FBI agent Chris Shane and his partner Vann. Chris is a victim of the lock in, in fact, he is one of the most famous people who has. So we see the world from his perspective. While Chris is a pretty good main character there are plenty of things about the book that, from time to time. Made me cringe a little.

John Scalzi is famous or infamous however you want to look at it for his dialogue and lack of description. He rarely describes things, people, or places. He just doesn’t, can tell you why but he doesn’t. Anyway, some of his dialogue hand offs in the final third of the book are just bad. I mean awkward in a way that makes the reader cringe and then try to reread it, thinking they made a mistake. Unfortunately it was John Scalzi who made these mistakes. If your writing style is so committed to dialogue that you make it your central feature. That’s great, you just better do it right, all of the time. Overall, the author does a masterful job with the dialogue and the plot progression. The mystery is a descent one, although it’s not one that you’re probably going to be able to figure out on your own. I’d imagine if I’d read the book in a shorter period of time I probably would have been able to see the end coming more easily.

While Chris and Vann have a nice, but short buddy cop relationship. I often found myself thinking, that it was a little bit too brief. We don’t really care about Vann; mostly because almost until the end we know virtually nothing about her. While Chris seems like a nice enough guy; it’s kind of like caring about a celebrity that decides he wants to start playing baseball or something. It’s interesting but you rarely care if he fails or succeeds. Many of the more supporting characters like Tony for instance, seem a lot more interesting and while they aren’t quite as fleshed out as Chris(we are reading from his POV). I felt like Tony was a lot more relatable guy to most readers. I don’t know why the author decided that the main character should be rich, famous, and an FBI agent. But there was only so far things began to stretch before the reader just had to forget about the whole thing and except it on suspension of disbelief terms if nothing else. I think for a book with so many supporting characters, I would have liked more information about the more central characters rather than more dialogue that was essentially meaningless in the end.

All told, I was happy with Lock In and I would definitely recommend the incredible audio version narrated by Wil Wheaton or Amber Benson depending on which you choose. I found listening to the book even more engaging than reading it. So keep that in mind.

https://www.facebook.com/Reading.for.the.Masses
4.5 out of 5 Stars

Before the advent of the printing press, mankind has dared to dream, to imagine, to wonder “What if...” Through this human truth, science has only ever been begotten by science-fiction. Planes, Trains, Suspension Bridges, none of these would be possible, except mankind sees the barriers and dares to imagine solutions.

In Scalzi's near future, a virus sweeps the globe with catastrophic swiftness, resulting in disastrous consequences for those who've contracted Haden's Syndrome. The disease leaves some dead, some hollow, and some Locked In.

Imagine Stephen Hawking, still brilliant, still lucid, but unable to move. He is, in effect, locked in. Scalzi dares to imagine a world where a significant population has been physically decimated, but mentally alert; the psychological toll of the disease beyond measure. Hawking has clawed and scratched his way to imagining a computer which lets him interact with others, and which may, in fact, make his the first mind to live immortally. That is not science fiction. That is science fact.

So, too, Scalzi's future is not without hope. In as much as people live in their minds first, in their imaginations, in their intellect; and then live in their bodies second, the so-called “Hadens” find a way to live in their ethernet; keeping bodies alive by means of medical marvels and 24-hr nurses, housing their physical “selves” in little more than broom closets, they Live Out Loud in their virtual space and in their polycarbon suits named after the Star Wars android C3PO. They're called Threeps, for short.

Touches like this keep the story light and fresh and humorous but the back-story is well thought out, deep, and encompassing. Scalzi starts the novel after the virus and after the innovation, but in the midst of the political shit-storm. His science-fiction is a backdrop to a very human, fatally-flawed society, where the people hollowed out by Haden's make their bodies available as a vessel for the soul of the highest bidder.

I hope, beyond all reason, that science follows Scalzi's solution. Think of ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, and the heartrending paralysis of Christopher Reeve. There could be, or should be, an answer, Science Fact, for today's population who suffer the affect of being locked in. This book has a satisfactory 4-star storyline, but deserves a 5-star for daring to go where few others have gone before. I'm a fan.
This reviewer received a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm very disappointed with this listen. Wil Wheaton's performance in Ready Player One is one of my favorites through audiobook narrations. Sure Lock In is written by a different author, but I was hoping to be enamored with the main character and voice Wil could give him. The main character has an interesting background on paper as the son of a famous basketball player turned Senator. This character, Chris Shane, also became the poster child of an epidemic scale disease called Haydon Syndrome, a condition that locks in someone into their body without any control while being fully aware of everything going on. Technological advances has created threeps, surrogates that Haydons connect mentally to like rented bodies while their real bodies are treated by nurses to feed and prevent bed sores. Chris Shane enters the story on his first day on the job with the FBI. All of that is fascinating world building.

The problem is that I never really cared about Chris. Yes he wants to do the right thing by solving the mysterious suicide-suspected murder of a poor individual caught up in a complicated scheme by someone rich and powerful. His partner has a tough background as well, having tried to be a volunteer surrogate for Haydons and had an awful experience, and who now struggles with alcohol and other coping issues.

The mystery tied itself together in ways that kept me surprised, but I really didn't care. Cool worldbuilding and well-thought-out mystery, but not enjoyable because the characters did little to make me care about them.

I've thought some more about this review and it should be said that I sympathized with the victim's family. But this makes me wonder if the main source of emotion and interest should come from the victim as revealed at the end of the story. I enjoyed that emotional moment, but my engagement from the beginning to then was mostly emotionally stagnant.

Wow. There was so much in this book. It's suspense--people are being murdered and the FBI is investigating. It's speculative fiction--one of the FBI agents is a "Haden," a person with Haden's syndrome whose body is in a medical cradle at his home while his mind inhabits a robotic body (threepio--so perfect). It's about disability and disability rights and it is very, very good at that, in my opinion. The book gets five stars because it combines speculative fiction with suspense/thriller and because it made me think.

What would I do, were I a Haden? Would I use a threepio and interact with the physical world? Would I never use one and interact only in the Agora (a virtual world that is utterly real to the Hadens)? Would I mix both? There was a minor incident mentioned about threepios not being allowed to use chairs in coffee shops if those chairs were needed by those without Haden's. The particular threepio relating it doesn't mind, but I'd mind. Oh, would I mind. There are great things like that which call into question the humanity of a Haden while in their threepio. Then there's the housing which tends to be small and cramped for Haden's because they are, after all, bedridden and don't actually need space. But do they deserve it? Does it benefit them?

Oh, and the whodunnit? A wonderful mix of plots and schemes with the technology available to them. Very clever.

I could go on. I'm going to be revisiting this book many times.

I hesitated to buy this book, but finally checked it out from the library because I was running low on John Scalzi books to read. The premise-- a flu epidemic creates millions of people with "locked in" syndrome. As a result, technology is pushed forward to allow human brains to integrate with the internet, and with robotic bodies. That in an of itself is not what made me stay up all night reading this book-- it's a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat crime novel. I can't really say more without spoiling it, but read it! If you like smart crime novels, you'll love this!

I first heard of John Scalzi on Twitter. After following him for a while, I began to wonder what kinds of books he wrote. Maybe I'd like them. I went to Barnes and Noble looking for Truthwitch and decided to search for Scalzi.

I found science fiction, a genre I very rarely ventured into. I picked up Lock In, figuring it would be a good place to start.

IT WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK TO START WITH.

But I've got a few things to say. It was a little hard to get into, at first, due to the first couple pages describing Haden's and giving a bit of background on the disease. It confused me for a bit, making me uncertain about the next few chapters. Maybe that's just me not reading closely enough. It took a bit for me to get acclimated with the slang terms for Hadens (those the disease targeted and changed) but once I got a hold on the world, I didn't want to let go.

Scalzi keeps you guessing for the entire book--it's a plot well-executed, with twists and turns to rival a rollercoaster. It also keeps you on the edge of your seat, like aforementioned rollercoaster. This is, I think, a very plot-driven book, though the unique world also contributes to a lot of its appeal.

However, I feel like the characters needed a little more depth. Agent Chris Shane is a likable, funny character who I liked. But that's just it. I only liked him. The other characters, like his partner, Vann, or *muffles spoilers* could've used more depth. I only saw a side of them; they fell a little flat.

I feel like the plot made up for that though--it's PURE genius and absolutely addictive. The world itself, an alternate universe to our own, left me wanting to know more about the world, Haden history, everything, which was a good part of the book.

I loved Scalzi's Old Men War series. It was a very interesting futuristic universe with a fascinating view of what an incredibly advanced brain/computer interface could bring. A good concept along with very good dialogue made for one of the best new sci-fi books in a long time. Now, with Lock In, he naturally distances himself from that universe, but brings a very similar human/machine concept with the treeps. In general, everything here is mostly a rehash of a better previous presentation. As a murder mystery, it is a non-starter since the novel only has about 8 to 12 characters, and from the start, it is obvious only one of them could have done something like it. Considering the cost/benefit of the crime, I would say it simply made no sense for the criminal to do it, which is why the novel moves through the resolution at breakneck speed.
Without spoiling anything, it lacks the freshness of dialogue of his previous books, while not creating an interesting plot. The best thing about the novel is the premise of a worldwide new disease and the miraculous technologies it inspired, but even that felt too quick and too neat. Considering the incredible advances portrayed, it seems like magic and not technology. The concept sound interesting though. Overall a mediocre effort by a great author. Maybe the next one will be a hit.

I enjoyed the premise very much, but I began to doubt who was actually talking fairly close to the beginning. "Oh, we think that so and so is talking through a guy, but what if it isn't?" came to my mind right away. The hero is super competent, and never seems to be rattled no matter what happens to him. Of course, it helps to follow Tony Robbins's dictum, 'if you have a problem that can be solved with money, and you have the money, then you no longer have a problem'. The hero follows this one relentlessly. I thought it might be interesting to see the problems that someone who is poor and has to stay in his or her body, and has to deal with real world problems with caretakers might have and still deal with this problem. Making a character way too superpowered leaves little suspense.

Me, I thought they were going to find Loudoun's back up in the Navajo server farm disguised as something else.

But one thing that really bugged me is that everything was written in the Exact. Same. Tone. Of. Voice. Yes, it's a singular point of view all the way through, but there was almost a total lack of emotional affect--Philip K. Dick's replicants had more emotional depths. Now, perhaps this is a side effect of living in threeps all the time; I noted that Cassandra Bell, who didn't, actually had emotions--but it detracted from my enjoyment of watching Superman serve justice.

This book is a lot of fun. It takes us into the near future, where a disease called Hayden's locked in part of the population. To "unlock" them, the victims are connected to robots with which they can carry on their normal lives (even if they cannot eat - now horrible!). Chris Shane is one such Hayden's survivor, and she joins the FBI. The procedural is interesting and original, and the world that the author creates is very entertaining. I figured the novella at the end would be more of the same, but it surprised me by keeping my attention and making me want to learn more about this world. The text was a little repetitive (a lot of "he said," "she said," "I asked," "Tony said") but the sense of humor more than made up for it. Kudos to Amber Benson for her narration of the audiobook.

I read The Old Man’s War trilogy from Scalzi and absolutely loved it so when I saw that he had come out with Lock In I was pretty excited to give it a go. I will say this is a bit of a departure from what I know of Scalzi. I definitely did not expect a detective “who done it” type of story, not that that is a bad thing, just unexpected. It was nice to see that his typical witty banter and pretty solid sci fi components are still present in this book though as that is what really endeared me to his writing in the first place. The book is a page turner and I flew through it anxious to see what would happen. The characters are pretty strong and interesting although not incredibly fleshed out and remain a bit mysterious throughout. I couldn’t help but try and pick the plot apart as there are some tenuous plot devices accounting for some twists and turns that I found rather difficult to find likely or even possible in some cases but they were minor and pretty easy to ignore. Overall, it’s a pretty solid contribution by Scalzi. It didn’t have the same sizzle and appeal that Old Man’s War had for me but I enjoyed it well enough in its own right. There were some key questions left unanswered at the end though which was mildly irritating, not sure if there will be a sequel but I’d like to know the answers to some of those.

I'll allow an author three impossible things to get a story going, as long as it plays by its own rules afterwards. Plague is entirely believable, as we have recent grim evidence, and something attacking the nervous system is believable (ever hear of rabies?). The three in this case are:
1) Technology to live so completely in a robot presence,
2) Same for "riding" another person's mind, and
3) A huge conspiracy theory coming to life, like the one here.

Given that, everything seemed to follow in reasonable ways: laws catching up to technology. a separatist movement within the disabled community, human costs of government funding battles, and unintended sequelae to just about everything. The characters seemed believable, and seemed to act in believable ways, and even the kind of vulnerability that the malware maker exploited falls well within the story's parameters. I've been away from SF for a while, but Scalzi is pulling me back in.

-- wiredweird

John Scalzi doesn't need people licking his boots. So if you came here for sycophantic nonsense, I am sorry to disappoint you. What this book demonstrates, and what Scalzi continues to show as an author, is that he has mastered the art of pacing.

What, exactly, do I mean by pacing? It means each plot point resolves itself, and leads to the next point, with precise timing. Each scene in Lock In is tightly packed, never devolving into pointless exposition (we don't find out a defining characteristic of one of the main characters till the last fourth of the book!). Instead, Scalzi lets the interaction between the characters define his world, define how things function within the universe he's created, and uses that inertia to draw the reader from one part of the story to the next with inexorable strength.

Lock in paints a world asked to deal with an enormous burden, finding a way through, then dealing with the aftermath. It's easy to do the first two, and many, many stories would find that the focus of their story. Scalzi takes a big risk, and runs past those two aspects right smack dab into the aftermath. In the end, the bold maneuver pays off. There is wit and witticisms aplenty, along with taut action scenes, and a very rewarding payoff.

Now, to the few downsides I saw with this book. Part of the pickle presented within the novel is solved by a slightly unbelievable introduction of a new character. In one instance, this out of the blue introduction works splendidly. However, in the end, the new character above ends up trivializing the main pressure of the book. I understand that it was realistically the only way to have that issue resolved, but it still felt very Deus Ex Machina.

The second part is a very, very minor thing. Make no mistake, this is a book well worth reading, a great story paced with a masters touch. However, in the end, it ends with startling abruptness. Yes, a resolution is reached, but it feels like more could've been done with the first installment. Maybe that's just a reflection of how much I enjoyed it, but it did feel too short.

On the flip side, it does mean I have yet another fantastic series to mark on my calendar. Not really a bad problem to have, when you get right down to it.

My son sent me this novel along with some others. I began reading it without Googling the author or the novel. The prequel describing the Great Flu and its consequences was a useful intro. But then the plot unfolds with the Hadens, Integrators and threeps and I was quickly puzzled trying to figure out this weird world. As a police procedural it worked well and I could relate to the main character. But only by a willing suspension of disbelief. After a while I got into the swing of the plot and, apart from the weirdness of the Haden- Integrator world, I found it intriguing and enjoyed it.

After finishing it I was informed of a novella that explains the context for the novel more clearly. I suggest you read that first. It's called: Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome by John Scalzi.

A solidly good book with a great premise.

I was initially offput because this book didn't have the same amount of humor as some of the others I have read by Scalzi. However in the long run this turned out to be fine. There was still some humor there, oh yes, but it was a different type of humor, one that kind of snuck up on you, a bit black. Of course there is still some of the typical Scalzi humor as well; I really wanted to see the robot in a wheelchair!

Some say the premise of people being locked in to their bodies and controlling human analogue robots with their mind is wasted on a "typical police procedural." Pah! It's great how they did it, rather than another typical post apocalyptic or dystopian, we get hope and a nice light but very well developed mystery.

So I recommend this book to anyone that like polices procedurals or robot books but have all the tropes subverted or avoided, or played so straight that it is just deadpan hilarious.

An award winning sci-fi author creates an intriguingly inventive world in which a population of survivors from a devastating virus are rendered incapable of any voluntary muscle movement. Even though they're "locked in", living in splendid isolation, they manage to engage the outside world through something called a threep, an avatar/robotic humanoid controlled through what may be a type of mental telepathy. Conflict arises between these Hadans, as they are called, and what passes for the "normals".

Having established the premise, you now need an engaging story line, right? Unfortunately, the detective/crime procedural superimposed on that premise fails to generate enough dramatic tension to engage the reader looking for more than the sci-fi techno babble. It doesn't help that the characters are one dimensional and the writing all dialogue. Needless to say, the book will be welcomed by the author's considerable fan base who will be unfazed by the dense neuro-electronic lingo. But for those of us not so indoctrinated the result is bewilderment and, ultimately, boredom. and ultimately bored.

I only buy the Audible versions on occasions. Usually I read my books on my Kindle. This time I needed something for my work commute after coming off of Vonnegut's Galapagos.

And boy was this disappointing.

First off: Wil Wheaton as a narrator was just boring. Not bad, but it sounded like he would rather be doing something else. In other audiobooks, the narrators often change their intonation and pitch to indicate which person is speaking\thinking. Wil Wheaton just says: "Chris said" or "Van said"

Secondly: This book is heavy on dialogue, and Scalzi has never struck me as particularly bad at writing it. But this time I could not get over the flat dialogue, and I am guessing Wheaton is the biggest problem. Almost every spoken sentence ends with "he/she said", and once you hear it, you'll never not hear it.

Storywise the book is a fun sci-fi-whodunit filled with technical explanations, which is what i love about Scalzi's work.

Wil Wheaton, though....

Great book. I could hardly stop till I'd read it all, and I enjoyed it throughout.

It's a bit different than the regular John Scalzi novel, but then I remember him writing that he tried to do something different in each new book. So I don't know if there IS a "regular" John Scalzi novel, having read several of them. And it's not different in a bad way. It's like trying a slightly different flavor or texture of your favorite ice cream. It still has his unique style--humor, wit, great dialogue, and characters that come alive and draw you into their world. It reminded me a little of "Fuzzy Nation," which I also thoroughly enjoyed.

I'd feel a little funny recapping the story here, since you've probably already read the blurb on the store and the sample chapter posted. (Do so if you haven't. It says it a lot better than I can.) I'll just say that it's a very believable tale, well written, and it makes his description of the future sound very natural and convincing. It's worth reading, and I foresee myself rereading it in the future, for the fun and pleasure involved.

Scalzi's book is more mystery than Sci-Fi, revolving around a murder by an Integrator (a human who can allow someone else temporary operation of his/her body). It focuses on a central question... Can someone really commit murder if a second individual has taken over their brain? Overall, I enjoyed the book. We listened to the audio version and it kept us glued the entire car-ride. That said, I think the outcome was a bit predictable. My husband enjoyed how Scalzi really delved into the weeds of neural networks (the process of installing a computer into someone's brain) and then hacking into that computer. I would have liked a little more world-building around this new society of comatose humans and their robot avatars. For that reason, my favorite chapter was one which veered away from the central mystery plot-line and had our robot hero do something relatively mundane - he went apartment-hunting. Apparently, most robots are totally cool with very small apartments.

This book manages to propel itself to three stars just because the concept is so fascinating.

It's based on a very interesting premise, a new condition known as Haden's Syndrome, that effectively "locks" people into their own bodies. This has caused the rise of a class known as Hadens who are able to project their consciousnesses into android transports (known as "Threeps" after Star Wars' C-3PO) or into the mind of another person who suffered the syndrome but managed to escape the "lock in" part (known as "Integrators").

There are a host of philosophical and ethical questions to this, of course. But the book kind of....skips it. The story takes place a decade or so after the discovery of the condition, of course, and all legislation has been passed, the new Haden class established due to generous and panicky funding from the government, and now is on the verge of being altered again. It's definitely a steep learning curve for the reader, and I was disappointed that it didn't get into a debate about some of the more philosophical/ethical questions (my favorite one of course would be: how do you jail/punish someone who is currently already in a supposed-coma while their consciousness roams free between body-to-body/the internet? but this is explained in 1 or two sentences. Sort of unsatisfying.)

Scalzi spends most of his time thinking about the concept, at the expense of setting and characters. By far, the most interesting character is the protagonist's FBI partner, Vann, but again her backstory is explained rather quickly and leaves a potentially-complicated and multi-faceted character feeling kind of one-note. The protagonist was also kind of boring, and I don't know if I really know anything about him other than what I was told up-front (rich, wanting to be independent, former poster-child for Haden's Syndrome.) I don't feel like I really got to know any of these characters, and it almost feels like more of an outline for an epic sci-fi novel than an actual book.

I am giving points for use of the Navajo Nation in this book, but I really would have liked to know more about the legal implications of that culture in relation to the United States government (since they are basically autonomous in this future, thanks to a few throwaway lines by Scalzi) and all that that implies. It almost feels like there was a first book that I missed out on that could have established this world a lot better before launching into a murder mystery/conspiracy thriller.

Anyway, it's an interesting read, and I definitely finished it in one go, but if you're looking for an in-depth reflection on the ethical/moral/philosophical dilemmas briefly touched on in the book, you aren't going to find it. Definitely left me wanting a lot more than I got.

Lock In is near-future sci-fi. The story takes place close enough to today that I could have been an old fogey in the story, with just enough tech improvement to remind us the story is in the future. It's entirely believable except for one offhand mention of a ridiculous outcome to the NBA finals. Within this world we know so well, the skilled world building I love from Redshirts and the Old Man's War series is found in the story's primary device, the external and internal lives of those "locked in" due to a world-wide viral epidemic.

Lock In begins in a world that has been living with Haden's Disease for 25 years. Scalzi gives enough back story on the disease for the novel to make sense, but I recommend reading the companion novella Unlocked first. Unlocked uses a unique story telling mechanism to tell the story of the disease's inception, the people's early attempts at a cure or treatment, and the invention that set up the world of Lock In.

I enjoy Scalzi's writings and have read most of his books, so I go into this book with a certain bias. I picked up this book strictly based on Scalzi writing it, as the back book cover snippet didn't do a lot for me, and I am glad I did pick it up. I really enjoyed the book - mystery, light sci-fi, humor and action all coming together with the Haden disease and its human\tech-ecosystem weaved throughout.

When I entered the book name on Goodreads, I was glad to see "Lock In #1" as when I finished the book, I was thinking that this would make a strong series and there were a number of issues\items left open in the book, more stories to be told and more mysteries to be solved.

In this near-future thriller, John Scalzi blends his fast-paced science fiction with suspense to yield a vivid world in which a portion of the human population is locked inside itself as a result of an insidious disease, known as Haden's syndrome.

Technology has advanced enough --- primarily through research for a disease cure --- those who suffer with the disease can live virtually by integrating their consciousness into other willing (mostly) human "Integrators" or hooking into androids known as "threeps" (yes, it is an allusion to that android).

Newly minted FBI agent Chris Shane (a Haden's victim) partners with veteran Leslie Vann and the two wind up investigating Haden-related murder, following a suspect who might have been integrated with a Haden. The investigation is pretty standard, or as standard as the world Scalzi presents, given the murder suspect lives inside another human being, but only temporarily.

While transferring human conscious is a standard SF trope --- one that Scalzi explores in his Old Man's War series as well --- Scalzi does a bang-up job making the technology plausible, especially a consciousness transfer into an android. With the novel, like all good SF, or all good fiction for that matter, Scalzi puts forth the questions of "What is human? What is it to be human?" Are the threeps human? They only seem to come to life when a human consciousness occupies them. Are you fully human if you allow another consciousness to temporarily possess your mind?

Although not quite as mindbending as his Hugo-winning Redshirts, Lock In supplies you with a good mystery story wrapped in the questions of future technologies.

--- ToddLock In: A Novel of the Near Future

I listened to this read by Wil Wheaton. Overall I really did enjoy the book, however I was confused in the beginning I must've listen to the prolog four times. At the end of the audio book is a prequel novella “Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome,” (You can also read it for free online). I would strongly recommend listening to this before the book.

I believe Wil Wheaton was very good as a voice of the book. He did come across as just reading the book aloud rather than using different voices. Many times I found myself having to pay attention to who was speaking because he voice didn't sound distinctly different.

This is my first Scalzi novel and I look forward to more of his work.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I was especially happy that the book had a "real" ending. So many books nowadays seem to be a gateway drug to hook you into an never ending book series. After getting the book I read that Scalzi was working on a sequel and I was worried that this book would just leave me hanging - it didn't. When finished you can see how he can continue with the series but you as a reader are left with a real ending to this book.
The book also dives right in, you don't have several chapters of build up and background to wade through before you get to the real meat of the plot. It's a literal page turner that is hard to put down. I stayed up till midnight on a work night to finish the book. That's an endorsement.

This book was wonderful! Scalzi is my kind of writer. Not a lot of flowery descriptions of clouds and s***, just a solid, fascinating plot, and excellently written dialogue. Occasionally, the writing got a bit dry - but just when it was focused on technical computer-code stuff. But that's just my personal preference - I don't find technology to be interesting. Overall, a very, very good book.

Also, I think this is the first book I've ever read where a man and woman spend so much time together, and there is no sexual dynamic whatsoever. In fact, Shane doesn't even seem to notice Vann's physical appearance at all. The focus is entirely on her personality, which is basically unheard of from a male protagonist.

It was a short read. I was hoping for more from this story I suppose.

There wasn't much suspense or tension - although there were a couple areas where he tried to set it up...but it went nowhere. It was kind of like reading a summary of an investigation - we did this, we did that, we found out who did the crime because of this. Date. Stamp. Signature.

When I said there wasn't much tension - what was stopping their investigation? Nothing. In fact, in every sense, every scene was helping their investigation! There wasn't one thing that needed to be uncovered - it was all handed to them in a blase manner. I dunno. I like suspense, I like tension, and I like a good fight from the investigators. (yes, I realize I'm being very generalistic here, but I'm trying very hard to not provide details to support my statement because I want to avoid spoilers).

I did give it 3 stars because it's easy to read (I just finished reading 2 gene wolfe books though, so maybe that's a contributing factory) and for about 2/3rds of the book, it seemed on the edge - about to deliver - and I was excited for more. When I picked the book up Sunday morning and realized it was almost over, it kind of dawned on me that this was as good as it was going to get - there wasn't going to be that page turning burn, that need to find out who was responsible, or if the characters were going to make it.I shrugged, finished it, and was glad I borrowed it from the library.

The three stars also reflects my like of the potential that the universe he wrote in could be used.

By the way, I'm actually not that big of a fan of John Scalzi's old man war series, so if you are, maybe you won't agree with my review.

Infected by a disease, many humans live their lives without removing their bodies from their protected rooms, their physical need taken care of by aides. The main character of this book, like many peer, uses technology to interact with the world using s threep for mobility. He has completed college and is ready for his first day of work as an FBI agent.

I did not get very far into this book (Maybe 1/4th the way through). I had to stop, I had no choice. I would have gone crazy with the constant "he said," "she said," "he said," "she said" style of writing. It drove me crazy. This is not to mention the unnecessary profanity, inserted into lots of places that make you think this author wants to be taken as a "hip" writer, rather than a serious one. I wonder how this book got so many good reviews. I love books, but this one was way off the mark for me. After I put this book down, I picked up "Ready Player One." So glad I did, RPO was one of the best books I've read.

This novel was good in many ways. The idea of having a significant population locked-in and aided by technology is a good vehicle for social commentary. So, five stars for concept. Unfortunately, the characters are a little flat, and the dialog is uninspired. Because of this, I think this is a novel that is hard to get lost in. On the other hand, the story is interesting with plot twists that are not obvious. So, the whole story is not telegraphed at you from the first chapter. This makes the story engaging in other ways. One of the things about Scalzi that is usually good is that his writing is better than most Sci-Fi authors. I'm not sure if this is the case here. I enjoyed Old Man's War, and this is just, frankly, not as good. I also enjoyed Agent to the Stars (at least until the end - which I found weak). This is just not John Scalzi at his best. If you're new to Scalzi, look for somewhere else to begin. Of course, if you're already a fan, you'll probably like this.

Scalzi takes an absolutely fascinating concept with Lock In and takes in unexpected directions. Where the obvious way to tell this story would be to have it be from the perspective of someone who has recently found themselves locked in and is struggling to come to grips with it (though that would still have made a very interesting story), he chooses instead to tell a murder mystery through the eyes of Chris Shane, a man who has been locked in since the age of 2 after falling ill with Haden’s, and, being fortunate enough to be born to a very affluent family, is able to have his consciousness ride around in a top-of-the-line “threep”, a humanoid Personal Transport affectionately nicknamed after C-3PO (which should give you a general idea of what threeps look like). The story starts with Shane’s first day on the job as an FBI agent, and immediately launches characters and readers into some serious action and controversy as government cutbacks and anti-Haden sentiments get worse, people get killed, and a huge conspiracy starts to come to light.

Shane is an interesting character to ride on the shoulders of, providing good insight into how Hadens, as those who have been affected by the disease, tend to live. He may be rich and able to afford a new threep at the drop of a hat, but he still faces many similar limitations in his life that other, less fortunate Hadens do. His body must be kept safe, because even when he’s walking around in a robot shell, if his fleshy body dies, he will die. He faces discrimination from those who are ignorant and those who are deliberately malicious. He experiences the perceived benefits and drawbacks of being a Haden, from having a body that can, in many ways, withstand more than a human body, to the community of the Agora (a Haden-only network, akin to a mentally-accessed Internet), to the thought that unless his body is properly taken care of by someone he trusts, he is extremely vulnerable.

Understandably, there are strong ties to disability activism in Lock In, and the expected debate about which form of treatment and accommodation would be better. Is it better to help those who are locked in adjust to new bodies and how their new lives will work, ensuring that they can still be productive and happy members of society? Or is it better to try to reverse the effect of Haden’s and ‘unlock’ individuals so that they can have functioning bodies? Many of these arguments struck me as quite similar to things have heard Deaf people debate, and are often debated around and about Deaf people. On one hand, removing what society sees as a disability can have many advantages, or rather it takes away a disadvantage that comes from lack of accommodation. On the other hand, and as is demonstrated in Lock In, sometimes it’s not a matter of returning someone to a previous state, it’s actively forcing them to adjust to something new. Shane was locked in when he was 2, and barely remembers a time when he wasn’t locked in. Another character, Cassandra Bell, was born locked in, and so she grew up with the Agora as her primary means of social interaction, and without the limitations a body puts on a mind, learned quickly and was extremely intelligent. To unlock either of them would essentially be forcing them into a new situation that they can’t remove themselves from, taking away a sense of self and community, so that they can fit someone else’s idea of normal. It’s the typical all-or-nothing approach that many people have when dealing with disability, and Scalzi presents it in clear terms that make both sides of a complex and multi-layered issue easier to understand.

The book is largely a murder mystery/crime thriller packaged in a sci-fi wrapper, making it appealing to multiple large audiences without sacrificing good elements from either genre. They both work to complement each other extremely well, adding layers of diversity to what could have been interesting stories all on their own, but together they make something phenomenal. Just as it’s good to have stories about the brilliant scientist who discovers an alien race, or the daring commander of a fleet of space ships, so too is it good to have stories that are more relatable, showing how the future gets integrated into what we know of the world today. Lock In does just that. It’s not an unbelievable far-future with a larger-than-life cast. It’s set in the very near-future, where events have influenced how certain aspect of technology has developed, but society has stayed pretty much the same and so despite the main character being incredibly rich and able to afford things that most can’t even dream of, the whole thing feels so very relatable, and it’s easy to imagine living in such a future not too long from now.

I have to commend Scalzi for the way so much information is conveyed to the reader. You’ve got commentary on social activism and disability, a different level of technology than we’re used to now, and information about how big businesses work, as well as the usual amount of A-to-B-to-C explanations that usually accompany a good murder mystery, and it’s all presented believably, without pages upon pages of info-dumps and exposition. his was done primarily by having many of the characters be knowledgeable about their own fields and expertise, but not everyone knows everything, and so to bring the whole investigating team up to speed, things had to be explained by various characters. There were very few moments where I felt like things were being dumbed down a little too much for the reader’s sake rather than the characters'; on the whole, it was done with skill and style.

I cannot recommend this novel enough. It has wide genre appeal and a cast of believable and interesting characters and a plot that keeps you pushing for just one more chapter, no, really, I’ll stop reading after one more chapter, eh, maybe just one more after this… I had trouble putting it down. I just didn’t want to close the book and leave the world behind, even for half an hour. It’s compelling, it’s well-structured, and it has gorgeous commentary on numerous social issues that are relevent today. I don’t think I can heap enough praise on this brilliantly intelligent neurosci-fi novel. All I can do is close by saying that you will not be disappointed when you read Lock In. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t need my praise, not because Scalzi’s already such a huge name in science fiction or because greater people than me have given it such positive reviews already, but because it stands so well on its own, speaks with its own voice, and is deeply note-worthy whether I say it is or not.

A man has been killed in a closed room with one other man present. The survivor has no memory of it. And two FBI agents, a first-day rookie and a wisecracking veteran, must find out what happened.

Pretty common murder mystery stuff, except there's political intrigue involved. Oh, and did I mention the rookie was a mind in a robotic body, his "real" body in a never-ending coma miles away? And that the mind inside the survivor's body at the time of the death could have been... anyone?

In John Scalzi's "Lock In" it's the near future, and Haden's Syndrome (named after the First Lady, who died from it) has swept across the world. Most experienced nothing worse than a bad case of flu. Millions died. And about 1% of the population experienced "lock in," in which their minds are fully alert but their bodies can't move. Technological innovation and political pushes led to a host of ways to integrate "Hadens" back into society. Thanks to advanced neural net systems Hadens can broadcast their minds into robotic avatars called "threeps," or even into other humans who have survived Hayden's Syndrome and found that, with training and surgery,they could serve as receptacles for Hadens to borrow and drive around.

You can imagine how well Hadens are accepted by all walks of society, especially the ones who regularly scream at people and carry baseball bats.

Chris Shane is the son of a superstar basketball player who became a political powerhouse, and has spent his entire paralyzed life as the poster child for Hadens. To get away from this he's joined the FBI and his first week, with his new partner, Leslie Vann, who plays a little sloppy with the rules, is shaping up to be a doozy. The government has shut down funding for Haden programs. Hadens are about to be largely on their own. Companies developing programs, cures and new hardware for Hadens stand to lose billions. Anti-Haden riots are breaking out everywhere.

And in the middle of all this, Shane and Vann have to find a killer who can't be seen.

Scalzi is at his best when he's mixing genres and what sounds like a fairly mundane political thriller gains new depth from the fascinating backstory and the changes to society Haden's Syndrome has brought. Scalzi also understands political maneuvering and corporate greed and how technology can be used and misused. "Locked In" is full of all of these, such as the little glimpses into what it will soon be like when a law enforcement officer can use facial recognition software and immediate access to anyone's FBI files at the same time that he or she is talking to you.

Add in the societal pressures and prejudices involved in introducing what is essentially a new class of people and "Lock In" becomes a mix of "Alien Nation" and "Robocop."

Yes, there are some lucky coincidences along the way, such as two of Shane's new roommates who are miraculously suited to helping a high-tech murder investigation. But it's a thoughtful ride you won't regret and Scalzi's dialogue is always fun to read.

Lock In (2014) is a standalone SF novel. This story is set in the near future mostly within Washington, DC, and environs. The Great Flu epidemic had ravaged the entire planet, killing more than four hundred million people. The disease had two stages: the first was much like influenza, but the second was like meningitis.

Infected person who recovered after the first stage usually had brain structural changes. Those who survived the second stage usually had even more severe brain modifications that blocked their senses. They were locked in.

Those in the locked in state were called Hadens after the First Lady who got the disease and was left in that state. Her status brought much publicity about the disease. This led Congress to pass a bill granting large amounts of money for research and support of the Hadens. Naturally, the President signed the bill into law.

Some survivors had only minor mental and physical disabilities. A very few had brain mods that allowed them to share their bodies with Hadens. These few were called Integrators.

Neuronic networks were developed for Hadens and Integrators. The Haden nets allow them to access threeps -- robotic bodies -- to provide them with mobility. The Integrator nets allowed Hadens to ride their bodies with the real owners monitoring their actions.

The nets also allowed Hadens to access virtual realities. They could build personal VR spaces, which they could share with other Hadens or normals using VR glasses or helmets. The Agora was developed by NIH as a VR space available to all Hadens, with public rooms for normals.

In this novel, Chris Shane caught the Great Flu as a two year old child. Chris came from a very rich family, so he was one of the first Hadens to own a threep. His father became very involved in supporting Haden causes. Chris traveled with his father throughout the world and became a famous Haden personage. He is now twenty-five years old and has just graduated from the FBI Academy.

Marcus Shane is a very rich man. He is married with one child, Chris. He was a very good basket ball player and had won trophies for his junior high, senior high and college teams before he went professional. Since he invested most of his money in real estate, he became a billionaire before he retired from basketball.

Cassandra Bell is a Haden who was infected in the womb. She was one of the few who lived under those circumstances. She is a Haden activist known worldwide. She is now twenty years old.

Vann is an FBI agent. She had contracted the Great Plague at the age of sixteen, but recovered with a functional body and mind. Her brain modifications qualified her as an Integrator and she received the neuronic net after graduating from college.

Trinh is a DC Metro detective. She and Vann do not get along very well.

Nicholas Bell is a licensed Integrator. He is also Cassandra's older brother.

In this story, Congress passed the Abrams-Kettering Act removing most federal support for Hadens. Cassandra has called a walkout of all federal workers. Chris is very conspicuous when he reports for work on the first day of the walkout.

He fills out his paperwork, gets a very detailed briefing on his benefits and is issued his weapon, badge and software upgrades. Then he is sent home because his new partner is giving testimony in court. The second day, he is sent to the Watergate Hotel.

Chris notices his new partner standing near a car flattened by a love seat. The probable owner of the car is talking agitatedly on his phone. Vann is near the lobby entrance smoking an electronic cigarette.

They introduce themselves to each other and Vann tells Chris to scan the car. He turns on his recorder and walks around the car, scanning it from every angle. Then Vann takes him inside.

They find the room by the crowd of Metro police outside the door. A Metro detective comes over to talk to Vann. Trinh hardly noticed Chris.

Trinh argues with Vann over jurisdiction. Vann claims the case because an Integrator is involved. Presumably the Integrator had a Haden client. Vann requires the city detective to send all the police recordings to the FBI.

Then Vann takes Chris back to the FBI facility to review the data. Chris' videos are high resolution and show everything within the crime scene. The Metro recordings are low resolution, but show the victim face down on the carpet and the Integrator sitting on the bed with his hand up.

The Integrator is Nicholas. The first Metro cop on the scene asked Bell why he killed the victim. Nicholas said that he didn't think he had. The cop immediately zapped Bell.

The FBI agents manipulate the data and show the victim face up. His face and fingerprints are not in the FBI records. A wider search shows that the victim in John Sani, a Navajo. The FBI asks the autonomous Navajo Nation for information on the victim.

Vann talks to Bell within a Metro interrogation room. He hasn't said anything, but he has called his lawyer with his internal phone. Vann gets him to talk a bit, but then he clams up and waits for his attorney.

The FBI gets records on the victim from the Navajo Nation. Vann sends Chris to talk to the Navajo police in Window Rock. They introduce Chris to the victim's family.

This tale leads Chris and Vann into a series of puzzles. Sani has a custom made neuronic net from an unknown source. Hadens are killing people riding Integrators and leaving suicide videos. Nothing makes sense.

Chris retires to his virtual cave and posts icons of all the people in the case. Then he draws lines for the connections between suspects. He finds two major areas that need more investigation.

Of course, there is a bit of current opinions behind this novel. People are refusing to consider themselves disabled. Some blind since birth are saying that they are differently sensed. Such thinking is reflected in this story.

Chris is narrowing down the suspect list. Currently, there is not a sequel to this novel. Yet there is definitely the potential for a series in this universe. Reader interest could lead to more novels about Chris and Vann.

Highly recommended for Scalzi fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of police procedurals, future plagues, and sensory deprivation. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

Let me preface this by saying that I don't typically read science fiction, but the premise of this one drove me to try it. I'm shocked at the initial popularity of this book when it was first released, as it's really not very good. The writing is average at best, and while the science fiction aspect is believable (as much as it can be), the novel just lacks any excitement. I had tried this book because of the disease aspect of it, but I found it to be more about the threeps than the actual "Lock In" flu virus. I found the character development to be weak with just a small effort to give them unique quirks that don't really truly develop who a character really is. Sci-Fi fans seem to love John Scalzi's work, so maybe it's just that I don't typically read the genre, but it gets a big 'no thanks' from me. I did finish it though, which isn't something I can't say about every book I've read, so it has that going for it at least.

So I've had a strange weekend.

I started to read Lock In and I needed the cable guy to come and reconnect my wireless. It was dark and stormy on Friday and probably the perfect or not-so-perfect night to start reading this novel of the near future, depending on who you ask.

And then, the cable guy comes over on Saturday morning and essentially holds us hostage on our couch while he's fixing our wireless. He begins to tell us how the government is taking the world over beginning with our children who cannot do anything without a wireless connection (sort of true). In fact, he said in a few years we would be down to a one government world as a result of our need for a wireless connection. You'll have to get the cable guy to explain this to you more thoroughly. I can't.

I do start to make a small connection though. I'm afraid to even look at my husband sitting next to me on the couch. I don't want the cable guy to know I'm on to him. This has got to be Scalzi in my home. He must be one of the millions that are locked-in. The cable guy is his integrator. I know it now for sure.

Today is Monday. I finished reading the book. My hold on reality is slipping fast. I don't know who I can trust anymore. You can trust me on this, though, Lock In is a fabulous read even for a girl that doesn't usually go down the sci-fi road for obvious reasons.

Science fiction is at its best when it's social commentary, and "Lock In" is powerful social commentary on many levels.

This book is the first instalment of what could become an entire new genre - "disability sci-fi", wherein authors explore the future for those with physical or mental restriction.

"Lock In" is a powerful exposition of how technology might turn the victims of a terrible illness into a whole new type of citizen, and how this would then play out across politics, class, economics and law. A brilliant novel from start to finish.

I'm giving it (4) stars for the concept and creativity in plotting and characterization, but, to be candid, the book was a bit confusing to me. I'm not really a reader of futurist sci-fi, so this was outside my usual reading spectrum. However, John Scalzi has a great way of injecting humor into his dialogue and that keeps the plotting from becoming too technical.

Fresh off his Hugo win for Redshirts, Scalzi has provided a glimpse at a near future world where millions of people have been "locked in" to their brains after suffering a meningitis-type disease. After a huge research effort, the technology was invented to allow these people (called "Hadens") to use "threeps", a robot, to move around and participate in society while their frozen body is stuck in bed. Scalzi uses this premise to stage a murder that needs to be solved (by a locked-in FBI person and human partner), making use of the properties of the threeps, the brain circuitry installed in the locked-in people, and the software that runs them. Some pretty good bad guys here and a logical course for the investigation.

Scalzi maintains a nice internal consistency throughout and, as always, his strong point is the dialog.

An excellent story and quite a warning for when we start getting brain mods in the future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not required reading, but for some good background to the Haden syndrome see "Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome" by Scalzi which is free on tor.com or a nominal fee at the store.

I had never heard of John Scalzi before reading this book. I had a audible credit and thought i would give it a try. Sometimes these stabs in the dark can turn out horribly and sometimes like this book, they can turn out great.

Firstly, I loved the premise and backstory of this book! I also love the fact that it is a crime novel/police procedural set in a science fiction setting but make everything seem natural. I thought John Scalzi created a fantastic way of creating cyborgs/androids in modern society without having the robot uprising cliche. It was a really great and creative idea and I hope he continues the series.

What kept me from giving a 5 out of 5 was that the pace of the story was a bit slow in parts and the actual crime aspect of it seemed a bit weak and slightly convoluted. What made it a great read was the character and the premise. As I read the book i wonder whether John Scalzi started out with an idea of a robot FBI agent, or whether he had the idea of the disabled people using robots. Which ever came first he has created a pretty cool world for his novel and it is a perfect setting for a variety of different novels. What i like about John Scalzi from the Old Man's War series is that each novel is a different and doesn't necessarily follow the same characters and I imagine he would do the same with any sequels of this one too!

I had high hopes for this as I loved Redshirts, but I found myself disappointed by this book in several ways.

1. Not that I was anticipating Sherlock Holmes, but there is no mystery about who committed the crimes. Based on the potential ramifications of their actions, you would have thought they were a little smarter, the protagonist solves everything immediately.

2. The disease has been touted as fascinating, but I didn't really find it that thrilling. It has literally no negative impact on the characters in this story. We hear that it was devastating, but everyone seems pretty functional. Even the 'trauma' of one character was all told. Not supremely convincing.

3. Disability as a narrative choice. I feel like this was where I was the angriest. I keep reading reviews that tout this book as a piece on disability. I heartily disagree. The narrator is wealthy. Extremely wealthy. He uses and casts off expensive equipment at will, has FT caretakers in addition to his parents, and chooses a second apartment in the course of the novel. In addition, Haden's allows him to essentially transport himself instantaneously across the country to a new body. This has been done before in sic-fi, nothing terribly new or inventive, but there is no true disability to any of the characters in this story. Also, Scalzi plays lip-service to how awful one legal change will be to the country, but doesn't actually include anything in the story. These people we see with Haden's are so rich that it wouldn't matter what disease they were afflicted with, they can buy a solution.

I can't believe this is the same person who wrote red shirts. The characters lacked any passion or character development. Little humor or joy in the whole story. Good guy meets gritty partner, makes friends, moves out of his parents home, solves crime, sets up dramatic capture, all engage in gratuitous violence. Protagonist changes not at all.

Lock In is not a novel, it's a screenplay. It's about 95%dialogue and 5% prose. Which I don't have a problem with, it's just that it's not a very good screenplay. The characters are boring and one-dimensional cliches (the author even makes a note about some of the characters being cliches). The book is part detective novel, part light sci-fi, and part political discussion- none of which are ever fleshed out. The dialogue is full of inane "let's get to know each other" conversations (again, the author makes a note about some conversations being "innocuous").

The book does keep it relatively light and breezy, making it a quick easy read. It has an interesting premise, but everything is kept at surface level, so there is no deep philosophical exploration. Instead, the story focuses on a murder/ corporate conspiracy that I found to be weak and uninteresting.

"Locked In" is a novel that focuses intensely on a single individual, but the story is supported by a vast universe that, while never fully in view, is the real tale. The central character is an FBI agent trapped in a crippled body since early childhood by a virus, one of millions worldwide who can't lift a finger or speak a word. But these locked-in individuals still see and hear and think, and through specially designed remotes they can interact with the world outside their bodies. And investigate murder...

I was really excited by the synopsis on this one. The entire Sci Fi feeling is there but it didn't feel so Sci Fi ish.. this felt like it could be something that actually happened in our world, just in our future. The entire concept reminds me of something like if Judge Dredd and Almost Human had a baby. Of course that baby would come out looking exactly like Karl Urban (which honestly I will not complain about!)

As the book introduces the characters I got a sense of real snarkiness form the two lead gals. Both cops, one locked in and one not. I love snarkiness in characters so this really thrilled me. There is some stuff about both gals that Scalzi does go into later on in the plot but not so much that it drags anything down. I really enjoyed hearing about their backgrounds, although, we learn about the main character, Chris Shane, pretty fast.

Then there is the sciencey stuff. I totally loved this part until the explanations start rolling. To be honest maybe some of it went over my head but not so much that I couldn't continue with the story line so I just went with it and tried to keep up. It was fantastically done being that John Scalzi had to explain the entire mystery behind what is driving the plot. This was great too because at about 10% I was asking where the story was going to go and shortly thereafter I got my answer. There IS a mystery behind it all but the Hadens have to be explained before the story can really get in that direction.

Production was great, again Amber's use of multiple voices was awesome, and the story line really felt like it was perfectly plotted. A little slow in some parts so it just misses that 5 star mark, but really, just barely!

Received by author for an honest review!
4.7 / 5
Full audio review at audiobookreviewer.com

I like both sci-fi and detective stories, so this worked very well for me. In addition, I really liked the idea of a person being removed from their body. As a consequence of this, Chris is a genderless protagonist, that almost everyone seems to assume is male (read the reviews here). Did no one else but me realize that Chris is never gendered in the entire book? I assume this is why there are two audiobook editions.

Let me begin with a secret. I hated Redshirts. I think I'm the only person who did. I was very nervous about picking up Scalzi's newest book, but the premise seemed interesting and I do like his blog.

Fortunately, Scalzi's bad habits in Redshirts did not find their way into Lock In. I found the book an engaging piece of science fiction and a fascinating crime novel.

In my opinion, the hardest part of writing good science fiction is world-building without endless exposition. Scalzi falls into this trap a couple of times, but most of the exposition is relevant to the plot. Where it really shines, though, is the way Scalzi uses the narrator's technology to advance setting and character development. The protagonist's use of technology allows him to be present in most action scenes; instead of merely getting an e-mail or phone call about something, he can actually be there. This allows the secondary characters to become more alive.

As far as the ending goes, I'm proud of myself that I got a few facts right, but was also pleasantly surprised by others. But the same thing I said about exposition and world-building at the beginning of a sci-fi novel also applies to the ends of mystery novels. Scalzi does this as well, but again it's manageable, and I'd still recommend the book as a fun, entertaining read for a rainy weekend.

Complex and enjoyable sci-fi thriller. Chris Shane is a new FBI agent afflicted with Haden's syndrome. This condition is the result of a widespread virus that can cause complete immobility, called "lock in". Chris cannot move or talk, but he can sense his environment (Ex. feel touches, pain and sense smells). He can experience the outside world through a device implanted in his brain that allows him to connect with machines. He connects to robot-like machines called "threeps" to move around in the physical world.

On his first case he is partnered with Leslie Vann, an experienced FBI agent, to investigate a murder involving a Haden. As they investigate the case, they discover a plot that could endanger millions of people.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. All of the characters are interesting and it is full of intelligent dialogue. The author creates a very believeable idea. He shows the history of how Haden's started to over twenty years later showing how society adapts to this mass condition economically, politically and personally. The story is full of intrigue and excitement. Small caution: this is not an easy read. I had to take a few notes to keep some people and places straight, but it was well worth it. Highly Recommended.

I've come to expect a lot from John Scalzi, ever since he burst onto the science fiction scene with the superlative "Old Man's War."

Like all Scalzi's work, this book doesn't disappoint, and the plot raises fascinating and intriguing ethical questions, which spark thought long after the story is complete. That being said, I felt the ending seemed a bit rushed and even a tad formulaic for an author of Scalzi's caliber. Thus it falls a bit short of his past novels.

Lock In is not a novel, it's a screenplay. It's about 95%dialogue and 5% prose. Which I don't have a problem with, it's just that it's not a very good screenplay. The characters are boring and one-dimensional cliches (the author even makes a note about some of the characters being cliches). The book is part detective novel, part light sci-fi, and part political discussion- none of which are ever fleshed out. The dialogue is full of inane "let's get to know each other" conversations (again, the author makes a note about some conversations being "innocuous").

The book does keep it relatively light and breezy, making it a quick easy read. It has an interesting premise, but everything is kept at surface level, so there is no deep philosophical exploration. Instead, the story focuses on a murder/ corporate conspiracy that I found to be weak and uninteresting.

"Locked In" is a novel that focuses intensely on a single individual, but the story is supported by a vast universe that, while never fully in view, is the real tale. The central character is an FBI agent trapped in a crippled body since early childhood by a virus, one of millions worldwide who can't lift a finger or speak a word. But these locked-in individuals still see and hear and think, and through specially designed remotes they can interact with the world outside their bodies. And investigate murder...

I was really excited by the synopsis on this one. The entire Sci Fi feeling is there but it didn't feel so Sci Fi ish.. this felt like it could be something that actually happened in our world, just in our future. The entire concept reminds me of something like if Judge Dredd and Almost Human had a baby. Of course that baby would come out looking exactly like Karl Urban (which honestly I will not complain about!)

As the book introduces the characters I got a sense of real snarkiness form the two lead gals. Both cops, one locked in and one not. I love snarkiness in characters so this really thrilled me. There is some stuff about both gals that Scalzi does go into later on in the plot but not so much that it drags anything down. I really enjoyed hearing about their backgrounds, although, we learn about the main character, Chris Shane, pretty fast.

Then there is the sciencey stuff. I totally loved this part until the explanations start rolling. To be honest maybe some of it went over my head but not so much that I couldn't continue with the story line so I just went with it and tried to keep up. It was fantastically done being that John Scalzi had to explain the entire mystery behind what is driving the plot. This was great too because at about 10% I was asking where the story was going to go and shortly thereafter I got my answer. There IS a mystery behind it all but the Hadens have to be explained before the story can really get in that direction.

Production was great, again Amber's use of multiple voices was awesome, and the story line really felt like it was perfectly plotted. A little slow in some parts so it just misses that 5 star mark, but really, just barely!

Received by author for an honest review!
4.7 / 5
Full audio review at audiobookreviewer.com

I like both sci-fi and detective stories, so this worked very well for me. In addition, I really liked the idea of a person being removed from their body. As a consequence of this, Chris is a genderless protagonist, that almost everyone seems to assume is male (read the reviews here). Did no one else but me realize that Chris is never gendered in the entire book? I assume this is why there are two audiobook editions.

Let me begin with a secret. I hated Redshirts. I think I'm the only person who did. I was very nervous about picking up Scalzi's newest book, but the premise seemed interesting and I do like his blog.

Fortunately, Scalzi's bad habits in Redshirts did not find their way into Lock In. I found the book an engaging piece of science fiction and a fascinating crime novel.

In my opinion, the hardest part of writing good science fiction is world-building without endless exposition. Scalzi falls into this trap a couple of times, but most of the exposition is relevant to the plot. Where it really shines, though, is the way Scalzi uses the narrator's technology to advance setting and character development. The protagonist's use of technology allows him to be present in most action scenes; instead of merely getting an e-mail or phone call about something, he can actually be there. This allows the secondary characters to become more alive.

As far as the ending goes, I'm proud of myself that I got a few facts right, but was also pleasantly surprised by others. But the same thing I said about exposition and world-building at the beginning of a sci-fi novel also applies to the ends of mystery novels. Scalzi does this as well, but again it's manageable, and I'd still recommend the book as a fun, entertaining read for a rainy weekend.

Complex and enjoyable sci-fi thriller. Chris Shane is a new FBI agent afflicted with Haden's syndrome. This condition is the result of a widespread virus that can cause complete immobility, called "lock in". Chris cannot move or talk, but he can sense his environment (Ex. feel touches, pain and sense smells). He can experience the outside world through a device implanted in his brain that allows him to connect with machines. He connects to robot-like machines called "threeps" to move around in the physical world.

On his first case he is partnered with Leslie Vann, an experienced FBI agent, to investigate a murder involving a Haden. As they investigate the case, they discover a plot that could endanger millions of people.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. All of the characters are interesting and it is full of intelligent dialogue. The author creates a very believeable idea. He shows the history of how Haden's started to over twenty years later showing how society adapts to this mass condition economically, politically and personally. The story is full of intrigue and excitement. Small caution: this is not an easy read. I had to take a few notes to keep some people and places straight, but it was well worth it. Highly Recommended.

I've come to expect a lot from John Scalzi, ever since he burst onto the science fiction scene with the superlative "Old Man's War."

Like all Scalzi's work, this book doesn't disappoint, and the plot raises fascinating and intriguing ethical questions, which spark thought long after the story is complete. That being said, I felt the ending seemed a bit rushed and even a tad formulaic for an author of Scalzi's caliber. Thus it falls a bit short of his past novels.

Another excellent book from Scalzi. The concept in this book is simple: a disease can cause brain modifications causing full "lock in" for some, where they have no voluntary control of their bodies, but their minds are fully active. A small percentage of people recover from the disease and are capable "integrating" with other lock ins. Neural network technology, in the form of real hardware in the brain, enables those who are locked in to "occupy" a robotic form and thereby interact with the physical world. They can also "integrate" with the few humans who had the disease but were not locked in. Scalzi takes these simple ideas and manages to weave an incredibly complex cultural, political, and technical murder / mystery story that had me wanting more at each turn. I hope this is the first in a long series of such books. The idea is great and the potential is unlimited.

Scalzi delivers again. Lock In is a discussion at the intersection of disability and culture (with a side of race and class). It’s a compelling plot with adequate characters in a richly-developed world.

So I hear there’s a sequel? *click*

This story takes place 25 years after a devastating epidemic hit the world. Millions died, and millions more were left with "locked-in" syndrome: conscious, cognitive, and aware, but incapable of any speech or movement whatsoever.

But -- as with all such crises -- partially-successful medical and technological interventions were developed, and eventually the epidemic becomes a "normalized" fact of life. Although their immobilized physical bodies must be carefully monitored and maintained in sophisticated medical cradles, Locked-ins (known as Hadens) now have the ability to live full lives through the use of neural brain implants which interface with human-like android bodies known as threeps (a reference which will be instantly obvious to Star Wars fans).

But there are complications to the solutions found by modern tech and pharma companies. It's been discovered that those who recovered, rather than being locked-in by Haden's Syndrome, have a special ability to serve as "Integrators" (surrogates) for Hadens. And there are supposed to be strong software prohibitions against the Integrators' clients doing harm to their surrogate bodies. But it appears that someone may be using Integrators to do great harm to others before destroying themselves, leaving no evidence of outside control.

Chris Shane has been a Haden since the age of two, and he has successfully adapted to life in the Agora -- the virtual community the Hadens inhabit -- and in the real world through the use of threeps. The son of a very wealthy and influential man, Shane had the option of skating through life -- but he instead chose to try to make a positive difference by becoming an FBI Agent.

In his first week on the job, Shane discovers he's been partnered with Agent Vann, a woman with a dry, sarcastic wit and a lot of secrets. Almost immediately, a murder occurs under extremely bizarre circumstances. As details are discovered about the parties involved, and more murders and murder attempts occur, it becomes clear that something very dark and sinister is in the works. And whoever's driving it will stop at nothing to prevent Agents Shane and Vann from discovering the truth.

The author has not only managed to create a tense, quickly-paced science-fictional mystery, but he also touches on some very real-world themes. How good, or bad, is it when Big Tech and Big Pharma create successful solutions with the motivation of earning Big Money? How much government support of crisis victims is necessary, and how much is too much? How does the presence, or absence, of that support impact the unaffected humans, the economy, and society in general? How does society prevent people with a disability from inevitably being relegated to an underclass?

The author does not presume to offer answers for those, or for the most pressing question, which parallels the controversy of the modern-day deaf community and the creation of cochlear implant technology: Does finding a "cure" for people who have overcome their disability to create a thriving alternate culture and community truly save them, or is it a form of genocide?

There is plenty of food for thought here, deftly woven into a well-plotted mystery with fantastically three-dimensional characters.

Note: There is a great prequel novella "Unlocked" available for free over at Tor.com, which provides an excellent pre-reading basis for this novel.

Enjoyed the book thoroughly. This was my first time listening to this author and it was worth it. Everything felt like a probable near future as opposed to something outrageous with flying cars, hoverboards and tractor beams. It even hit on issues that could be translated into modern day scenarios. Will Wheaton reading it was the initial reason I bought the Audible book, but now I am looking forward to checking out more of John Scalzi's works.

Scalzi’s latest future world is another inspired and unforgettable one. A horrifying disease leaves a large portion of the world’s population paralyzed. But the technology has been created to use robotic bodies or “borrow” the rented bodies of willing donors. Shane is one of these “Lock In” victims who uses a synthetic body to stay mobile and work for the FBI.

Lock In is another fantastic standalone novel by one of today’s best scifi authors. The characters are engaging and the pacing is spot on. Full of mystery, intrigue, suspense, and fascinating technology – this novel is hard to put down. Scalzi’s novels are always a must-read and this is no exception. From a chilling idea to a thrilling execution and several fun plot twists – Lock In will certainly be making my top reads of 2014 list.

*Review previously posted at SciFiChick.com

This book was just "okay". Beginning the book, I felt lost while reading. As if a lot of details were told elsewhere and not in this book. For example when the protagonist says "I'm a Haden." I thought it meant he was from the Haden family but this is untrue.

The story has interesting plot but I feel like something's missing. There is a of unexplored potential- I was expecting it and it never happened.

Lock in is classic Scalzi in one crucial manner: his voice comes through clearly. This novel, while serious in many ways,is still chock full of his trademark snark, and characters who actually have some character. A great read, while exploring new ground for Scalzi. It demonstrates that he is just a great writer, and that we have many years of awesome new ideas still to come.

I really liked this book. I wasn't sure what to expect when I purchased it, and John did an excellent job of creating a very convincing universe. The characters were enjoyable, although he "foreshadowed" the evil person much to early. It was still a great read, even knowing who the bad guys were, because you didn't find out until much later why they were the bad guys.

Really.had no idea what this was about before starting it. Got for free with audible sign up. The connect seemed similar at first but as I continued it took its own for. It was interesting to see what could happen if a whole world was effected by a disease like this could do.

My Headline says it all: Riveting from beginning to end, others will tell you it's both a medical and police procedural, but it even has some truths from economics and politics woven in. Scalzi has such mastery of dialog, he needs little to no narrative to carry the plot but it never get ponderous. Others here have given you enough of the plot, I can focus on the little details that add so much to the enjoyment. Spoilers ahead:
* There are almost no straight white male key characters, other than locked in - and most of them are villains
* The protagonist, Chris Shane, is presented without gender. Chris could either be a he or a she. We do know Chris's father is tall and African American. (We have no idea how he could even think about becoming a senator in the Commonwealth of Virginia.)

There was one very minor flying snowman - Chris flits all over the country by linking to Threaps already in diverse places such as Arizona and California - but yet his badge seems to accompany him. How's he do that? 3D printing?

Highly recommended and a quick and enjoyable read.

Solid book, great characters and plot line! Similar to “Everything Box”, “Shovel Ready”, and especially “The Dark Side”. All are really fun reads—sci-fi crime novels packed with action and comedy (think Law and Order-type crime/comedy). Wholly recommend this!

I have been a fan of Scalzi's writing since I read Ghost Brigades many years ago. This book seems a bit more "pop culture" than the Old Man's war trilogy, but the same hard science linked to a reasoned and reasonable speculative future informs this novel. Scalzi manages as usual to explain the technical details necessary to the plot without allowing techspeak to overwhelm the human element in the story, and without his characters artificially standing around explaining to each other things they already know in order to pass the information to the reader. (No "As you know, Dirk, the coefficient etc etc etc" , "Well, Al, you'll agree that in cases of underwater confinement etc etc etc) The concept was interesting in itself, and the issues raised variations and extensions of real world current concerns.

Haden's, or people afflicted with a viral coma, project themselves into robots, and sometimes other people. This book has a creative premise, a sympathetic main character, and an engaging mystery. I enjoyed it and recommend it.

If you were only going off of the three most helpful reviews, you might have expected something written by a rabid hamster.

I personally found the majority of the complaints there to be ... extremely focused.

Premise: The introduction to the Haden syndrome was a bit confusing, but Scalzi gradually made things clear as the story progressed. After many years, the Haden population has integrated back into society with the advancements in technology, but perhaps enjoy one too many advantages for those who are technically "disabled". This is the story of a world thrown into disarray ... coincidentally on our MC's first workday.

There can be some character-name confusion given how Integrators share bodies and all, and the fact that this is part murder-mystery and dead men get no screen time. However, the overall world and plot construction was masterful.

I got a copy of this book to review through Goodreads First Reads. Previously I had read Scalzi’s books Fuzzy Nation, Agent to the Stars, and Redshirts and really enjoyed those books. I was eager to see what Scalzi came up with next. This was an interesting premise but probably my least favorite Scalzi book to date. I usually enjoy the irony and humor in Scalzi's works and there isn't a lot of that here.

Haden’s Syndrome is a flu-like virus that killed a lot of people and caused some of them to Lock-In. Those who Lock-In can see and hear but can not interact or move with people in any way. Society has adjusted to this by creating threeps (androids) that locked in people can control through a neural network (brain computer) of sorts. There are also people who had Haden’s but did not Lock In, however they did get some brain damage that allows them to operate as Integrators. Integrators can allow Locked In people to ride along in their bodies and experience life as a human outside of a threep. There is also a virtual space called the Agora that normal humans and Locked In humans can interact in.

Okay, so the above gives some background but that really isn’t what the book is about. The book is actually about a Locked In guy who uses a threep and is starting a job as an FBI agent. His partner is a long time agent and former Integrator. On his first day on the case they stumble into a murder mystery involving Integrators and Locked In people.

The first part of this book is a huge info dump. Even with that things are not all that well explained. It took me a bit to figure out what a threep was and to figure out what Agora was. Then I had to figure out when we were in virtual space and real space. Once I figured that out I had to go back and reread the parts I thought were happening in virtual space since they were in real space….blah. I would definitely recommend giving the story and info at the below link a read before reading this book. I really think this would have been a much better book if this story had been included in the beginning. http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/unlocked-an-oral-history-of-hadens-syndrome-john-scalzi

The above story gives much better background and you won’t be so darn confused for the first part of the book.

This book is more of a murder mystery/conspiracy type of novel. There are a number of sci-fi elements in the story (incurable disease, neural networks and virtual living spaces) but mostly the book is investigative in nature. There are also a lot of social implications addressed since you basically have two classes of citizens now (those who are locked in and those who aren’t).

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I was a little irked that the huge revelation in this book is basically that computers can be hacked. I mean really? You put a computer in someone’s brain and you are all like “Oh, that will be completely safe, we have a ton of safeguards in place.” I think it was incredibly ignorant (and anti-climatic) to think that no one would realize a brain computer can be hacked just like any other type of computer. If you have software it can be hacked.
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I honestly would have enjoyed reading more about the onset of Haden's Syndrome. I think that would have been a lot more engaging and exciting to read about. This story was basically a story of political intrigue and the investigation of a murder tied into that intrigue. There were a number of times where I had a lot of trouble engaging with the story and parts were just plain boring.

Overall I thought this was okay but did have some trouble staying engaged in the story. Like many sci-fi books it takes a bit to figure out the slang and what it what. I guess I would tentatively recommend to those who enjoy sci-fi reads about how humans interact with computers that are chock full of political intrigue and conspiracy.

I liked the near future setup - creative and believable. The Haden community reminds me of things I've heard of the deaf community. The detective story was good - really liked the banter dialogue between the two main characters. The social commentary zinger was very good. I thought some pieces of the detective puzzle where to convenient, otherwise book would be 4 stars ...I still want you to read it , and recommend it.

“Haden’s syndrome is a physical and mental condition and disability with initial flu-like symptoms followed by possible secondary stage of meningitis….leading to complications in the third stage of complete paralysis of the nervous system…..not more than 100,000 people worldwide….experienced no physical or mental declines despite significant changes in their brain structure….this latter category would go on to become “Integrators.” Integrators are people who for a price allow their bodies to be used by Haden victims by the neural network placed in the brain allowing life experiences and adventures otherwise not available because of their current disability.

FBI Law Enforcement partners Agent Vann and Agent Shane investigate crimes committed by Integrators and begin their first case together collecting evidence on Integrator Nicholas Bell who allegedly murdered another Integrator in a hotel room meeting. As the case, moves forward Agents Vann and Shane discover a sinister plan to monopolize the neural network industry and produce a neural brain mesh net that takes total control of Integrators and their bodies enabling restricted access to perform unlawful deeds against the will of the Integrator. With the investigation at full speed, the Integrators are staging walkouts, traffic jams, and protests against the Abrams-Kettering Bill that cuts subsidies and programs for Hadens that would leave Integrators and Haden victims without opportunity for employment.

Lock In is a futuristic novel complete with mystery, suspense, intrigue, and a lesson in Neuroscience mixed with computer technology. The storyline is believably written with clear explanation of the subject matter and recommended to add on your bookshelf and as a possible gifting opportunity to fellow book lovers.

I received this book free from the publisher Macmillan-Tor Forge through the Net Galley review program in exchange for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

Absolutely loved Lock In by John Scalzi!! We listened to the Audible audio version and it was great. This is science fiction at its best. The character and plot development was totally realistic and terribly thrilling. Current world events have made the near-future fiction seem even more possible. The Audible version also included Unlocked: An Oral History of Hayden’s Syndrome: A Tor.com Original (Kindle single). It really explained a lot and would probably be a good prequel, if you haven’t already read the book. I’m sure the read would be as good as the listen. Definitely a GREAT audio book!!!

I am a big fan of Scalzi. I have read all the books he has published so far and, I have to say, this is not one of my favourites. As this is John Scalzi we are talking about, his underwhelming performances are also very entertaining - the man's writing is technically very strong.

Before I try to explain what I did not like about this book, let me list down what I liked first.The setting (a disease that locks people inside their own bodies devastates the world) is really interesting. You care for the characters and they usually have their own voices. Some of the political, economic and philosophical points raised in the book are very interesting (aside: I love worldbuilding where authors really consider multiple angles of how a society would work). Some of the off-screen machinations are fascinating to ponder.

But... and this is a huge but (hehe)... I did not really care for the story. The ending was way too neat, even for Scalzi. The main character's [MINOR SPOILER ALERT] money solved too many problems - it actually felt like deus ex machina - too quickly. The steam that the story had built in the first two thirds of the book did not really hold in the dénouement.

There is another problem with the novel that - I suspect - will not be considered to be one by many people. I usually love Scalzi's characters because they are wonderfully snarky. I know that he has been criticised about this by some reviewers, but *I* love it. I have no idea what kind of dystopia these reviewers live in, but my friends / colleagues and I spend at least half of our time snarking at each other. That's how real people behave. Toning down the snark may or may not be a conscious call, but the novel is poorer for it.

Summary: Worth a read. You'll probably like it. The story was a little too neatly rounded up for my satisfaction. There needed to be more snark.

Well written with some witty banter (which is John Scalzi’s) Lock in provides some great characters, a bit of action and an interesting story which is party sci-fi part thriller.

Bonus the audible version includes Unlocked (the short story tie in of Lock in).

In Lock In, Scalzi takes a bit of a turn from much of his previous work by writing an entirely Earth-bound sci-fi mystery, complete with a semi-mysterious illness which has ravaged society. In the near future, a virus hits the world that causes flu-like symptoms for most, meningitis-like symptoms for some, and “lock in”— a coma-like state in which the victims are completely aware— in a very few. The after-effects of this virus have reshaped the world in many ways, and Scalzi deftly, and smartly, explores the social and political ramifications while keeping the reader thoroughly entertained. For a bonus and to better understand the offending virus and how it spread, read the companion novella Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome. —Nicole Bonía, Bloggers Recommend (Editor’s Pick)

The gradual introduction of the threeps and post lock in society I thought was incredibly well done. While I did not fall in love with any of the characters besides the Navajo dude whose name I can't remember right now, was it Sonny? Anyway all the works building stuff and non-mystery bits blew me away but the actual murder mystery was kind of lame. I called it from the murder scene and I found the 'villians' motive to be so dull I fully expected some sort of epic twist at the end to turn everything on its head.

I have both print and audible versions of this book.

Scalzi created some interesting concepts for this novel and makes fairly clever use of them. The characters weren't bad, but didn't sparkle for me, though, and the flow of the story didn't carry me along the way I prefer.

That said, it was decently written and if you like Scalzi's other works, you'll probably like this one.

Scalzi's Lock In had a premise that sucked me right in, and even held my attention for the first few chapters. The skillfully built world provided an intriguing setting for a police procedural, and Scalzi shows an admirable talent for creating plausible characters within a sci-fi novel (a genre that often sees ridiculous characters engaging in equally ridiculous plots)

However the tale unravels steadily throughout. The first awkward was the juxtaposition of our young protagonist as a FBI agent investigating a gruesome murder, against his life at home with 'Mom and Dad.' I was willing to overlook the clumsy shift in tone between police procedural, and family hubris, but the rest of the story relied too heavily on the sci-fi gobbledygook to make sense of whats going on. I'm sure a true fan would have understood the plotline, I just felt dumb and disappointed.

My final beef is that there was too much unmet potential. Perhaps Scalzi was saving ideas for later in the series, I was wondering why there wasn't more drama around the 'Lock-ins' and the political and social pressures. Instead there were just a few gags about the main character using the 'Ford Pinto' of Threeps and a brief sequence about the unreality of being in the same room as your prone body. I had been hoping for insanity, ethics, politics and psycho-physiological mayhem (that made sense)

I'm glad I read Lock In, its a cool idea and the story is decent, but just decent not MIND BLOWING

...and some excellent characters introduced in the form of Chris Shane, his family and his housemates. His partner Vann will remind longtime fans strongly of Jane Sagan from Scalzi's classic Old Man's War series ~ not that there's a thing wrong with that.

John Scalzi's novels often imagine and attempt to address the societal impact of developing the kinds of tech that can both save and enslave, and Lock In is another example with that underlying theme. But while everything Scalzi's written may have a common thread, each book, even within a series, approaches the equation of human + tech = possibilties quite differently; resolution comes in surprising forms and from unexpected directions in all of his stories.

In a very inadequate nutshell, an extraordinary number of the world's population are victims of an incurable illness called Haden's Syndrome. Many die, some recover to full function (with an altered brain), and others are locked in ~ their brains and senses perfectly functional, but unable to move. NIH pours billions of dollars into both finding a cure and contracting biotech companies to develop ways to let the locked in (referred to as Hadens) participate in the world.

And the companies succeed on the tech side. A neural network is embedded in the Haden's brain, a robotic sort of avatar is invented and constantly improved upon to hold a Haden's consciousness, and they become a society both interspersed with humankind and autonomous. Scalia has some fun with cultural references (the robotic form of a Haden is either referred to as a "threep," short for C3PO, or a "clank"; he also uses AOL as an example of how to milk a dying business model). But he also constructs the backlash from this fundamental shift in society in an often subtle and creative way.

There is new and all too old: wealth and poverty, bigotry and separatism, abuse and white and black hat hacking, and mastermind criminality on a global scale. To say more would blow it for new readers.

The book does feel like a setup for a series, and I hope that's the case. There is much more story to tell here and far more to know about these characters.

The book was ok. It just wasn't the kind of book I got immersed in. I thought the concept was pretty interesting but the story line was a little boring. I was surprised because it has such good ratings everywhere. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't horrible. It just not as good as I had hoped for.

This novel takes a scary and fascinating concept, fleshes it out and makes you think about how the world would be different with it. This "what if" is one of the foundations of sci-fi. It has a few obvious points, such as how Hadens are treated in different ways, and how they have both advantages and disadvantages. It more subtly calls into question portions of someone's identity and how that would be affected without a physical body present.

What's the "real" presentation of a Haden? To some, a threep, to others their virtual self within the Agora, and to yet others, their presence in an integrator. How much does gender, race and culture matter to a Haden? What is the nature of their disability? Is it truly a disability when they have resources like threeps and integrators and the Agora? These are all things I thought about and more as I was reading. I'm still thinking about them now. And, honestly, I think Scalzi absolutely nailed it. The reactions of the characters are very human reactions. And, as would be the case in the real world, the characters have differing opinions.

The author does manage to pull off something I've never seen before, and it was fully intentional. I'll leave it to the reader to figure it out, but I'll give you a non-spoiler nudge: It's the lack of a certain something that's unusual, because it's otherwise always present (in everything I've ever read, at least).

Now, if the book was only about these things, I'd still have found it fascinating as a mental exercise. But it throws in a compelling mystery. It's not the most complex mystery, but it falls together well and complements the world. It was a fun and thoughtful read, well put-together, with a skilled writer's voice. I look forward to Scalzi's next book.

John Scalzi's "Lock In" is yet another Excellent 5 star out of 5 book. It's pretty amazing that about the only problem I have with the book is that the protagonist uses the wrong pronouns in a sentence once. Other than that, no issues. Scalzi sets up an interesting, highly plausible theme, has wonderful characterizations, an interesting, twisty plot, great technology, and nice pacing. As with almost all other Scalzi books I've read, I highly recommend it.

I listened to the Audio book. This book is not horrible, but it was a major disappointment. Boring characters plodding thru a completely predictable story, to a completely predictable end. In this book, which is set in the near future, JS shows a lack of competency in virology, biology, and computer technology - which is something I would have been willing to forgive: if only the story or characters were interesting. Instead of reading this book, I suggest you read the JS books that are frequently overlooked, like "Agent to the Stars" and the "God Engines".

Like others, I was intrigued by the plot summary but disappointed by the actual book. Its one of those books with such thin characters that you wish it would in by chapter 10 in an explosion that took the lives of all the characters. This bleah book was made worse in the audio version. The narrator was a bad match. Her "character" voices were cartoonish. She probably mostly narrates children's book.

Lock-in was not what i expected but I found it to be a very enjoyable read. If you like Scalzi's other novels you'll enjoy lock-in, although as genre fiction it has more of a "police procedural" feel to it than science fiction.

Lock In is an great mash-up of SF and Police Procedural. However, the novel got too predictable near the end before the big reveal. Anyway, I liked the novel, and look forward to the author's next work.