Cover of RedshirtsB
FinishedApril 24, 2013
GradeB
GenreScience Fiction
PublisherMacmillan, 2012
★ Review · April 24, 2013

Redshirts

by John Scalzi


I was really, really liking this book, but then it became too meta.

Publisher Description

Redshirts is John Scalzi’s Hugo Award-winning novel of the starship ensigns who were expendable...until they started comparing notes. Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure. Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on "Away Missions" alongside the starship’s famous senior officers. Life couldn’t be better...until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations, and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is...and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives. With a new introduction by Mary Robinette Kowal, author of the Hugo-winning The Calculating Stars. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Where this fits · 2013 reading log
Book 26 of 2013 · the 9th Science Fiction read of the year.