Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

Really, really good worldbuilding. I definitely recommend reading the novella that comes with this book that details the onset of Hayden, because it was so interesting to see the world adapt.This book mixes illness, technology, disability, and politics so well. As with previous Scalzi books, I have read, the "realness" of the worldbuilding was definitely the greatest achievement of this book. I mean, wow, I picture myself living the lives of all of these characters, and living in their changed world. Which isn't a pleasant thought.Scalzi explores all the implications of his worlds, all the nuances, and no one gets left out. He explores how issues affect those high up in society, those downtrodden, those incarcerated, those just born to those who are old. I love Scalzi's sci-fis, yo.I listened to the version of the audiobook narrated by a female narrator. For the sequel, I will probably switch to the male one, so see what that's like. It's cool that you can do this XD. You don't often read epic stories being completely gender neutral.The plot was fun, always in a mood for a good cop murder mystery. The worldbuilding ties well into the mystery, because how can you find a murderer who hid in the bodies of others?More sci-fi than thriller!

This book was interesting with an interesting premise with our increasing online world

Not one of his best.

Thought it was based on COVID until I saw the copyright AFTER I read 1/2 the book - the spread rate, death rate, no cure.The part about companies trying to make money off the situation and get rid of competition.The political angle - removing assistance to affected people.. that came about because the one pushing the legislation hated the President.The “lock in” people having children was an interesting concept.The different types of people - regular, integrators, locked in, and those using an artificial body. The part where the integrators are taken over reminds me of The Passengers by John Mars.I thought he did a great job developing the characters, the story moved quickly, the epilogue at the end was very interesting- especially the 25 years after.

Awesome book

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 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.

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.