Redshirts

John Scalzi

Fast, fun sci-fi. Scalzi introduces us to characters aboard the Universal Union's flagship spacecraft The Intrepid. Turns out to be remarkably similar to a bad version of the original Star Trek series. The redshirts of the title refers to the "expendable" crew member that always seems to accompany Kirk, Spock, Bones, etc. on an away team, and our protagonists are all redshirts. This is a fun novel that plays on the oft-discussed cheesy plot lines and ridiculous non-science that pops up in supposedly science fiction. Scalzi is able to integrate reminiscing about our favorite first sci-fi show with a story that actually capitalizes on both the good and bad of those shows. There is (probably intentionally) no serious depth of character here, but the story is clever. And while talking about breaking the 4th wall, Scalzi takes it one step further by breaking the 4th wall while talking about breaking the 4th wall. All very meta...
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