Friday 11 October 2013

Redshirts by John Scalzi


“Kerensky screamed, and Dahl then felt ill as Kerensky plunged the shuttle into evasive maneuvers.”


I have to admit to being a little slow on the uptake when it came to the title of this Hugo award winner. At page 30, I had a sneaking suspicion that something felt particularly familiar, reminiscent of weekend viewing of original Star Trek episodes with my father (in syndication - I'm not that bloody old).  By page 90 or thereabouts the connection was made explicit. 

Redshirts are the away team's uniform for missions off ship. In shows like Star Trek, the extras in the redshirts have a propensity for getting killed, unlike the protagonists. 

I don't want to give too much away, but, if like me, you loved the movie GalaxyQuest, I imagine you too will enjoy this.

When I wasn't laughing my head off ( ker plunk), I was marvelling at how entertaining it all was. I've read some pretty dismissive reviews online ( party poopers). Perhaps they longed for something more serious. Ultimately this is just a fun read and one I'd recommend to any tv sci-fi lover.


5 out of 5, shoddy scriptwriters can kill.


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