Lock in

Executive Summary: Another fun Scalzi book. That shouldn't really surprise anyone at this point.Audio book: I opted for the [a:Wil Wheaton 37075 Wil Wheaton https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1356706649p2/37075.jpg] version of the audio since he's the way I prefer to consume Scalzi books. However thanks to the Audible pre-order sale, I got a free copy of the [a:Amber Benson 27209 Amber Benson https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1231537678p2/27209.jpg] version that I definitely want to listen to at some point now that I've finished.I will say the run time of 10 hours (11 for the Benson version) is a bit deceptive because the last 2hrs and 15mins or so is actually a multiple reader version of the prequel Novella: [b:Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome 21805681 Unlocked An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397572655s/21805681.jpg 41068587]. I didn't listen to this since I had previously read it on tor.com, but if you haven't, I'd recommend you skip ahead (Chapter 27 I believe) to listen to it first before jumping into the book itself as it gives you more background than the book itself does.Full ReviewI think before last year I hadn't read a single book by John Scalzi. Before 2012 I hadn't even heard of him. Now he's one of my favorite writers and I've listened to just about everything he's written.I tend to read more fantasy than sci-fi. I seem to prefer my sci-fi in TV/movie form instead. Maybe because I like lighter sci-fi, which Mr. Scalzi writes very well. I also love his snarky sense of humor which I think Wil Wheaton does well.This might be my favorite book of his yet. It's not as funny as some of his others, but it's still a lot of fun. I really love the world he built with some hand wavy science fiction that is really just used to set the stage for a murder mystery. He said that he's got an idea for another book in this world if it does well, so everyone go out and buy a copy because I want him to write it!Our protagonist Chris is a rookie FBI agent on their first week with one major difference. They are “Locked-In” to their body since childhood due to a global pandemic. Chris uses a remote controlled robot nicknamed a Threep (after C-3PO) to be present in the world due to being unable to speak or move.Writing the previous paragraph was very difficult because I wanted to keep it gender neutral. Because this entire book is as far as I can tell written that way. Mr. Scalzi probably had an easier time of it than I did because 1) He's an experienced and professional writer and 2) It's written in first person. Still it's an interesting approach to a story.Since I did the Wil Wheaton version (and because I'm a guy myself), I assumed Chris to be a guy, only to realize we never really know if that's true or not.It goes to show that for all the emphasis on racial and gender differences it really doesn't matter when telling a good story. When your protagonist is interacting with everyone remotely with a robot what does gender or race matter? They look like a robot. Chris is a capable FBI agent because of their mind, because when you're Locked-In that's really all that matters.This is another fun and quick read from a master of writing those kinds of stories. Highly Recommended.