While I was initially confused about the genre of this book — I went into thinking it was horror because I confused John Scalzi with Jon Lindqvist (in my defense the cover of Let the Right One In looks a LOT like Lock In’s — and they’re both named John/Jon) — once I realized it was sci-fi, not horror, I really enjoyed it. In fact, I feel like I need to read some more of this guy’s work because I rarely read sci-fi anymore, despite the fact that I really like it, and he seems like an excellent writer.
So. Lock In take places about 25 years after an epidemic of a disease called Haden’s Syndrome. A small percentage of Haden’s sufferers ended up “locked in” — they are still fully aware of their surroundings but cannot move a muscle. Over the years, Haden’s research has been well-funded and while a cure or vaccine have not been found, technological advancements have been made to help Haden’s sufferers cope with their condition. One is the invention of an online world called Agora that Hadens can visit virtually (similar to Stephenson’s Metaverse or the OASIS from Ready Player One). The other is the creation of “threeps” — metal androids controlled by a neural net placed in the Haden’s brain.
There’s also a class of people called Integrators, which suffered slightly differently from Haden’s syndrome, in a way that allows them to let a Haden into their brain and control their body with the neural network. The story begins when one of these Integrators appears to have committed murder — despite no recollection of doing so. The case is investigated by a rookie FBI agent named Shane — who uses a threep and is one of the most famous Hadens in America.
The story is good — the murder, the investigation, etc. But I really liked the world that Scalzi created — the ins and outs of an American where 40 million people suffer from this syndrome. I wish it had been longer (or maybe he’ll write a sequel) because it was a fascinating place to visit. We got to see very little of Agora, which made me curious as well. I also really liked the writing — the dialogue between Shane and his veteran partner was particularly witty.
I believe there is a sequel in the works; also, there was a prequel available on Amazon; I don’t know if it’s still there or not.
Lock In is kind of different from his other works; you might want to try his remix of Little Fuzzy or Red Shirts, though both are different from Lock In; if you like farting aliens there’s Agent to the Stars; if you like MilSF there’s the Old Man’s War series.
Honestly, I have loved everything I’ve ever read by Scalzi. Fuzzy Nation is my favorite standalone of his. It’s a ‘reboot’ of the Hugo Award winning novel Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. And I love love love his Old Man’s War series. Redshirts is really fun, especially if you like Star Trek, and even if you don’t. Agent to the Stars and The Android’s Dream were both really fun as well, if a bit more focused on the humorous end of sci-fi.
And yeah, if you loved this book, you should check out the prequel, which is an oral history of Haden’s Syndrome, which I actually kind of liked better than the book itself, because I’m a huge worldbuilding nerd.
Narfna, you are definitely my people. ;)
Yeah we both basically said the same things in our comments!