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  • Redshirts

  • A Novel with Three Codas
  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,855 ratings)
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Redshirts cover art

Redshirts

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Summary

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

©2012 John Scalzi (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Redshirts

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    64
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

I cannot listen to this book

I am an hour into this book and literally have pulled my headphones out. If I hear "he said" "she said" "he said" "he said" "she said" one more time I will freak out. This is the single worst piece of literature I have come across.

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81 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Book But Annoying Over Use of The Word "said

Like a previous reviewer stated this author really needs to learn another word for "said"; Yes, almost every line contains "...said" or "said...", it really does get annoying and you can almost hear the annoyance in the voice of the narrator.

The storyline is pretty good and I did enjoy it; a subtle, or perhaps not so subtle, parody of Star Trek which mocks the fact that in almost every Star Trek episode you knew who was going to die as soon as the "away party" beamed down; those poor guys in red.

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44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Interesting concept ruined

Like others have said (pun intended) they do say "said" A LOT and that has to be down to the author rather than the Narrator or the production, but the situation isn't helped by Wil Wheaton doing the same voice for all the characters.

The underlying story was interesting and different but I was unable to enjoy it due to the above.

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

He said, she said, he said, she said.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The author really needs to either get an editor, or do some basic writing courses again. The constant use of "He said" at the end of every single sentence is enough to drive you mad 10 minutes in to the book. You eventually manage to tune out of it, but it's infuriating. Probably isn't as bad when you read it in a book, but audibly it's really noticeable.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Wil Wheaton?

Anyone who can differentiate female from male voices.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A mixed bag...

So yeah, a seriously mixed bag.

Firstly, the "said" issue that other reviewers mention is definitely a thing, together with a number of other grammatical and phrasing issues. If you are anything like me, you are going to have to constantly suppress a nervous tick while listening to this.

The story goes in a much more existential direction than I expected, but I have to admit I was totally hooked in the middle. I expected the Star Trek like setting to be a lot more relevant than it was, but the book still manages to keep you interested. I found myself thinking about the book in-between reading it, which to me is the sign of a good book. It's an interesting idea for a story and develops reasonably well.

It is worth a listen/read, but do yourself a favour and skip the last "Coda" (or both of them if you are not that bothered). The first is mildly amusing, but the second tries too hard to be sentimental, made worse by the author delivering it in an over the top dramatic style. I wanted to vomit a little bit.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen, if a little jarring sometimes.

I loved this book, the concept was great, the characters, great and the performance - while not as good as Wheaton's other reads maybe - still absorbed me into the story. The codas in particular I thought came across as funny, involving and touching all at once and here was where Wheaton excelled. Much has already been made in other reviews here of the overreliance on 'he said' 'she said' 'he asked' etc and they are right, but you do eventually start to tune it out and I think this is more the fault of the editing for the audio read than against the writing or the performance as it doesn't notice as much when you read the physical copy yourself. I was surprised at how the book changes throughout. What starts as a sort of goofy idea full of nerd lore becomes a rumination on life, the soul and our place in the universe and reality. Once you get past the said issue, I'd highly recommend this to anyone, nerd and non nerd alike!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

One annoying flaw in an excellent piece of prose.

What did you like most about Redshirts?

I liked the principle most, and the inner monologues. The fact that nobody knew why they were doing what they did.

What other book might you compare Redshirts to, and why?

The only book other than John Scalzi's other books that this reminds me of is John Ringo's Last Centurion. Both books have soldier protagonists, both are commentary on how f-ed up the world they are living in is, and the tone and humor are similar. So are the narrators' voices.

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

I liked everything about the way he portrayed the characters, with the exception of Duvahl (not sure of spelling) Some narrators are able to portray female voices well, but Wheaton's female voice was indistinguishable, which is part of the flaw this book has.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I actually started crying somewhere near the end. It might have been when Dahl got skewered. Or it might have been during the epilogue when Finn lectures Nick. Actually Nick's epilogue is a pretty good part in itself.

Any additional comments?

The big flaw in this audiobook is a combination of writer and narrator. Scalzi overuses the word 'said' which _in print_ probably doesn't matter too much. He also named two of his main characters Dahl and Duvahl.
When you get lines like:
"Are you sure?" Dahl said.
"I'm sure." Duvahl said
Near the start and you can't tell which one is the female character because the narrator isn't that capable of female voices and the names are too similar to connect with the identifying information you were given...
After the first hour I'd gotten over the "said,said,said," thing, but that section near the beginning is really annoying.Still a good listen though.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Meta- but in a good way

Where does Redshirts rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've probably listened to 30 audiobooks in the last 2 and a half years. Almost all of them have been very good. I'd say this was in the top half of those.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the paradox, that the characters were supposedly vulnerable because they were not the main characters of the show, but of course they're the main characters of the book so in fact a slightly different set of rules apply. As much as the idea is (as the characters know) derivative of Galaxy Quest, Last Action Hero etc, Scalzi does a great job of making it feel fresh without it getting stuck up its own arse.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The last scene, which I won't say more about, because it would spoil it.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both actually, but it was surprisingly touching towards the end, considering how tongue in cheek the concept seems.

Any additional comments?

Really recommended. I'm not a big Trekkie or into anything particularly similar, but I think it's enough to have a passing familiarity with the tropes of the genre, which virtually everyone surely does.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

this was like a teenage boy reading a comic....

What would have made Redshirts better?

if it had been half as good as his previous book

What will your next listen be?

wil wheaten is a great narrator but this is not his finest

Any additional comments?

john scalzi has written better novels, go and try the one about the agent to the alien, its funny

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It's complicated, she said

The story is brilliant but the writing leaves much to be desired. There is an over use of the word "said", and of the phrase "it's complicated". Characters are not very well developed emotionally but I guess that's partly in keeping with the story, but still feels like every single character is the same person, as they are all awfully snarky in the exact same way. Either way, I enjoyed it, being a big Star Trek fan.

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9 people found this helpful