Redshirts By John Scalzi Is An Interesting Meta Take On Trek
Redshirts by John Scalzi is a lot of fun. I should start by saying that although this book is rightly loved, it didn’t entirely work for me. But it’s well worth a read.
The basic premise is one that will be familiar to Star Trek fans – the redshirts on away parties are nearly always the ones who die. But why is this and can it be avoided?
It is a joke that has been made before, and I personally think it was done better in the superb Galaxy Quest, but Scalzi does it well. I love Star Trek and didn’t feel like he was mocking the franchise, it was more of a self-aware love letter to it.
The blurb on the back
Rather than explain the premise myself and possibly get accused of spoilers, here is the blurb on the back:
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 even more delighted when he’s assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn’t be better … although there are a few strange things going on:
(1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces
(2) the ship’s captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters
(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
Suddenly it’s less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew’s fate may have been sealed … until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything … and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives …
What I liked and didn’t like about Redshirts
I am a fan of John Scalzi, and loved Old Man’s War so much I bought it for my parents. They then loved it so much they bought all the books. He has great ideas and writes in a fun and engaging style. That skill is very much in evidence here.
The satire and writing style is light and fun. This has always been one of Scalzi’s skills and Redshirts doesn’t disappoint.
I also liked the characters. I have read some people have complained that they lacked a bit of depth, but most, like myself, thought they were relateable and enjoyable. The protagonist Dahl, was well written and his group of friends were largely pretty fun. I cared what happened to them, which is pretty crucial when it comes to main characters.
When it comes to plot and how things generally pan out – I seem to differ from the general consensus. I loved the first third, where stuff is happening to main characters and they are reacting and just trying to figure out what the balls is going on.
The middle third then starts to point at where the story is likely to go, and I felt a bit anxious. I can’t really say why and am thinking yet again that maybe I should do spoiler and non-spoiler reviews, so I can address stuff like this. Let’s just say it is when stuff goes from being a funny and slightly over-the top pastiche of Star Trek and heads in the direction of being a meta commentary on the state of science fiction and how it is perceived.
The final third is fine. I can’t really talk about it, but it wasn’t quite what I hoped for. However, this being Scalzi, it was very readable and still fun.
The book ends with three codas, which add to the overall story and are pretty enjoyable. People seem to love or hate them, but massively controversially, I thought they were fine. On the whole, they added to and enhanced a book that I thought had ended slightly abruptly.
Final thoughts – worth a read?
Redshirts is definitely worth a read. The book could have gone one of two ways – a straightforward story of someone on a Star Trek-like ship having adventures and noticing that some job allocations are massively more dangerous than other. It would then follow the adventures of the crew with a possible side plot that addresses job and class disparities. But mostly it would be about a plucky crew having adventures.
This is what I was hoping for.
The other option is to go fully meta and make it about Star Trek-like TV shows and science fiction in general. This was the way the book goes. In you are thinking I am going into spoilers here, the title on Amazon is: Redshirts: The laugh out loud meta sci fi adventure.
I normally review books I generally like as I don’t like crapping on something someone has spent months working on. Actually creating something that did not exist before is endeavour I support. I am also a fan of Scalzi and felt obliged to review a book I mostly liked. And it is a good book. It just didn’t go in quite the direction I hoped it would.
But that’s on me. The majority of reviews are remarkably positive and Redshirts won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2013, so I am clearly in the minority. I think I am being subconsciously loyal to Galaxy Quest, which I absolutely adore and may have tainted me for life when it comes to being meta about Trek and scifi fans.
So, is Redshirts worth a read? Absolutely. It is fun and decent science fiction that makes a lot of valid points. Recommended.