Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

AudioFile Best Voices - Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Audio Theater, 2014

A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome", rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined.

BONUS AUDIO: Audible's audio edition of Lock In contains the bonus novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome, written by John Scalzi and narrated by a full cast.

"I love working with Audible, in no small part because they’re committed to doing what’s right, both for my books, and the people who listen to those books. There's a really excellent reason for Lock In to have two entirely different versions, so when it came time to make the audiobook, Audible did an ingenious thing: they asked both Wil Wheaton and Amber Benson to record entire versions of the book. As the author, I’m impressed with Audible’s commitment to my narrative - and I’m geeking out that both Wil and Amber are reading my book. This is fantastic." (John Scalzi)

2 editions. 2 narrators. 1 thrilling story. You can enjoy Amber Benson's narration here.

©2014 John Scalzi (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hugo-winner Scalzi successfully shifts away from space opera with this smart, thoughtful near-future thriller resonant with the themes of freedom, ethics, and corporate greed….This powerful novel will intrigue and entertain both fans and newcomers." ( Publishers Weekly)

"The novel--which contains plenty of action, great character development, vivid and believable worldbuilding and a thought-provoking examination of disability culture and politics--is definitely worth the ride." ( Kirkus)

"Another brilliant novel from a writer who has quickly become one of the genre’s most successful and intriguing practitioners." ( Booklist)

"With narrator Wil Wheaton attacking Scalzi's text with both vigor and nuance, this story tells about a silent minority being given voice, then having that voice threatened.... Thanks to Wheaton's skillful efforts, this production is an enjoyable melding of narrator and material." ( AudioFile)

Well, it was different! But I enjoyed it.

I love Wil Wheaton. "Ready Player One" is my all-time favorite novel to listen to. That's how I happened upon this book.

I found it pretty complicated at first, maybe because I don't normally do science fiction. First you have to understand the basics of the "Lock In" condition, and all its associated terminology and implications, which I found far-fetched but intriguing. After that, you realize the book is a detective mystery intertwined with this condition. So make sure you have that first chapter down pat before you proceed!

I think the author could write many more novels based on the Lock In premise.

For what it's worth, I also downloaded John Scalzi's "Android's Dream" and found it so offensive and ridiculous that I gave up. It's hard to believe "Android's Dream" and "Lock In" were written by the same person.

Scalzi's worlds are always fun.

Lock In is a book I couldnt get into and returned, re-read the reviews and purchased again. Its a really good, albeit weird murder mystery. I am no intellectual or literary critic, so its safe to say I missed significant points. But I liked it because it was fun, brilliantly read and had great characters. And it was weird.

Fully formed world.

Where does Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks in the top 5% for sure.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character: I didn't realize until after the novel that the main character's gender was never specified. I LOVE the fact that the author pulled that off in such a seamless fashion.

What aspect of Wil Wheaton’s performance would you have changed?

He sounds so snarky all the time. Everyone sounded like they were snickering with every line.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, definitely. That happens when a world is fully formed - you want to learn about the world AND more about the story.

Just okay.

I really enjoyed Scalzi's "Old Man's War", so much that I have tried three of his other books, only to be disappointed each time. It will take some convincing to get me to spend money on Scalzi again.

Meh

Scalzi creates a world with lots of opportunities but sadly fails to explore them. FBI Agent Shane's relationship with his father is a point of potential conflict that never evolves it's just window dressing. Generally speaking none of the relationships in the book evolve and the characters are one dimensional. Shane is polite and understanding and diligent and...that's it.

Agent Vann's history dovetails nicely with the main driver of the books plot to the point that she could possibly end up one of the bad guys, but nothing ever comes of this potential. Don't worry I'm not spoiling anything there it is literally never even alluded to in the book.

The motivation of the antagonists while understandable is somewhat hamfisted. They possess the ability and the means to do so much more than they actually do and end up defeated with relative ease once the heroes figure things out.

There a just a lot of holes in the book that could have been resolved had it been longer. For example Agent Shane receives some vital information and for some reason ends up fighting with the shadowy individual that delivers it. Why? Who sent the information? Why fight with the guy you are giving the information to? We never find out and the information Agent Shane receives leads to a vital breakthrough in the case.

Overall this book creates an interesting world, but doesn't do it justice.

Want to see this as a movie & want a follow-up book

Very very good. Wil Wheaton does a great job narrating. I will look for more books narrated by him. Also, next stop, buying another book by John Scalzi.

Narrated by Wil Wheaton who does well.

Any additional comments?

Interesting premise about a disease that affects humans, and how it shapes society, and makes new prejudices, and policies. A fun sci-fi novel that's also an investigation. It was a fun read.

Probably not a repeat listen.

Interesting story for the most part, great narration, ok listen overall. I just didn't love it. Includes a 6 chapter novella at the end that reads like World War Z minus the zombies. If you ended up loving the actual novel I can see it being a great add on.

The 2 hr novela at the end more interesting.

I just didn't think it was that interesting. I found the 2 hr novela at the end, which was sort of a documentary, more enjoyable.

HUH?

This book has a lot happening. There's a complex back story, reflected in the prequel, and multiple characters with personal robots and avatars. In the end, it's a crime thriller. Pretty complex, huh? That prequel was hidden at the end of the audio recording. I wondered why the book was coming to an end, everyone was back slapping and promising to come back while the audio rolled on..... Then, the prequel happened. Am I distressed that the prequel was tagged onto the book? No, the prequel actually made more sense than trying to dope out all those characters and their alter personalities. However, I don't believe that I enjoyed those two articles enough to continue on to book number two.