REDSHIRTS REVIEW
John Scalzi writes a very refreshing and humorous story
throughout Redshirts’ 231 pages. The
story is centered on main character, Andrew Dahl, or so it seems. Andrew Dahl
is a new member onboard the Universal Union Capital Ship, the Intrepid. As
just an ensign, or redshirt, he is of the lower rank on the ship’s crew. While
the crew goes off on away missions, Dahl starts to notice something very
strange: at least one crew member always dies. This realization becomes clearer
as Dahl notices it is always a redshirt.
The story becomes more of the metafiction
variety as Dahl starts to take notes on the other strange coincidences that he
observes. His interactions with characters throughout the book are comedic as they swear everything happening is normal. This includes higher-ranking crew members healing almost instantly
from being beaten to near death, a “magic box” that seems to heal everything
including unheard of diseases, and certain crew members being able to travel through space and time. Upon talking to other redshirts and comparing notes,
Dahl finally comes to the conclusion that he and the other crew members are
characters on a television show. The problem with this is he also realizes that
he is not one of the main characters, which means his life is in danger.
Redshirts is a very interesting book
using metafiction as its main theme. Author John Scalzi uses characters becoming
self-conscious of their whereabouts inside a sci-fi television show for his
main story. The book, using tropes from sci-fi shows, such as Star Trek, in a satirical way provides a ton of comedy throughout.
The dialogue amongst characters that are learning they are on a television show
against those who think it is normal for a crew member to die on every mission
provides a lot of laughs. The consistency of comedy throughout the book is one
reason the book was an easy and more refreshing read.
One critique I had with this book was not
reading it but rather listening to it. I enjoy the casual audiobook as it
provides something to listen to while walking to class or working out however, this
book was difficult to listen to. John Scalzi writes this book more like a
script, which makes sense as it pertains to the plot, but because of this he
uses a lot of “he/she said” to end a quotation. Listening to Wil Wheaton
continuously repeat nothing but the word “said” after each time a character
speaks does get repetitive and a bit annoying. I had to stop listening to the
audiobook because of this. I started to read a physical copy of the book
(because I was hooked on the story) and the repetitiveness of using “said”
after each quotation didn’t bother me as much. Essentially my critique for this
book is that Scalzi did not write it with the idea of it being turned into an
audiobook in mind. This isn’t a bad thing because the story captivated me into
picking up a physical copy and finishing it.
As someone who enjoys messing with common tropes
in various media I thoroughly enjoyed Redshirts
by John Scalzi. The book was comical throughout with the idea of
metafiction in mind which I love reading. If you enjoy Sci-fi novels, this book
is definitely for you as well as it satirically comments on many Sci-fi stories.
I for one do not read much Sci-fi books but this book appealed to me for it’s
unique story and its immense humor. I overall would recommend this book as long
you read a physical copy. It is a refreshing read for its change of pace from
many serious novels nowadays and is a load of fun to read.
Like you, I too do not naturally gravitate toward science fiction novels. To me, a lot of them are unrealistic and lack emotional maturity or some other hook to keep me there. After reading your review and hearing you talk a bit about this book in class, I have decided that reading this novel may present a chance for me to not only conquer one of my usual fears, sci-fi, but also another one, meta fiction.
ReplyDeleteI admittedly have not delved into meta fiction too deep, as Madeleine mentioned in class, I think it can be too often gimmicky. The way you write about the book makes me think that it has another layer that offers some potential exploration. The fact that the main character in the novel comes to the realization that he is a supporting character in a television show sounds both humorous and intriguing.
Fortunately for me, I am pretty much vehemently against audio books. I'm a traditionalist in the sense that I prefer a tangible page turner. When I read Redshirts, I'll have to look out to see if the dialogue tags bother me as much as they seem to irk you. Usually, if the dialogue is smart enough, I am able to read through it quickly and the tags don't annoy me.
The plot of the novel itself sounds a bit campy, but I think that may be what keeps me entertained since I mentioned how I am not a habitual fan of sci-fi. Overall, I think the novel has some elements that may ease me into reading a genre that I don't much enjoy. Thanks for bringing this novel up for me, and others, who may be looking to read some sci-fi, but not a novel that fits nicely into that box.