🧣👕 Redshirts by John Scalzi
Not a Book Report
I enjoy reflecting on the movies, TV, books and other media that I consume. I’m notoriously sentimental. This series documents the books that I read. These aren’t reviews or recommendations. Just a list. For me. Mostly so that I can page through what I read, where I was, and when.
Why did I read it?
I bought this book years ago. I don’t remember what prompted the purchase. I’m sure some kind of review at the time. This book won the Hugo Award when it was published, after all. I just never picked it up until I started reading Scalzi’s other books after picking SciFi novels back up as my Tom Clancy run caught up to the present.
What is it?
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Redshirts |
| Author | John Scalzi |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Format | iPhone (Kindle App) |
| Pages | 306 |
| ASIN | B0079XPUOW |
Publisher 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, with the chance to serve on “Away Missions” alongside the starship’s famous senior officers.
Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations, and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that 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.
How did I read it?
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Date Started | February 26, 2025 |
| Date Finished | March 3, 2025 |
| Places Read | Lisbon, Tel Aviv |
Notes - No Spoilers
- I really enjoyed it! Not as much as I liked the Interdependency trilogy, but this is just a different kind of novel. Humorous, meta, playful. And just a fun thought experiment.
- Lot of clever turns, like the Dahl-as-protagonist jab at the end there.
- I loved the reference to one of my favorite movies, Stranger Than Fiction, something | have long thought was criminally under-appreciated.
- The codas dragged on.
- Probably the first book I’ve read entirely through the Kindle app on my iPhone.