It's Coming!

Okay. Something new. I don't often talk about an upcoming book that I will be lining up at the bookstore to buy on release day. (Okay, not physically lining up because I don't actually have a real bookstore within 30 miles of my house. So I will be virtually lining up with a pre-order here...interwebz, I lurves you.)



On August 26, 2014, author John Scalzi  and Tor Books will release his newest novel, LOCK IN and for the next month I will be sitting here drumming my fingers impatiently. Now, I know a great many of you are probably wondering just who in the hell is John Scalzi and why have you never even heard of this book? Unless you are a science fiction aficionado, Scalzi may very well have never appeared on your bibliophilic-radar. So you're going to have to trust me on this: in the sci-fi world, he is a very big deal. His last novel, Redshirts, won last year's Hugo Award (although if we're going to be honest here, the competition last year was crap so...slow clap).

But LOCK IN may well end up being his genre cross-over novel and I'm going to tell you why I think you need to have your eyes on this one, even if this isn't your normal reading fare. Take a gander at the synopsis:

Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. Four percent suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And one percent find themselves “locked in”—fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus.

One per cent doesn't seem like a lot. But in the United States, that's 1.7 million people “locked in”...including the President's wife and daughter.
But don't make the mistake of thinking this is your typical apocalyptic novel because Scalzi cannot be bothered with that drivel. Instead, Lock In is the story of how the American scientific community responds to those left "locked in" and the consequences and fall-out.

Of course, Scalzi being Scalzi, he wrote an engrossing short story revealing exactly how this virus, Hayden's Syndrome, got loose and destroyed so much of humanity. UNLOCKED: AN ORAL HISTORY OF HAYDEN'S SYNDROME is thirty-two pages told in the tradition of World War Z and once you read it, you'll be hooked on Scalzi's riveting premise. It's available for any ebook and for only $1.99, it's a steal. (Check it out on Barnes and Noble or Amazon or whatever your ebook thing is.)


And as all this wasn't enough, it was recently announced that the audiobook version of Lock In will actually be released in two versions. Oh yes. One will be read by Wil Wheaton (yes, I just said that) and the other read by Amber Benson. Why two versions? Because it's just completely awesome to have two different gender interpretations for this novel. Scalzi himself has all sorts of very cool things to say about it here. And if you think it's too difficult to decide which damn version to buy --- okay, admittedly I didn't because, well, Wil Wheaton --- Audible Studios is making it easy. If you pre-order they are throwing in both versions for the price of one. Um, yeah....I'm there.

So later on in September when you're seeing Lock In jumping up at you all over the place on blogs and reading lists and best-seller lists, don't forget you heard it here first. This one is going to make waves. Check it out.


 

18 comments:

  1. This one has been on my radar simply because it's by John Scalzi, b ut the premise looks interesting too. I hadn't heard about the short story/prequel, so I appreciate the heads-up about that!

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  2. I'm not normally a Sci Fi girl but I've been proven wrong by Ready Player One and The Martian. And Ender's Game. So I guess if well-written, I'll read anything. I've never read any of this stuff, but I do follow him on Twitter and know that he and Wheaton are buddies. And yes, thank you, I will be taking the Wheaton version. He is a hero to me.

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    1. He's good. He's really good. He wrote the Old Man's War series and Fuzzy Nation and others and gosh...yes, he's good. Try it. This book is different...more cross over I think. You should try one of his older books too. You'd like it...mostly because he's so sharp and you get wit. ;)

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  3. I love Sci Fi but haven't heard of this guy. I must be doing it wrong. Adding this book and the other book you mentioned, to my Goodreads list.

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    1. Try the prequel (so cheap) and see what you think....it's a good way to tell if it's for you before diving into a whole novel. That's why I love it when they throw a good prequel out there for fun. It makes loyal fans happy and gives newbies a chance to see if they like it without the commitment. (But I'm pretty sure you'd like his older stuff)

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  4. Loved Redshirts and Scalzi's writing. And while I really want to wait to listen to Wil Wheaton read Lock In, I don't think I can hold out, and will end up reading the NetGalley copy first. Thanks for the heads-up on Unlocked. Somehow I missed that.

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    1. Unlocked is awesome. (Let me know if you find the novel on Netgalley....Tor has never been on NetGalley that I've ever seen?)

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    2. It's on NetGalley but it appears to be a secret link because it's not there when I do a search. I requested it through a link at the end of the excerpt in the Fall/Winter Buzz Books and it gave me instant access. And I really, really want to read it - as soon as I finish up the two books I'm reading now. I wish I read faster!

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    3. Oh my gosh, you are a genius, Leslie, lol! It's a good thing you are sitting on a computer hundreds, probably thousands, of miles away. Because I would probably kiss you right now. (Run away! Run away!)

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  5. I'm not a sci-fi reader, but dang that premise is good! It will be an audio listen for me if anything....Wil Wheaton...of course.

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  6. Okay, Michele, I want to read this but to be honest it sounds terrifying. I remember a House episode with someone who was locked in and it scared me so bad. Locked in would be worse than death.

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    1. Oh my gosh! I REMEMBER that episode, hahahaha. We are sisters. That was horrifying. Okay....this book is less about the actual lock-in. It's about what is scientifically invented to "help" the lock-in victims and how it's totally abused by the bad guys. Does that help? The prequel is more about the actual lock-in...that might scare you....bad HOUSE memories, lol. (Now I have to go find that episode on Netflix....)

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  7. Sounds fantastic. Is there a political spin?

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    1. I've only read the prequel thus far....and I didn't see too much of a political spin. But I will say this. Scalzi himself isn't shy about putting political spin in his novels, so I wouldn't be surprised. He's very, very outspoken (and very well spoken, I might add). I'll be watching for it and report back.

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    2. Oh, and I thought you might like this. Scalzi has this to say about writers including their politics in their writings:

      http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/09/30/why-yes-i-should-write-about-politics/

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    3. Ahhhhh a very interesting article, thanks! Loved the comments, too,

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Fire away!