Dream a Little Dream?

Longtime readers of my blog may recall some of the occasions where I've posted about the writing of John Scalzi. I find him generally to be entertaining, taking a more pulp approach when fleshing out his strange science fiction concepts. (Though on one occasion, the cocktail didn't taste right to me.) This time, I dipped back into his bibliography and came up with another playful, quirky, weird read in The Android's Dream.

In the future, Earth is one of the less powerful members of a galactic confederation of alien worlds. But they're now central to a crisis precipitated by the assassination of an alien diplomat, and the ensuing power struggle. For a new alien leader to ascend, they must perform a ritual involving a species of sheep with a very specific DNA profile... that someone is going around and methodically slaughtering to prevent the ritual. But one candidate remains, stored inside the "junk DNA" of a human woman who has no idea she was genetically engineered. And one war veteran now working as a spy must keep her safe using his wits and an AI/resurrected-human hybrid.

Does that sound like a lot? Well, I didn't even mention that the assassination setting up the story is carried out by one person literally farting at the victim and triggering their death. I didn't mention the pursuing alien thug who ingests people whole to torture or kill them (or how his society actually encourages such behavior as part of adolescence). And I wouldn't spoil some of the strange settings for action sequences throughout the book, except to say: they're strange.

Yeah, The Android's Dream seems like John Scalzi at his very Scalzi-est: out to entertain himself first and foremost as he writes. But it's not like he doesn't want the reader to enjoy it too; he just isn't going to restrain his playful instincts to try to court a more serious readership. He doesn't want them. And not that he's incapable of serious thought, either. By the end of the book, the narrative has brushed up against deeper topics like religious fervor and PTSD... amid a classic "keep on the run" story.

While I did have fun reading, though, I will say that I didn't feel as fully engrossed in this book as with some of Scalzi's other tales I've sampled. It's quite a light read, but it still took me a rather long time to get through the book. There were many nights when I simply chose not to keep reading, not feeling that drive to learn what happens next. I finished it, I liked it, and I'd even recommend it... but it's not a "must read" by any means.

I give The Android's Dream a B. If you've read some John Scalzi, but not this one, you might want to check it out. If you've never sampled his books before, I'd suggest starting with something different. (Lock In, perhaps?)