I’m going to start off my review of
Redshirts with a bold statement. If you are a fan of
Star Trek – you need to read this book! And if you are a fan of
Star Trek, the title should probably have been an obvious clue.
For the uninitiated, ‘redshirt’ is the term that fans use to refer to the expendable crew members in the
Star Trek universe. Whenever you see a landing party heading down to a planet, and a previously unknown character has been added to the team, you can almost guarantee that they are destined to die, in some horrific and/or ridiculous way. Typically these characters are security personnel, who wear red shirts as their uniform.
But, what if these particular crew members started noticing the trend, realizing that their friends and colleagues keep dying on away missions, more often than should be statistically possible. What would they do about it? Can they do anything about it? You’ll definitely be surprised by what they discover and how they try to save their own lives.
John Scalzi is a brilliant writer, and I think
Redshirts is one of his best. It’s creative, funny, heart-wrenching, and thought provoking. I admit it, I literally laughed out loud many times while reading this book. If you like
Star Trek, sci-fi parody, and yes, even time travel, I think you’ll really enjoy
Redshirts.
And if you like audiobooks, this one is read by none other than Wil Wheaton. Yes, Wesley Crusher from
Star Trek: The Next Generation. Perfect casting!
