Lock In by John Scalzi
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery, Crime
ISBN: 978-0765375865
Source: ARC & Library E-Book
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A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent – and nearly five million souls in the United States alone – the disease causes “Lock In”: Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what’s now known as “Haden’s syndrome,” rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an “integrator” – someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But “complicated” doesn’t begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery – and the real crime – is bigger than anyone could have imagined. The world of the locked in is changing, and with the change comes opportunities that the ambitious will seize at any cost. The investigation that began as a murder case takes Shane and Vann from the halls of corporate power to the virtual spaces of the locked in, and to the very heart of an emerging, surprising new human culture. It’s nothing you could have expected.

***

It may have taken me a long time to finish reading Lock In (started reading an advanced reader copy in the summer 2014 and finished reading the novel on New Year’s Eve of 2015) but I’m glad that I read this book. When I finally sat down to finish the book, I actually ended up reading the ARC while getting the final version through my library in e-book form and I turned Siri on to read it aloud as I read the ARC and I finished the book in three hours that way. Anyway…

Lock In is great. It’s just a little more Criminal Minds than I had anticipated and I love Criminal Minds but Criminal Minds isn’t sci-fi and I read this book specifically for the sci-fi premise. I wanted more sci-fi which some might think, really? because the world building is phenomenal, I repeat, phenomenal. The thing is, this feels more like a police procedural set in a different world rather than a sci-fi story with a murder mystery to solve. This being my first John Scalzi book, I expected more of the latter given his name in the sci-fi world. Assumptions aside, getting over the initial shock of this book not being what I wanted it to be, this is still a really solid novel.

It’s labeled as a thriller but I wouldn’t say it’s a thriller because while I was thrilled and fascinated by the world that’s been created here, I wasn’t thrilled by the story. It didn’t have me at the edge of my seat or have my heart racing. This was a mystery with not a ton of action or much psychological thrills. So. Sci-fi police procedural if you will. A very complex one which is what ultimately sealed the deal for me. Because I honestly wasn’t all that gripped by the crime being solved here but the complexity of the world this is set in and the crime that occurred…these two colliding and the main character, Chris’s reaction to all of this, that kept me going.

I was on quite a high after reading the prequel, Unlocked though, which I highly encourage everyone to read before you read Lock In. I know that I would have felt like I was missing something had I not read the prequel first.

Anyway, I did really appreciate within the world building seeing diverse characters and that it just was and wasn’t made a big deal. It’s just the world we live in. There could have been more diverse characters but I’m not complaining. I also love how unapologetic the characters are in being the individuals that they are. It was so great, very fun to read. I wish we got to know many of the characters just a bit more!

I was somewhat satisfied with the pacing of the story which really moved along – when exposition didn’t get in the way – and there’s a lot packed in here so you’re in for quite a read. So if you’re looking for a murder mystery with a sci-fi twist, this is the book for you. But if the sci-fi premise is what you’re intrigued by and you really want to see that kicked into high gear…ehhhh maybe readjust your expectations and still give it a shot. You never know, you might just enjoy this!

Lock In by John Scalzi is available now.