Redshirts by John Scalzi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
*****Possible spoilers*****
I finally got this book from my library. I was worried that I wouldn’t like it. I knew for a fact that it would not take me very long to read. It seemed to be a lovely bubblegum book that would be a good distraction but wouldn’t be something that I’d want to read over and over again.
I was right. It took me a couple of hours to read the book. I was entertained during that time. The book is probably going to fade from my memory and I won’t mind at all. But that’s okay. I believe that is how the book was intended to be read.
First off, the characters were flat. It was perfect. They were supposed to be flat. If they had any substance, the book wouldn’t have worked. None of the redshirts on Star Trek had any substance at all. If they had, they would have been main characters and wouldn’t have met their terrible fates. They were likable, just not memorable– just like real redshirts.
I definitely enjoyed Redshirts. Sometimes I laughed out loud at the quips. Some reviewers stated that they laughed so hard they peed themselves. I don’t really see how that could happen, unless they suffered from incontinence or drank a gallon of iced tea while reading it. It just wasn’t that funny. However, it is worth the time it takes to read if you want something that won’t make you think too hard or make you emotionally involved with the novel.
Quietly Askew 