Lock In Archives - Gary David Gillen

Head On by John Scalzi

Head On by John Scalzi, Book #2 of the Lock In Series

Introduction

Chris Shane witnesses the death of Duane Chapman, the first player killed in the new future violent sport of Hilketa. Years ago, in our future, an epidemic called Haden’s Syndrome affected millions of people who are now unable to control their own bodies. They interact with the outside world by using autonomous robots, called threeps, which are remotely connected to their brains. Chris and Duane have Haden’s Syndrome.

Duane plays in a team sport where the threeps battle on a sports field. The object of the game is to rip the head off the designated opponent’s threep and score a goal with it. Duane’s threep was destroyed and his body should not have died but it has. Chris is an FBI agent who must find out how and why Duane died. The case goes down unexpected paths and Chris must put together the clues to find the truth or risk Chris’s own life.

Summary

Chris is non-gender specific in the novel. Chris is at the Hilketa game because Chris’s father is interested in purchasing an expansion team based in Washington, D. C. Chris’s father is a famous championship-winning former basketball player and a real estate billionaire. Chris was the poster child for Haden’s rights but now wants to just solve cases for the FBI in relative anonymity. Chris’s partner in the FBI is Leslie Vann. She is the senior partner and helps Chris investigate the case. People keep dying in the novel as Chris gets closer to the truth. The criminals destroy Chris’s threeps and eventually threaten Chris’s life.

Recommendation

I enjoyed this novel very much. It is not necessary to read the first novel first though it helps with the background material. This novel reads fast, the action does not stop, and the revelations are valid. The police procedural part of the novel holds up well. The part of the novel dealing with Chris’s self-identity and struggle with being famous is the most interesting and the most frustrating. Keeping Chris gender-neutral has eliminated any romantic relationships. Duane is a Haden married to a non-Haden, Marla. Though that relationship does not end well, I wanted to see Chris struggle with a relationship in this novel. I think this might be what the author is building toward if there is a third novel in the series. I look forward to reading more about Chris Shane if there are more novels in the series.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Head On by John Scalzi.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35018901-head-on

This is a link to my review of Lock In by John Scalzi, Book #1 of the Lock In Series. FBI agent Chris Shane cannot physically examine a murder scene because Chris has Haden’s Syndrome. Chris interacts with the world with an android.

Lock In by John Scalzi

Introduction

Twenty-five years after a global pandemic virus, Chris Shane’s second day on the job as an FBI agent includes a complicated murder as the first order of business. The thing is, Chris cannot physically examine the murder scene. Chris has Haden’s Syndrome. It is a disease that has a slim chance that the person affected cannot physically move their body anymore and become what is known as locked in. The person affected can, however, have their brain fitted with a neural net that lets them either manipulate a specially attuned person called an Integrator or an automaton called a threep. Chris uses a threep and the murder appears to be Haden related. Chris must discover the perpetrator or everyone that has Haden’s Syndrome will be in jeopardy.

Summary

The novel is an interesting mix of a sci-fi thriller and a police procedural. The best part is the world-building on the effect that Haden’s Syndrome could have on society. It felt like it could have been a multi-episode arc of NCIS. If that is the story that you like to read, then this novel hits that spot.

Recommendation

I think that Scalzi was trying to play with two things with this novel; developing the ramifications of Haden’s Syndrome and to play around with writing gender and race. The world-building worked for me. It is never specified whether Chris is a male or a female. I have my opinion, but nothing written has changed that opinion. Chris’s race is not specified until later in the novel, so thinking about that revelation is thought-provoking.

Chris’s FBI partner Leslie Vann appears to think like a man, but I took it as a woman surrounded by males in law enforcement and taking their phrases as her own. I appreciated that Scalzi chose to explore these subjects, even though it might not have been totally successful because at times the writing felt forced. I am glad that the novel promotes discussion about gender and race. That does mean something. I would recommend this book if only for that.