Lock In by John Scalzi (2014)
Distant: Emotionless
Book cover blurb
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. They 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 the puzzle that ensues. As Shane and Vann begin 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 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.
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My Review
This book feels quite different right from the opening, from a reading point of view. With a heavy focus on character interaction and dialogue, and almost no mental insight of character emotion, it all feels very unique and intriguing, at first. Unfortunately, it wasn't too long before I started to want more from these characters and this world. We're given everything we need to navigate our way through the surface of the story, but that simply isn't enough, I wanted to dive deeper.
Subconscious detail and exposition are where connections for the reader lie. Without those, there is very little urgency, intensity or threat felt. A friend of mine mentioned to me, before I started to read Lock In, that he found it to be 'lacking soul.' And I can see just what he meant. This is a good read, a fantastically layered and interesting premise, with so much potential. But it's like being driven around in a Ferrari. It's a great ride but unless you get to experience the thrill of actually driving and interacting with the thing it quickly becomes just another car.
Scalzi offers up a great opening few chapters with a new FBI partnership, a murder and official procedures. But it becomes obvious, as things slow down, that this story is actually about the life of one character, Chris Shane, as we follow him on some relatively mundane excursions. A bit of a turnaround from the initial offering. But, that's not to say this is a bad thing, it's still very interesting, considering who he is and what his physical reality is. But there is a mundane, even robotic, feel to the writing. However, considering the prevalence of robots used as transportation by Haden sufferers, I assume that's exactly the idea behind the writing structure Scalzi has chosen. In that regard, it works fine, but the danger is the reader may feel distanced, as it keeps them detached and unable to conjure much emotion for the characters or proceedings. Even the action scenes, characters being shot, chasing the shooter and the devastating conclusion all read like a technical manual rather than the emotional and heart-pumping rollercoaster you would experience from being inside the character's head, experiencing his emotions with him.
The ideas here are infinitely intriguing and don't even seem that farfetched. The illness effect, after which the book is titled, becomes somewhat secondary as the means by which these sufferers are able to leave their useless bodies takes centre stage, and the connotations and misuses of that technology become apparent.
As an overall writing exercise, Lock In works perfectly well. Enjoyable in its own way, but it won't be for every reader. Readers want to experience another life, another existence, but you're held at arms-length from it in this book.
Dislikes? Well, actually, no. Usually, I zero in on specifics to gripe about in a book. It's rare to like everything over the course of an entire novel. But here, I can honestly say I can't pinpoint any specifics I had a problem with other than the themes the author chooses to employ, which I've already pointed out. But having a problem with themes would be like reading a romance novel and complaining there were no horror elements. It's either your taste or it's not, that's not the fault of the book or the author, it's simply the fact that it's not to your personal taste
My copy of this novel
Tor hardback edition.
Published in 2014
334 pages
ISBN 9780765375865