The Android's Dream (Hardcover)

by John Scalzi (Author)
Key Phrases: gecko man, sentient species, Robin Baker, Miss Baker, Evolved Lamb (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Scalzi's swashbuckling satire of interstellar diplomacy (after 2005's Old Man's War) stars Harry Creek, a low-level State Department deliverer of bad news to alien ambassadors to Earth who's also a war hero and a computer genius. When Earth faces destruction over a diplomatic faux pas with the Nidu alien race, Harry must find and deliver the Android's Dream, an electric-blue breed of sheep, to the Nidu for their coronation ceremony. Dodging Defense Department assassins and Nidu space marines, Harry and Robin Baker, a pet shop owner with sheep DNA in her genes, flee Earth and find their own way to attend the Nidu crowning. Also on the quest for the sheep are disciples of the Church of the Evolved Lamb—founded by an early 21st-century SF writer of "modest talents." With plenty of alien gore to satisfy fans of military SF and inventive jabs at pretend patriotism and self-serving civil service, Scalzi delivers an effervescent but intelligent romp. (Nov.)
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From Booklist
Scalzi's third ingenious novel in less than two years speeds his transition from rising star to major player in the sf community. An interstellar scandal explodes when a human diplomat assassinates an alien diplomat by farting at him, albeit using a scent-emitting communicator. To forestall interspecies war, the government enlists former war hero and current uberhacker Harry Creek. His mission: to placate the aliens by finding a unique form of sheep used in the aliens' upcoming coronation ritual. The sheep, in this case, turns out to be unassuming pet-store owner Robin Baker, whose genes improbably incorporate ovine DNA. Before Baker can be secured and summarily dispatched, however, Creek must contend with a succession of meddlesome adversaries ranging from a cult of sheep worshippers to alien thugs itching for interstellar war. Scalzi uses the talent for military sf on view in the Heinleinesque Old Man's War (2005) and The Ghost Brigades (2006) for laughs this time, though there is also plenty of action and technological gimmickry to satisfy fans of sober sf, too. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765309416
• ISBN-13: 978-0765309419
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #106,416 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anti-Depressant Sheep?, November 8, 2006

By	Patrick Shepherd "hyperpat" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Scalzi, in his Old Man's War, showed that he can write serious drama about important things, and that book was written very much in the mold of a Heinlein novel. With this book, he shows that it's going to be quite difficult to pigeon-hole him into any particular category, as this is a fun romp, with large satirical bites suffusing it, somewhat like those of Neal Stephenson, an overall plot that is reminiscent of another author who has tackled the space-opera of old, Bujold, and with kudos paid to Philip K. Dick. Anyone who can bring such disparate influences together in a coherent whole will never have to worry about being accused of a being a one-note writer.

The book opens with a rather extended joke, where a mid-level bureaucrat manages to do away with his opposite number at the diplomatic conference table via a rather ingenious device that can send messages via scent. Of course, this sparks an immediate diplomatic crisis. In determining how this event managed to transpire and what to do about it, new elements of computer hacking, DNA manipulation, the Church of the Evolved Lamb (shades of L. Ron Hubbard) and their blue sheep, impending all-out war, palace coups, James Bondian skullduggery, and a super-competent hero who nevertheless seems to be constantly getting whacked upside the head are introduced and folded into this whacky mixture.

The plot's the thing here, as none of the characters are super-deep, though they are all well enough presented to make them believable people. At some points, it seems as if the story line has gotten out of hand, gone in just too many directions at once, but the conclusion manages to bring each of the threads together in a surprisingly logical whole. All the while, the action is fast-paced and engrossing, with a humorous leavening to guarantee there will be no morning-after depression syndrome.

It's not a great book, but it wasn't heading that way in the first place. Rather, it's an entertaining book, a fun way to relax and be carried away from everyday cares.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Somewhere between Heinlein and Douglas Adams, December 1, 2006

By	Calenth (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews

John Scalzi is quickly shaping up to be the next Big Name in modern SF. This book synthesizes the best elements of several of the best other SF writers -- it has plotting and action reminiscent of Heinlein, situational comedy that rivals Douglas Adams while still (somehow) retaining believability, something of Neal Stephenson's eye for future trendspotting and commentary, and even a taste here and there of Vernor Vinge.

This book is definitely for adults, or at least for readers old enough to handle topics like bestiality or the desire of an AI for sex without flinching. The best way to describe the book might be by stating the opening: A human diplomat creates an interstellar diplomatic incident when he uses a rectally-implanted gadget to fart out insulting messages in the scent-language of an alien race. Not that the book is overly crude -- it is, in fact, a testament to Scalzi's writing that all of the crudity is perfectly incoporated into and dictated by the needs of the plot -- but still, be aware. (If this paragraph has made you more interested in the book, good!)

It will be very interesting to track Scalzi's growth as a writer. As good as this book is, there are parts of it that are slightly derivative. But then, as (either T.S. Eliot or Mark Twain, I can't remember) said, "Mediocre writers borrow, great writers steal." There's nothing at all wrong with a book this well-crafted, and with this much of the writer's personal style in evidence, lifting a little here and there from other the other greats of the genre. After all, as the title's allusion indicates, that's part of the fun. And very few SF titles within recent memory are anywhere near as much fun as this.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars opens with a fart joke and closes on sheep...brilliant!, March 5, 2007

By	Joe Sherry (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

John Scalzi knows that the best way to get a reader interested in his work is to hook said reader from the opening sentence. Scalzi opens The Android's Dream with a fart joke. A really good and creative fart joke. Then he spins that fart joke into a brilliant opening chapter which sets the stage for everything that follows. Essentially, John Scalzi sells the entire novel on the premise of a fart joke and then he makes it work. Amazing. It is a work of art.

The Android's Dream is about two groups of men. One group is trying to prevent the intergalactic diplomatic incident that was begun by that opening fart joke. The other is trying to spread the floodgates open wider and really mess things up. The solution to the problems of both parties was to locate a particular sheep. Yes, a sheep. The solution to prevent an intergalactic war is to find a sheep. Obviously hijinks ensue and trouble abounds and things do not go smoothly, but from a fart joke to a sheep (and O what a sheep!), John Scalzi has put together a very funny, sharp, witty, clever, and creative novel. The Andoid's Dream is an outstanding piece of science fiction and serves as a good reminder of what the genre can do.

Really, this book deserves three or four pages of praise rather than three short paragraphs, but it is what it is. Fans of Scalzi, Science Fiction, or Good Writing: You must read this book. Period.

-Joe Sherry