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70 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Anti-Depressant Sheep?, November 8, 2006
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)
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhere between Heinlein and Douglas Adams, December 1, 2006
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.
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17 of 18 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
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
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