Lock in: A Novel of the Near Future

by John Scalzi

Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. 4% suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And 1% find themselves 'locked in' - fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus.

1% doesn't seem like a lot. But in the US that's 1.7 million people 'locked in' ... including the President's wife and daughter.

Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering, America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can fully restore the locked in. But then two new technologies emerge. One is a virtual-reality environment, 'The Agora', where the locked-in can interact with other humans, whether locked-in ornot. The other is the discovery that a few rare individuals have brains that are receptive to being controlled by others, allowing those who are locked in to occasionally 'ride' these people and use their bodies as if they were their own.

This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded, and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse ...

• ISBN10: 0765375869
• ISBN13: 9780765375865
• Publish Date: 26 August 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 24 August 2021
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

The synopsis gives a pretty good summary of what happens without spoiling anything, so I definitely recommend reading that. It's more put together than what I can provide.

Before getting into this review, I'm really happy that I read others (namely Shelby's whose suggested reading the oral history prior to starting this novel. It allowed me to become more immersed into the world before ever entering it. So thank you!)


LOCK IN took me on a ride and a half, for sure! It was this crazy crime novel filled with some pretty spectacular tech and science fiction elements that felt bizarre but realistic all at once. Those pieces alone would give this book a 4 star rating for me.

The tech here, especially surrounding those with lock in was so intelligently thought out. This idea that something so horrific happened to people, and providing these 'quick fixes' with the robots (threeps) just felt like something that would actually happen vs. trying to find the cure. This virus was just too new and too unknown to make a cure at the beginning viable, and these robots felt like the perfect solution.


And while I wasn't overly impressed by the characters, they were developed enough to keep me from dropping the rating, but not developed enough to put this into the 5 star category, unfortunately.

I would have honestly loved a little bit more information about the characters because I felt like that's all that was missing to bring this into 5 star territory.

I enjoyed being in the head of Chris Shane and felt that they were pretty fleshed out. John Scalzi did something pretty interesting, conceptually with this character, by not stating their gender. However, though it was conceptually a good idea, Chris read male to me.

Maybe because they were a FEEB and by nature, I view cop and cop-esque characters as male, but it felt more with how they spoke (referring to themselves as a "coward" at one point felt pretty masculine to me). Anyway, I appreciated the attempt, but I felt John Scalzi could have taken this a bit further by really androgynizing everything coming out of Chris' mouth/mind.

I also really appreciated the societal issues faced in this story. Threeps being treated as sub-human also felt really plausible and that pretty much hurts my soul. But I can see it. I can see a world where humans are trapped in their own bodies and given robotic carriers being treated as less than. And that's a sucky thing to have to visualize, knowing that it'd probably happen exactly like that.

When I read those aspects, it reminded me a little bit about World War Z. Because, I felt that would be how a zombie apocalypse would actually hit humanity, and how humanity would react to such a situation.

I really do think that if Haden's Syndrome hit tomorrow, this is how we would react...and that's unfortunate with some aspects and really interesting with others (seeing technology evolve so quickly and in such fascinating ways).


This is now my second John Scalzi of the year, and I'm impressed. I'll definitely be picking up more of his work in the future for sure, and I believe there's going to be another book in this world. Definitely going to pick it up if/when it hits!

[Melanie]

4.5 stars

Review originally posted at RabidReads.ca.

I listened to my first book by John Scalzi when I read an Audible freebie, The Dispatcher. I have seen a few reviews for Lock In when it was first released, so when I saw it as part of a Two for One deal, I quickly grabbed this story up. I’m really glad that I did.

Like The Dispatcher, this is more of a cop drama with science fiction elements to it, than straight up sci-fi. In this world, people are suffering from Haden’s syndrome. It is the result of a severe flu like disease that spread around the world and left people in a state of “lock in”. This is where the mind is fully functional, but the body and mind can’t speak to each other. The body functions, breathes, digests, etc., just fine, but the mind can’t make the body talk, walk, move. So people created “threeps”. They are robot bodies that their minds can control. They’re named after C3PO.

So in this story, we follow FBI agents Chris Shane, who has Haden’s and a rookie, and Leslie Vann, who isn’t a Haden and a veteran agent. They are assigned cases primarily to do with Haden’s victims or any crime related to Haden’s. They go to a scene where an integrator (a person with a neural network in their head to allow Haden’s victims to control a human body for a time) appears to have killed someone. Question is, was it someone using the integrator’s body who killed someone or the integrator himself?

There is a lot that Agents Shane and Vann figure out throughout the search for this killer. This goes way deeper than they ever could’ve imagined. I had a really good time following this pair as they tracked down the killer. This story had everything I could’ve wanted. There is a great police procedural story, wonderful characters, a great mix of science fiction, all in just the right mix to make for a very intriguing story. I’ve very excited to see that there is another book in the waiting with Shane and Vann. If you’re looking for thriller with science fiction and/or police procedural aspects to the story, this is a great one for you.

I will also add, that this audiobook also included the prequel novella that goes into how Haden’s syndrome came to be. It is written kinda like a documentary, as in there are many points of view including actual patients, nurses, scientists at the CDC and more. While, I didn’t enjoy this as much as the full story, it was a nice addition to learn more about this disease. It is also narrated by a full cast and not Wil Wheaton.

Narration
I’ve seen Wil Wheaton listed as the narrator for a few stories, but this my first time listening to him. I really liked his take on the male characters, I just didn’t like his female voices. It was almost like he didn’t even try to make them feminine (which I would rather have than an overly high pitched and shrill that I’ve heard some male narrators do). It wasn’t horrible, just not as good as some of the other male narrations that I’ve listened to. He did a really great job with the male voices and all the other parts of the narration (which was most of the story. There aren’t a ton of females in this story).

[remo]

Una de mis mayores pesadillas, el síndrome de lock-in, y sin embargo he podido leer un libro que empieza con ello. Un virus causa una epidemia que como efecto secundario deja a sus pacientes (a un pequeño porcentaje de ellos) encerrados en sus cuerpos, perfectamente capaces de sentir y pensar pero sin la habilidad de mover un solo músculo voluntariamente. Con el tiempo (y mucho dinero invertido) se logran inventar redes neuronales que permiten a los pacientes afectados tripular robots y moverse e interactuar con el mundo, a veces de manera más rica que con un cuerpo biológico. Estos pacientes son las Hadens, así bautizados en honor (ejem) a la mujer del presidente de los EEUU, que fue la paciente más notable en los inicios de la epidemia. A veces lo pienso y la claustrofobia me abruma, pero el autor no hace descripciones angustiosas. La novela empieza años después de la aparición de este síndrome, y va sobre dos agentes del FBI que investigan un extraño caso de asesinato en el que hay implicados muchos Hadens y muchos no Hadens. La historia es estupenda, muy divertida y muy emocionante. Me ha parecido muy entretenida y no he dejado el libro en dos días. No le puedo pedir más a una novela.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

There’s something I find fascinating about a good crime novel. There’s something equally fascinating about accessible science fiction. Smash those two together and you’ve got Lock In. A captivating science fiction crime novel that takes place in a world much like our own after a devastating meningitis-like virus hits the human population hard.

It wasn’t hard to imagine a world like the one Scalzi lays out in Lock In. With the recent rash of E. Coli breakouts, the Ebola epidemic and childhood illness likes mumps and measles making a comeback, the human nature to throw money at our problems, help the poor souls affected and legislate the heck out if was real. At points, I was drawing parallels between the novel and news stories about funding being provided (or not provided) for certain types of medical research. The availability and accessibility of medications and other technology for people with disabilities. And just our general treatment of those who are different from us. This is not a far fetched science fiction world. We are just mere steps away from Haden-world of Lock In. And in some cases, right in the middle of it.

The main characters in Lock In are fairly straight forward—the hard-nosed FBI agent and the rookie. How those characters interact is based on their experiences prior to becoming partners and there is not much new. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy Chris Shane and Leslie Vann; there’s just nothing new that I haven’t seen before, relationship-wise, in a decent cop shop or movie. The real depth of the story comes with how everyone exists and interacts in the post-Haden Syndrome world. It adds some twists and turns to the old traditional cop story that caught me a bit off guard.

I definitely recommend reading Lock In for those readers who are fans of crime fiction as well as those who like lighter science fiction. The medical details regarding Haden’s is fairly straight forward and explained well right up front. The technology mirrors technology we already have. This novel would be a great way to dip your toes in the science fiction genre if you find it intimidating. And while GoodReads does have Lock in listed as the first in a series. The book does not end in a cliffhanger and stands on its own and is well worth the read.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews

[nannah]

"No. Making people change because you can't deal with who they are isn't how it's supposed to be done. What needs to be done is for people to pull their heads out of their asses. You say 'cure.' I hear 'you're not human enough.'"

Content warnings:
Suicide mention cw

In the near future, a virus spreads throughout the world. Called Haden's, it can cause fever, meningitis, or a "locked in" state, where the person cannot move, but is fully conscious. These people are called Hadens, or clanks, when their minds use an android-like body to experience the world outside their bedridden bodies. The MC, Shane, the poster child for Haden's, is now grown up and an FBI agent for cases involving Hadens, and he gets involved in one heck of a mess.

This book is basically a discussion on capitalism and how it affects people with disabilities (and how, if a virus affected people worldwide, making a significant amount of the world's population disabled, big businesses in America would find more ways to capitalize on them). It also mentions classicism and disability, which pleasantly surprised me, especially since the MC comes from a very privileged background. All in all, this book has the most sensitive treatment of disabled characters that I've ever read.

It took me a little while to get used to the style, but once I did, the book hooked me in, and it became very difficult to stop reading. Of course, this book is written in about 90% dialogue (which is probably his greatest strength, since when he does manage to slip some prose in, it's not all that great), which accounts for the speedy pacing. There's also some mighty cliche dialogue ("Cut the suspense, Diaz. Get to it."), but I found it was easily overlooked for reasons described above.

All in all, I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did.

[adamfortuna]

When I first heard about "Lock In", I thought it was just another pandemic book based on the descriptions. I was completely wrong! This book is much more of a combination of "Surrogates", "I, Robot" and "Caves of Steel" -- a detective novel with a sci-fi touch in a world facing a pandemic. The pandemic is different than the usual ones though. Instead of killing those affected, it locks them in, making them unable to communicate or move their bodies. This is where the 'Surrogates" comparison comes in. The government develops a way for those affected to control robots which act as proxies for these people in the real world.

I enjoyed the world building in this one, as well as the main characters. The dynamic reminded me a lot of Caves of Steel, but without quite as much "Ohhh, of course that's it!" to the story.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Lock In begins its story almost a quarter of a century after the virus, that is now known as Hayden’s Syndrome, changed the world. We meet rookie FBI agent Chris Shane on the first day of his job. He is partnered with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two are assigned to a murder that took place at the Watergate Hotel. Science fiction geeks will love the technology, jobs, and abilities of this future world. For the non-geeks, prepare to get your Geek on! Scalzi describes this world, the technology and the changes brilliantly in layman terms without making your brain melt. The tale that unfolds is a murder mystery and has an old school meets technology vibe. Lock In isn’t a procedural crime novel, it’s a whodunit novel, and Chris Shane, sleuth extraordinaire is our future Sherlock Holmes.

Lock In combined two genres that rock for me; science fiction and crime thrillers. This was genre blending nirvana for me as the reader/listener. It reads like Mira Grant’s zombie novels; smooth, easy to slip into and yet has the complexities of the brilliant world in the Others series by Anne Bishop. Yes, peeps I invoked the names of two of my favorite authors, and Scalzi is worthy to sit among them. The world building is spectacular and the murder mystery is complex It was well thought out with twists and turns that kept me guessing.

The audio version of Lock In is available with your choice of narrator Will Wheaton or Amber Benson. Wheaton did an excellent job of presenting to us the character of Chris Shane. I felt his mannerisms, tones, and quirks. He created Chris just as I imagined him. Chris Shane is cool, sometimes funny; even though that is not his intent. He is brilliant, a natural sleuth and often is very literal. I cannot wait to go on more cases with him and his snarky, somewhat broken partner.

Audible's audio edition of Lock In contains the bonus novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome, written by John Scalzi and narrated by a full cast. I found the history of what occurred after the virus hit fascinating, and enjoyed listening to this bonus.

Audiobook received from publisher.  Full review at Caffeinated.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer