Head On by John Scalzi

Head On

by John Scalzi

John Scalzi's Head On, is a chilling near-future SF with the thrills of a gritty cop procedural. Head On brings Scalzi's trademark snappy dialogue and technological speculation to the future world of sports.

To some left with nothing, winning becomes everything . . .


In a post-virus world, a daring sport is taking the US by storm. It’s frenetic, violent and involves teams attacking one another with swords and hammers. The aim: to obtain your opponent’s head and carry it through the goalposts. Impossible? Not if the players have Haden’s Syndrome. Unable to move, Haden’s sufferers use robot bodies, which they operate mentally. So in this sport anything goes, no one gets hurt – and crowds and competitors love it. Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field.

But is it an accident? FBI agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are determined to find out. In this game, fortunes can be made – or lost. And both players and owners will do whatever it takes to win, on and off the field.

Reviewed by adamfortuna on

5 of 5 stars

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"Head on" is the 2nd book in Scalzi's Lock In series. The series features a world where about 1% of the population have Hadens syndrome, a disease which "locks people in" to their body, although their minds still work. People with Haydens have a oasis/mmorpg-style world to interest with others virtually, or can take control of a robot, called threeps, where they can interact in the real world.

This second book in the series builds on the world in a fun way. Similar to the first book, it plays more like a detective novel in a science fiction world. I mentioned it reminds me of Asimov's "Caves of Steel", which is true for this one as well.

The story follows the investigation into a death during a football-like game played by threeps (the robots). I'd put Head on fully in the "fun" category of books. It was immensely entertaining, great at world building and overall just a great ride. As a bonus, the audiobook is read by Wil Wheaton!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 January, 2019: Finished reading
  • 3 January, 2019: Reviewed