Lock in - John Scalzi

Fifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing

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 or not. 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...

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.

　

My thoughts:

A plague of any kind is always a good start. Here people get the flu, some do not get sick at all, some get meningitis and some, some get it bad. Lock in, trapped in their body, but knowing what's happening. And no cure around. But there are always companies willing to make a profit. Because many many years later there is still no cure. Just a better life for those locked in.

I was a bit confused at first. Why when he is lying in a bed and can't move is he moving around and is a Fed? Oh, he is a robot. I wish I had known that from the start. There is also this virtual world where the lock in can move around in.

Our main characters are Chris, who is a Haden. That is he is a Lock in. He moves around with a robot while his body is somewhere else. And then there is agent Vann his new partner. During his first day he will experience a lot and the whole book takes place in just a week. A crime mystery. Strange things happening.

A murder has to be solved and this leads to more questions. And it all has to do with Hadens and those who can play host to a Haden. More murders, more questions and a Haden community in uproar as a new law is being passed.

After my initial confusion I was ok, and I wanted to know who the killer was, why the killer did anything, hell, why anything happened at all. It's a nice story he has spun here. It's an interesting world, and I for once would love to see it on the screen too. It's the whole robot thing you know.

Conclusion:

A future that does not seem to far away.

Cover

Works in a way

Paperback, 336 pages
Published August 28th 2014 by Gollancz (first published August 14th 2014)
Lock In #1
Science fiction / Fiction
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