Lock In
Aug 2014 · Hachette UK
4.3star
57 reviewsreport
Ebook
336
Pages
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About this ebook
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 ...
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 ...
Ratings and reviews
4.3
57 reviews
Adrian Toh
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January 3, 2019
I loved this book because the plot was engaging and the story pace breathtaking. I especially liked the character development, which was very rich yet naturally introduced. You enjoyed knowing the characters from their witty dialogues and actions- there was no need to force-feed their descriptions. Finally, the sci-fi about neurological diseases and modern technology integration was very believable. In summary, this book was absolutely enjoyable.
ishank sharma
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August 31, 2014
This is my first Scalzi book and evidently I became his fan as soon as I finished the third chapter. A beautiful dystopian detective plot with lots of twists. And in the end it makes you contemplate the advances that humanity has made in the field of Neural Networks. I would first suggest to read the novella- A short history of haden's syndrome on Tor before diving into it.
2 people found this review helpful
Tangent Funk
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September 27, 2015
Scalzi has really matured with this book. Enjoyed his sci fi parodies and sci fi military stuff. Now this is a well written near future hard sci fi with decent concepts in a detective novel template. Well thought out and characters to care about. Worth the read and I'd be up for a sequel
About the author
John Scalzi is the author of several SF novels including the bestselling Old Man's War sequence, comprising OLD MAN'S WAR, THE GHOST BRIGADES and the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling THE LAST COLONY. He is a winner of science fiction's JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD for Best New Writer, and he won the HUGO AWARD for YOUR HATE MAIL WILL BE GRADED, a collection of essays from his popular blog, Whatever. His latest novel, Redshirts, hit the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list in its first week on sale. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter.
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