Lock In was my first read for the 2016 Sci Fi Experience over at Stainless Steel Droppings  and my first John Scalzi book too.  I really enjoyed this.  I’m always a bit worried when I pick up sci fi in case the content goes over my head but not only is this story very easy to get along with but it also combines a murder mystery, a bit of wheeling and dealing and a look at a whole other way of life full of challenges for those whose lives have been changed so dramatically.

This is a book set in the future.  A future where a strange flu like virus has swept through the world leaving a lot of it’s victims prisoners within their own bodies.  Their brains are still functional and absolutely alive but they are unable to use their bodies in any way.  The disease has become known as Haden’s disease, named for one of it’s more famous victims.  This little virus doesn’t discriminate, it knows no bounds and is equally pleased to attack anyone regardless of age, status, wealth, colour, etc and whilst it doesn’t have such a dramatic effect on everyone it does leave about 1% of the population locked into their own minds.

I’m not going to give a huge explanation because there are already a lot of reviews out there that probably make a much better job of it than I could do.  Basically the world has adapted to meet the needs of the Haden victims who as a result of leaps in technology are now able to use what is effectively a robot body.  So, whilst their actual body still remains non functional they are able to use their minds to operate these robots, known (affectionately) as ‘threeps’  or (not so affectionally) as ‘clanks’ and lead a normal life.  On top of this there are those people who suffered the virus but managed to escape lock in.  These people are now known as Integrators as they’re able to allow a Haden ‘client’ to use their brain and body for a period of time. 

At the start of the story Chris Shane is starting a new job with the FBI.  To say his day gets off to an immediate start with no hand holding is something of an understatement.  A murder has taken place and it seems to be Haden related.  However, this murder is only the tip of the iceberg and things are about to get a whole lot more complicated!

What did I like about this.  I thought the plot was really intriguing.  The story hits the ground running from page 1 with no softly softly approach whatsoever.  I really liked this approach.  Rather than describing the world we are introduced to it through conversation and action.  We pick up through conversation bits of history about Chris and eventually his new partner Leslie Vann.  I found the concept really fascinating and the look into the lives that some of the Hadens live made for compelling reading not to mention being very thought provoking indeed.  We also have this whole underbelly of discrimination, little things that seem harmless and yet when really looked at demonstrate the deep seated discrimination that exists, for example, Hadens don’t get to sit down in bars very often, or a lot of them live in tiny little spaces that are about the size of a broom cupboard.  Now, looked at coldly there is a simple logic to both of these examples and yet they don’t make it easy for Hadens sufferers to integrate.  Just little things, but a whole pile of little ‘things’ eventually makes a whole pile of big ‘things’.

The world is very similar to ours but just more technologically advanced.  Chris, for example, comes from a well known and privileged background.  The ‘threep’ he uses is a top of the line model with all sorts of extras.  Definitely a bonus when working in his line of work.  He can record conversations, instantly access all sorts of readily available data, take shots of crime scenes and, let’s face it, bullets bounce off him more than they would off those without a robot body, he’s not totally invulnerable though and the robot bodies used by Hadens have not been developed for extra strength although this does appear to be a regular misconception of a large chunk of the population.

The characters.  I liked Chris.  I thought he had a lot to put up with but he handles himself well.  His partner Leslie comes across as a little bit more jaded and she certainly does have something of a past that she tries to eradicate from her memory by bar hopping each night.  There is of course a much larger supporting cast but Chris and Leslie are the main focus.

In terms of criticisms, nothing major.  Whilst for the majority of the book the author is very subtle at weaving things seamlessly into the story it did feel on a couple of occasions that some of the conversations were used for info dumping of lengthy explanations or delivery of technical information.  I do understand why but on those occasions it did make the dialogue feel a little unnatural.  Like I said, it didn’t spoil it for me.

I found this a really interesting read, fast paced and full of issues that make you think about the book long after you’ve finished reading.  Sci fi murder mystery/thriller.