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  • Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,922 ratings)

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Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Summary

AudioFile Best Voices - Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Audio Theater, 2014

2 editions. 2 narrators. 1 thrilling story. You can enjoy Amber Benson's narration here.

"I love working with Audible, in no small part because they’re committed to doing what’s right, both for my books, and the people who listen to those books. There's a really excellent reason for Lock In to have two entirely different versions, so when it came time to make the audiobook, Audible did an ingenious thing: they asked both Wil Wheaton and Amber Benson to record entire versions of the book. As the author, I’m impressed with Audible’s commitment to my narrative - and I’m geeking out that both Wil and Amber are reading my book. This is fantastic." (John Scalzi)

A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome", rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined.

BONUS AUDIO: 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.

©2014 John Scalzi (P)2014 Audible Inc.
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Critic reviews

"Hugo-winner Scalzi successfully shifts away from space opera with this smart, thoughtful near-future thriller resonant with the themes of freedom, ethics, and corporate greed….This powerful novel will intrigue and entertain both fans and newcomers." ( Publishers Weekly)
"The novel--which contains plenty of action, great character development, vivid and believable worldbuilding and a thought-provoking examination of disability culture and politics--is definitely worth the ride." ( Kirkus)
"Another brilliant novel from a writer who has quickly become one of the genre’s most successful and intriguing practitioners." ( Booklist)
"With narrator Wil Wheaton attacking Scalzi's text with both vigor and nuance, this story tells about a silent minority being given voice, then having that voice threatened.... Thanks to Wheaton's skillful efforts, this production is an enjoyable melding of narrator and material." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging - not what I expected

I chose this book based on the generally consistent positive reviews about the author.
I was not disappointed. Not sure it was entirely what I was expecting, but I definitely enjoyed it.

I have long been fascinated (and slightly terrified) by the concept of locked-in syndrome. The story painted here is not so fantastically impossible - which is probably why it didn't seem like heavy science-fiction to me. Very easy listening indeed.

Clever plot, well-designed, and with a very satisfying documentary-style epilogue tacked on the end which gave the whole thing so much more colour.

Narration is good.




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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great!

interesting story. difficult to follow all the details at the beginning, but easy to catch up.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

enjoyed the story and narration but short!

great story, well narrated (I like Will Wheaton's style) but despite the audio book length being nearly 11 hours over two hours was a separate (WWZ) style which while ok was not what I was after and I generally like to go for 10 hour + books

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very good

The story was a fascinating one and the reader was brilliant. Warmly recommend the book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good read! Engaging, fun ride!

I was sceptical on trying this out after a series of bad books and also being spoilt by some really good ones! I enjoyed this and found it very engaging, much more so than I had expected from the outset. Interesting concept - in a nutshell people get a flu-like disease (Haydens) that spreads and ends up with someone being "locked in" i.e. completely conscious but unable to communicate with the outside world (body is pretty much in a coma). To overcome this two alternatives are created so people can interact with the world 1) a "robot" body that a person's consciousness can inhabit 2) people can effectively rent other people's bodies. That's the basic premise and the story spins out from there from there.

I like Will Wheaton reading generally and he's well suited to this kind of sci fi book. He does a good job and is well cast as a narrator for this book.

If you liked any of the following, you'll probably like this one too:
"The Martian" - Andy Weir, "Ready Player One" - Ernest Cline, "14" -Peter Clines
Btw, I highly recommend the books just mentioned.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Another great Scalzi book

It should have been longer, and the conclusion was a little too neatly wrapped up, but that's not to detract from another good Scalzi story. Excellent narration from Wil Wheaton, and the inclusion of the novella "Unlocked" (benefitting from an ensemble cast of narrators) rounds out the story.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

So Confusing

Listening to this audiobook required much rewinding on my part. I could not envision at all what was going on. At first I thought Threeps were iPads on long stick stands, rolling around on wheels. It was so frustrating trying to envision the author’s future world and what the disease actually was. It’s like reading Shakespeare for the first time. You only understand the language at the end. And then in the end I find out the explanation for everything is at the end of the audiobook. Here’s a tip: if you’re going to read this, or listen to the audiobook, listen to the prequel at the end first. Otherwise you’ll be thoroughly confused. Besides that the adventure bits in this story were good. There’s a lot of jargon going on though. The usual law and political filler words from this author. If you remove the padded writing the action is quite short.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

enjoyed every minute

scalzi created a believable near future world, grim in the sense of the virus outbreak but one that is also testament to ingenuity and stamina.

loved the audiobook format. Wil Wheaton brought the characters into audio reality with convincing performance.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Surprising little gem.

Very good listen, a tad too much he said she said but otherwise fantastic. Loved the story and the characters within in. Would recommend to anyone with an interest in sci fi or crime

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Clever and very enjoyable!

I really enjoyed the back drop of the Locked In world. The story was well thought out and presented in a unpredictable manner.
It uses very familiar and enjoyable character types. All round great listen. I was also surprised by how well Will Wheaton’s narration worked. I very quickly got sucked into the story and only had one or two moments of wondering what Sheldon would make of all this :-)

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