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 … 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. The world of the locked in is changing, and with the change comes opportunities that the ambitious will seize at any cost. The investigation that began as a murder case takes Shane and Vann from the halls of corporate power to the virtual spaces of the locked in, and to the very heart of an emerging, surprising new human culture. It’s nothing you could have expected.
Old Man’s War Series
#1 Old Man’s War
#2 The Ghost Brigades
#3 The Last Colony
#4 Zoe’s Tale
#5 The Human Division
#6 The End of All Things
Short fiction: “After the Coup”
Other Tor Books
The Android’s Dream
Agent to the Stars
Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded
Fuzzy Nation
Redshirts
Lock In
The Collapsing Empire (forthcoming)
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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This book was not what I was expecting, which made reading it even more enjoyable. Combining a terrifying virus, law enforcement procedural, nasty and unethical corporate elites taking advantages of a climate filled of distain and so volatile that it sets off this page turning mystery thriller that keeps you guessing all the way to the very end.
Easy to read, a bit nightmarish and highly suspenseful. The world building displayed here is very believable too. A truly crafty morsel of fiction here that is worth escaping into.
I couldn’t get this one out of my head. I loved the premise. I loved the story. And I especially loved the small bits of humor, delivered in Wil Wheaton’s dry sarcastic voice. I laughed out loud several times in the car and on walks in the park. The second book in this series is great as well, and I’ll recommend that one later.
(Read or listened to 10/2014)
It was a bit slow getting into for sure, but I got into it and it was so worth it. Van’s character intrigued me more than any character before.
(4.5 / 5)
In the near future, a disease ravages humanity, leaving a large population of Earth completely paralyzed. In the time period of Lock In, technology has been developed to allow those “locked in” to live as normally as possible, either putting their consciousness into a robotic being, or into the mind of someone who has the ability to accept the mind of someone else. Set against this backdrop, the book is a mystery that starts with a murder, but deepens continually as the story goes on.
I wasn’t really expecting to like this book that much, though I don’t really know why. However, I ended up liking it a lot. The sci-fi element, mainly the roles the Hadens (those who were locked in) and the Integrators (those who could let a Haden use their mind & body) played in the mystery, really enhanced the mystery plot.
The main character, Chris Shane, is a Haden and an FBI agent, who interacts with the physical world in what they call a “threep” (basically a robot that is controlled by a Haden’s consciousness). In a lot of ways, the book was similar in this area to Ready Player One, which I only read recently, so it was fresh in my mind. I was interested reading about the laws surrounding Hadens and their threeps, when it comes to crimes committed both by and against them. I also enjoyed the main character’s intelligence, ingenuity, and stoicism.
Another thing that I found myself appreciating throughout the book was the writing style. There is not a lot of description or figurative language, which to my taste, at least, can slow a story down or add unnecessary filler. There were even times that I would read through an entire page and get this feeling in the back of my mind that I’d skipped some text (I do that sometimes, essentially accidentally skimming for a bit before deciding I need to go back), but when I’d go back to try to find what I’d skipped over, there was nothing. Conversations flowed quickly, with little in the way of descriptions of what the characters were doing. Some may find this a flaw, but I personally liked it. If the characters aren’t really doing anything but sitting and talking…maybe sometimes it’s okay to not add minor actions in just because. I usually write dialog this way too, but end up going back and adding more in, because I feel like it’s expected.
Scalzi’s world-building was brilliant too, from following the progression of politics, laws, and citizen response brought on by Haden’s syndrome in America, to the slang and lingo that seemed so natural in this world. My main detraction in the book is involved in this area though. At one point in the last quarter of the book, a side character who is an expert in a field that is needed for the investigation spends about 10 pages explaining some technological and coding mumbo jumbo that I had a difficult time wading through and understanding. I was at least able to come away with some idea of what was going on, though, so it didn’t cause enough problem for me to be more than a short frustration. I also feel it prudent to mention that there was a lot more language than I prefer.
I would recommend Lock In for fans of near-future sci-fi and for mystery lovers too.
Future, a plague, a murder, an FBI agent living with the plague aftermath, tongue-in-cheek humor, action. A Scalzi winner
Scalzi is one of the best authors I have ever read
Scalzi always entertains. An original premise well-developed with a police procedural story wrapped within.
What a great read. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could. This is a near future detective story told with Scalzi’s usual brio. It is always a little tricky blending detective fiction and SF or Fantasy but “Lock In” worked for me. In Scalzi’s future the world has suffered (and is still suffering) from a new plague. Most of the people infected just suffer flu-like symptoms but a small percent (still millions of people) suffer a form of brain damage resulting in “lock in”. Technology has been created that allows affected people to inhabit and control mechanical bodies. The main characters are an FBI team: Shane, who suffers from the lock in plague and uses mechanical bodies and his partner Vann. I admit, a detective story about a future dealing with a “lock in” plague did not seem very promising to me. Boy was I wrong. Recommended.
This book was candy for my brain. It’s smart and has just the right amount of nerdiness without losing sight of the humanity. I thought about it for days after finishing reading. I read it on Audible.com, the Wil Wheaton version. He brought the characters to life without overdoing the dramatics. Angel’s adjectives: meaty and weird (in a good way)
Original idea about robotic networking for the disabled.
The premise for this book was interesting which was about people having a syndrome, and relying on technology. It was very simple, and laid back I felt yet it was also intriguing to read and just felt fun.
Really liked this book. It could happen and technology would grow to help those locked in.
Lean, fast, tight! Great story. Very creative.
A book set in a future that could be considered dystopian, but somehow isn’t. The main character is so wonderfully balanced, pivoting like the hub of a wheel as the story unfolds.
I always enjoy John Scalzi’s stories. They are balanced and well written and always have an easy humor. This was no disappointment. A police procedural with a tweak. The story developed naturally and was never forced. The discovery unfolds easily and is completed with good timing. The dialog, both internal and external was great.
I could see this as a motion picture. The story is complete, beginning to end.