The Android's Dream

When a book opens with a death by farting, two deaths by farting actually, you know this isn’t your usual run of the mill science fiction story. The deaths mentioned occur at trade negotiations between earth and the Nidu, and the farting was designed to provoke the Nidu delegate, the fact that he died seemed at first an improvement to the human involved, his death occurred during a fit of laughter. But these deaths are not just a temporary hiccup in deciding how many bananas can be sold, the Nidu believe, correctly, that it was an orchestrated anti-Nidu act. And they want retribution.

If, however, Earth can provide a very specific and rare item then maybe the Nidu can be persuaded to overlook this attack. And as the Nidu have show more considerably more firepower that the earth it might be a smart move on humanity’s part to give them what they want.

read on: http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/2014/01/the-androids-dream/ show less

I like John Scalzi’s novels. I find them so much fun in a crazy science fiction way. You can tell in them that Mr. Scalzi does not take himself too seriously and loves what he does. His joy at creating such absurd yet highly entertaining and intense stories seeps through each sentence. In The Android’s Dream, this amusement creeps into the bizarre world that is his futuristic Earth with its alien diplomats and political machinations that span the universe. The genius of Mr. Scalzi’s work is that he takes these bizarre plots and uses them to create genuine warnings about society. In the case of The Android’s Dream, his warnings are against blind patriotism and ever-present greed in self-serving civil service. It’s a danger that show more is as relevant today as in 2006, made palatable with his diverse characters as they race to obtain this one sheep before it spells disaster for the universe. show less

An intergalactic crisis is started when a human diplomat kills his alien counterpart during a sensitive negotiation. Earth is on the brink of war with a vastly alien species and only one thing can save the planet.... a sheep. That's right, a sheep.

The Android's Dream is a scifi political thriller by John Scalzi. If you've read anything else by Scalzi you should have a general idea of what to expect tone-wise for the story. There's a big cast of quirky characters, witty dialogue, plenty of action, several creative alien species and Scalzi's trademark snarky humor all while poking fun at modern society. This includes nods PKD (which you probably noticed in the title), Scientology, the fact that AI isn't really intelligent and the US show more government, among other things. It's obvious that Scalzi is having a lot of fun when he writes.

Even with all it's good parts, this wasn't one of my favorites. That opening chapter was one big eye roll and some of the plot points made me cringe. Still, there is plenty to enjoy and I found the ending quite touching.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Wil Wheaton. Wheaton does a fantastic job of delivering Scalzi's material, nailing the snarky humor and witty dialogue. He's a lot of fun to listen to. show less

Very enjoyable sleeper of a book - I totally did not expect this book to be this fun. Lots of action, while also having a couple of points that were very thought-provoking. The various aliens were, for a refreshing change, actually three dimensional individuals with personalities and motivations that were not all cut from a standard stereotype for their respective species. I'm kind of surprised that this one hasn't been turned into a movie yet.

I love John Scalzi. Let me just say that right now. From his (in)famous blog to his convention crack-ups to, yup, his novels, the man manages to make me laugh every single time. What’s more, his is not a sloppy humor – [The Android’s Dream] is tightly plotted, well-developed in terms of circumstance and character, and could stand up against any number of respected classics of science fiction – it also has a first chapter that is so funny, I almost peed myself by the last page.

Scalzi's first chapter is a masterpiece of political toilet humor, if such a thing can exist. The rest of the novel follows up with moments of both brilliance and hilarity, and sometimes the two at once, but that first chapter is what sets the reader’s show more mood for the entire novel. If you cannot appreciate sarcasm or have never found a fart funny, you may not appreciate that first chapter enough to let its tone buoy you all the way to the end of the book, but you might be rescued by the other clever conceit of the novel – that the fate of the world rests on the wooly back of a sheep.

Except that the sheep in question doesn’t turn out to have a wooly back at all, but I’ll stop there so as not to spoil one of the finer moments in the story. Any writer who can take a ridiculous twist and twist it back around on itself the way Scalzi does here is my kind of fella. Essentially, this book is smart fun – Scalzi must have had a great time writing it and anyone with even the least appreciation of science fiction will have a great time reading it.

Postscript: I read Philip Dick’s [Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep?] shortly before reading this one – the title of Scalzi’s novel is an obvious homage and there are several other connections in the book – including one direct allusion that made me laugh out loud – but you don’t have to have read PD’s book to like this one – just know that it exists. show less

I got this book for Christmas, and as a huge Scalzi fan, I was excited to read it.

The Android's Dream is a science-fiction comedy (like Scalzi's previous Agent to the Stars). There has been a diplomatic incident with the Nidu, a race of not-that-powerful-but-still-more-powerful-than-Earth aliens, and war looms on the horizon - unless a specimen of a rare variety of sheep can be found. Harry Creek, a mid-level State department bureaucrat and war veteran, is tasked with getting to the bottom of the events.

The best word to describe this book is a "romp". There are layered conspiracies, refreshingly practical religious zealots, artificial intelligences, and a lot more. The tone of the book reminded me of a (revived) Doctor Who episode - show more lots of witty banter and ridiculousness, some heart and a deus ex machina resolution that you don't really want to look at closely.

I liked this book fairly well, but I prefer Scalzi's more serious books - the Old Man's War books, Fuzzy Nation and Redshirts. I hear that The God Engines is his least comedic work, so I'm pretty excited about reading that one someday too. show less

The Android's Dream (title based off Philip K. Dick's novel Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep) can be described as a satire of interstellar diplomacy. It stars Harry Creek, a low-level State Department deliverer of bad news to alien ambassadors to Earth who's also a war hero and a computer genius. When Earth faces destruction over a diplomatic faux pas (or a minor farting offence) with the Nidu alien race, Harry must find and deliver the Android's Dream, an electric-blue breed of sheep, to the Nidu for their coronation ceremony in order to avoid an all out war. Harry stumbles upon Robin Baker, a pet shop owner with sheep DNA in her genes that in fact align with the Android's Dream, and quickly finds himself dodging Defense Department show more assassins and Nidu space marines. In an effort to protect Robin, they flee Earth and find their own way to attend the Nidu crowning. Also on the quest for the sheep are disciples of the Church of the Evolved Lamb—founded by an early 21st-century SF writer of "modest talents" (no doubt a satirical stab at L. Ron Hubbard). This book was filled with plenty of alien gore that fans of Alien and Independence Day will enjoy as well as a great banter and plenty of humor. This is an intelligent romp that might be underrated and overlooked. Highly recommended if you can handle fart jokes. show less