Finally, and this is something even Andrew hesitates to mention, does it feel like this is all a rehash of a mid-20th century TV show? There’s a guy living in the ship’s maintenance ducts trying to warn them of the insane rules that mean the difference between life and death. There’s a weird black box that can solve virtually all scientific problems in exactly thirty minutes (no more, no less) that none of the crew actually understand the workings of. This is not good news for Ensign Andrew Dahl who shows up for work on the Intrepid with three new friends, only to find this “minesweeper in Baghdad” level of attrition is just the tip of the iceberg for weird stuff going on board this vessel. Sometimes even when they’re incredibly smart and careful, events contort themselves to killing at least one of them a mission. They do stupid things that get them killed despite being trained professionals on a spaceship. However, the rest of the crew dies at a horrifying and often nonsensical rate. Murderous alien worms, horrifying parasites, terrifying plagues, and encounters with hostile alien planets. Nothing bad ever happens to its bridge crew that they don’t bounce back from.

The premise is the Universal Union capital ship Intrepid is a death trap. If you don’t think making fun of weird ideas in Star Trek and cliched storytelling would amuse you then this is probably not the book for you but it is entirely my jam. Mind you, I am exactly the sort of person who would love this book as both a Star Trek fan as well as a satirist. I have some issues with the novellas in the back of the book but I consider the main story to be damn near perfect. RED SHIRTS by John Scalzi remains one of my all-time favorite books so if you’re looking for an unbiased recommendation then you’re probably looking in the wrong place.

Scalzi red shirts