Lock In by John Scalzi

Review of Lock In by John Scalzi the first book of the Lock In Series. A near future science fiction thriller.

My review from 2015 of Lock In by John Scalzi

Title: Lock In
Author: John Scalzi
Series: Lock In, book 1
Genre: Near future science fiction thriller

Opening sentence:

“My first day at the job coincided with the first day of the Haden Walkout, and I’m not going to lie, that was some awkward timing.”

Lock In first and foremost a thriller and a crime story with a good and gripping plot. I had a hard time putting the book down, so I could do other things. I was listening to it so I got a lot of tasks around the apartment done while listing.  It is clever, witty and thrilling. I was completely consumed by it.

This is very much a book about identity politics and about ableism and body politics. The protagonist’s gender is never mentioned in the book and I didn’t even notice while listening to it. As far as I can tell the protagonist is asexual.

It is very much a book about perception of others and of privilege and intersectionality. While the protagonist is living with a chronic incurable disability they also has very wealthy parents and is from a very privileged background. The politics around their disability is complicated enough to be real issues and they are explored within the novel.

I was consumed and fascinated by the book. Now a month later I want to read it again – something I very rarely do. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series.

The stats: Lock In

Published: 2014  by Tor Books
Read: February 26 to March 01, 2015
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Wil Wheaton

Author: Male, white, USA
The protagonist: Agender, police officer

This review was originally posted: May 8, 2015. Updated June 25, 2023