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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 (1,912 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.

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)

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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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

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
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • DL
  • 13-12-16

Shorter than advertised

Plot is basic but entertaining enough and Wil Wheaton does a great job of bringing the characters to life.

I was rather enjoying it until with 2 hours to go the book finished with the last 2 hours being some appendix being read by random people. Ultimately left me feeling rather short changed for the length of book vs cost.

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Impossible to listen to...

What would have made Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton) better?

If he didn't say 'said' every 5th word

What could John Scalzi have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Considered his use of language. Not read the book (had hoped to listen to it), but does every other line really have to be punctuated with the words 'he said' , 'she said' ? It's just awful to try and listen to.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I couldn't get past the first three chapters.

Any additional comments?

Save your money.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Future Shock - a very potential future

A science fiction of the close future and a very believable story. It wouldn't take much imagination to see this happening, it might already be happening now! I would encourage you to read and reflect on our current environment AIDS, H1N1, Ebola ... We will have a pandemic and this is one possible explanation

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • M
  • 02-11-14

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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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story but uses the word "said" too much

Really enjoyed this story but kept getting pulled out of it by the word "said" used way too much.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic world - Great story

I have loved all the books Will Wheaton has narrated and this was no exception.
A slightly different tone for this books and more emphasis on the story rather than pulling out the individual voices of the characters, which I did find quite odd as the book is so dialogue heavy. In the beginning I did struggle to differentiate each character but once I got used to it you can hear the slight difference in each Character.

John Scalzi has created an amazing world for this story. He also doesn't treat you like a baby and lay the complexite of the world on a plate for you, your often left figuring things out your self or having to wait patiently till its explained. Some great twists and turns and I was left with my mouth open a few times. Although it didn't climax to what I expected it to, everything was throughly well wrapped up though.

Thougherly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all, and the small novel at the end of the book added such detail to the world.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Couldn't listen past the 1st chapter.

I was very disappointed in this book. Not only did I not understand what was going on, the amount of times "He said" was said really annoyed me. I felt as though the narrator was rushing those two words each time as it was written so much!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Starts well…

Interesting and original concept. It starts off well enough, but from about a third of the way in, it begins to deteriorate, after which it's pretty much all down hill to an extraordinarily boring last 50 or so minutes.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    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