Redshirts

It’s hard to beat Scalzi for nailing the execution of a high concept.

Redshirts could have so easily been nothing but a gimmick, but Scalzi really gets into the guts of the horror and humor of being a character written for the sole purpose of dying. I picked up the book with a cynical eye, expecting to hate it, but it drew me in.

Scalzi went so much further with the concept, shined a light on every corner of the idea, that he managed to create a deconstruction and reconstruction of the same trope at the same time. 

I especially enjoyed this book because I'd passed over it several times. I thought I knew what to expect: a one-joke tribute to the Star Trek trope of anonymous red-shirted security guards being killed while the heroes dodge every phaser blast. But... ha! I was wrong, and I loved it.

I found an unexpected parallel universe the Trekker in me adores. These redshirts are characters to root for. As they unraveled their predicament, I huffed, giggled, and laughed out loud. I want more books that prove me wrong.

Maybe more military sci-fi than space opera, this is probably the most surprising book on this list. It’s often sold as satire, or the quintessential humorous commentary on the Star Trek franchise, but Scalzi’s Redshirts actually goes beyond fourth-wall-breaking meta into the sublime. It’s not a particularly new take on the question of predestination versus free will, but it’s certainly an unexpected and emotional one, and I’ve always cared a lot about the question of “What’s Out There” and “Why Do We Suffer,” so this book resonated with me.

An extremely meta book that is both an ode and a spoof of star trek themed science fiction. There is more than a little humor as Andrew tries to figure out what is going on with his world. This book made me laugh and grin more than a few times as it harkened back to my youth, waiting and watching all the treks on TV to come on each week.  It was very much like a warm cup of nerdy cocoa on a cold day.