John Scalzi is a science fiction writer living in California. He's known for both his novels and his blog Whatever, which delves into a variety of topics.
This is the first of his novels that I've read, though I've heard his name mentioned for many years now. He seems to have a very loyal following, and after reading Redshirts I can understand why.
In Redshirts several "extras" living out a television show come to grips with the fact that the situations in which they find themselves aren't as authentic as they once assumed, and as they delve deeper into their predicament they become aware of a much larger reality beyond the confines of their starship.
Highlighting this narrative is the author's sense of humor. Imagine Philip K. Dick, for example, getting "recursive and meta" (to use Scalze's words), but instead of retreating into his usual hopelessness and paranoia PKD stops to crack a joke. This ability to poke fun at his characters while telling challenging stories is what sets Scalze apart from many other writers.
My only complaint is the three "extra chapters" tacked on to the end of this book. In my opinion these "codas" were completely unnecessary, and their more serious tone brought down what was otherwise a fun little jaunt through a universe not too far removed from Star Trek. These extra chapters seem more like unsuccessful attempts at the original novel, and while two of the three would work well as short stories, they're really too different in tone to bear inclusion alongside Redshirts, the main narrative.
I look forward to reading more of Scalzi's books in the future. I haven't seen any in the bookstores I frequent, but perhaps I'll stumble across something by him in the summer.
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