Series on Saturday: Locked In series by John Scalzi @scalzi.com @wilwheaton.net @torbooks.bsky.social #AudibleStudios #LoveAudiobooks #SeriesOnSaturday #SpeccyFicChal

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.

I’ve owned this Lock In series for years. I thought it was technology and scifi but didn’t understand until I started reading that it was also a mystery with the main character Chris being a new FBI agent. Chris is fortunate in many ways, starting with his family’s wealth and care, and in the skills and support of his new roommates.

Chris is paired with a seasoned agent Leslie Vann. They investigate murders related to Hadens.  Chris is a Hayden. It’s a complex and technical case which I really enjoyed.  Chris is as bad with threeps (robot type bodies for Hadens to move around like other humans) as Joe Pickett is with trucks.

In the past Hadens have had some subsidization through the government like other disabilities might but a new Act has stopped government funding.  Companies making threeps or other things have now lost their gravy train and have to find new ways to fund research and increase profits.

I really enjoyed this fast pasted and fun mystery with plenty of technology and action.  I didn’t know until I was listening that Unlocked is at the end of this audiobook.

Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the obtain your opponent’s head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh and bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are “threeps,” robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden’s Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real and the crowds love it.

Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field.

Is it an accident or murder? FBI Agents and Haden-related crime investigators, Chris Shane and Leslie Vann, are called in to uncover the truth―and in doing so travel to the darker side of the fast-growing sport of Hilketa, where fortunes are made or lost, and where players and owners do whatever it takes to win, on and off the field.

Head On brings a new mystery surrounding a death of a Hilketa player. Hadens play a violent game, think professional sports plus endorsements,  through their threeps with swords and hammers. The goal is to take an opponent’s head off and carry it through the goalposts.  When a player dies, Chris and Vann end up investigation the players, and the league, as more people die.

Chris’ parents are being courted to invest in Hilketa, as the league wants to expand outside of the U.S.  With the murder, Chris is sure something isn’t right.  However, he is able to get additional information to understand the financial aspects from his parents.

As Chris and Vann figure out more, the perpetrators kill more people, burn down houses, and even attack Chris’ home to try to destroy evidence. Chris continues to have threeps  ruined as people try to kill him.  It’s exciting, fast paced and I enjoyed the technical aspects, as well as the financial maneuvering.

n the near future--and sooner than you think--a new virus will sweep the globe. At first it will look like the flu, but then we will discover there is something else about it...something we weren't expecting. It will change society forever.

No, this isn't another zombie virus. And no, this isn't the apocalypse. It's Haden's syndrome. We'll survive it. But the world will be remade in its image.

''Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome'' is a novella that will take you through the heart of this terrifying disease, from its unusual and ironic origin to the frantic response of doctors, scientists and governments. You will see the ''moon shot'' response to free the people locked in thrall to the disease. And you experience the emerging society that those with the disease build for themselves--and for the rest of us.

Unlocked is #0.5 in the series.  I liked reading it after Lock In and before Head On.  It provides a history and world building about Hadens.  It’s very technical and also has some politics, since the disease is named for First Lady Haden.  I love this kind of short but I can see how some others might not. For me the details made an excellent foundation.

It was at the end of the Lock In audiobook which I felt was the perfect timing. It meant I was more interested in this information being invested in the first book and its characters.

Narration:

I chose Wil Wheaton as the narrator for me.  There are also versions with Amber Benson narrating. I didn’t think about it but since the main character is named Chris – it could be male or female I suppose. I’ve listened to Wil Wheaton on other series and enjoyed his narration.  The voices felt comfortable and enhanced my enjoyment of the stories. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip: HERE

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Anne - Books of My Heart

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I can't really remember any time when I wasn't reading. I LOVE books and what they give me. It's an opportunity to learn new things, see new places,live different emotions in a "safe" way. It lets me live in a new world.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 26-Audio
• 26-COYER

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