Because I now spend at least twenty minutes doing dishes every night, I bought an audiobook to pass the time while I'm scrubbing plates. I stick on my headphones and someone reads to me. Genius!
The book I bought is a science fiction novel about a man who searches for natural resources on an alien world that is supposed to be free of intelligent creatures. I'm getting through about two chapters every night, and often times The Boyfriend sticks his head in to the kitchen to see why I'm laughing to myself.
Here's what I like about this audiobook so far:
1. Wil Wheaton, geek extraordinaire and talented actor, reads the audiobook. (Wil was Wesley Crusher on Star Trek-TNG and he plays the reoccuring "Evil Wil" on the Big Bang Theory.)
2. The dialogue is often like a dance. No one is so witty in real life, but John Scalzi uses some of his dialogue as a chance to make jokes, wow the audience and make call backs to other dialogue. For me, his dialogue is both satisfying and entertaining, as well as often being giggle-worthy.
3. There are dinosaur-like raptors who, if given half the chance, would eat people while they were still screaming. So cool!
4. The book takes a head on look at the questions of what makes an animal a person, is nature important if people aren't around and are not gaining from it, and if facts become inconvenient, how do people and companies deal with new realities?
5. Even though this story is set on a planet far away from Earth with different animals and plants, the settings and themes are very relatable. It's easy to understand "cat-like" creatures and spike trees and a colony of humans trying to make a living off of drilling for minerals.
6. Scalzi has a way of making tense scenes believable, nerve-racking, and still a little funny. He creates the kind of "on edge" where I want to keep playing one more chapter to see what cool stuff is going to happen next.
You can find out more about the author, John Scalzi, at his website, Whatever.
