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Interviews | June 19, 2009

Dave: IMG Jim Lynch Makes Landscape Art... Out of Text



jimlynchIf Carl Hiaasen set one of his novels on a residential stretch of boundary line between British Columbia and Washington, or if Richard Russo's characters had relatives in the Pacific Northwest, the result might be something like Jim Lynch's Border Songs. Continue »
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The Android's Dream

by John Scalzi

The Android's Dream Cover

ISBN13: 9780765309419
ISBN10: 0765309416
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $11.95!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement...

A sheep.

That's right, a sheep. And if you think that's the most surprising thing about this book, wait until you read Chapter One. Welcome to The Android's Dream.

For Harry Creek, it's quickly becoming a nightmare. All he wants is to do his uncomplicated mid-level diplomatic job with Earth's State Department. But his past training and skills get him tapped to save the planet — and to protect pet store owner Robin Baker, whose own past holds the key to the whereabouts of that lost sheep. Doing both will take him from lava-strewn battlefields to alien halls of power. All in a day's work. Maybe it's time for a raise.

Throw in two-timing freelance mercenaries, political lobbyists with megalomaniac tendencies, aliens on a religious quest, and an artificial intelligence with unusual backstory, and you've got more than just your usual science fiction adventure story. You've got The Android's Dream.

Review:

"Scalzi's swashbuckling satire of interstellar diplomacy (after 2005's Old Man's War) stars Harry Creek, a low-level State Department deliverer of bad news to alien ambassadors to Earth who's also a war hero and a computer genius. When Earth faces destruction over a diplomatic faux pas with the Nidu alien race, Harry must find and deliver the Android's Dream, an electric-blue breed of sheep, to the Nidu for their coronation ceremony. Dodging Defense Department assassins and Nidu space marines, Harry and Robin Baker, a pet shop owner with sheep DNA in her genes, flee Earth and find their own way to attend the Nidu crowning. Also on the quest for the sheep are disciples of the Church of the Evolved Lamb -founded by an early 21st-century SF writer of 'modest talents.' With plenty of alien gore to satisfy fans of military SF and inventive jabs at pretend patriotism and self-serving civil service, Scalzi delivers an effervescent but intelligent romp." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Scalzi's swashbuckling satire of interstellar diplomacy (after 2005's Old Man's War) stars Harry Creek, a low-level State Department deliverer of bad news to alien ambassadors to Earth who's also a war hero and a computer genius. When Earth faces destruction over a diplomatic faux pas with the Nidu alien race, Harry must find and deliver the Android's Dream, an electric-blue breed of sheep, to the Nidu for their coronation ceremony. Dodging Defense Department assassins and Nidu space marines, Harry and Robin Baker, a pet shop owner with sheep DNA in her genes, flee Earth and find their own way to attend the Nidu crowning. Also on the quest for the sheep are disciples of the Church of the Evolved Lamb — founded by an early 21st-century SF writer of 'modest talents.' With plenty of alien gore to satisfy fans of military SF and inventive jabs at pretend patriotism and self-serving civil service, Scalzi delivers an effervescent but intelligent romp." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Scalzi's hilarious political thriller, filled with war heroes, hackers, religious cults, and AI, is so absurd that it becomes believable. His best book yet. (Grade: A-)" Entertainment Weekly

Review:

"[A] tongue-in-cheek sf adventure that delivers serious action and intrigue as well as clever comedic barbs aimed at diplomatic airs, sf cults, and other foibles of the modern era." Library Journal

Review:

"Scalzi's third ingenious novel in less than two years....Scalzi uses [his] talent for military sf...for laughs this time, though there is also plenty of action and technological gimmickry to satisfy fans of sober sf, too." Booklist

Review:

"The novel is merely sarcastic when it should be satirical, and apolitical at a most inopportune moment. It's as if Rudyard Kipling woke up one morning and decided he wanted to be Benny Hill." Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times Book Review

Synopsis:

To avoid war, Earth's government must find a type of sheep used in an alien race's coronation ceremony. To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex-cop, war hero, and hacker extraordinaire, who scours the Earth looking for the rare creature. They find it, in the unknowing form of Robin Baker, pet store owner, whose genes contain traces of the sheep DNA.

About the Author

John Scalzi's science fiction novels include Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades, and Agent to the Stars. His published nonfiction includes The Rough Guide to the Universe and The Book of the Dumb. His weblog The Whatever is one of the longest-established such sites on the Internet. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780765309419
Author:
Scalzi, John
Publisher:
Tor Classics
Subject:
Science Fiction - General
Subject:
Life on other planets
Subject:
Science / General
Subject:
Science fiction
Copyright:
Publication Date:
October 2006
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
396
Dimensions:
8.44x5.82x1.25 in. 1.24 lbs.

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