The Android's Dream

by John Scalzi

Hardcover, 400 pages

English language

Published Oct. 31, 2006 by Tor Books.

OCLC Number:: 65341139

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(61 reviews)

3 editions

Kibrika reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I've mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, I like the clever twists. On the other hand, somehow I hate, hate, hate the way violence is handled in this book, it felt really jarring to have a book start with jokes and silly aliens and an absolutely unpleasant character, setting up this lighthearted fun book, to then have there be bloody fights and wounds, only to have them have hardly any impact on the people who suffered them... I'm not sure. Somehow it didn't sit well with me. Also, it's read by Wil Wheaton who I find annoying. Basically this book left me wondering why sad events and violence works in some comedy books and why I felt it didn't in this one, and I've no clue.

SI CLARKE reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

When is a sheep not a sheep? What constitutes a person? What constitutes a species? What does it mean to be alive? What if a fart could trigger a galactic war?

loppear reviewed The Android's Dream by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream" on Goodreads

4 stars

Fun and light interplanetary intrigue.

BillieCodes reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book starts of a little slow, but by the end it's amazing (slow start lost it a star). There's a bit of action, politics, sci-fi-ness, everything. Really enjoyed this once I broke the hump of the beginning.

Ika Makimaki reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I haven't had this much fun with a book in quite a while. :)
The Android's Dream is wacky, fun sci-fi that is also smart and deep in the middle of it all. It felt like reading Douglas Adams for the first time!
The story is weird and unlikely, but also very relatable. It is hard to talk about this book without spoiling its many surprises but I can't recommend it enough!

Enno reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This was really great, Scalzi really pulls all the stops, and makes the whole puzzle fit together in the end with no deus ex machina. I look forward to more.

Shard reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Pretty decent.

ghostchaser reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

You would have thought I would have known better than to judge a Sic Fi book by the title or cover. Classic well written with many twist and turns. Looking forward to the next book.

Will reviewed The Android's Dream by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book was amazing fun.

Daniel Andrlik reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I quite enjoyed reading this book, the writing is fast-paced and a lot of fun, with an undercurrent of humor throughout. Scalzi doesn't allow the humor to overwhelm the book however, and keeps the story tightly focused on the political intrigue and the action.

Perhaps it is only because I started this right after finishing Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy, but I felt Scalzi could have spent more time developing his characters, and providing more description in his scenes. While the story moves quickly and it is a lot of fun watching situations escalate in the novel, there are really only one or two characters that undergo anything resembling a true character arc, and one of those is only a minor character. It seems strange that the primary characters would go through so much and still remain pretty much the same as when they started.

Regardless, this is a fun …

betty reviewed The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1) by John Scalzi

Review of "The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Not at all my type of book, and I enjoyed reading it a great deal. After reading [book:Echoes of an Alien Sky], it was nice to read a deeply silly book that that didn't insult my intelligence.

I started out reading this book thinking it was one of those male novels driven by plot and widgets, but with no particular characterization to speak of. However, on meeting Robin, I became convinced it's rather that the male characters all seem curiously flat to me. I wonder if it's because the range of characterization for 'cool' male characters is narrower?

"Well, two things," Robin said. "First, that game's called 'suicide,' not 'wall ball', and anyone who thinks otherwise is freakish and wrong. Second, you notice the banner over there has "Wall-Ball" with that little 'tm' thingy, so I'm sure any little kids playing suicide-but-calling-it-wall-ball will soon be served with cease-and-desist orders."

"Seems a little harsh," Creek said.

"You know kids," Robin said. "If you don't keep 'em down early, they get all uppity."

You see? She is a delight!

In any case, deeply silly, viciously smart, fails the Bechdel test, but does at least manage some queer characters.

One thing: Scalzi pulls the old joke where a white guy gets a fake id with an obviously ethnic last name and has to claim to be adopted. It occurs me that you never get the story of the adopted person who is constantly having their identity challenged. Not really a criticism of Scalzi, just a thought.