THE ANDROID'S DREAM

THE ANDROID’S DREAM

By John Scalzi

Tor Books

394 pgs

Every time we read a John Scalzi sci-fi book, we’re amazed at how he delivers unique and original stories that somehow are reminiscent of past authors such as Robert Heinlein and Edmond Hamilton. Scalzi is comfortable detailing known science while extrapolating it, which is what all good science fiction does. At the same time, he throws in tons of old pulp space opera action. That both work in perfect harmony with each other is what has made him such a popular writer today.

With “The Android’s Dream,” he blazes a story about alien conspiracies, biological manipulations and a sentient computer. Harry Creek is a war veteran working for the State Department and has the unenviable job of giving people bad news. Need to fire someone, call Harry. Need to tell a diplomat she’s being assigned to some far off world no one has ever heard of before, call Harry. What is fun is the fact that Harry has no problems with the role. He’s a pragmatist. After all, somebody’s got to it.

When a respected member of an alien Nidu delegation is assassinated via chemically produced smells during a trade negotiation, the Department’s Administrators scramble to salvage the situation and avoid an all out war. This can be done by providing the aliens with a special breed of sheep known as the Android’s Dream. Apparently such animals were gifts to the Nidu generations earlier upon first contact. Now the ruling clan of must sacrifice such a sheep whenever a new ruler is crowned. Sounds simple enough until it is discovered somebody has systematically destroyed all the known Android’s Dream sheep on the earth. Thus Harry Creek’s assignment is to find just one sheep and then keep it alive.

To accomplish this, Harry creates a self-aware computer program based on the mind of a deceased friend name Brian. Once awakened Brian begins searching the World Wide Web and managed to find the only remaining Android’s Dream still breathing. But it’s not a sheep; it’s a young woman whose genetic code actually contains sheep genes.

And that all happens within the first half of the book. Soon Harry and the lady, one Robin Baker, are on the run being chased by both human and alien killers. The action is non-stop; the characters brilliantly conceived and climax a slam-bang finale that had us cheering aloud. All science-fiction should be as good as “The Android’s Dream.” We can’t wait to see what Scalzi cooks up next.