Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas [B2135]

2013 PB in nice clean condition. Hugo and Locus Award winner! Redshirts is John Scalzi's Hugo Award-winning novel of the starship ensigns who were expendable...until they started comparing notes. Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on "Away Missions" alongside the starship's famous senior officers.

Life couldn't be better . . until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship's senior officers always survive these confrontations, and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is . . and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Simply said, I loved this book. I don't do spoilers. So instead, let me say this: This book was fun. It was clever. It was geeky."; "Another hugely enjoyable read from John Scalzi. A razor sharp science fiction satire and a beautiful meditation on the human condition all rolled into one with an extremely satisfying ending."; "Great concept, well executed. Some very clever meta. The conclusions didn't hit as hard as I wanted but I enjoyed the humor."; "A funny premise treated entirely seriously, which adds to the fun. The epilogues are what make it really worthwhile for me though, with some powerful emotional writing."