Book Review: Redshirts

First of All:  Alright, I'm going to come out and say this now: I'm not a biased sci-fi lover.  I love Star Trek just as much as I do Star Wars or Firefly or anything else.  That being said, since I really started watching Star Trek about a year ago, I've fallen in love with the speculative side of science fiction, and I was a bit sad when I realized that the J.J. Abrams reboot a few years back didn't have as much of that element as did the original incarnation.  For the record, I'd have to say that my favorite character in all of that universe is Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and his Galaxy class starship--the Enterprise-D-- will always be my favorite ship in all of Star Trek.
So when I stumbled across a review lauding the excellence of John Scalzi's Redshirts, and its take on the original Star Trek series (with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy), I was too intrigued to pass it up. Also, for those who aren't familiar with the original Star Trek, the term "redshirt" refers to random personnel whose purpose on the show was to get killed to prove that whatever threat the main characters was facing was indeed real and dangerous.  Most episodes feature a random crew member getting offed in this way, leading to make the term "redshirt" synonymous with "expendable," or "dies a lot for no reason at all."

Second of All: The book follows a low-ranking crewman named Andrew Dahl, who has just graduated from the academy and has been assigned to his first posting on a starship, which happens to be the flagship of the entire Universal Union: the starship Intrepid.  He quickly makes several friends among the other low-ranking crew members, but begins to notice several strange occurrences around the ship.  It seems that whenever their ship is assigned a mission, it involves some kind of deadly alien force or experience.  Miraculously, the senior staff--such as the Captain, the Senior Science Officer, and a handful of others--always manage to survive.  Also, on every one of these missions, at least one low-ranking crewman will die.  As he investigates further, Dahl begins to uncover more and more secrets that hold the key to the fates of everyone he cares about.

Third of All: The review!
I thoroughly enjoyed Redshirts.  It was a fantastically creative take on the original series, and isn't content to just parody the old TV show; it takes the reader on a speculative journey that makes you question the nature of the universe.
The characters felt incredibly real to me, which is saying something.  Each person had value, had a back-story, personality traits, and very real reactions to the frankly horrific stuff that redshirts get put through.
The story itself was profound, gripping, and had action and tension spaced perfectly well throughout the story to make it real.  Not only that, but the rules that Scalzi sets up for the world he's created also work incredibly well.
There are a couple drawbacks to the book, in my opinion, though.  First and foremost, there's quite a bit of strong language in the book.  Like, a lot.  Understandable, considering the predicament that the characters go through, but still excessive.  Also, there are references to adult themes that some people may find offensive.
Also, if you're not a Star Trek fan, then you probably won't get most of the story, as the entire thing is a reference to the old TV series.
Aside from that, though, I found this book to be an incredibly good read.  Were it not for the aforementioned content, I'd have given it a near-perfect score, but as it stands, it gets a Four and a Half out of Six Nerd Stars.