by John Scalzi
First published 2012
Ensign Andrew Dahl joins the flagship Intrepid, home to the universe's most death-defying officers. But when he notices that away team members always seem to die, Andrew uncovers a shocking truth: the Intrepid crew are actually characters in a TV show, and they must find a way to rewrite their own script to survive. In this wildly inventive satire, John Scalzi skewers the tropes of classic science fiction while delivering a thrilling, funny, and poignant story about the power of storytelling.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, satire, adventure
Vibes: satirical, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Los Angeles, Burbank
Period: The Future, 2010
320 pages · ebook · Tor Books