Lock In

Lock In by John Scalzi, 336 pages

After a meningitis-like virus hits, thousands of people are left "locked in"--able to use their brains, but not the rest of their bodies. To help the locked in (also referred to as Hadens, after the syndrome they survived), advancements were made in robotics and neural transmissions to allow the Hadens to continue to contribute to society through avatars. Our narrator is Chris Shane, a Haden who is also an FBI agent working with an able-bodied partner to solve a series of Haden-related murders in Washington, D.C. Part sci-fi (OK, very sci-fi) and part detective story, Lock In is an easy read that offers up plenty of food for thought, on everything from gender to disability to what it means to be human. This would be a great offbeat choice for a book club. I loved it.