Lock In

Lock In by John Scalzi, 336 pages

Almost 30 years ago, a disease called Haden's Syndrome ravaged the human population: many died, and a small percentage of those who died became "locked in," or mentally functional but completely unable to use their bodies. One of those Hadens, as they're called, is Chris Shane, a rookie FBI agent who thrown into the deep in on the first week of work: a man has just been found dead in a hotel room, and with another man in the room, it seems to be an open-and-shut case. Except for the fact that the still-living man is an Integrator, meaning that another person's consciousness was possibly riding along in his body (and maybe even driving) when the other guy died. Suddenly, Agent Shane and partner Agent Leslie Vann are on a seemingly impossible hunt for the killer, who may be a Haden or Integrator.

This is the second time I've read this book (this time for the Orcs and Aliens book group), and I once again very much enjoyed it. It's a quick thriller that manages to raise questions about the role of government in medical care, responsibility for one's actions, and the ethics of consciousness. I'm looking forward to our discussion on this on Monday night!