Book Chatter

Lock In
By John Scalzi
Tor Science Fiction, 2015, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Interesting concept.

The Rest of It:

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent – and nearly five million souls in the United States alone – the disease causes “Lock In”: Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge. ~ the publisher

I went into this book club pick completely blind, with no idea what to expect, and it ended up being exactly the kind of read I needed. It’s a little strange, a little unsettling, and perfectly suited to a mood-driven reading experience, which honestly feels essential these days.

What really hooked me was the central concept: a virus that leaves people fully conscious but unable to move, forcing them to live their lives through “threeps,” robotic, humanoid bodies that act as their physical stand-ins while their real bodies remain safely tucked away. It’s a fascinating idea, but the story quickly makes it clear that “safe” is relative. Those affected by the syndrome are being targeted, and what once seemed like a solution to a global crisis becomes a new kind of vulnerability. These people are still here, still aware, and still at risk.

The narrative follows police detectives, including one who has Haden’s, which adds a compelling layer to how the world and its biases are portrayed. Society has already started deciding what’s acceptable and what isn’t, and the lines get murkier as the story unfolds. The fact that “threeps” can be damaged or destroyed, often at great personal cost to their users, raises the stakes in a way that feels both practical and deeply human.

What starts as a straightforward murder investigation expands into something much bigger, blending speculative sci-fi with a grounded, procedural feel.

I’m always drawn to stories that explore where we might be headed when things start to fall apart, and this one hits that note without feeling too far removed from reality. Maybe a little too close, at times.

Overall, it’s an engaging, thought-provoking read, and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else in book club takes away from it.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Heartwood
By Amity Gaige
Simon & Schuster, April 2025, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Riveting story with characters you wanna root for.

The Rest of It:

In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping. ~ from the publisher

I picked this book up on a whim. It was a late Thursday evening, and I had just turned the last page of my current read, so I went looking for something to quickly dive into. Heartwood was it.

Books set outdoors always appeal to me. I’m a desk jockey at work, so the idea of traipsing through a forest or along a trail makes my heart sing, especially when it’s happening in my imagination and there are no mosquitoes to deal with. Heartwood delivered that feeling beautifully.

From the start, there’s a very real sense of time slipping away. Valerie only has so much of it out on that trail. Lost, alone, and with limited supplies, the people searching for her are highly experienced, but they also know that with every passing day, every ticking minute, the chances of rescuing her alive grow slimmer. Very slim.

Beverly, a Maine State Game Warden, leads the search team on the ground. Then there’s Lena. At 76, she lives in an independent senior community, keeping mostly to herself and avoiding the other residents. But Valerie’s case catches her attention because the missing woman reminds her so much of her own daughter—whom she hasn’t seen in decades. Soon, Lena becomes an armchair detective, piecing together clues with the help of an anonymous online friend.

Friend? Or someone hiding behind a carefully constructed online persona?

I found this story to be just the right mix of personal backstories and the heart-pounding urgency of a clock running out. I flipped through the pages as fast as I could. What a satisfying read.

These days, with everything going on in the world, satisfying reads can be hard to come by. They have to compete with our busy minds and the constant stream of bad news around us. But Heartwood? It checked all the boxes.

Highly recommend.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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