Unlocked
An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome
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4.0 • 13 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Discover the history of Haden's Syndrome, the virus that created the world of John Scalzi's inventive near-future thrillers Lock In and Head On, in the prequel novella Unlocked.
Not long from now, a virus will sweep the globe. Most will suffer no worse than flu-like symptoms, but an unlucky one percent will be changed forever. Hundreds of millions become "locked in", awake, aware, but completely unable to control their bodies.
This is the story of the doctors, scientists, engineers, politicians, and heroes who remade the world. It is the story of the chaotic outbreak, the fight for a cure, the changes that followed. It is an oral history, straight from the mouths of those who survived the most dynamic period in human history.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This intriguing companion novella expands the backstory behind Scalzi's provocative near-future science fiction novel Lock In. Originally mistaken for bird flu, "The Great Flu" killed 400 million around the world, and left millions more "locked in" their bodies, unable to communicate with the outside world. When the First Lady, Margaret Haden, was stricken, the flu came to be called "Haden's Syndrome," prompting President Benjamin Haden to stump tirelessly for a major medical and technological effort a new "Moon Shot" to find a way to help Haden's victims. Scalzi presents both pro and con insider views of the Haden Research Initiative Act, its priorities, and its stipulations that all research would be shared in an open database and all products would be cross-licensed, available for everyone to exploit equally. Researchers, businessmen, politicians, and human rights activists clash in this skillfully written novella about one of the most fascinating SF scenarios created in recent years.
Customer Reviews
Absorbing, challenging and interesting.
I enjoyed the first two books immensely - characters were well developed, storyline stayed interesting and absorbing, but this one was disappointing. I enjoyed the histories that were presented. Helped to connect But I guess I was expecting something more on the storyline, like a partial cure for instance. It would have been better to further the storyline I think. These stories were well written, very absorbing. I liked the insight into the political and social issues the author brings out. I will look for more by this author.
An interesting commentary
I wonder if this book would’ve been written without the real world advent of COVID-19, because there are a lot of ways in which this feels like a commentary on what we have been going through for the last three years. I wasn’t sure how what is essentially a series of transcripts and journal entries would work out as a book, but this worked out pretty well and goes well with the existing books in the series.