John Scalzi

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.

An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome

Unlocked

Dave | Storyphoria

While I absolutely understand this is a small bit of "between books filler" it really just wasn't all that enjoyable. 

The writing is solid, it's an interesting approach to telling a story(through the oral history layout), but without having read(and not planning to read) the full series this small story fits into... well there wasn't much here to really feel invested in. 

If you have read or plan to read the full series, I imagine you'll get more out of this one. It IS well written and my 2 star rating is purely a reflection of me not being interested in checking out the series after I read this.

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.

Ryan LaFerney

A new near-future science fiction novella by John Scalzi, one of the most popular authors in modern SF, Unlocked traces the medical history behind a virus (that results in Haden's Syndrome) that will sweep the globe and affect the majority of the world’s population, setting the stage for Lock In, the first in a series of sci-fi mysteries by John Scalzi. Unlocked does an absolutely terrific job of setting up the background for Lock In, giving us a picture of what it was like to live through Scalzi's imaginary pandemic (Scalzi's descriptions of a world ravaged by a pandemic is eerily - in some respects - spot on in 2020). Really, Unlocked presents an all-too-real possibility and stretches it into a future that is scarily easy to envision (more so in 2020). Unlocked literally is a fictional oral history that describes the outbreak, the response, the medical and political advances in trying to cure a dangerous virus that leaves it's victims "locked in", and the aftermath of a world changed by the "new normal". You see for most people, the virus is just like a really bad flu. However, for 1%, the virus causes the victims to be fully awake, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. This is known as "Lock In", and resembles the real condition known as locked-in syndrome (the new normal). The illness comes to be known as "Haden's Syndrome" with its victims called "Hadens". Humanoid robotic personal transport units controlled by a Haden's brain (nicknamed "Threeps" after C-3PO from Star Wars) are developed as the primary way for a Haden to interact with the outside world. The novella ends with individuals discussing the ramifications that the Threeps have had on society. This is a quick, interesting read that sets the stage for Lock In. Avoid if you can't handle reading about a pandemic during an actual pandemic.

jess

unrealistic. no pandemic deniers, no grifters, no one protesting against science and lockdown measures. 0/10

Kerri Miller

An intriguing backstory for an upcoming novel.

Brianna Brown

This was my first of this author's books, and I went in absolutely blind. I chose the book randomly from the library and didn't realize it was a companion to another novel until I started digging into it. The story drew me in instantly and the set up was creative and gave the story an interesting flow. I really enjoyed this one and I plan to go on to read lock in!

Jay Carter

Starts off as the dullest Time magazine ever written. Proves itself to be an essential companion to Scalzi's Lock In. Answers some questions left out of the book, like, do Hadens have children?

Adam

"Unlocked" is the backstory of the world created in Scalzi's Lock In. Rather than starting the story off with hundreds of pages of background, he jumps directly into the narrative, hooking you into. If the book had started with Unlocked, it would've been more difficult to hold my attention. Reading it after the fact as background on the world was just right though.

Les Reynolds

Bradley

Emma Daniels

Stefan Ladstätter-Thaa

Connor 

Ewan

Maggie Gordon

Milan Aleksić

Mandi Jayne

Todd Gagne

Hanna

Brent Nef

A novella that will take you through the heart of Hayden's Syndrome, a terrifying disease, from its unusual and ironic origin to the frantic response of doctors, scientists and governments. You will see the "moon shot" response to free the people locked in thrall to the disease. And you experience the emerging society that those with the disease build for themselves--and for the rest of us.

Unlocked An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome

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