The Android's Dream

The Android's Dream by John Scalzi

Due to the strangest international (interplanetary?) incident you've ever read, the earth is now on the hook to find a sheep. Not just any sheep, but one with electric blue wool. The alien race of the Nidu require this specific sheep for their coronation ceremony, which has to take place at an exact time in two weeks, or their entire government falls to pieces. The problem is that all the "Android's Dream" sheep have started dying, and they're not sure where to find another one. When they do, it's nothing like what they expect. 

Harry Creek, whose day job is to deliver bad news, is hired to find the sheep and gets hurled into all the underhanded, action-packed, confusing madness while trying to protect an innocent woman. Throw in an entire cast of zany characters, from a surprisingly sophisticated artificial intelligence to an alien on a religious quest, and you have yourself a very unexpected and entertaining science fiction.

This book was very well thought out, and very well executed. I can honestly say I never saw what was coming next, and every little twist and turn was smart and unpredictably enjoyable. There are moments that warrant an audible "what?!" while reading. The characters were developed nicely, even though many of them were unlikable. The writing was clever and witty and left me thoroughly entertained.

But much like Harry Creek, I do have some bad news to deliver. Firstly, there was a lot of foul language, definitely too much for me to be okay with. I don't think that much swearing is really necessary to get a point across. You're angry, we get it. Secondly, there were a great deal of spelling and grammar errors in the book that should have been caught by an editor. It's obvious that these were probably just typos, but really somebody should have noticed that before it went to print. Hopefully in later editions these errors have been corrected. 

Overall this was an enjoyable read that catches you off guard and keeps you guessing about what might happen. I give it 3.5 stars. 

Find it at the library in the Adult Fiction section.