UTTER RUBBISH
no, it's not funny
no, it's not deep and intelligent
it's simply dull and boring
And the title is simply a freeloader's choice so us naive idiots think of we'll, the real thing, and buy that book.
Sorry John, I liked your Old Man's war, but this... seriously?!

I don't mind the toilet humour but if you constantly have to talk about people doing things with their arses - John, is there something you need to tell us? (Freud would have had a day) - then you should do this with a bit of intellectual cunning. Otherwise it just becomes school boy's toilet humour...

And the overall story? Ok I'm not a big friend of comedy, but I have enjoyed a Framstag Sam or some of the comical bits by Harry Harrison. And I think Charles Stross can be deeply funny.

But this? Seriously

And where it's not funny, we get bored with overly long descriptions of pretend hacking or the likes... and again, it's just not really entertaining...

This is what you write, when you can write ok and need to pay the bill at the end of the month.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH IT!!!

This is how sci-fi is done! Complete with well-researched technology and futuritive imaginings. I read that some did not appreciate the 'poop' jokes but for me this is one of the strong points in the novel. It was so outrageous, so fantastical, and so funny. Upon learning of the human hybrid sheep's background, Creek states "Well that's all kinds of some f-ed up s*%t." You have to understand techno-babble to get through this, so it is in no way elementary. I just think it's a great, fun read if you have similar appreciation for the kind of genius imagination it takes to writing these kinds of novels. John Scalzi, I will be seeing you again. This being said, Scalzi can frequently go off on technological and backstory tangents that have nothing to do with the plot. I imagine this is part of the charm, however flawed. The novel is entirely left-brained with a perfected, smoothed out plot that lacks character development and basically any kind of relationship. What it lacks in feeling though, it makes up for with brain candy.

A friend of mine recommended Scalzi’s Redshirts, and since reading Redshirts, I’ve been hooked on all things Scalzi. I love Scalzi’s writing, his creativity, and his sense of humor. And this book did not disappoint.

First, I love the obvious reference to Philip K. Dick. Second, Scalzi is brilliant at character development and world building. Third, the irrelevant humor and clever characterization of government, religion, business, and politics. Finally, the story starts off with a juvenile, yet intriguing line and then action takes off from there and doesn’t stop.

If you liked The Fifth Element, Terry Pratchett, and irrelevant humor, and don’t take yourself too seriously, then you’ll like Scalzi.

Scalzi ties insane and improbable situations into a solid, believable story.

DNF for did not finish.

I feel I've been burned again by John Scalzi. Everybody rates his books so highly and I always like the premise, but upon reading I find them terrible. Is it me? I just think they're so juvenile. At least this one is technically proficient and not amateurish like Agent to the Stars or fully hackneyed like Redshirts.

2 stars. Somebody out there will like this, but it's not for me. I'm purging everything of Scalzi's from my to-read list and will vow to not be suckered in by his story pitches again.

This book was fairly typical Scalzi faire - cleverly written, with witty protagonists who tend to use their wit to get out of situations more than anything else. Snappy, funny, poignant dialogue. Dramatic situations with alien races who are oddly similar to humans. It's got all the set pieces.

And, as with most of his other works, I loved it. Scalzi writes a certain style, and he does it very well, and there's not a ton of reasons to get away from success. I know this was early on for him, but much like the other book he released in that time period, Agent To The Stars, it's creative, clever and very much fun to read. Not perfect, but a blast. I would still recommend it to just about anyone who is into people/dialogue-centric sci fi novels.

There's plenty of humor, action, and a nice convoluted twist ending such that everyone gets theirs. Classic Scalzi.

This was my first Scalzi book. It had a pulp fiction feel that was elevated to the next level with humor and a complex (but not complicated) plot. I especially enjoyed Wil Wheaton's narration of this book. It's definitely one of the best narrations I've listen to so far on audible. I'll definitely be looking for more of Scalzi's pieces especially those narrated by Wil.

La verdad es que no le puedo dar las cinco estrellas a esta comedia de aventuras (o aventura cómica, que tanto monta, monta tanto en esta historia) de Scalzi, más que nada por una cuestión personal anímica; y es que las circunstancias que dificultan la lectura hacen que la cosa se me ha hecho un poquito más larga de lo que debería. No obstante, y en lo que a la novela en sí se refiere, en términos objetivos, hay que decir que, aunque le falta un cierto componente emotivo, como sucede en otras de sus obras, lo cierto es que Scalzi sabe cómo hacerlo: ciencia ficción accesible incluso en la complejidad del universo concebido, con personajes cercanos y carismáticos y acción a raudales. En este caso, el humor predomina y roza el absurdo, pero aún así se mantiene la calidad y complejidad de la trama.

En resumen, aunque no sea de mis favoritas del autor, no por ello deja de merecer la pena este ejemplo de ciencia ficción cómica.

"Dirk Moeller didn’t know if he could fart his way into a major diplomatic incident. But he was ready to find out."
Thus begins this very silly book.
Android’s Dream is a fun romp through inter-species diplomacy, pet stores, a quest for the perfect sheep, corrupt governments, corrupt mercenaries, a stalwart PI, and a love story. Kind of.
Scalzi is one of my favorite authors. The way he can take on the absurd, and make you care about his characters is a great strength of his. From the first odiferous scene to the totally unrealistic-and-yet-it-works climax, this book is just an entertaining read.

Comedy and SF is not a mix one finds easily, so I tend to appreciate it when I do.

So this might be the worst book by John Scalzi I have read so far. Since he is one of my favorite science fiction writers that does not mean that the book is complete failure, but it's my least favorite from the whole pile.
✗ The humor didn't work for me.
✗ There were some plot elements that really grossed me out. like the origin of The Sheep etc.
✗ While there is constant action i still found myself bored at times, which is a rare occurrence for Scalzi's books.

But The Android's Dream still had all the things (except humor) that I love about John Scalzi:
✓ Big cast of quirky characters.
✓ Weird new alien species.
✓ Unortodox problem solving.
✓ Plus it featured some geeky talk about computers and stuff...

In the end, this is not a book I would recommend as a first introduction to Scalzi's writting. But when you are desperate as I am and reading through his backlog while waiting for the next book.. don't skip it either.