John Scalzi’s The Android’s Dream really has nothing to do with androids. The title is an homage to Philip K Dick’s Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep? that was adapted into the 1982 Ridley Scott/Harrison Ford movie Blade Runner.
It does have something to do with sheep, though.
A diplomat caused an interstellar diplomatic incident by farting and killing an alien trade representative. In order to avoid war, which Earth would most certainly lose, a State Department agent has to find and deliver the alien a very rare species of genetically engineered sheep in less than a week, while being pursued by some bad guys and a band of religious fanatics. It helps, though, that the sheep turns out to be a woman – imagine trying to run from some really mean thugs with an actual sheep – and our delivery man was a decorated war hero.
Only in science fiction can you read something this outlandish and funny and still make sense, in a way. I bought the book sometime early this year but only read it now because I’ve been lazy watching television and browsing stupid websites. Man, I’ve only read five books this year!
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