Lock In Through the Lens of Disability

Posted on August 29, 2014    Posted by John Scalzi

Over at Huffington Post, writer David M. Perry takes a look at Lock In, with special emphasis on how disability matters are handled in the book — because, after all, the protagonist is someone who is “locked in” and uses technology to interact with the world. “To my knowledge, this is the first science fiction novel based largely around the complexities of providing reasonable accommodations for disability,” Perry writes.

I’m not sure I would make such a claim myself (the SF field is vast and someone probably has essayed this particular topic before), but I will say it was an aspect of the book that I, as someone who does not suffer from any disability greater than nearsightedness, was well aware was territory that would allow me to show how little I actually knew about it. I expect that there are subtleties that I’ve missed and things I’ve gotten wrong — and I expect I’ll hear about those and see the criticisms about them online.

Which, actually, will be fine, and for which I am ready to take copious notes for when (or if) I ever do a sequel to Lock In. This is a field which I am happy to know more about, from people who have to live in it. In the meantime, Perry’s article seems like a good first response to the novel from that direction. Check it out.