The unusually enlightened master of (among many things) the comedic sci-fi novel, John Scalzi, will give a moving tribute to the many nameless characters lost on missions throughout the galaxy as he presents his new novel, Redshirts. Trekkie attire encouraged!

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting,and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to theship’s Xenobiology laboratory.

Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethalconfrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chiefscience officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.