Redshirts

Redshirts, originally subtitled A Novel with Three Codas, is a postmodernist science fiction novel by John Scalzi that satirises the tropes and narrative elements of a well-known television space series from the perspective of characters who gradually become aware of their own nature. It was published by Tor Books in June 2012, and an audiobook was produced with narration by an actor from that series.

The book won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Its comedy rests on the rules of the fiction it parodies: every away mission involves a lethal confrontation, the senior officers always survive it, and at least one low-ranking crew member is killed, which the experienced crew understand well enough to avoid the missions altogether.

Andrew Dahl's discovery is what turns the joke into a plot, because it gives the junior crew a chance to act on what they have noticed rather than simply avoiding it. Andrew Dahl is newly assigned to the flagship Intrepid, and what he discovers is that the ship's senior officers always survive the missions that kill the crew around them.