One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone—999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don’t know. But it changes everything: war, crime, daily life. Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher—a licensed, bonded professional whose job is to humanely dispatch those whose circumstances put them in death’s crosshairs, so they can have a second … have a second chance to avoid the reaper. But when a fellow Dispatcher and former friend is apparently kidnapped, Tony learns that there are some things that are worse than death, and that some people are ready to do almost anything to avenge what they see as a wrong.
It’s a race against time for Valdez to find his friend before it’s too late…before not even a Dispatcher can save him.
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By mid first chapter, I thought I knew where the book was heading. I was wrong. And therefore quite happy to discover what came next. 🙂 Then, the stories goes very fast and leaves you wanting for more. I hate when stories are so long and boring you long for the end. but here, a few more details on the world would have been welcome.
I won’t spoil anything but
story : an original idea from an author reputed for it and an in-depth analysis of all consequences. The story goes fast but the world is rich, precise and that is very enjoyable
characters : a bit classic but likable and well drawn
in short, a very good ride I highly recommend
Great introduction to the author, interesting plot but not long enough so looking forward to next book.
This is an enjoyable quick read.
If it is part of a series, it is a nice start. If it is a stand alone, not so much. The book has a broadly similar feel to Scalzi’s “Lock In” series- some major thing has happened, and society has adjusted to it, and this story is told against that background, exploring how it plays out in one particular scenario.
The story is told through the point of view of Tony, a dispatcher, a personable Scalzi type every day average Joe. (They’re kind of the same, book to book). Tony and a police officer basically trundle through the story trying to work out what why someone has disappeared, for about 128 pages. It’s a good undemanding yarn. I will be reading the next one.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Audiobook
This was a good read. Definitely an interesting concept. I really enjoyed this one.
I enjoyed listening to this very much. I have never read anything by John Scalzi but I am definitely willing to take the time and read more. I like that things are not completely spelled out and some things are left a bit ambiguous. The characters themselves are very well developed, both major and minor. The story flows and is coherent from start to finish making it very easy to follow.
In the near future, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone. Those who are murdered or killed intentionally come back 999 times out of a thousand. No one knows why or how this happened and it changes everything about the way the world operates.
Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher, a professional and licensed assassin who is sent out when someone is known to be about to have their life taken. This means that they monitor places like hospitals where people die at the hands of others even though it is not intentional. When Tony’s friend is kidnapped he is drafted by the detective on the case to help find him before anything happens to him.
I remember Zachary Quinto on Heroes and was not thrilled with his character and when he was cast as Spock in the Star Trek reboot I was likewise less than thrilled. The thing is I have become a fan and think he did a great job here in his characterizations of the people populating this story. A really big recommendation!
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the story and the narration captured my attention from the very beginning and held it through to the very end. I’ve already acquired the sequel, also narrated by Mr. Quinto.
The Dispatcher is a licensed, bonded killer in a near-future scenario where death isn’t always final. Tony Valdez is one such professional, who is coerced by a detective to assist in the investigation of a fellow Dispatcher’s disappearance.
The writing is excellent, the dialogue engaging, and the investigation pulls the reader through the world’s mechanics with a delicate balance of information and intrigue. Mr. Scalzi wove a wonderful tale, and Mr. Quinto gave it life.
Highly recommend!
I really like the concept of this book, but was a little disappointed in the actual story. The narration was very heavy and a bit monotone. That made it more difficult for me to pay attention to it. It would be nice to have someone that was murdered be able to come back to life, but would it? Just like in the story, there will always be someone that doesn’t quite follow the rules and abuses even this type of concept. Interesting concept, but fell short on making the story live up to that concept.
Excellent mystery elements, spec fic, unobtrusive character development. As close as a story can get to unique.
The Dispatcher by John Scalzi , narrated by Zachary Quinto, is a intriguing, unusual paranormal mystery! It’s about a Dispatcher, someone licenced to kill someone so they will come back from the dead. This world one day just changed and some people come back from the dead normal, depends how they die. This story is about a missing Dispatcher. A FBI agent and another Dispatcher try to find him. Excellent!
Great narration also!
I listened to this in audiobook and was totally entranced by this new world Scalzi built. What if you popped back into existence after being killed by someone else? You can imagine how much that would change everything. Zachary Quinto was an amazing narrator! I love his voice.
Amazing Audible narration by Zachary Quinto saves an otherwise mundane short story by John Scalzi.
In The Dispatcher, we have a world where a unique phenomenon has arisen: people who have been murdered come back to life. No one knows why this has begun to happen, but “dispatchers” have been to assist in saving the life of those who are near death by “killing” them, which would allow them to come back to life.
The main character, Tony, is a Dispatcher who is called on to assist the police in finding a Dispatcher who has gone missing. The Story then becomes a whodunit to find the Dispatcher and the person responsible for his disappearance.
The story never really reaches a climax, and I found that I never really cared about what happened to the missing Dispatcher. The characters aren’t very well developed, and the most fascinating part of the story, murdered people who come back toife, is never really explored.
Great story and original concept. Characters were wonderful as well. Wouldn’t mind a full-novel followup. There definitely seemed to be potential for much grander storylines including an explanation of how it all began.
A short read with a punch. Mystery in the future with an ironic protagonist.
An interesting dystopian “whodunit”, seasoned with Scalzi’s witt.
Scalzi never disappoints, and this short is true Scalzi at his best. As well the audio book narration was the most satisfying I’ve heard in a long time. Zachary Quinto was excellent across all characters.
Another great Scalzi’s book