The Dispatcher

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Zachary Quinto

Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Winner, 2017 APA Audie Awards - Original Work

From master storyteller and Hugo Award-winner John Scalzi comes this Audible Original novella, winner of the 2017 Audie Award for Best Original Work. Emmy-nominated actor Zachary Quinto—best known for his roles as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer Sylar in Heroes—brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this genre-bending thriller.

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.

Enter Tony Valdez, professional Dispatcher. True to their name, these licensed assassins are tasked with humanely disposing of people in death’s crosshairs to offer them a second chance at avoiding the reaper. When a friend and fellow Dispatcher goes missing, Valdez is plunged into a web of intrigue both professional and personal.

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.

©2016 John Scalzi (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Sounds Like Television.

I am not a snob about clothes (you’d agree if you could see me). I’m not a snob about food. Or wine. Or bourbon. Or cars. But I am…um…particular about the books I read and listen to. The current popular fiction I glimpse on tablets or in paperback editions on the train seems, mostly, like nothing that would do much to elevate my mind or illuminate my inner being.

Does that sound horrible? I don’t mean for it to. It’s just that I’ve got more life behind me than ahead of me, and I want every book to count. Not trying to be dramatic. It’s just the truth.

So, when Audible offered The Dispatcher for free last October, I only snapped it up because I thought I might be wrong. I might be dismissing great stories just because they weren’t time-tested classics. I might be a victim of my own, perhaps too-precious discernment.

Turns out I was wrong. True, the Dispatcher sounds just like those books I sometimes read over peoples’ shoulders on the way to and from work: like television. Not in any way demanding. No need to rewind and savor a sentence or pause to mull over a fresh insight into the human dilemma. But I enjoyed it thoroughly.

This is a great little piece of science fiction. An odd thing is happening to people who get murdered: they come back. Scalzi’s accomplishment here is to make that completely believable, and then to play out some of the possibilities that scenario offers. Granted, there was far more profanity than I’m used to. Some of the social attitudes annoyed me. And I’m not sure I could have stood an entire novel in the same style. But I enjoyed this short, crisp, well-wrought story very much.

I admit to being out of the loop about what our narrator, Zachary Quinto, has done on stage and screen. But his performance, while excellent overall, got a little shaky in the distinguishing-the-voices department, probably the toughest part of audiobook narration.

sweet

Finally a good performance of female characters by a male performer. Almost every male performer gives females the most ridiculous falsetto and intonation. Quinto is calm and sounds like the voice in my head without the strain of most male actors. Plus it was a super fun story, although without Quinto I suspect it would have sucked.

Outstanding

The suspense and story twists would make a terrific movie.
No one else could come up with a story like this.

Great Concept And Fun Story!

I love the concept for this story, and Zachary Quinto performs it phenomenally. If this isn't optioned for film in the near future, I will be incredibly surprised. Definitely recommended if you're a fan of Scalzi's.

Very interesting storyline

i will listen sgain, zonked out midstory because of tiredness; overall great story and thrilling to boot. Likeable characters and up to date in current events.

Great story - best Scalzi I've heard

The fact that I got this for free isn't a reason for me to give it high marks -- I've hated other free offerings -- but this short story is definitely worth it. I enjoyed the writing far more than the other Scalzi audiobooks I've listened to, and the narration was also very good (and better than previous narration).

The story isn't really science fiction, in the sense that there's really no science involved - it's more like a fantasy or paranormal story, but without dragons, ghosts, or vampires. What it does have is people returning from the dead. Sometimes. Without explanation.

Very good.

Interesting Premise

This is a very intriguing premise which evolves into an interesting mystery. All of the conundrums link together at the end into a believable scenario.

Too much swearing!

If they cut all the swearing out I think the story was interesting. But the constant swearing was a distraction from the story.

Quinto is fantastic

Story had a faclscinating premise but sort of petered out at the end. Still very enjoyable especially because of narrator.

Great short story!

Zachary Quinta voice is perfect this this sort of Narrative! Can't wait for more of "Sylar/Spok"!