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.

Clever Premise Mostly Unexplored

Several years ago, on the strength of something I started and gave up on almost immediately, I pegged Scalzi as a genre hack. I can’t remember what I read, but I know it reminded me of what I think of as the worst in fantasy: something that took itself too seriously, felt bloated, and depended on trite elements of the form.

Lately, though, I’ve been hearing things that made me think I might have miscast him. Someone somewhere praised his more recent non-fantasy series, and then this book came up on sale and mercifully short. So, I gave it a shot.

In praise of this, I did finish it. What’s more, I admire the root premise: it’s a world where something has changed so that anyone murdered by another returns to life. I grant the intriguing possibilities of that potentially supernatural phenomenon. I further grant that it’s an interesting move to imagine specialists in killing in such a changed world. These dispatchers kill people – usually in hospitals – so they will avoid natural deaths and thereby return to life.

But that’s about where my admiration stops. There’s a mystery in place, but there’s little grace in its exposition or its solution. It’s set in Chicago so, of course, it involves the mob. It also involves hot dogs and the best toppings for them, however briefly. And there’s a cop with whom our protagonist reluctantly partners. None of that material is especially compelling or memorable.

Worse, Scalzi barely mines the implications of his premise. He has his character embrace a too-easy agnosticism. When someone asks if the phenomenon of such resurrections is proof of the divine, he suggests a better proof would be for people to stop wanting to kill each other. That’s a good line, but it suggests a disappointing lack of interest in something so profound.

Since anyone who murders someone provokes this response, it isn’t clear why we need specialists like Valdez. Wouldn’t it make sense for doctors just to kill patients whose operations they’ve botched? Why bring in an outsider when anyone could do it?

In an even more glaring oversight, there’s no real consideration about the change in the value of a life if it’s suddenly so much harder to get killed. Beyond the theological implications, there ought to be existential ones: what does it mean to be alive if, suddenly, we get more chances at life than just the one? I’m not asking for Sartre, but I am asking for something along the lines of the excellent insights of Claire North’s The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.

Anyway, I’m willing to bump Scalzi up one notch from the pay-no-mind-at-all level I first assigned him to, but I’m not persuaded to try any more of his work.

Good Grief This Was Good

Any additional comments?

A phenomenal book, such that I don't believe John Scalzi is the author. I quite like Scalzi's works, but I think of them as highly entertaining mediocrity. First with Lock In and now this, I think he has grown to a new level.

Scalzi's standard humor that he is known for is absent in this book, but do not let that scare you off. It may be short, but there is a solid and strong story here that kept me riveted to the end. Then after I had finished it, I kept thinking about it long after the last words were spoken.

And spoken they were! Zachary Quinto is phenomenal!

Truly this is an easy recommendation to anyone who wants a thriller or a mystery with a clever spin.

Has a few flaws but still good

It's an interesting short story with an unusual premise and I would definitely recommend it, but it does have a few flaws. First, as much as a I like John Scalzi, not EVERY main character has to be a wise cracking super sarcastic hero whenever he's under the gun, and for this guy in particular it felt out of character. Second, I don't buy that someone who has spent years doing shady, probably illegal deals on the side decides to start hinting about it and late spilling his guts to a police officer he just met. Last, Zachary Quinto is a great actor and he does an awesome just with the voices, BUT there is nothing more irritating than a voice actor breathing into the microphone, which he does when he's doing the old woman voice.

IT'S HARD TO GET MYSTICAL ABOUT YOUR JOB

IT'S JUST TAX MONEY
1. Those who love Scalzi's sense of humor, need to know that this has none of that.
2. This is dark and serious
3.This has none of the he said, she said, that seems to upset some people.
4. There is not an iota of science in this.
5. This is more of a paranormal, and seems to be a set up for a series similar to Harry Dresden.
5. Nothing is ever explained as far as the phenomenon that leads to dispatchers. Dispatchers kill people just before they die of other causes. This makes them come back alive 999 times out of 1000.
6. It is entertaining and worth your time.
7. narrator is top notch

3.69 stars...not bad for a short story

I got this as a Daily Deal for $1, so it was definitely worth that. It was a nice short story, but nothing that would cause me to immediately download more John Scalzi books. The story is a bit above average, and the same goes for the narrator.There's nothing exceptional or terrible here. It's an easy, short listen, and it is somewhat entertaining. If you're not looking to get into anything long or complicated and just want a good performance of a decent story that will hold your attention, then The Dispatcher is for you.

Overall rating: 3.69 stars

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.

ehh

It starts like it's going to have a deep and interesting ending. then it ends without answering anything. very disappointing and the first original I haven't liked

Story is a bit Bradbury. Narrator is a bit Bueller.

I enjoyed this “what if” premise. It had a strong Bradbury flavor. The sophomoric use of bad language gave the story a slightly juvenile edge but at least it wasn't constant. The biggest downfall of this audiobook was Zachary Quinto’s decision to use the same voice for both of the most prominent characters - one male, one female, (well, he uses a slightly different accent)the only. While I appreciate the fact that he didn’t do the idiotic falsetto that so many male narrators unwisely choose for their female dialogue, he needed something more, because Scalzi writes a lot of conversation without dialogue tags. Also, when there was a chunk of tagless dialogue, that one rudder - the slightly different accent - that you could use to navigate between the two main characters disappeared.The result was me not knowing who was talking at all from time to time.

Also, Quinto sounds like he has a perpetually stuffed up nose. I wanted him to blow it. Badly. I’m not sure I could do a full length audiobook with him as narrator.

The story is a bit anticlimactic but has interesting (mostly theological with a spattering of scientific) musings along the way. I enjoyed it. On par with Koontz’s Odd Thomas or Ray Bradbury, but a little less sophisticated.

Great premise to an engrossing story

Quick book to finish; great narration and entertaining story with an intriguing premise. Highly recommended.

Quinto & Scalzi - perfect pairing

This is the second time I've listened to this production and it is even better this time around.

Quinto's performance of Elaine's message in particular is heart breaking. His perfect pauses and subtle timing throughout make this story such a joy to listen to. Quinto acts each character, vocally delineates each and carries the listener through their arcs with deceptive ease...it really can not be that easy to do....

I am a fan of Scalzi's 'Lock In' duo and enjoyed the first several books in the 'Old Man's War' series...just never finished the series. I would be very pleased if 'The Dispatcher' had sequels - especially if Quinto reprises his performance.

Great book....one can't get enough of.

Excellent stuff, an absolute unchartered minefield of overlapping ethics, science and spirituality. Outstanding narration by the voice artists, my only niche of a criticism is that the story could have been longer and more complex addressing the theology of life rather than just a speedy thrill fill. Much appreciated.

Great plot

Zachary Quinto has yet to let me down on any of his acting and that includes his narrative performance here, great character differentiation, brilliantly done female characters which can be really hard for some of the deeper voiced male narrators. I don't know if it just me but John Scalzi just seems to keep getting better. This is another of his main characters who while intelligent, charming and likable, often lives with and has learned from the grey areas in his life and is unapologetic about that. The detective plot really drags you in, Scalzi's mix of cynicism and hope on the human condition, while still producing completely entertaining stories draws me in every time. Buy it while it's free sci fi, isn't usually my favourite genre but scalzi might convert you too.

Good story but Great narration

Zachary Quinto's performance made this short story amazing, he's a great actor and it shows. I will definitely listen to another story by John Scalzi as he's a good author and hope I can find something else read by Quinto.

Very good, interesting story, well presented.

I got this as a freebie on Audible and thoroughly enjoyed it, would seek the author for further books!

A lovely surprise!

I only grabbed this because it was free (why wouldn't you?), was highly sceptical and then had my expectations blown away! I loved the short story and immediately looked at the authors other works, I could quite happily listen to another book set in this world - it's very rare to come across an original idea handled so interestingly!

really good story, unique perspective.

I picked this up as it was a free book but it totally delivered. great plot, concept & characters. I hope this will be pulled out in to other books

Creepy

But excellent. Proper intelligent sci-fi story telling. the plot remains logical all the way through to the end.

The narration is top notch.

Imagine Philips Marlow played by bogart on the set of a doctor who story for adults.

What a cracking story!

Terrific narration, super story. I laughed out loud at the lift shaft part. Read and you'll know the bit. Well worth a read

Great listen

Great story well read by Zachary, looking forward to listening to the work of more stories by John.

waste of time

When I finished a book I like to mull it over before reviewing. Not This one. This book just left me exasperated and irritated. There was nothing to recommend. The narrator was adequate. The characters were cardboard. The plot was so poor that words fail me. Thankfully, mercifully, the redeeming feature is that it was short.