''The Dispatcher'' is a 2016 science fiction

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

by John Scalzi. It was originally published as an audiobook from Audible, read by Zachary Quinto.John Scalzi's The Dispatcher: Zachary Quinto to narrate
by Isabella Biedenharn; at '' Entertainment Weekly''; published August 30, 2016; retrieved December 22, 2021

Synopsis

In the wake of an unexplained phenomenon worldwide — when people are deliberately killed, they almost always disappear from their site of death and reappear, reset to several hours earlier, in a safe place — the profession of "Dispatcher" evolves. Dispatchers euthanize mortally-injured people before their natural deaths, enabling them to reset. Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher recruited by the police to assist in investigating the disappearance of another Dispatcher.

Reception

National Public Radio considered the book "thin" and "a little bit rushed (because, you know, ''novella'')", but praised Scalzi's "fertile and weird imagination" , and noted that "the most interesting ideas come as asides, hints, hypotheticals".'The Dispatcher' Is A Short Stroll In A Strange Neighborhood
by Jason Sheehan; at National Public Radio; published May 31, 2017; retrieved December 22, 2021 ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' observed that " ere are, frustratingly, no answers" provided to the question of why the resurrections began, and noted that, due to its origins as an audiobook, the novella is "dialogue-heavy and descriptive-light", with the "sense of Valdez’s character and voice" that was provided by Quinto's performance, not being present in the text. Dispatching the Dead
by Thea James, at ''

''; published May 19, 2017; retrieved December 22, 2021

Sequels

''The Dispatcher'' was followed in 2020 by ''Death By Other Means'' and in 2022 by ''Travel By Bullet''. Like the original, the sequels follow Dispatcher Tony Valdez and were initially released exclusively on Audible, both still narrated by Zachary Quinto.

Adaptation

In 2021, '' Deadline Hollywood'' announced that a television adaptation of ''The Dispatcher'' was being planned, with Uri Singer as producer.Zachary Quinto-Narrated Audible Original ‘The Dispatcher’ Being Adapted As TV Series With Uri Singer
by Peter White, at '' Deadline Hollywood''; published December 20, 2021; retrieved December 22, 2021

References

External links

2016 American novels 2016 science fiction novels American speculative fiction novellas Speculative crime and thriller fiction Novels by John Scalzi {{2010s-sf-novel-stub