The Dispatcher

Murder by Other Means

hardcover, 192 pages

Published April 30, 2021 by Subterranean.

ISBN:
978-1-64524-017-4
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (1 review)

2 editions

Review of 'The Dispatcher' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

John Scalzi has some absolutely incredible novels. He's one of the best sff authors at worldbuilding. His characters have real-life problems, and their pain and suffering helps suspend the disbelief. The Dispatcher is not a great novel, but it is a very good example how this writer can pull a single thread (a weak one to be sure) and see how everything collapses. The principal idea is that when people are murdered, they are resurrected in a safe place. John Scalzi takes this simple thought out for a ride. When it branches to philosophy halfway through the story, the story deliivers hugely.

I love his bigger stories a lot more, but this guy is really talented, and maybe it's in the smaller pieces that it shows most. Well-played!