The Dispatcher – Carol's Notebook

Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi

March 16, 2023March 16, 2023 by CarolNo Comments

The Dispatcher series is set in an alternative present world, except for unknown reasons starting a few years prior 99.9% of murder victims come back to life, their bodies reset to a few hours earlier, reappearing somewhere (usually their home) where they feel safe. Dispatchers are licensed to murder (dispatch) critically injured, dying people to save their lives. This time around by saving a friend's life, Tony ends up in a mess, as always. This time it revolves around shady cryptocurrency and a few ethically questionable billionaires. It's a fun story, with a fast pace, snappy dialogue, and well-used humor. There were a couple of twists and turn I should have seen coming and Tony is very lucky to be on good terms with useful people. Travel by Bullet does take place in post-pandemic Chicago which adds an interesting layer. With most books, I'd rather the pandemic be left out, but here Scalzi uses it well, both as it affects the...

Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

First, go back and listen to The Dispatcher if you haven't already. Murder by Other Means is the sequel and I don't think it would be best as a stand-alone. The world is pretty much like our world except 99.9% of murder victims come back to life, transported from the murder scene to someplace they feel safe, usually their home. Tony Valdez is a dispatcher, someone who steps in and kills you when you’re at risk of an unintentional death, like a car accident or unsuccessful surgery, letting you live 99.9% of the time. This time around, Tony is taking some jobs that are maybe not as legal as he would like, but money is getting tight all around. It starts going awry when he is hired to help a businessman make it to China quicker than he could by plane. Then he's a witness to a bank robbery that goes bad. When people start dying and Tony needs...

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

April 26, 2019May 4, 2021 by Carol10 Comments

The Dispatcher was one of the the free Audible Originals this month and since I'm a Scalzi fan of course I picked it up. At heart it's a mystery. A man is missing, probably kidnapped based on the evidence at his home. One of his co-workers is coerced by the investigator on the case to help her, since he knows the ins and outs of the victim's job better than she does. The kicker is that the man was a dispatcher. In a world where it's almost impossible to be murdered—you can die of natural causes or an accident, but those who are murdered come back 99.9% of the time—dispatchers provide a second chance. They kill you if an operation goes awry, if you're injured beyond hope in a car accident. Then, you wake up at home, naked, but otherwise fine, just like you were in the few hours before the trauma. Tony is a good guy, at least at the...