The Dispatcher: Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi

Reviewed by Jeanne

Somewhere in the not too distant future, death becomes a bit less certain.  For whatever reason, people who are murdered may not die, but reappear in another place, sans clothing but unharmed.  This has given rise to a new job:  dispatcher.  These are trained and licensed professionals who work with the police and hospitals to officially “murder” people on the brink of death in hopes of having them reappear in better condition. It’s not infallible: 999 times out of 1000, the person returns, but that one time the victim will remain dead.

It’s not a profession for the faint of heart.

Tony Valdez is a dispatcher but he’s currently unemployed and struggling, so when a job comes up that isn’t exactly legal he is inclined to bend the rules just a little to pay the rent.  Shortly thereafter, Tony is present when a robbery goes wrong and soon it seems that someone is trying to set him up for something.  He’s going to have to find out who and why before someone else dies—and dies for good.

John Scalzi writes intriguing speculative fiction with a sense of humor and off-beat situations that still manage to be serious.  This novella is the second in the series, and although I hadn’t read the first book, I still had no problem keeping up.  I like that his main characters are usually decent people who follow a moral code and try to do the right thing no matter the circumstances.  His books are very creative as well as entertaining, and he plays off other genres, such as hard-boiled detective for this one, or fandoms, such as Star Trek for Redshirts. One of his more recent books, Starter Villain, gives me a sort of James Bond feel except that maybe sometimes the villains can be—well, maybe not exactly the good guys, but the not-so-bad guys.

Though short, I thoroughly enjoyed this entry in the series and recommend Scalzi to folks who think they don’t like fantasy or science fiction.