 | |
| Author | John Scalzi |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novella |
| Publication place | United States |
The Dispatcher is a 2016 science fiction novella by John Scalzi. [1] It was originally published as an audiobook from Audible, read by Zachary Quinto. [2]
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.
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". [3]
Kirkus Reviews observed that "[t]here 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. [4]
The Dispatcher was followed in 2020 by Murder 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.
In 2021, Deadline Hollywood announced that a television adaptation of The Dispatcher was being planned, with Uri Singer as producer. [5]
Amber Benson is an American actress, writer, director, and producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1999–2002), and has directed, produced and starred in her own films Chance (2002) and Lovers, Liars & Lunatics (2006). She also starred in the movie Kiss the Bride (2007). She co-directed the film Drones (2010) with fellow Buffy cast member Adam Busch, and starred as a waitress in the crime thriller The Killing Jar (2010).
John Michael Scalzi II is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Old Man's War series, three novels of which have been nominated for the Hugo Award, and for his blog Whatever, where he has written on a number of topics since 1998. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2008 based predominantly on that blog, which he has also used for several charity drives. His novel Redshirts won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel. He has written non-fiction books and columns on diverse topics such as finance, video games, films, astronomy, writing and politics, and served as a creative consultant for the TV series Stargate Universe.
Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer. She has written 24 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, Blindsighted (2001), was published in 27 languages and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001.
Agent to the Stars is a science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi. It tells the story of Tom Stein, a young Hollywood agent who is hired by an alien race to handle the revelation of their presence to humanity.
Zachary John Quinto is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series Heroes (2006–2010); Spock in the film Star Trek (2009) and its sequels Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016); Charlie Manx in the AMC series NOS4A2, and Dr. Oliver Thredson in American Horror Story: Asylum, for which he received a nomination for an Emmy Award. He stars in and produces Brilliant Minds, a medical drama on NBC. His other starring film roles include Margin Call (2011), Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), Snowden (2016), and Hotel Artemis (2018). He also appeared in smaller roles on television series, such as So Notorious, The Slap, and 24, and on stage in Angels in America, The Glass Menagerie, and Smokefall.
Kim Gruenenfelder is an American author and screenwriter. She became known for writing women's fiction, specifically romantic comedy fiction, novels.
Fuzzy Nation is a 2011 novel by John Scalzi, described as a reboot of H. Beam Piper's 1962 novel Little Fuzzy.
Lock In is a science fiction police procedural novel by American writer John Scalzi. The book was published by Tor Books on August 26, 2014. The audiobook of the novel was released in two versions, one narrated by Wil Wheaton and the other by Amber Benson.
The End of All Things is a science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi, the sixth book set in the Old Man's War universe.
Head On is a science fiction police procedural novel by American writer John Scalzi. The book was published by Tor Books on April 17, 2018. Audible has released two audiobook editions, each with a different narrator, Amber Benson and Wil Wheaton. It is a standalone sequel to Lock In.
The Consuming Fire is a space opera novel by American writer John Scalzi. The book was published by Tor Books on October 16, 2018. Audible released an audio book version narrated by Wil Wheaton. It is the middle volume of The Interdependency trilogy and a sequel to The Collapsing Empire; the third and final book, The Last Emperox, was published on 14 April 2020. The Consuming Fire reached #15 on The New York Times bestseller list for combined print and e-book fiction.
Space Opera is a 2018 science fiction novel by Catherynne Valente, about a galactic version of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was first published by Saga Press.
If It Bleeds is a collection of four previously unpublished novellas by American writer Stephen King. The stories in the collection are titled "Mr. Harrigan's Phone", "The Life of Chuck", "If It Bleeds", and "Rat". It was released on April 28, 2020.
Tamsyn Elizabeth Muir is a New Zealand fantasy, science fiction, and horror author best known for The Locked Tomb, a science fantasy series of novels. Muir won the 2020 Locus Award for her first novel, Gideon the Ninth, and has been nominated for several other awards as well.
The Silence is a short novel by Don DeLillo. It was published by Scribner on October 20, 2020. An audiobook version was released the same day, narrated by Laurie Anderson, Jeremy Bobb, Marin Ireland, Robin Miles, Jay O. Sanders and Michael Stuhlbarg.
My Monticello is a 2021 fiction collection written by debut author Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, published October 5, 2021 by Henry Holt and Co. The books consists of five short stories and an eponymous novella.
Craig Odell, better known by his pen name Craig Alanson, is an American author and audio playwright of science fiction and fantasy works, most notably the New York Times best-sellingExpeditionary Force series.
A Very Scalzi Christmas is a Christmas holiday-themed short story collection by John Scalzi published in November 2019.
The Kaiju Preservation Society is a science fiction novel written by American author John Scalzi. It was first published in hardcover and ebook by Tor Books, and audiobook by Audible Studios, on March 15, 2022; British hardcover and ebook editions were released by Tor UK on March 17, 2022. A large print hardcover edition was issued by Thorndike Press on July 27, 2022, and a trade paperback edition by Tor Books on January 24, 2023. The book has been translated into Italian, German, and Japanese.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye is an upcoming science fiction novel written by American author John Scalzi. It is due to be published in hardcover and ebook by Tor Books, and audiobook by Audible Studios, on March 25, 2025.
The Dispatcher title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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