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The Dispatcher

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The Dispatcher

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Zachary Quinto
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About this listen

Winner, 2017 APA Audie Awards - Original Work

Zachary Quinto - best known for his role as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the recent Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer, Sylar, in Heroes - brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this audio-exclusive novella from master storyteller John Scalzi.

One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone - 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don't know. But it changes everything: war, crime, daily life.

Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher - a licensed, bonded professional whose job is to humanely dispatch those whose circumstances put them in death's crosshairs, so they can have a second chance to avoid the reaper. But when a fellow Dispatcher and former friend is apparently kidnapped, Tony learns that there are some things that are worse than death and that some people are ready to do almost anything to avenge a supposed wrong.

It's a race against time for Valdez to find his friend before it's too late...before not even a Dispatcher can save him.

©2016 John Scalzi (P)2016 Audible, Inc. Adventure Crime Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Murder Thought-Provoking Disappearance Detective Scary

Critic reviews

"The hero of this book is narrator Zachary Quinto, who makes a potentially confusing story simple and compelling. With a voice that sounds trained, he reaches right through the speakers and grabs listeners, making them want—no, need—to listen." (AudioFile)

"Quinto has a perfect hardboiled noir manner, which is exactly what you’d want for Valdez." (Locus Magazine)
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Zachary Quinto has yet to let me down on any of his acting and that includes his narrative performance here, great character differentiation, brilliantly done female characters which can be really hard for some of the deeper voiced male narrators. I don't know if it just me but John Scalzi just seems to keep getting better. This is another of his main characters who while intelligent, charming and likable, often lives with and has learned from the grey areas in his life and is unapologetic about that. The detective plot really drags you in, Scalzi's mix of cynicism and hope on the human condition, while still producing completely entertaining stories draws me in every time. Buy it while it's free sci fi, isn't usually my favourite genre but scalzi might convert you too.

Great plot

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Excellent stuff, an absolute unchartered minefield of overlapping ethics, science and spirituality. Outstanding narration by the voice artists, my only niche of a criticism is that the story could have been longer and more complex addressing the theology of life rather than just a speedy thrill fill. Much appreciated.

Great book....one can't get enough of.

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I got this as a freebie on Audible and thoroughly enjoyed it, would seek the author for further books!

Very good, interesting story, well presented.

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Great story well read by Zachary, looking forward to listening to the work of more stories by John.

Great listen

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I'll be honest, I read the description of this book and wasn't overly impressed. However, the fact that it was narrated Zachary Quinto made me download it.

After the first chapter I was hooked. ZQ's narration was good, not great but good. The story however was outstanding. A lot of entertainment in a small package.

If you download this book and are not impressed by the first chapter, it's probable that this book isn't for you.

Really good, very interesting concept

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