In The Dispatcher: Travel by Bullet, John Scalzi continues to explore a world where death is, sort of, optional. (See my review of the first Dispatcher novel here: https://readingglutton.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-dispatcher-by-john-scalzi.html.) The first thing to know, which you would know if you read either of the first 2 books in the series, is that people can be "dispatched" to a previous condition, in other words, if they are killed they simply revert back to their previous physical condition, waking up naked in a comfortable place. It's a weird as it sounds, but Scalzi skillfully makes it not weird.
The dispatcher aids in this process, or counsels against it, based on the situation. Scalzi's dispatcher gets himself involved with some underworld characters, who are involved with some billionaires, who have plans for expanding their power. To be honest, as much as I admire Scalzi's ability to place this unusual feature (dispatching) in an otherwise normal contemporary setting (dealing with the aftereffects of the pandemic, people getting used to the idea of cryptocurrency), the story itself didn't capture me. The schemes of evil men and women, the cartoonish desire to control and direct affairs, the sneakiness of the characters to artificially twist the plot combined to make me glad the book was short.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Dispatcher-Travel-Bullet-John-Scalzi-ebook/dp/B0BX73GGL4/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=2ExZV&content-id=amzn1.sym.22f5776b-4878-4918-9222-7bb79ff649f4&pf_rd_p=22f5776b-4878-4918-9222-7bb79ff649f4&pf_rd_r=143-3430325-8911026&pd_rd_wg=MJZNa&pd_rd_r=b49fe922-aa44-48d8-b906-a8cf309982fe&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk&_encoding=UTF8&tag=readingglut0b-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=6d2934a31faf49ed0880ca4f9da5a45d&camp=1789&creative=9325">The Dispatcher Travel by Bullet</a>
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