The Dispatcher

Award-winning sci-fi author Scalzi presents another gripping, thought-provoking tale, set in a world much like ours, where life and death have been turned inside out. Those who die of natural causes remain dead, but those killed by another person are resurrected within minutes, in bed, naked and confused, with the last eight to 40 hours of trauma erased. Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher, licensed, bonded, insured, and psychoanalyzed by the Agency to humanely kill people who are at immediate risk of death. When the police coerce Valdez into helping them find a missing Dispatcher, it becomes apparent that Valdez does not always play by the rules. The story deftly explores the ambiguous morality of dispatching, its use and abuse, and its effects on those dispatched. Valdez is an appealing antihero—smart, maybe too smart, and laconic. Teens will devour this slim, riveting novella in a single sitting.