Dispatcher 2: Done!
Posted on January 13, 2020 Posted by John Scalzi 12 Comments
For those of you who were wondering if there would ever be a sequel to The Dispatcher, the answer is: Yes. I have literally just now finished writing it, and it is good, if I do say so myself. Like the original, it is a novella, and it will be an Audible exclusive audiobook first, and then available in print/ebook via Subterranean Press some months after that.
And no, Dispatcher 2 is not the actual title. It will have a different and much less numerical title very soon, i.e., after I give my brain a tiny bit of a rest.
Also, at the moment in time there is no other information available, including release dates, narrator for the audiobook, or anything else. As noted, I have literally just finished writing it. I need to dunk my fingers in ice water. Everything else is to come. Rest assured I will let you know things when I know things.
In the meantime: Yay! I’m done with something! And it’s only the 13th of January! It’s been a productive 2020 so far.
Yay! Yipeee! Woo hoo! Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Eeeeeeeeee! Woot!
(that is all.)
Cue the slags who will use this as obvious evidence of your pending demise… In all seriousness, this is great news. I enjoyed the first in audiobook format (not a format I usually pursue) and only regret not having a hard copy yet.
I loved book 1! Exciting news.
Hopefully Mr. Quinto will narrate the new one. I’m crossing my fingers.
This is good news and I eagerly await more details like a release date, while knowing that information is not currently available.
I’ll also say, knowing that you’ll never answer, that I hope this next Dispatcher story gives us some hints as to why death has such a strange complication in the world of the story. But I’d buy and read it even if you outright said it doesn’t give anything on that front. I really liked the first story, so I’ll be there for “D2.”
Just knowing it’s in the pipeline is great news. It’s like you’ve planted a book seed that you plan to harvest early… hence, a novella. I await the harvest and will dance in the fields merrily singing.
Every time I hear the word “Novella”, I’m reminded of the Stephen King essay / book forward “Welcome to the land of Novella!”. This funny little gem of writing was in the book “Different Seasons” that collected such Novellas as “Stand by Me”, “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” and what became “Apt Pupil”. One more I can’t recall. A stunning collection of stories. Novellas all.
Cool — a new book to look forward to and I got to pre-order The Last Emperox today! A good day.
Not one of your novellas, but I was looking at a straight-to-ebook-novella on Amazon the other day. One reviewer was totally outraged that it was not a full length novel, even though the price was proportional to the length ($3.99 US for about 100-125 pages iirc.) Some people just don’t know what that word means.
Ooh, very excited! The Dispatcher is an excellent length for the drive from Portland to Seattle (barring really terrible traffic), and has kept me entertained and engaged on that drive several times.
(Not that I choose books by length, just that it’s a great bonus to a great novella.)
Maybe it will be called “The Dispatching” or “The Dispatched”
… or “The Dispatcherer” ;)
Wonderful news! Though if your part of the world is as cold as ours, I’d suggest hot compresses on those overworked fingers rather than ice water. To each his own, of course.
Now that you’ve done the heavy lifting for us, we’ll wait patiently for announcements to emerge about when we can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Thank you for all that you do!
I loved The Dispatcher and cannot wait for the follow-up! Zachary Quinto was a great choice as a narrator! I hope he does the second one too!