The Dispatcher Sequel “Murder By Other Means” Available September 10 on Audible Plus
Posted on August 24, 2020 Posted by John Scalzi 29 Comments
Admit it: were you just not thinking to yourself, “Hey, didn’t Scalzi tell us he wrote a sequel to The Dispatcher? Whatever happened to that?”
Here’s what happened to it: It’s called Murder by Other Means, and it’s coming out on Audible in audio first, as an Audible Original and as part of Audible’s new “Audible Plus” program, on September 10.
And now, your questions!
Why in audio first? Because, as with The Dispatcher, Audible paid for me to write it (this is why it’s an “Audible Original”), so they get first dibs on it.
Is Zachary Quinto back on board as the narrator for Murder by Other Means? Yes he is, and I’m very excited about that. He does a terrific job.
What is Audible Plus? It’s a new program, announced today, that gives Audible members access to (I’m quoting from Audible here) 11,000 audio titles covering over 68,000 hours’ worth of Audible Originals and podcasts, with more on the way every week. It’s all included in the cost of the current membership — so no additional credits or payment will be required to listen to Murder by Other Means. You’ll get it as part of your membership. There’s also an Audible Plus-only option available (Murder will be available there too). Here’s a write-up about it all in Deadline, with more details.
Audible Plus is in preview now for members (from whom they will be taking feedback for updates), and new customers who want to get a look at the preview can do so starting on August 27th.
Are any other Scalzi titles part of the Audible Plus program? As it happens, The Dispatcher is also now part of the Audible Plus program. It should be available through the program very soon, if not by the time you read this.
Why do I have to wait until September 10 for Murder by Other Means? Because life is like that sometimes, and your patience will be amply rewarded, I promise. In the meantime, if you’re a current Audible member, there are literally thousands of Audible Plus titles for you to check out and listen to.
I know nothing about the Dispatcher universe. Catch me up: It’s just like ours, except 999 times out of a thousand, if you intentionally kill someone, they come back (and they’re probably not happy with you). This gives rise to a class of professional killers, called Dispatchers, licensed to end people’s lives in order to bring them back to life safely (if, for example, a surgery goes wrong — dispatching them lets them try the surgery again, hopefully more successfully). Our hero Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher, and in both stories he’s caught up in larger nefarious plots and situations.
Well, that sounds exciting! Thank you. It is. And it’s not just me who thinks so: The Dispatcher won an Audie award and was a New York Times bestseller, so. Also, I’m not gonna lie to you, I think Murder by Other Means is even better.
There are now two stories in the Dispatcher universe, will there be any more? In fact, and this is an exclusive you are getting here first, there will be a third Dispatcher tale, and it will also be an Audible Original, and also part of the Audible Plus program.
Soon? I mean, I have to write it first, and I have some other stuff I have to write before I can get to it.
UGH BUT I WANT IT NOW. I feel you. But again, at least between now and then you’ll have lots of other Audible Plus material to tuck into. You’ll be fine, promise.
And that’s my big news for the day!
— JS
For those asking (including the person who just did): Print/ebook in 2021, from Subterranean Press, and it’s going to be tremendous. More details later. But it’s exclusively audio for a bit.
How long, or ever, do we have to wait for a good old paper book style version?
Cool. Can’t wait. I opened an audible account some years ago just so I could listen to the first Dispatcher story. Once the second story comes online I’ll have two titles in my Audible library! (I’m kidding, I have many more titles but they’re not as interesting).
That is great news for a Monday. Zachary Quinto was awesome on the first one, glad he came back. (No offense Wil!)
As much as I read you would think I would love audible books. But they don’t work for me. About 5 minutes in I realize I don’t have a clue what happened in the past 4 minutes. For whatever reason I can’t concentrate on them.
Not to besmirch others who like them, I just wish I was more like you.
Looking forward to the print version though. Any day I get a new Scalzi is A Good Day ™.
I’m not clear on this: is there going to be any way to purchase the audiobook version that ISN’T part of a subscription plan? I would rather be able to purchase it and keep it in my library indefinitely.
So, if you don’t have (or want) an Audible subscription, can you throw down a few bucks for it? I seem to recall that’s what I did with The Dispatcher, originally (or I had some credits or whatever). I’m not a huge audiobook person, so the subscription isn’t worthwhile for me, but if I have to sign up for a month, listen to this and cancel that works, too.
This is great news. The Dispatcher was the first of your works that I listened to/read and now I’ve read and listened to them all.
Excited! For a new Dispatcher book, that Zachary Quinto is still the narrator, and that there will be a third at some point. All yay!
I will admit that I’m not much on audio books. I tend to get sidetracked and want to multitask when I’m listening to things. But I did open an Audible account specifically to get the Dispatcher when it came out (and then later also bought the e-book). And now I have not only that but the Old Man’s War series and the Lock-In books, which I still enjoy listening to.
Were there discussions about whether or not to capitalize “By” in the title? Who decided, and what argument won the day?
I know, it’s a pointless debate, and doesn’t impact the telling (or selling) of the story a whit. But it seems like just the sort of thing that people like to argue about. Just curious…
How long is it in hours, or just relative to Dispatcher?
Also, take my money!
It’s longer than Dispatcher.
Can you please ask Audible to make this available in the UK? The book that is – I’m not fussed about “Audible plus”. I’ll stop there before I go into a rant about companies and people who seem to forget that the world exists past the US borders . . .(Yes I have e-mailed them myself but I am sure that they will listen more to Mr Scalzi than to random subscriber number 12345678) Thanks!
I assume that we will still be able to spend credits/$$ to get a copy of this? Or will it only be available through the subscription?
I sure wish Audible played nicer with public libraries. I love using my library’s audiobook service to liven up my commute. I’m not suuuper likely to take up an Audible membership for just this one title though. Ah well, the wait won’t kill me.
will this be another novella, or are you going full novel length for this one? (either is great, i’m just curious)
I’m glad to read that the Dispatcher is getting a followup. I’ll be listening to it soon after release. I’m looking forward into any clues you may have dropped as to why the world mysteriously changed overnight. But I don’t expect or even want hints now as to whether we get those clues in the story.
Super, something to look forward to in 2021! Well, I hope 2021 will feature other positive events, too, just to be clear, but a new print book in the Dispatcher series from Sub Press is definitely going to be a plus. Audio books aren’t really my thing but I surely don’t begrudge those who enjoy them, and at my age, I can be patient awaiting the hardcopy version.
Thanks for a much-needed day-brightener on a Monday, sir!
Still waiting on the goat book, Scalzi.
Long-time Audible subscriber (pre-Amazon) here. Grabbed Dispatcher when it was first released, and recently bought the ebook after someone mentioned in a con chat that it was available, since I somehow missed the Subterranean announcement. Really looking forward to this!
Seconding the question about whether this will be available without the subscription plan?
Steve Roth
Were there discussions about whether or not to capitalize “By” in the title? Who decided, and what argument won the day?
To engage in possibly derailing font neepery, since the rest of the words are in small caps, and the two letters in “by” are the same size, perhaps they aren’t capitalized?
Do we have to sign up for audible plus or can we just buy the audio book outright?
Unfortunately, as I’m severely deaf, I’m not able to get the story till it’s in print. This does feel discriminatory to me :( .
Ooh, exciting! (Reminder to self: listen to The Dispatcher again before the 10th.)
Terrific news. I thoroughly enjoyed the dispatcher. It accompanied us on one of our trips from CNY to Northern Alabama to visit our son and family. My wife, who reads like a fiend but eschews SciFi loved it. Zachary Quinto did an outstanding job.
I don’t, as a rule, like audiobooks but based on the Dispatcher experience I will likely be buying this one too.
Super excited for this. Dispatcher was the first book I read (listened to) by you, followed quickly by Old Man’s War of course, then almost everything else. Never been disappointed. Fuzzy Nation was a personal favorite.
Really exciting!!! Any idea when we might get it in the UK?
Yes. I want it now. Sigh… next best thing : I’m listening to The Dispatcher again for the nth time. Such a good story and that voice… best news on an otherwise bad day.