Ive said it before, and I’ll say it again: I really like John Scalzi’s books, and I enjoy the Dispatcher series, but if you asked me what my one problem with them are, I’d have to answer “core concept”. His worldbuilding is virtually nonexistent- he wanted to write mystery stories, gave them a fantastical bent, and never bothered to explain the how or why of resurrection (but only from murder). It allows him to tell the stories he wants to tell (I assume) but it leaves me unsatisfied, like eating only candy for dinner. That being said, his newest Dispatcher novella, Travel by Bullet, is fun, fast, and entertaining. The book tries to exist in a post pandemic world of occasional masking, which just feels jarring, since the world building in this novella is so thin as to be nearly nonexistent. In spite of all that, I enjoyed it, and will happily read the next volume when it comes out. Thanks to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
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