Dispatch

by Bentley Little

Book Overview

Jason Handford has a real gift for writing letters that get results-from complaints to love letters to editorials. Then he's offered a job to do it for a living. It consumes his time, his mind, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451216776
• ISBN13: 9780451216779
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

bizarre

I really wasn't sure how to categorize this book. It's a little horror, conspiracy, fiction, ..... It was also too long & a little boring. Jason is a guy who likes to write letters. Starting at a young age he is a master craftsman for writing letters. Throughout his life he wrote to a pen pal, complaints so he could get free stuff, threatening letters to get politicians & policies changed, letters to get people removed from job, movie reviews, music reviews, etc. We go on a journey with him & his letter writing that lands him a job with a nameless company that eventually all he does it write letters day in & day out BUT there is something amiss. The book was bizarre after that and really not worth the read

A Super Read that leads you on

Note: I made some Mormon angry because of my negative reviews of books out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews. Your "helpful" vote is greatly appreciated. Thanks A very short review is not necessarily a bad review. You don't want to re-tell the whole story. I try for the hook that will make a person want to read this book. In my opinion, you should read long reviews after you read the novel. Read a short review first. I was hooked on the main character. From the time he was a young teenager, he began writing letters to various companies complaining about their products, and his letters were so good he received free samples or coupons. He gradually goes far beyond getting free goodies to venturing into political writing. Eventually he is hired by an evil organization, and it goes on from there (supernaturally). A great climax! I really enjoyed this novel, and I also love the paperback cover illustration--very mysterious. Check it out in detail--the lighting on the building--evil! If you are interested in American history, check out my reviews of Mormon books from a non-Mormon perspective. For example: Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling Your votes and comments--positive or negative--are appreciated. Thanks. Read "The Store," by Bentley Little (a Walmart-style store literally takes over a small Arizona town--a supernatural element). It's great! The Store

PURLOINED LETTERS

Bentley Little, the modern master of creating horror from the ordinary things in life, has one of his best works in DISPATCH. While the novel's ending seems a little abrupt and not entirely satisfying, the book manages to hold your interest, and in Jason Handford, Little has created a hero/villain who is quite original. Jason is only able to communicate in letters; his father is an abusive alcoholic and his mother is an emotional vacuum, so Jason finds it easier to communicate by the written word. While starting out innocently enough in his youth by writing letters of complaint to fast food restaurants and other mundane affairs, he eventually starts writing letters that have impact on governmental and societal issues. He even becomes a murderer by mail. While the novel tends to become a little incredulous at times with its use of real life characters, Little is talented enough to keep his storyline unique and interesting. While not truly a horror novel, DISPATCH is a morality tale about the power of the written word and the impact of any kind of obsessive behavior. A good read for fans of the unusual.

Above Par for Bentley Little

As a longtime fan of Bentely Little's works, I've found this one to be the most intriguing to date. It follows the standard format for a Little book, in which an everyday character falls into what at first seems to be a normal situation, but which grows worse and worse until it has reached the point of supernatural. Very comparable to The Ignored or The Store in it's style, this book impressed me by leaving out some of the cheesy imagery and lackluster endings that have played such a major role in Little's last few books. The author offers more than a few surprises and poses enough questions to keep the reader interested. If Little can maintain the quality of this book, I look forward to his future works.

Different!

The horror novels of Bentley Little are always a little brainier and more socially conscious than those of his peers. Even when he's writing about vampires or haunted houses, he's tackling subjects like racism and conformity. In DISPATCH, Little examines not only the power of the written word, but he takes us on a darkly satirical journey through the last half of the 20th century. Closer to THE IGNORED than to his other novel's, it's a first-person narrative that riffs on Little's usual bete noires and concerns a man who can accomplish anything he wants by writing letters. A brilliant novel by one of contemporary fiction's top talents.

One of his most gripping thrillers yet!

Jason Hanford is a letter writer. Make that Letter Writer. He writes letters--and his letters get results. If he writes a complaint letter to a theme park, he gets free passes. If he writes an editorial scathing the president's economical plans, he gets a responding letter from the president himself. There is no doubt that Jason Hanford was born to write...and someone out there knows this. Jason begins to receive mysterious letters, detailing dreams he has had, horrible nightmares that seem all-too-real. When Jason's life begins to spiral downwards, when his marriage ends in divorce and seperation from his wife and child, when he loses his job and is danger of losing his home...Jason gets a job offer. From someone who wants him to do nothing but that thing he feels most compelled to do: write letters. It is a job that will change Jason's life...and may very well COST him his life. "Dispatch" is yet another rivetting, satirical, shocking novel by the always-enjoyable Bentley Little. The ending is a bit predictable for Little's die-hard fans, but that's okay--we really don't care that much, because it's the ride UP TO the ending that we're most interested in. And what a thrill it is! "Dispatch" will keep you turning the pages until the very end...where you may even feel compelled to go back and read it all over again. With the lights on, of course. And you might not want to open your mail.