John Scalzi has some absolutely incredible novels. He's one of the best sff authors at worldbuilding. His characters have real-life problems, and their pain and suffering helps suspend the disbelief. The Dispatcher is not a great novel, but it is a very good example how this writer can pull a single thread (a weak one to be sure) and see how everything collapses. The principal idea is that when people are murdered, they are resurrected in a safe place. John Scalzi takes this simple thought out for a ride. When it branches to philosophy halfway through the story, the story deliivers hugely.

I love his bigger stories a lot more, but this guy is really talented, and maybe it's in the smaller pieces that it shows most. Well-played!