Dispatch by Bentley Little

Let me start by professing my love for Bentley Little. He has been, is, and forever will be one of my favorite authors. My bookshelves are overrun with every book he has ever written, and I will continue to purchase anything and everything he publishes. Having said that, I just finished Dispatch, first printed in 2005, and to say the least I was torn. It starts out about a young boy named Jason who has an infatuation with writing letters to the pen pal assigned to him in junior high English. At first it's a healthy obsession, he enjoys writing, telling white lies to make himself appear more regal, and he also enjoys the way he turns his pen pal (Kyoko, a Japanese girl) into an obsessed lover who lives halfway around the globe. He begins to enjoy the feeling he gets when he receives a new letter in the mail. The spark that ignites every time he sits down to write invigorates him. Soon, he branches out into writing letters as a hobby. He fights city hall and the governor to keep his favorite Mexican food restaurant open, for example. When he gets results, he turns his attention to fast food joints, movie theaters, theme parks, etc, receiving free food, tickets, and lodging in return. The more power he gets from small time letter writing the more fuel he burns in an interest in bigger arenas. So, he starts to take on the government, the newspapers, the media, and even the president. Writing letters becomes his life, everything and everyone else becomes second. Slowly but surely his life spirals out of control. The idea of writing being "all important" really hit a nerve with me, but I'm not sure it would with people who don't have the urge to write. Sure, you can substitute his addiction to letter writing with whatever you may be addicted to and connect on that level (read it and let me know how that turns out). I have been a fan of Little for longer than I can remember, and I LOVE most of his books. Hell, I damn near love ALL of them. Let's just say I haven't read a book he's written and felt robbed of my time. Yet, Dispatch is easily my least favorite to date. The story is great, man finds hobby, hobby turns to addiction, addiction turns all consuming, man wonders if he can change the world with his writing, man finds out there is more to Letter Writing than meets the eye, man must take down "the Ultimate Letter Writer" to save the world. It's a great metaphor for "one man can change the world." But, a little over half way through the novel Little introduces new characters, who end up being famous people who are supposed to be dead? Start the confusion, for both Jason and the reader. Jason goes on a binge of self doubt... "who am I?" "where did I come from?" etc etc. Not to mention the final "monster" at the end of the novel was so outrageous, I actually chuckled to myself, even when the mood suggested somber, life changing events. To quote the book "he's put himself into these letters, I realized. Not just figuratively, but literally. It was absurd but true, and somehow the damage I did to the letters was transmitted instantly to him." I couldn't have hit the nail more on the head...it was absurd. Although I enjoyed the book, more than most other horror books in fact, I am a bit jaded when it comes to Bentley Little. I have read so many of his GREAT books, that even the good ones (like Dispatch) just seem awful in comparison. If you are a first time reader of all things Little, pick up Dispatch, you will not be disappointed. It is full of great metaphors, amazing twists and turns, and some of the creepiest stalker letters I've ever read. I'll leave you with this...even Bentley Little's "bad stuff" is a thousand times better than most other authors "great stuff." Enjoy.