Just Dial 911 for Assistance

by Jason Krumbine

Slice of Life/Family

Chris Allen is going to have a busy 12 days. He's a 911 Dispatcher and part-time online columnist. Family's coming into town for his brother's wedding, Chris is trying to get a new girlfriend, but his ex is still hanging around, a 911 call gone wrong is probably going to send him to court and then there's the impending book deal for his online column. There's also a lot of people talking about sex.

Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Comedy, Contemporary Romance, Romance

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2007

About the author

Jason Krumbine loves to write! He's happily married and lives in Manhattan, NY where he enjoys reading in Central Park, going to movies and discovering new stand-up comedians. You can connect with Jason at either his website, www.jasonkrumbine.com, Facebook, Twitter (@jasonkrumbine) or good ole' fashion email onestrayword@gmail.com. He's always up for a talk about the newest Star Trek movie or what's happening in the world of comic books and TV.

Reviews

[Charissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a dispatcher I thought this would be a fun read. However, I was a little disappointed in the grammatical errors, somewhat unbelievable characters and lack of solid ending for the book. I really enjoyed the story at first and that's what kept me coming back. But nothing takes me out of a story quicker than the misuse of then/than (frequent in this book). I also questioned some of the character development. For example, the narrator doesn't have sex and is a virgin but we get little sense of why he's made that decision or why its important to him. Since the book is written mostly in "witty banter" dialog its difficult to get more than snatches of information about the characters. The book fizzles out at the end leaving you with several questions unanswered and a few plot lines unfinished.
As I said, I enjoyed the story and genuinely wanted to know more about these characters. I especially liked the scenes in the dispatch center. It was obvious the author has either spent a lot of time around dispatchers or was thorough in his research. And the use of a new trainee as an audience surrogate was fairly effective. I was even willing to suspend belief about how dispatchers truly act in a professional setting and enjoy the zany antics of these fictional people.

[Radella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Allen is a 911 operator and part time columnist. He's got a lot going on in his life right now, but he somehow manages to make it through. It's an oddly flavored book... and comes off more realistic for the mix. While Chris and his friend Joey are both happily no-sex-until-marriage virgins, there's general discussion of masturbation and the neighbor's exhibitionist sex life. Life in the dispatch center is rife with foul language and obscene gestures, which at some points had me literally laughing out loud. It's not the holier than thou tone that some Christian fiction takes on, but a much more realistic take on the lifestyle. (not that I would really categorize it as Christian fiction, more that it has some of the same general themes...)

The book is written almost exclusively in dialogue, that can be sometimes difficult to keep up with- sometimes there's more than one conversation going on at a time. However, Chris is a witty, charmingly irreverent character and makes reading the story almost like having a conversation. I thoroughly enjoyed the lighthearted, breezy book.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a 911 dispatcher, I came across this book and decided to give it a try. I was absolutely appalled at how unprofessional and childish the author made public safety dispatchers appear in this book. I will have to give the author some credit though, besides his fantasy/nightmare scenario of an actual dispatch center, there were points where the actual dialogue was witty and interesting. I'd say don't quit your day job, but if (BIG IF) the author is an actual 911 dispatcher, that probably would be a very good idea.

[Caedy Eries · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept me laughing through most of it. Seriously Chris Allen is a smart ass and I couldn't get enough of him!

[Angela Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was okay, I both liked and disliked the "jumpiness" of it. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with the characters and who was speaking; however I loved the main character's tone. ONE HUGE DISLIKE IS HIS USE OF THE WORD RETARD. Whenever someone uses that word in a negative connotation or as an insult I find they have a limited vocubulary. I almost stopped reading the book when I came across this.

[Donna Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book by this author that i've read and I enjoyed his take on life, love, family, and friends. I really liked his scenes at work. That's the way I pictured in my mind of how the 911 call center would be. I know they have to make jokes and comments to relieve tension. I have alot of police officer friends and they are the same way.

[Klaudyna Z. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I gave this book 3 stars was because the conversations were really pretty funny and I found myself laughing out loud several times. But I felt like there wasn't really a story line and therefore no real point to the book.

Also, I would have liked to see Chris actually get laid but it never happened.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was supposed to be a funny tale of a 911 dispatcher and his attempts to find a date before his brother's wedding but the "witty banter" seemed forced and made the characters appear immature and unlikable. I felt like I was reading a wannabe Dave Barry, but it just didn't measure up.

[Issa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author seemed to really want the reader to find his characters' dialogue witty and fast moving. At first it was amusing, but after a few chapters I came to realize it was a bunch of fast paced and unrelated conversation with no real story.

[Jennifer Mccormick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent dialogue, although a bit overdone. It was a solid 3 stars until it ended very abruptly, with no resolution at all. I felt like it was missing at least a couple of chapters and/or the author just ran out of steam and gave up.

[Christy · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the heck? This was confusing, weird, too much swearing. I finished it and thought, WHAT? What was the point of this????? Plus I read it on the kindle and it was full of typos. Thumbs waaaaay down.

[Kristyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda goofy....but entertaining in a weird way.

[Ginger Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just ok, I wouldn't recommend. It was a free download on my Kindle.

[Rita · Rating 1 out of 5]

It ended abruptly without a climax or much of a plot. I was disappointed.

[T.D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one that I kept trying to like but never really did.

[Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish this it was that bad.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

got bored with it and gave up. couldn't keep my interest

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only read first couple chapters- way too much F word. Did not read any more.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

entertaining, but more a collection of vignettes than a novel