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megmcardle's review against another edition
3.0
This was one of those books that pulled me in immediately, but failed to keep my love. The concept of a cop in the (very real) Colma, California - a city of cemetaries - who is pulled into the law enforcement woes of ghosts could have been great. Unfortunately, I thought he created a bunch of incredibly vivid characters but failed to have them doing anything particularly interesting. There was this young cop's real life, and then there is the life of the ghosts, and there really wasn't enough going on in either or enough interesting intersections between the two worlds to make it a 4 star book for me. If it is a first novel, it is an author I will definitely try again.
leilaniann's review against another edition
3.0
One city, one book! I understand this book was chosen this year because it is set in SF and Colma (some of it just down the street from my house!), but it is the dude's first novel and it shows. He is really funny, and it's a rad idea for a book, it is super-choppy though. There are several different story lines that need to be tied together better more smoothly. BUT, it is also the first novel I have ever read that has a character using narcan on someone who has OD'd, so bonus points for that!!!
appalonia's review against another edition
3.0
This book was billed as part police procedural, part ghost story. Michael Mercer is a rookie cop in Colma, California, a city that has so many cemeteries that the dead outnumber the living by thousands to one. I want to say that I think the author shows definite potential with this book. Unfortunately it fails on a few levels. Too much time was spent overdeveloping minor characters at the expense of plot and pacing. Although the ghost characters appeared throughout, Michael’s interaction with them started way too late in the book. I was also not fond of the ending. Although the different story threads were successfully tied off, I was personally disappointed with all of the results. On the good side (and there is one), when the story concentrated on Michael and his job or his relationships with his friends and coworkers, it was engrossing and entertaining. And the author shows a real talent for character development and creating interesting backstories for them.
baklavopita's review against another edition
3.0
Given the cover design and the testimonials on the back, I thought this book would be more hilarious than it was. It was smart and dark. The characterization was great, but the whole story left too many ends to be wrapped up too quickly and neatly at the end. I'd like to see more from Dorst.
gotoboston's review against another edition
2.0
I can see why the rating on this book is low. This was just too... Meh. It was partly the writing, and partly the odd mix of mystery, mid-age coming of age contemporary, and magical realism/ghosts.
radioactve_piano's review against another edition
4.0
An awesome book about a totally bizarre place. I loved the main character, hated most of the others, and found myself wanting to visit Colma. The writing was wonderful -- so many small gems of phrases. Dorst has a knack for really "showing, not telling" (as my high school English teacher used to teach), but in a way that is completely fluid and unpretentious (not so reminiscent of the results from that high school class).
I think my favorite parts were all of Mercer's completely dry reactions and comments on what was going on around him. Not sure about the ending, and I'm not completely sold on the idea of the living/dead borders blurring selectively, but all in all, an enjoyable read (more than fluff!).
I think my favorite parts were all of Mercer's completely dry reactions and comments on what was going on around him. Not sure about the ending, and I'm not completely sold on the idea of the living/dead borders blurring selectively, but all in all, an enjoyable read (more than fluff!).
cspiwak's review
3.0
not at all what I expected. From the cover I though it might be a somewhat humorous story involving ghosts and crime. Instead, it was a fairly complex exploration of love and relationships. enjoyed it, but a fairly strange mixture
jambery's review
3.0
I thought this was a fun book. It was especially fun for me, as I live in San Francisco, and reading about all the places Mercer went had more meaning for me. I liked the main character and I liked the story, so I can't really explain why I felt a little underwhelmed at the end of the novel. It may be because I felt the end was a little abrupt. Not that you have to spend 300 more pages talking about feasts and hobbits hugging a lot, but I felt like the author could have spent a little more time wrapping things up.
reubend1ca9's review
3.0
This book is really well written, I want to emphasize that before I start. The writing is excellent, it has a subtle humour and a full dose of humanity.
The characterization is good, but the writer tries so hard to make sure that his characters are flawed that in some cases he forgets to give them redeeming qualities. The main character (Mike Mercer) is so awkward and serious that he is really hard to like for the first couple hundred pages of the book. Even his good traits such as his earnest police work, come off as symptoms of his inability to relax. He spends much of the book physically and/or emotionally crippled and I often found myself wishing that something good or exciting would happen to the dumb sap.
The plot...takes a long time to materialize. There is a lot of bad stuff happening to all the players in the story, but very little of it seems to actually move the story along.
Once again, this is a really well written book, maybe the best written urban fantasy that you'll ever read. It may also be the least fantastic or titillating urban fantasy you'll ever read. In my opinion, it's actually closer to pop literature than it is to urban fantasy.
Here is a random excerpt (Mercer, a police officer, is the main character of the book; he is about to take a very attractive reporter named Kelly on a ride along in his patrol car.) :
"Tuesday. The 6:00 briefing.
'Gentleman and lady,' Mazzarella says to them, 'as you may know, Officer Mercer has a rider tonight, so let's have some good behavior for a change.'
Cambi whistles, and Toronto leans over to slap Mercer on the back. Mercer does his best to remain poised. Truth is, he has butterflies again, and bad. He keeps his hands in his lap because he's afraid they'll shake. What if Kelly finds out who he really is?"
And the awkwardness continues.
The characterization is good, but the writer tries so hard to make sure that his characters are flawed that in some cases he forgets to give them redeeming qualities. The main character (Mike Mercer) is so awkward and serious that he is really hard to like for the first couple hundred pages of the book. Even his good traits such as his earnest police work, come off as symptoms of his inability to relax. He spends much of the book physically and/or emotionally crippled and I often found myself wishing that something good or exciting would happen to the dumb sap.
The plot...takes a long time to materialize. There is a lot of bad stuff happening to all the players in the story, but very little of it seems to actually move the story along.
Once again, this is a really well written book, maybe the best written urban fantasy that you'll ever read. It may also be the least fantastic or titillating urban fantasy you'll ever read. In my opinion, it's actually closer to pop literature than it is to urban fantasy.
Here is a random excerpt (Mercer, a police officer, is the main character of the book; he is about to take a very attractive reporter named Kelly on a ride along in his patrol car.) :
"Tuesday. The 6:00 briefing.
'Gentleman and lady,' Mazzarella says to them, 'as you may know, Officer Mercer has a rider tonight, so let's have some good behavior for a change.'
Cambi whistles, and Toronto leans over to slap Mercer on the back. Mercer does his best to remain poised. Truth is, he has butterflies again, and bad. He keeps his hands in his lap because he's afraid they'll shake. What if Kelly finds out who he really is?"
And the awkwardness continues.
wart's review
4.0
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Dorst's language is gorgeous, his characters are well crafted with strengths and flaws. And his ghosts are a lot of fun.
My biggest issue is this feels like two stories combined into one. However, somehow Dorst makes it work. I think if he had separated the two stories and written two different books they both would have been strong books. But even with that, I found this book very well done. Even when you're sitting there wondering why this scene? or why this character?, there's a sense that it will all come together in the end.
And it does.
I also think it works well because Mercer is living in both of these stories. His life among the living is spiraling out of control even as his work among the dead is coming to a head. So it feels like two stories because it is, but it's meant to be.
I found Alive in Necropolis to be an intriguing story, both a character driven piece about people dealing with drastic changes in their lives and a ghost story, combined into quite the page turner.
My biggest issue is this feels like two stories combined into one. However, somehow Dorst makes it work. I think if he had separated the two stories and written two different books they both would have been strong books. But even with that, I found this book very well done. Even when you're sitting there wondering why this scene? or why this character?, there's a sense that it will all come together in the end.
And it does.
I also think it works well because Mercer is living in both of these stories. His life among the living is spiraling out of control even as his work among the dead is coming to a head. So it feels like two stories because it is, but it's meant to be.
I found Alive in Necropolis to be an intriguing story, both a character driven piece about people dealing with drastic changes in their lives and a ghost story, combined into quite the page turner.
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