Skip to content

Alive in Necropolis
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Alive in Necropolis Paperback - 2009

by Doug Dorst

Dorst pens a fresh, imaginative debut novel about a young police officer in northern California struggling to keep the peace--and maintain a grip on reality--in a town where the dead outnumber the living.


Summary

A "dark and funny debut"(Seattle-Times) about a young police officer struggling to maintain a sense of reality in a town where the dead outnumber the living.

Colma, California, the "cemetery city" serving San Francisco, is the resting place of the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Wyatt Earp, and William Randolph Hearst. It is also the home of Michael Mercer, a by-the-book rookie cop struggling to settle comfortably into adult life. Instead, he becomes obsessed with the mysterious fate of his predecessor, Sergeant Wes Featherstone, who spent his last years policing the dead as well as the living. As Mercer attempts to navigate the drama of his own daily life, his own grip on reality starts to slip-either that, or Colma's more famous residents are not resting in peace as they should be.

From the publisher

Doug Dorst is the author of three books, most recently the novel S, which he co-authored with J. J. Abrams. He is the author of the novel Alive in Necropolis, which was honored as San Francisco’s 2009 One City One Book selection and as a runner-up for the 2009 PEN/Hemingway, Shirley Jackson, and IAFA/Crawford Awards, and a short story collection, The Surf Guru. His stories have appeared in McSweeney’s, Ploughshares, ZYZZYVA, and other journals. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a three-time Jeopardy! champion, Dorst lives in Austin and teaches writing at Texas State University in San Marcos.

Details

  • Title Alive in Necropolis
  • Author Doug Dorst
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 448
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Riverhead Books, New York, New York
  • Date 2009-06-02
  • Features Price on Product - Canadian
  • ISBN 9781594483820 / 1594483825
  • Weight 0.89 lbs (0.40 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.26 x 5.48 x 0.94 in (20.98 x 13.92 x 2.39 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

"A daring and big-hearted first novel...Like Dashiell Hammett, Dorst conveys a hard-bitten love of the physical San Francisco."
-New York Times Book Review

"In the same way Buffy the Vampire Slayer mixed high school and bloodsuckers, Doug Dorst combines cops and ghosts in his Alive in Necropolis. The result is a haunted variation on Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series...Imaginative and accomplished... Pitch-perfect."
-USA Today

"Rich, unsettling...truly haunting."
-San Francisco Chronicle "An intriguing mix of coming-of-age story, police procedural, and magical realism."
-Seattle-Times

Citations

  • New York Times Book Review, 08/23/2009, Page 20

About the author

Doug Dorst is the author of three books, most recently the novel S, which he co-authored with J. J. Abrams. He is the author of the novel Alive in Necropolis, which was honored as San Francisco's 2009 One City One Book selection and as a runner-up for the 2009 PEN/Hemingway, Shirley Jackson, and IAFA/Crawford Awards, and a short story collection, The Surf Guru. His stories have appeared in McSweeney's, Ploughshares, ZYZZYVA, and other journals. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a three-time Jeopardy! champion, Dorst lives in Austin and teaches writing at Texas State University in San Marcos.
Back to Top

More Copies for Sale

Alive in Necropolis
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Alive in Necropolis

by Dorst, Doug

  • Used
Condition
Used - Very Good
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Frederick, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$7.82
A$6.12 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Riverhead Books. Used - Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner’s name, short gifter’s inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Item Price
A$7.82
A$6.12 shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis

Alive in Necropolis

by Doug Dorst

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$9.92
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group, 2009. Paperback. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
A$9.92
FREE shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis

Alive in Necropolis

by Dorst, Doug

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$12.67
A$16.46 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Paperback. Acceptable.
Item Price
A$12.67
A$16.46 shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis

Alive in Necropolis

by Dorst, Doug

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$12.67
A$16.46 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Paperback. Good.
Item Price
A$12.67
A$16.46 shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Alive in Necropolis

by Dorst, Doug

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very GOOD
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Hyattsville, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$10.66
A$6.58 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Riverhead Books, 2009-06-01. paperback. Very GOOD/NONE. 5x0x8. Pages are clean, unmarked with a tight spine. Creased top corner on rear cover. Light shelf wear on all edges of covers.
Item Price
A$10.66
A$6.58 shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Alive in Necropolis

by Doug Dorst

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$12.40
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Riverhead Trade, 2009-06-02. Paperback. Good.
Item Price
A$12.40
FREE shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Alive in Necropolis

by Dorst, Doug

  • New
  • Paperback
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
18
Seller
Foley, Alabama, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$15.52
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Riverhead Books, 2009-06-02. Paperback. New. 8x4x1. Book appears to be New. May have small remainder mark and light shelf wear
Item Price
A$15.52
FREE shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Alive in Necropolis

by Doug Dorst

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used:Good
Edition
Reprint
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$25.62
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Riverhead Trade, 2009-06-02. Reprint. Paperback. Used:Good.
Item Price
A$25.62
FREE shipping to USA
Alive in Necropolis
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Alive in Necropolis

by Dorst, Doug

  • New
  • Paperback
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Richland, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$27.60
A$7.65 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Riverhead Books, 2009. Softcover. New/No Jacket. New Book: Trade Paperback
Item Price
A$27.60
A$7.65 shipping to USA
ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS.

ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS.

by Dorst, Doug.

  • Used
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Fine in illustrated wrappers (a new copy.)
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781594483820 / 1594483825
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Ione, California, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$38.33
A$5.75 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
New York:: Riverhead Books,, (2009.). SIGNED -. Fine in illustrated wrappers (a new copy.). 1st trade paperback printing. The author's truly unique first novel - not quite a horror story, nor just a mystery story or an offbeat police procedural. Set in Colma, California - is the only incorporated city in America where the dead outnumber the living. The longtime cemetery for San Francisco, it is the resting place of the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Wyatt Earp, and aviation pioneer Lincoln Beachey." Winner of the 2009 Emperor Norton award and shortlisted for the Pen-Faulkner. Selected by San Francisco Reads for the "One City, One Book" program. SIGNED on the title page.437 pp
Item Price
A$38.33
A$5.75 shipping to USA