I’ll admit, if I was going to pick a place to go to ground in a post-apocalyptic New York City, the main branch of the New York Public Library would probably be my first choice—especially if it was, as is the case in Nathan Larson’s amusing debut novel—one of the few places still receiving errati... ...more

THE RUNDOWN

Perhaps the fatal flaw of The Dewey Decimal System is the title itself. Never have I had to so adamantly defend a book from curious bystanders who said, "Wow, that sounds boring." But despite the title, The Dewey Decimal System was one of the most engaging, fast-paced and entertaining... ...more

Although the basic premise may seem familiar ("Caveman's Valentine," Rosemary Aubert's Ellis Portal series, "Gun, with Occasional Music," "The Zero," and even "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"), Nathan Larson puts his own definite spin on it. Take a character with a psychologica... ...more

Nathan Larson has nearly drained the psychoses well dry in creating his character, Dewey Decimal. We are looking at OCD, PTSD, ADD(maybe), claustrophobia, addictions (smoking, those little pills), anxiety disorder, and paranoia here (although, in fairness, to quote Joseph Heller, “Just because yo... ...more

*** 1/2

There seem to be a lot of dystopian novels set in New York post-9/11 out there, but I really enjoyed this one. In addition to being set post-9/11 (which is never referred to directly, sort of like Jess Walters' The Zero--the only hint of it is the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan), it's al... ...more

Nathan Larson's debut novel was a bit of surprise to me. Akashic has the tendency to produce a lot of books that I like and a handful I'm certainly not into. Larson falls into the former category.

Set in a post 9/11 and post 2/14 world, Dewey Decimal is a maniacal character who suffers from OCD, h... ...more

This was a fun, quick read. A bit different in the near-future apocalypse genre, and a good example of how the author doesn't have to give the reader every single detail about the universe in which the story takes place for it to be understandable/believable/enjoyable. The fact that the main char... ...more

It may be weird to say that I am a fan of dystopian near-future settings. I have a morbid fascination with bleak, sparse landscapes and crumbling infrastructure; I remain hopeful that I will never have to live in such a world, but constantly wonder what type of person I would be if I survived in... ...more

Okay, in truth, this is not a book I would pick up on my own since dystopias aren't my thing. On the other hand, I met the author Nathan Larson at Odyssey Books and have enjoyed some exchanges with him on Facebook so I am inclined in favor of it. So *I* liked it enough to give it five stars. Your... ...more

fun ...more