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Nathan Larson

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The Dewey Decimal System (The Dewey Decimal Novels) Kindle Edition

by Nathan Larson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 41 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Dewey Decimal

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This tale of a book-loving tough guy in a decimated Manhattan is “like Motherless Brooklyn dosed with Charlie Huston . . . Delirious and haunting” (Megan Abbott, author of Give Me Your Hand).

After a flu pandemic, a large-scale terrorist attack, and the total collapse of Wall Street, New York City is reduced to a shadow of its former self. As the city struggles to dig itself out of the wreckage, a nameless, obsessive-compulsive veteran with a spotty memory, a love for literature, and a strong if complex moral code (that doesn’t preclude acts of extreme violence) has taken up residence at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Forty-second Street.

Dubbed “Dewey Decimal” for his desire to reorganize the library’s stock, he gets by as bagman and muscle for New York City’s unscrupulous district attorney. He takes no pleasure in this kind of civic dirty work. He’d be perfectly content alone amongst his books. But this is not in the cards, as the DA calls on Dewey for a seemingly straightforward union-busting job.

What unfolds throws Dewey into a mess of danger, shifting allegiances, and old vendettas, forcing him to face the darkness of his own past and the question of his buried identity . . .

“The Dewey Decimal System is proof positive that the private detective will remain a serious and seriously enjoyable literary archetype.” —PopMatters

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A nameless investiagator dogs New York streets made even meaner by a series of near-future calamities. [Larson’s] distopia is bound to win fans..."
--Kirkus Reviews

"The Dewey Decimal System is a winningly tight, concise and high-impact book, a violent, exhilarating odyssey that pitches its protagonist through a gratuitously detailed future New York."
--New York Press

"The Dewey Decimal System is proof positive that the private detective will remain a serious and seriously enjoyable literary archetype."
--Pop Matters

"A nameless investiagator dogs New York streets made even meaner by a series of near-future calamities. [Larson’s] distopia is bound to win fans..."
--Kirkus Reviews

"The Dewey Decimal System is a winningly tight, concise and high-impact book, a violent, exhilarating odyssey that pitches its protagonist through a gratuitously detailed future New York."
--New York Press

"The Dewey Decimal System is proof positive that the private detective will remain a serious and seriously enjoyable literary archetype."
--Pop Matters

About the Author

Nathan Larson: Nathan Larson is best known as an award-winning film music composer, having created the scores for over thirty movies, such as Boys Don’t Cry, Dirty Pretty Things, and The Messenger. In the ’90s, he was the lead guitarist for the influential prog-punk outfit Shudder to Think. This is his first novel. Larson lives in Harlem, New York City, with his wife and son.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004X0JHSY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Akashic Books; 1st edition (April 19, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 19, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2990 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 258 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,108,761 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,968 in Hard-Boiled Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #6,099 in Fiction Urban Life
- #8,217 in Dystopian Science Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
3.9 41 ratings

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Nathan Larson

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Hi folks, I'm Nathan Larson. Generally I consider myself a musician and composer, but I've taken time out to write a couple novels. Unbelievably, at least to me, the things got published, and I couldn't be more pleased. I'll check in here from time to time: meanwhile, here's more info on me, in the second person....cheers! :

As a former lead guitarist for the influential American art-punk band SHUDDER TO THINK, New York-based composer Nathan Larson continues to create highly acclaimed and challenging work. His bands' early scores for October Film's HIGH ART and FIRST LOVE LAST RITES (on which Nathan wrote and/or produced tracks featuring such artists as Billy Corgan, Jeff Buckley, and THE THE's Matt Johnson ) earned rave reviews, as did his songwriting for Todd Haynes' VELVET GOLDMINE.

Nathan's score for 20th Century Fox's BOYS DON'T CRY established him as a film-scoring force on his own. Since then Larson has created scores for many more controversial and critically-acclaimed films; among them are Todd Solondz's STORYTELLING, PALINDROMES, Joel Schumacher's TIGERLAND and PHONE BOOTH, PROZAC NATION starring Christina Ricci and Jessica Lange, Lukas Moodyson's LILJA 4-EVER, and Stephen Frears's DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. Other past projects include A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG with John Travolta and Scarlett Johannson , and THE WOODSMAN (starring Kevin Bacon, and produced by the MONSTER's BALL team) , for which he was awarded the Gras Savoye Award at Cannes 2004, and LITTLE FISH, starring Cate Blanchett, for which he was nominated for several awards, including an Australian Academy Award. Also: THE MESSENGER, starring Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, OUR IDIOT BROTHER with Paul Rudd, MARGIN CALL, and most recently Sundance '14 favorites THE SKELETON TWINS (Kristen Wiig) and GODS POCKET (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM and THE NERVOUS SYSTEM are books 1 and 2 in a series, and the third and final installment is expected out in late 2014.

Larson lives in Harlem, NYC with his wife, Swedish pop singer Nina Persson (best known as the lead singer of THE CARDIGANS), and their son Nils.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

41 global ratings

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MovieMaven

I'm looking forward to the next two books in the trilogy!

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2019

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If you are a fan of hard-boiled neo-noir, the the Dewey Decimal System is for you. It's set in a cataclysmic near future with 90% of the NYC population dead or gone. Our protagonist, Dewey Decimal, a black veteran with amnesia, squats in the abandoned public library while he takes it upon himself to organize the books per the "Dewey Decimal System". Dewey thinks he's been married and may even have had a child, but he can't remember. Dreams haunt him as he struggles to separate reality from what he fears are implanted memories, courtesy of chip that's been implanted in his skull as an experimental treatment for combat stress. To survive, he's employed as a hitman/bagman for the corrupt DA, a former ambulance chaser. In the Dewey Decimal System, Nathan Larson provides a rich tapestry to address several pressing themes our society faces today: racism, corruption, immigration, lawlessness and "strongman" rule. It's a thought provoking read. I'm looking forward to the next two books in the trilogy!

One person found this helpful

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Morris Massel

Fun and Entertaining

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2011

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The Dewey Decimal System is a fun, noir murder mystery by first time novelist Nathan Larson.

Sometime in the not too distant future, New York has suffered from another terrorist attack, 2/14 as it is called, and a total collapse. The protagonist, Dewey Decimal, has taken up residence in the New York City Public Library. He is a germ freak, is obsessed with Purell TM, has a "system" (he must travel according to specific algorithms), appears to be a former soldier (his memory seems to have been erased) and lives "off the grid." Decimal is assigned by the New York District Attorney to hunt down a man. Rapidly, Decimal finds himself caught in a violent conflict between the DA, the FBI and former Eastern European thugs. Alliances shift, people die and Decimal tries to stay faithful to his internal ethical compass. Throughout, Decimal whirls through post-apocalyptic New York

The narration is strong, allowing Decimal to come across clearly. The narrative style reminded me of Ken Bruen's mystery series. While it is clear that "bad things" happened in New York, Larson never conveys exactly what happened. It is effective to keep the reader engaged and avoids the author from artificially entering the story with an explanation. Larson has a firm grasp of New York City, which ends up being one of the key supporting characters in the story. My only critique is that Decimal has a significant surgery early in the book and has a miraculous (and not plausible) recovery. Aside from this slip, the book worked.

If you are looking for something light and engaging, this is a good choice. Be aware, like books of this genre, it is appropriately violent.

2 people found this helpful

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T' Bird

Not For Me

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2011

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I read about 60 pages and that was it for me. Unless you like sort of sci-fi mystery, but not really, look elsewhere.

One person found this helpful

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Sturmey Archer

The Dewey Decimal System

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2017

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Dewey is a killer. He dispatches victims without hesitation. But he is not pathological. He needs to feel there's a reason for it. He is however, neurotic. Set in a dystopian near future, The Dewey Decimal System is all about the setting: the well-known locale of New York transformed into a twisted version of itself, wracked by some kind of attack and plague. In lesser hands, this story would sag under the weight of this premise, but Larson skillfully weaves a tale that is equal parts science fiction and crime drama. Usually in stories of this genre, dialogue is ponderous, but Larson is quite good at making the conversations between characters compelling. I'm not sure the payoff has enough impact to warrant the early stages of the plot, but all in all, a surprisingly good book.

3 people found this helpful

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Mej

Jennifer Government...step aside

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2011

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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, happens to be a hit man and is certainly one of the oddest characters I've come across in a while.

In some ways, I get the hard boiled crime fiction tags thrown at this book, but this honestly read more like Max Barry's Jennifer Government. Fast paced, action packed, certainly reminded me of a great action flick...and I mean that in a good way for the naysayers of fine American action films who live on Goodreads.

Bottom line--this book is really fun and I'm stoked to know that this will be a series. There's some loose ends that need to be tied off so Larson's got my vote.

6 people found this helpful

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Elaine L. Larson

I'm a convert

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2011

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Macho noir a la Walter Mosely is not my usual genre, but Dewey Decimal is such a wonderfully engaging protagonist and ironically macho with tongue in cheek, that I couldn't put it down. It was a great read, cogent, informed, timely, and poignant at once. From musician to author--a great new side of Nathan Larson. Looking forward to more!

4 people found this helpful

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Susie Q

No so great

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2017

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I didn't even make it through the whole thing. I put it down for a while and tried again, but stll didn't it finished. Noe I have up on it.

One person found this helpful

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Kobie Kiambu

The main character has depth.

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2020

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Enjoyed the read. It's entertaining, quirky and touches on current political and social issues!

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Mandyfab

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2018

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A strange future New York tale.

Laura

Disappointing--

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

the only interesting element is the dystopical setting, which, however, is not fully explored and exploited. As to the rest, I could not find something really unusual.

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The Dewey Decimal System (The Dewey Decimal Novels) Kindle Edition

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