Approximately one billion debut novels are published every year, but
it’s rare to find a debut novel as assured as Doug Dorst’s Alive
in Necropolis. There’s sex, violence, crime, oodles of head
injuries, a half-assed practitioner of Zen, and a few supernatural
happenings. Dorst is a young writer with a bright future ahead of him,
making this a rare opportunity to catch a memorable writer early on
the road to greatness. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 South Main
St, 624-6600. 2 pm, free.)