Necropolis by Michael Dempsey

Mahoning Valley native Michael Dempsey's first novel, Necropolis, is a swinging good time. It's a genre mixing sci-fi noir crime novel that follows life, death and ressurection of police detective Paul Donner. In this debut novel, Donner is killed in a botched hold up at a bodega and revived 40 years later thanks to an event called "the Shift". Donner finds himself unwanted in a world where noir is back in style and among people who dislike revived persons. New York is quarantined under a dome and the land surrounding it, the blasted heath, is uninhabitable. Donner is also "youthing" or aging backwards, another result of the Shift.

In fantastic noirish convention Dempsey fashions a full cast of characters to support the story as Donner begins to investigate his own unsolved murder. His prose is smooth and fleshes out a fully formed retro-futuristic world for his characters to inhabit. This is an engrossing, fun story that hooks the reader. Whether you are a sci-fi fan, a mystery fan or someone who lovers the noir mysteries of the old pulps, this book satisfies your interest.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's hoping you aren't stuck at the kiddie table and that the cable doesn't go out.

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Occupy Thanksgiving...from your Dinner Table. Don't Shop on Thanksgiving Day!

There's been a trend in recent years for stores to open earlier and earlier the morning after Thanksgiving. According to this article on Yahoo!, the Thanksgiving Day line has been crossed and several retailers will open up starting at 10:00 pm Thanksgiving Day and Midnight on Friday.

From the article:

Ms. Nyberg is drawing the line now that major chains like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s say they will open for the first time at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart will go even further, with a 10 p.m. Thanksgiving start for deals on some merchandise.

My plea is a simple one. Please stay out of the stores on Thanksgiving Day. Store associates deserve a day with their families. Getting a "deal" on something is not worth ruining someone's day with their family. This economy has shown us what's really important in life and it isn't getting a flat screen TV for a good bargain. It's the people around you, who support and love you. The people working those cash registers deserve a holiday with their family as much as you do.

If you go into a store on Thanksgiving Day you are supporting the retailer's notion that opening earlier and earlier is the only way to succeed. As a shopper, you most likely enjoyed a day off work, had dinner, enjoyed some football and shared stories with your family. Store associates will have to give all of that up to prepare the store so you can pop in, spend an hour getting your deals and then go home.

Our family goes out of our way not to patronize retailers on holidays. I get gas before hand, have groceries in the fridge and plan the day to be with family. In doing so I am hoping to make retailers see the futility of opening their stores on holidays. This year why don't you join us and Occupy Thanksgiving from your dinner table?

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