Tomes of Miscellany--Domain

Tomes of Miscellany

Welcome to the land of danger and intrigue, where individuals are legion and non-conformity is the norm. Join me as I explore the many facets of humanity and meet the scum of the earth and its angels incarnate.

W A R N I N G !

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.

That said, on to the review!

Title: Domain
Author: Steve Alten
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 2001

It's 2012, and the world is coming to an end. Only one person knows...or may know...how to save the world, but he's been kept carefully locked away in an asylum by a powerful political enemy. The only one who can help him is his psychologist, but he first has to convince her that he's sane, and that he knows and understands what he's talking about. But while they're trying to find ways to circumvent both the straightforward legal system and the shadowy political system, time is running out. There's a great evil preparing to emerge from an ancient slumber, and if it awakens, then humanity and the rest of the world have had it. Will they succeed where the ancients failed, or will bureaucracy and corruption stop them cold?

Domain, unlike MEG and The Trench, relies more on recent history than prehistory for its premise...that is, if you can consider within 10,000 years "recent." Because whereas the first two novels brought back ancient terrors from the deep, this novel discusses "man-made" ruins like Stonehenge, Angkor Wat, and other such sites and unites them in a fantastic premise, along with ancient Native Central American legends.

You know, there are times when I loathe watching the informational and educational channels because the subjects aren't as immediate and interesting as entertainment networks, but I'm glad that I do occasionally watch such programs, because I actually understood some of the things being talked about in the novel. I guess it just goes to show you that what we think of as trivial may be quite useful, albeit in a trivial way. On the other hand, you don't need to know about these things beforehand since the author explains much of it as you go along. But it does help.

As fantastic a premise as this one is in tying together the ancient ruins scattered across the globe, the story of Domain is more about one man's difficult quest to overcome suppression and corruption and do what is right not because it is right to want to save the world, but because there are things in the world worth saving. Hard to accept? Well, make your own judgment by reading the book for yourself.

Rating: Thumbs up! Who ever imagined that the fate of the world could rest on a madman?

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This page posted September 1, 2002.

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