Dance for the Ivory Madonna [Paperback]

Don Sakers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO . . .

When Damien was eight, his father vanished - replaced by an impostor. The stranger stole his father's identity and murdered his mother, altering digital records to conceal the crime. Damien, finding that no adults believed him, fled to live with relatives.

NOW . . .

Damien is an adult; an operative in a covert international organization, acting under the command of the legendary Ivory Madonna. He has the power, he has the support of his friends - and now it's time to avenge his father. And, if he can, to save the world in the process.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As a dual citizen of the United States and the new African nation of Umoja and a task leader for an international organization known as Nexus, Damien Nshogoza travels to the world's hot spots, addressing political and social disturbances as necessary. But Damien has another, more personal, agenda to seek revenge against the imposter who replaced his father and murdered his mother. Set during the mid-21st century in a world ravaged by AIDS and myriad other problems, this latest work by Sakers (The Leaves of October) offers a vivid and plausible description of a near-future in which humanity's fate hinges on the deeds of a few pivotal individuals. For most sf collections.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

A vivid and plausible description of a near-future in which humanity’s fate hinges on the deeds of a few. -- Library Journal, February 15, 2002

Making his way through this brave new world is a young African-American operative of a secret organization... -- Publisher's Weekly, January 21, 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: Speed-of-c Productions; 1st edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971614717
• ISBN-13: 978-0971614710
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,439,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Sakers was launched the same month as Sputnik One, so it was perhaps inevitable that he should become a science fiction writer. A Navy brat by birth, he spent his childhood in such far-off lands as Japan, Scotland, Hawaii, and California. In California, rather like a latter-day Mowgli, he was raised by dogs.

As a writer and editor, he has explored the thoughts of sapient trees (The Leaves of October, Baen 1988), brought ghosts to life (Carmen Miranda's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three, Baen 1989), and beaten the "Cold Equations" scenario ("The Cold Solution," Analog 7/91, voted best short story of the year.)

In 2009, Don took up the position of book reviewer for Analog Science Fiction & Fact, where he writes the "Reference Library" column in every issue.

In his day job, Don works for the Anne Arundel County Public Library. His actual job title -- "Library Associate" -- makes it sound like he gives lots of money to the Library, but in fact it's the other way around.

Don lives at Meerkat Meade in suburban Baltimore with his spouse, costumer Thomas Atkinson.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Meaningful Sense of Wonder, April 3, 2002

By 

RICHARD MANDRACHIO - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dance for the Ivory Madonna (Paperback)

Years ago, I was blown away by the originality of The Leaves of October, an underrated SF gem. Its haunting lyricism left me craving more. Now, in his first novel since 1988, Don Sakers has provided an ample reward for my patience: Dance for the Ivory Madonna.

It must have taken an enormous amount of research to provide this book with scientific and sociopolitical foundations for its credible and nicely delineated near-future setting. Fortunately, the author enhances each premise by his deft balance of statistical elements with those of a more poetic, metaphysical nature. His AI's, for example, speak only in metaphors. Yet, it is they who possess ultimate control of mankind's destiny through technology. Depictions of their cyberspace domain are rendered through the imagery of fantastic landscapes, psi abilities, and human sensations. Much of this narrative is printed in alternating fonts and recounted using extensive flashbacks, techniques that require greater concentration than usual on the reader's part. But the compensation of suspenseful pacing and unpredictability make it well worth the effort.

Most impressive of all is the political conscience that permeates this book. Through its futuristic viewpoints, our current prejudices and tolerances are put into perspective; we are forced to confront their consequences. Furthermore, Sakers makes us question the ways that technology is transforming our lives, our dependence upon political and religious conventions and the (mis)treatment of various races and social classes. Despite the seriousness of such themes, the author utilizes writing style and voice to prove that he is not devoid of levity. Particularly amusing is his method for replacing potentially objectionable words in his text.

Characterizations are quite diverse, especially the host of eccentric creative types who inhabit some of the book's better moments. Damien Nshogoza, the African-American protagonist, navigates the uncharted regions of cyberspace as easily as he traverses the reorganized territories of a future world or the inner workings of a covert international organization, the Nexus.

There were areas where the plausibility of certain situations within the chronology of the narrative's time span became questionable. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the innovative fashion in which the author pushed those boundaries. This creates the sense of wonder that science fiction is about. Thankfully, there are still some genre writers who have both the courage and the ability to accomplish this. Without question, Don Sakers is one of them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome vr gaming, May 25, 2002

By 

Ted Fallows (Butler, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dance for the Ivory Madonna (Paperback)

There is so much going on in this book that its hard to pick out what i like best. The conceptions of cyberspace however are really different there are three distinct levels of cyberspace all accessible thru RCspex (which are a slimmed down version of vr goggles.) Virtua is an enchanced rendering of the real world. Cyberbia is an imaginary space that the user can enhance as much as he wants like the web on vr. And my favorite El Juego is a multilevel d&d type game where just about everyone has their own character or characters. And its all run by the AIs who have their own reasons and motivations. Definately recommended!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sprawling, Hopeful Saga of a Plausible Near-Future, May 29, 2002

By 

Reader's Advisor (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dance for the Ivory Madonna (Paperback)

Adventure, cyberpunk, romance, humor, social commentary, originality, plain old sense-of-wonder...whatever you're looking for, you'll find it here. And it isn't the same-old cookie-cutter formula -- DANCE FOR THE IVORY MADONNA offers a fresh take on hoary sf tropes from artificial intelligence and virtual reality to psionics and space colonization. I'll be the first to say it: this novel is a sure dark-horse contender for the year's big sf awards. Do yourself a favor, and give it a try!