Degranon [Paperback]

Duane Simolke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

Degranon is a science fiction novel that involves time travel, diversity, overpopulation, civil wars, and one family's struggle to remain a family. Welcome to the planet Valchondria, where speech and actions face constant scrutiny, the future offers no progress, and most people can no longer see in color. Those who want change will not only confront the rigid maintainers of tradition but also become involved with a violent religious fanatic from a war-torn planet called "Degranon."

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Degranon is a science fiction novel that involves time travel, diversity, and one family's struggle to remain a family. Welcome to the planet Valchondria, where speech and actions face constant scrutiny, the future offers no progress, and most people can no longer see in color. Those who want change will not only confront the rigid maintainers of tradition but also become involved with a violent religious fanatic from a war-torn planet called "Degranon."

From the Author

My science fiction novel Degranon offers hope in the face of terrorism, oppression, and all threats to freedom. The book's preface follows.

This book is for all people who dare to be themselves.

Thanks to the many people who gave me feedback on the drafts of this novel over the years and encouraged me to eventually finish it. I would go for months or even years at a time without looking at the manuscript, but my mind often wandered to the distant worlds I had created. It took living my own life for more years before I could fully explore the lives of these characters; it also took rejection from several publishers to push me into just writing the novel as I really wanted to write it. I hope you enjoy the final results as much as I have treasured constantly returning to this project.

Just a few days after I finished Degranon, I saw the results of real-life fanatics attacking a real-life city in my country, and destroying a popular landmark, which I once visited. I made only minor changes after the September 11 attacks: changes such as punctuation, clarification, or removing wordiness. Some people will find parts of this novel disturbing or offensive, but I refuse to water down the very self-expression that oppressors fear.

Though I wrote this novel as entertainment and focused on making it exciting, I hope it will also provoke people to think for themselves, rather than blindly following those who claim to know the way for them, and rather than fearing those who want to control or terrorize them. So I repeat the dedication that I wrote for this book years ago.

This book is for all people who dare to be themselves.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Writers Club Press (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595213715
• ISBN-13: 978-0595213719
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,081,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, well-constructed SF novel, June 20, 2002

By 

J. Clark (metro New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Degranon (Paperback)

I recommend DEGRANON for its exciting, well-constructed narrative, its often intriguing characters, and its wealth of ideas both political and philosophical.

However, I do have a couple minor - and I hope constructive - quibbles. Although we're all used to colorful invented words in SF (from "Barsoom" to "Arrakis"), too often I scratched my head over whether there was some allegorical, and hence thematic, significance to a word or name. Take "Degranon" for example: It sounds like "degrading" and "anonymous" - and that sort of fits with what's in the novel... but it's not a snug fit. And the gap, both here and in other instances, produced a nagging doubt that I'd missed something important. And that pulled me out of the story.

The characters, although vivid, spoke a bit too much in "exposition-ese." On the other hand, I was often fascinated by the details of Valchondria or Degranon which they revealed. As I said, these are minor criticisms of an ambitious and entertaining novel.

I hope that Simolke will continue exploring these engrossing worlds in future books... or take us to entirely new places.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Reminder of the Danger of Fanaticism, April 21, 2002

By 

Mark Ian Kendrick (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Degranon (Paperback)

A brilliant scientist, a twisted man who loves her beyond measure, twins separated by time, an ancient religious book, speech-control and more. Mix these up and what do you get? You get Degranon, a fascinating read that blends intrigue, time-travel and the attempted resurrection of what was thought to be an ancient religion. Filled with the undercurrent of how important family is, Mr. Simolke successfully combines all of these elements into a suspenseful story about betrayal, lust for power, love and the need for truth. Set on Valchondria, a far away star-system, Degranon refers to the Book of Degranon, an ancient text that is thought by some to be the ultimate source of truth. But, perhaps it's just a story. Degranon mirrors Earth's current events in many ways. Reflecting the clash of fanatical beliefs due to modern-day monotheistic religions, Degranon speaks to the extremes that they produce in our own civilization, as well as for the civilization that is the setting of this story. I was constantly reminded of our own modern day woes while reading this tome. All in all, Degranon is fitting entry into the science fiction genre.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Degranon" might be our own world, if we're not careful., February 24, 2002

By 

Ronald L. Donaghe - See all my reviews

This review is from: Degranon (Paperback)

Duane Simolke adds yet another dimension to his diverse literary offerings with this science-fiction novel. He has already established that he can create whole communities with his Acorn Stories-a book of short stories. With his collection of essays and poetry in Holding Me Together, he has shown that he is equally adroit with research and a breath-taking turn of phrase. In Degranon, Simolke brings it all together, creating not a single community, but a whole world. His characters are as unique as anything he creates with his Acorn Stories, but in Degranon, he weaves a tightly plotted story of a planet on the verge of political and social ruin, exacerbated by those with misguided and therefore "evil" intentions. Layer upon layer of intrigue and counter-balancing moves make this scifi story one that will hold your interest and surprise you with its twists and turns. Definitely a good read. --Ronald L. Donaghe, author of the fantasy novel, Cinátis (coming in 2002)