Dominion [Paperback]

Bentley Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

Something really strange is happening to Dion, the new boy in school. Odd-girl-out Penelope understands completely. Something is happening to her too. They were made for each other. And together, they're going to raise hell.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Signet (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451187482
• ISBN-13: 978-0451187482
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true master of the macabre., February 9, 2001

By 

Jane Osnovich - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dominion (Paperback)

Bentley Little is a genius. He manages to weave the mythology of ancient Greece into a gripping horror tale. Little catches the reader's attention instantly with a gruesome prologue that opens this captivating novel.

Dion Semele moves to Napa Valley after his mother is fired from her job in Arizona. He meets Penelope Daneam at his new high school and the two are instantly drawn to each other. Unlike the synopsis on this site, Penelope has not been raised by nuns, but by a group of women who run a winery. She does not know which one of them is actually her mother. Dion and Penelope do not realize that their meeting has been fated. Each has felt a force within them. Their union will bring about an evil that will forever change the world.

This is a disturbing book. Little does not flinch in his writing. The scenes are extremely graphic. When the town is gripped by the insanity that follows the rebirth of the god Dionysus, no one is safe. The violence is constant and brutal. The book is filled with drunken celebrants, satyrs, and Maenads who turn Napa Valley into a hell on earth under the rule of their new god.

A couple of reviewers have stated that the ending was too abrupt. That's not necessarily a bad thing. When an entire novel is a battle between good and evil, a long drawn out ending is just overkill.

I tried for a long time to get my hands on this book and it was definitely worth the wait. I would easily count it as one of my favorite novels. It has everything, great characters, an original storyline and the kind of writing that keeps you reading well into the night. If you can find it, snap it up, you wont be sorry.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing, June 29, 2002

By 

Sean Simpson "storms-enigma" (pacific pines, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dominion (Paperback)

Be warned this book has high violence, sexual contents and very perverse, yet it all fits nicely into the context of the story and mixes in nicely with the anciant Greek mythology, I found many sections of this story to be disturbing, but isn't that what horror is all about??, this book may be to graphic for some peoples tastes so if you are week of stomach this is not the book for you, the high intense murder, sex and even bestiality all adds to the atmosphere and the sudden insanity and the disappearance of all inhabitions of the community.
The book is in two parts, the first focuses on Dion, who starts at a new school and he is some one we can all relate to and it is impossible not to like him, He develops a crush on a girl named Penelope, and as you read there relationship grows stronger but so does the unstability of the city's people.
The second part concentrates on Penelope and Dions best friend Kevin as they try to come to grips with the evil that has become of there lives and as they try to figure how to get Dion back.
I'm not going to say muck more but while reading this book you can not help but be affected by it, and the effects last long after the completion of it and a sense of loss, a must read for those who like horror with bite adn those who are not afraid of the disturbing.
This is the fist book I have read by Bentley Little but definatly not the last.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Mythology+Modern Terror=Unforgettable tale of horror, May 11, 2000

By 

Rodney Powell "fairmont66" (Macon,Georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dominion (Paperback)

Little has written another cold-blooded classic of horror.This is the only horror novel I know of that combines ancient greek myths and supernatural evil and creates a tale of terror that you will never forget.While other horror authors try to go mainstream Little sticks to what he knows best: scaring the hell out of his fans and with that he has no peer!