7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent addition to any dystopia collection, July 19, 2009
This review is from: Dominion (Paperback)
A brilliantly crafted addition to the genre pioneered by Zamyatin and perfected by Orwell, Dominion takes the reader into a world in the not-so-distant future wherein the government is a totalitarian monstrosity and its culture serves only to feed it.
What differentiates Dominion from the vast majority of its predecessors, however, is that this book does not take place in a fictional country and is not a searing commentary of the Soviet Union. It takes place in the United States of America.
A regime borne and accepted on the ideals of "bringing America back to its roots," the culture of the people of America fully supports the regime on the grounds of keeping America safe and free from foreign threats. The people are satisfied with their country because they are frightened and strung along by politicians to think everything the government does is right, that any news-sources from outside the country are merely "foreign propaganda."
Rather than having an official religion or guidelines for the way people are supposed to act, the social structure of the country is formed in such a way as to keep out any dissenters. The church that people are "supposed" to follow is not, by law, the official religion of the country, but all that do not follow it are put on watch by the Department of Terror, a governmental body made to watch "suspected terrorists" - and frequently arrested.
Dominion offers a burning critique of American society and draws on various themes and issues that face the country today, including but not limited to: the sacrifice of liberties in times of war, domestic propaganda, state-sponsored terrorism by the alleged "good guys," racism in the 21st century, and the world-knowledge of average citizens.
Regardless of one's political views - whether right or left, pro-war or anti-war - and one's national origin - the book is not only for citizens of the US - I give Dominion the utmost recommendation.
Once I began reading, I found it very difficult to stop after only the first few pages. More than just a well-crafted story and compelling characters, Dominion is also very well-written; its narrative is very easy to get into and can easily absorb readers the instant they begin reading.I usually read books very slowly, but I was able to finish Dominion in only two days.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Book I've Read in a Long Time, June 12, 2009
You sir owe me for pain and suffering. I downloaded your book and sat at my computer all night long reading it on the screen. Today my eyes and back are twitchy and sore. It was worth it though. I couldn't walk away from Dominion. The book is fast paced and dark but punctuated with humor when it is needed. The writing makes you feel as if you're not really reading it absorbs you so much. Stephen King and J.K. Rowling are the only other authors that transport me so wholly.
Dominion is a scarily realistic dystopian tale that takes place in the near future. There are nods to the Bush administration, Pat Robertson, George Orwell and others. I don't want to give too much away but I will will recommend this book to SF fans, people who distrust organized religion and readers who want a book that moves quickly and is addictive.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get it before the Dominionist Church bans it, July 14, 2009
This review is from: Dominion (Paperback)
Dominion is a thoroughly enjoyable and fun book for those of us who don't need a wake up call. The setting is the future New America, and while the circumstances surrounding the ruling regime are pretty extreme it is not too difficult to imagine modern day Americans in a similar evolving situation.
The totalitarian-surveillance-warfare state depicted in Dominion ends up being a major character in the story as Daniel Ruppert goes from realizing some inconsistencies in his news reporting to spotting outright lies and conspiracy.
It is a fun book, made even more fun by being self published and marketed, and I eventually began to play "spot the typo" but understand that many errors have been fixed for the latest printings (so too bad!). You can read it online for free, but who likes reading a book on a screen? (No, you can't afford a Kindle, Mr. Gates). Buy the paper version and read through the book, it is a relatively quick read and surely the starting point of what will be an interesting and impressive career from JL Bryan.
I'm looking forward to what else Bryan puts out there, especially Myself^2, and I hope he continues to evolve and experiment as a writer.
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