Customer Reviews

End of Days

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In Circuit of Heaven, Dennis Danvers wrote a compelling "Romeo and Juliet" novel about two lovers caught between reality and a virtual world known as the Bin. The story was intriguing in its newness, even if it had an overly sentimental ending. In End of Days, Danvers has written a good story, but it's a very different story and not quite a sequel.

The Bin, now in operation for 100 years, is still housing the majority of humanity. Back on Earth (the real Earth), Gabriel and his Christian Soldiers have nuked much of the planet into radioactivity trying to bring about the End of Days. The setting seems the same, but from the beginning, one clear difference struck me.

I didn't recognize any of the characters, save Gabriel and Newman Rogers. For a book that's supposed to be a sequel, I thought it was odd. I find this especially ironic considering that everyone in the Bin is "immortal" and yet neither Nemo nor Justine (from Circuit of Heaven) is mentioned. Even Lawrence, the Construct and nanny for Nemo, is only mentioned as a memory.

Once I resigned myself to the notion that this "sequel" was not going to have any of the same characters, I learned to love it. The story lines of five main characters interweave in exciting and sometimes unexpected way. Nevertheless, Donovan - the central character for much of the first part of the book - seems to fade as the story progresses. By the end of the novel, he becomes a bit player, not a star.

My worst complaint about the novel is that Danvers' sentimentality sometimes gets in the way of his telling a story. His devotion to love (while beautiful at times) can hinder the progress of a story by making it predictable. There is no tragedy in his novels, which seems as unrealistic as the Bin itself. But for science fiction and cyber fans that want to read something romantic (in a weird sort of way) Danvers is a great read.

Over a hundred years have passed since much of the planet's populace chose to enter the virtual reality world of the Bin. Those individuals who failed to enter the Bin were methodically eradicated by Gabriel and his Army of God. Gabriel also tried to destroy the Bin by entering a virus into its program. Creator Newman Rogers saves his baby by transporting the Bin to a safe off-world site while letting Gabriel and his horde believe the Bin died.

A new problem surfaces when the Bin's inhabitants start to commit suicide, apparently due to eternal boredom and the lack of anything important in life. That changes when Newman informs some of the Bin's residents that Gabriel now knows they survived his previous assault and he plans to destroy them. This, in turn, energizes them, but is it enough to stop the fanatical Gabriel and his soldiers?

END OF DAYS, the sequel to CIRCUIT OF HEAVEN, is overloaded with too many sub-plots that take away from the main story line. When talented author Dennis Danvers challenges mankind's need to perform meaningful tasks, the tale is clever and briskly moves forward. Likewise, the lack of individual responsibility in a society is also intelligently challenged. However, when the novel turns to the battle of good against evil, it bogs down because it loses its philosophical edge. Still, Mr. Danvers has created a unique cyberworld that is entertaining, thought provoking, and fun to experience.

Once I started reading Mr Danver's book, I got glued to it. He's not simply trying to ride the cyber-mania like so many other stories but he put technology into the context of much greater philosophical issues. He has so much to say and he has so much energy to tell you his story. His characters are interesting and very well developed, and often incredably funny. Highly recommended to the philosophically-minded sci-fi fan. It'll keep you thinking and laughing.

This book is the sequel to the highly original Circuit of Heaven which explored a theme heard often in sci-fi chat rooms and even in cocktail parties: The possibility of downloading one's personality onto a computer for eternal - even if virtual - life. I loved the first book both for the tremendous story and the the fascinating characters.

I expected the story to be a continuation of the first one it is true that the theme and plot evolved from one book to the other. Still, one faces new characters and new situations. The author explores several universal themes in this pair of tales - what is "life", what happens to conditions such as death and birth when life is eternal, what does it mean to be living, the relation / conflict between science and religion, the question of love in an increasingly sterile society and last, but certainly not least, the future of mankind. Each of these by themselves constitue enough material for a whole shelf of books, yet these conflicts are not only interpreted with aplomb but also mostly answered.

The love story is an added bonus, a crown topping an already superb saga. Character development is one of Danver's strong points yet it is so imperceptible that one scarcely realizes the changes. The best adjective one can use to describe this series is "satisfying". A true achievement.

I read the prequel to this book, "Circuit of Heaven". While that book was a little slow and convoluted it wet my appetite for this sequel "End of Days". I was not disappointed. Mr. Danvers did an excellent job of connecting the two storylines. End of Days can stand alone as a novel but I highly recommend reading Circuit of Heaven first to get a better understanding of some of the main characters and sub characters found in this book.

There is a great deal to mull over in your mind as you read this book. It's a great book on what a virtual world/universe could be like and what "immortality" might mean to different people. What does it feel like to be immortal? Is it for everyone? Would you like to be "immortal"? It bounces back between the virtual world in the "Bin" and the real world with people still living on earth. It shows what corrupt people can do with "religion" and how the concept of "killing for God", which happened many times in our past, could still be resurrected in today's world all so easily. What does it take to see "civilization" break down? There's more than enough food for thought in this novel.

It's also a great love story which crosses many different worlds and versions of humanity. There is plenty of suspense and action and hold your breath anticipation.

This will be one of Dennis Danver's best and most well known novels. I look forward to more from him.

With End of Days, Dennis Danvers is at the top of his craft, giving us a thoughtful, complex story, fresh and compelling characters, and a world as exciting and as visionary as a reader can ask for. Imagine Samuel R. Delaney writing with the elegant prose of Joan Didion. That's End of Days. This is the best sci-fi I've read in twenty years.