Resurrection (Domain Trilogy) [Hardcover]

Steve Alten (Author)

Book Description

Series: Domain Trilogy | Publication Date: February 21, 2004

What happens to us when we die?
Is there really an afterlife?
Do we possess a soul?
Does God exist?
For Michael Gabriel, the answers to these questions lie in another dimension, a realm of eternity where there is no concept of time, only pure life force . . . pure existence.
And pure evil.
Now, as was foretold five hundred years ago in the Mayan Popol Vuh, two boys are born---Michael's sons. White-haired, azure-eyed Jacob, blessed with inhuman physical prowess, intelligence, and insight into the cosmos, knows from birth that he is meant for more. His dark-haired brother, Immanuel, refuses his genetic calling, desiring a normal life. Only the combined powers of the Gabriel twins can resurrect their savior father and save the human race from an eternity of repeating its own self-destruction.
But on the same fateful day of the twins' birth, another child enters the world. Exposed to the uglier side of existence, empowered by her post-human genetics, the beautiful, schizophrenic Lilith will travel down a darker path that leads to eon-distant Xibalba---the Mayan version of hell. An epic battle of good versus evil will begin . . . and the final fate of the human race will be revealed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Alten's sequel to Domain (2001), based on the Mayan Popul Vul myth, charges bravely out of the gate, but quickly loses momentum. Centuries ago, Mayan legend predicted the death of hero Michael Gabriel, who would sacrifice himself to save Earth from alien invasion in 2012and the birth of Gabriel's superhuman sons, the Hero Twins, who would descend to the Mayan underworld Xibalba, to fight evil and resurrect their father from cosmic darkness. Born in 2013, Gabriel's sons, precocious Jacob and less enthusiastic Manny, grow up in seclusion, protected by their mother and the U.S. government. Within minutes of the twins' birth, a third extraordinary child predicted by prophecy, Lilith Eve Robinson, is born nearby. Raised in horrible circumstances, the girl later suffers unending sexual abuse by her Fundamentalist foster father. Ultimately, Lilith will face Jacob and his mother in an alien world where the winner will claim all the souls on Earth. Though the relatively unknown mythology intrigues, the story stalls early under the weight of one-dimensional characters and a plot choked by the moral certainty of the Left Behind series and paranormal "science" on the level of that in Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods. (Alten confuses electromagnetic arrays with electromagnetic pulses, misdefines volcano calderas, etc.) Still, with its apocalyptic scenario and emphasis on the afterlife, this novel will attract the same kinds of readers who've made LaHaye and Jenkins's books a success.
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Review

"Galloping, hugely detailed scientific/paranormal/spiritual SF superdrama that deserves a wide audience of warped but delighted readers."--Kirkus Reviews on Resurrection

"With the storytelling sensibilities of Crichton and Cussler, Alten sure knows how to write a thriller."--Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Dune: The Battle of Corrin on Domain

"A chilling, deeply researched peek into our ancient past. Jarring frightening, thrilling . . . What more could you ask?"--James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Subterranean and Excavation on Domain

"Alten draws clever parallels with Mayan myths in this rippling space-age yarn equipped with a credible love story and Earth-bound side plots . . . Star Wars like."--Publishers Weekly on Domain

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (February 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312875584
• ISBN-13: 978-0312875589
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,166,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Alten grew up in Philadelphia, earning his Bachelors degree in Physical Education at Penn State University, a Masters Degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate of Education at Temple University. Struggling to support his family of five, he decided to pen a novel he had been thinking about for years. Working late nights and on weekends, he eventually finished MEG; A Novel of Deep Terror. Steve sold his car to pay for editing fees. On September (Friday) the 13th, 1996, Steve lost his general manager's job at a wholesale meat plant. Four days later his agent had a two-book deal with Bantam Doubleday.

MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.

Steve's second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin's Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.

Steve's fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores -- a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve's eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve's health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Steve's ninth novel, MEG: Hell's Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante's Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan. The release date was 10-10-10. His eleventh novel. PHOBOS: Mayan Fear is the third in the Domain series and will debut in the Fall of 2011 (Tor/Forge).

Steve's novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD, was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival and his reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with hall of Fame coach John Chaney.

Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading ...until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it's free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com

As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.

For more information, contact the author at [e-mail]
or go to www.SteveAlten.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A big improvement over Domain, November 14, 2006

By 

mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Resurrection (Domain Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first bought Steve Alten's Resurrection - based primarily on the back-of-the-book plot summary - I hadn't realized it was a sequel to another book called Domain. In an effort for completeness, I decided to buy and read Domain first...and was really disappointed. Domain was a subpar book and when it came time to read Resurrection, it was with no real enthusiasm; I'd forked over the money, however, so I felt I should give it a shot. I was happy and surprised to find that Resurrection is a far better book than its predecessor.

The story starts off where the first book left off (so if you haven't read that one, there are spoilers ahead). Dominique Vasquez finds herself pregnant with twins. After the world-threatening events of the prior novel, these future children are being regarded as potential messiahs, and even in infancy, it is apparent that there is something special about them. Both are highly gifted, but only Jacob is willing to embrace his abilities. For twin brother Immanuel, his destiny is more of a curse; all he wants is a normal life.

Meanwhile, another child is born at the same time with a background that is a twisted mirror image of the twins. For this girl - with the dangerous name of Lilith - there is the potential for great evil. Twisted by schizophrenia and a childhood filled with a vicious, perverted stepfather, she embraces the dark side easily enough. She is a threat to the twins, who eventually take desperate measures to stay away from her.

As the twins reach adulthood, Jacob prepares for an epic duel that is supposed to resurrect his father Michael (who either died or went to another reality at the end of the last book). It will only work if Immanuel participates, and he is both unwilling and unbelieving.

The story plays with the idea of destiny and time. Are these characters locked into their fates? Are they merely reincarnations about to replay the same story again? The answers to these questions lead to the twists and turns at the end of the story (and into the final book in the trilogy, the upcoming Phobos).

This book is not without its problems. New facts about the characters (especially Michael) seem vaguely inconsistent with the first story. In addition, the final confrontations in the book are somewhat muddled, as the battles are mixed with the warped logic of time travel and false realities. And, as with the first novel, Alten often relies on pseudoscience that has long since been debunked (such as the Bible Code).

But there are good things in this story, too. Overall, the story is well-plotted and the writing much more interesting than the first book. This is a fun tale of good vs. evil. It may be imperfect, but somehow, it works this time, and is a good reward for persevering through Domain.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Alten, you've won over another fan..., August 30, 2006

By 

B. Mc Donald "Trip the Light Fantastic" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Resurrection (Domain Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)

I recently finished reading Resurrection, the first book I have ever read by Steve Alten. Well, I've found another worthy author that I can turn to when I need to escape the real world through the power of a good story. Although Resurrection, as I found out after I bought the book, is the 2nd installment in a trilogy, it is a great stand-alone apocalyptic sci-fi novel with a lot of history, technology, ecology and ethnicity woven into the plot in a very skillful way. I loved the way he gave very minutely detailed descriptions of the realms, the gadgetry, the natural phenomena and the technology that support the story, and also the fact that he is a very visual writer, making it easy to picture in your head the events that occur as the plot unfolds.

I love authors like Stephen King, Dean R. Koontz, Bentley Little, Clive Barker, and John Grisham. Now I can add Steven Alten to my list. I can't wait to get my hands on Domain (the first of the trilogy) and Phobos (the last).

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read -- however a bit too graphic for teens..., August 30, 2004

By 

Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Resurrection (Domain Trilogy) (Hardcover)

First off I am absolutely stumped at the connection that some have made between 'Resurrection' and the 'Left Behind' series. What the...?!? There is NO similarity whatsoever -- other than they both deal with the end of the world -- trust me, no matter HOW close that may sound, the novels couldn't be any more different.

I have been a LONG time fan of Steve Alten, ever since I discovered 'MEG' I have devoured each and every one of his novels. As you by now already know, 'Resurrection' is a sequel to 'Domain', which ranks to this day as one of THE most researched novels I have ever read. It is also easily one of the most creative. To be able to connect a meteor crash on earth with the pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge and just about every other ancient massive construction known to man -- regardless of where they may be located, is nothing short of incredible. However, the MAJOR difference between the original and this novel is that one takes us on an incredible journey back in time and back into the present, and the other looks primarily towards the future. No longer are we dissecting the journals of Julius Gabriel and the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world in 2012, but we are now focusing specifically on Michael Gabriel's twin sons, and their prophetic destiny to save the earth once again, just like their father did before. Let me be brutally honest: this novel is quite complicated, and if you read and place it on the shelf for a few days, it may be difficult to pick up where you left off and keep everything going along together without any problems. However long it takes you to finish this novel -- it IS worth it.

One more VERY critical thing to remember before starting this book: there are several passages that go into graphic sexual descriptions, assault and rape. It left a particularly bad taste in my mouth, mainly because I felt the story could have made just as large an impact without going into such extreme detail. Steve does this for a specific purpose in giving us a better understanding of what shapes the character, Lilith and a more inside view of how she comes to do certain things -- but I feel deep down it just went a bit too far. I do not enjoy thinking about those types of things at ALL, so why would I want to read about it? Even though I enjoyed 'Resurrection' and very much look forward to the trilogy conclusion in 'Phobos', that doesn't mean that the entire journey has to be completely perfect. On Mr. Alten's side, I see why he did what he did, I just would have toned it down some, that's all.

With that aside, this is an amazing journey worth taking. Some of what I enjoyed the most about this novel was the incredible creativity that Steve took in painting the picture of the future. Some of what he envisions will happen sound down right incredible, some of it a bit scary along the lines of Big Brother but it was ALWAYS facinating. In particular the idea of virtually eliminating racism by beginning the trend of dyeing your skin to exotic colors so that knowing a persons ethnic background was almost impossible to pinpoint from a basic first impression. The creative swearing was quite interesting, too. There is a LOT to enjoy in 'Resurrection', there really IS. It takes an amazing creative mind to be able to come up with a plot as wild as this, and tie it all together as well as Steve has been able to do. Kudos once again to one of the most underrated authors in print today. If you haven't read Steve Alten before, give yourself a little leeway, and just DO IT. You WILL be glad you did. I know I am.