Customer Reviews

Resurrection (Domain Trilogy)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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).

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.

See storyline above.

A fascinating and thought provoking novel. Along with the stunning visuals, Alten has written a well researched (some bio/science and Meso-American history) tale that encompasses science and science fiction.
I think some people are taking the stories they read a little too seriously. This is fiction. Pure unadulterated fiction. Enjoy, because your in for one fascinating ride.

Highly recommended.

Let me begin with a bit of praise for Steve Alten. I do not care much for fish stories, but I purchased a copy of Meg because a quick scan of the book promised another Dirk Pitt character type. I found the book was an easy read, a well written and intelligent work. For those who have not read Alten, his style combines the best attributes of Bob Mayer and Matthew Reilly. If you like well crafted stories and fast paced action this author is a must read. I am not particularly fond of Jaws, but some are. When Domain appeared on the market I was excited because the storyline is more to my taste (a mix of philosophy, religion, history and culture with a high tech twist). I was blown away. I counted the months until Resurrection was released (this makes Alten only one of four authors I will invest in hard cover). I was a bit disappointed initially in the slow pace of character development. By the end of the book I was pleased that Alten had taken the time to show me the vulnerabilities and faults of his principal characters. He did so with enough action to make the book an interesting read. I expect the back story developed in Resurrection will make Phobos an unparalleled experience. Be warned, Resurrection contains some graphic scenes of childhood sexual abuse. These scenes have a purpose however, as the Devil is nothing more than the dark side of humanity nurtured by abuse and disappointment. These few scenes are a necessary part of the story. It is my hope that Steve Alten does not base his decision to write Phobos on the sales strength of Resurrection. With a few pages to recap the events of Resurrection, Phobos is probably the true sequel to Domain.

Resurrection compasses many years--from 2012 to 2033, and ultimately deals with the eternal conflict of good versus evil.

The premise begins with a 500-year old prophesy: Hero Twins will be born to fight The Underworld and save humanity from destruction. On December 21, 2012--the end of the Mayan calendar--Jacob and Immanuel are born, both genetically-gifted and azure-eyed. But on the same day another being is born--Lilith. She's just as genetically gifted and azure-eyed as the twins, but, unlike the twins, she's the embodiment of evil. In order to save humanity, the twins must resurrect their father from the underworld, but first they must battle Lilith, whose immense power comes from the Dark Lord himself. Will the twins succeed in fighting off evil and save their father and the world?

Though a fan of Steven Alten's novels, I found this book disappointing. Though the theme is ambitious and the author obviously did a huge amount of research, the myth and legends and how they were interwoven with the plot is sometimes abstract and confusing. I found myself skipping over long "information" paragraphs to follow the story. Unlike MEG and The Loch, where the author revolves the action around a main character the reader can identify with, Resurrection has many characters of equal importance, none particularly sympathetic, making it impossible to identify with just one hero or heroine. That said, this is a novel that might interest those readers passionate about SF mixed with Mayan culture and myth.

A very good book if you like Steve Altens writing. A little too explanatory in a lot of places, but all in all, very thought provoking and a very good read. The only problem now is I have to wait for the third book to come out. Hurry up Steve!

Personally I have been more interested in ancient history in its reality. However there are few Fictional writers with whom I can relate to. Steve Alten and his Domain Trilogy being tops on that list. His ability to take historical items/information and weave it into this wonderful, and colorful tale is amazing. I myself have researched the Mayan history and found what Mr. Alten has offered is factual in what we know of their history and beliefs. It is due to this I think I find this work even more stunning. I was pleased after having read "Domain" that this was to be a trilogy. I looked forward greatly to the release of "Resurrection". After now having read "resurrection I found that I was not dissapointed in the least. As they say, the saga continues. My only frustration is that I have to wait for the next book. Kudos to Mr. Alten on his wonderwork.

If I ever make a list of the worst books I ever wasted time on, this book would sure lock a Top-10 position. IT IS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!

First of all, the story is all over the place. Characters are built up only to fizzle and die off. Plot threads that lead nowhere. Ancient civilization prophecies, half-baked deism iconography, bad 70's science fiction concepts, pop-psychology, chakra points and pseudoscience all baked in tons of LACTIC ACID. Rarely was I more tempted to quit reading a book before finishing it.

"Tachyon engines", "tractor beams", "guns set on stunt", "enter the nexus", "computer, lights!" - sound familiar? Well, the STAR TREK universe seems to be plugging every creativity hole encountered. Not to mention the alien starship of unknown origin, the Balam, that looks strangely like a cross between SSN Defiance and the Starship Yamamoto (yes, there is a ...photoshop-rendered picture).

Finally, the..."science". In the back dust-jacket Steve Alten claims to have earned a Master's in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware as well as a Doctorate from Temple University. Well, if these institutions knew how little regard he holds for research and scientific accuracy they would be asking for their degrees back!
Case in point: on p.307 Steve Alten claims that "there are over 100,000 different genes in the human genome" - a notion that is at least 25 years old. Evidence presented in the past 15-20 years brought the number down and in 2004 the Human Genome Project concluded that there are no more than 20,000-25,000 genes in our genome. This book was published much later, in 2006 - but of course the writer could not be bothered to verify his facts.
And I am not even going to go into the absolutely baseless claim that "our species is still only capable of using only 10% of our brain". What is this, the ...1950's?

If there is such a thing as a hell, I cannot imagine it without this book in its library.
AVOID. AT ALL COSTS.

Spirituality without being religious? Science and nature without the Discovery and Weather Channel? You bet. Resurrection explains a scientific view of mankind's purpose on planet earth. All you have to do is digest a story about a time loop and an extra-terrestrial civilization that is unexplainable--and intended to be such. Why write a book that explains the universe--that would be like mankind unraveling the bible for a perfect understanding of godly intentions and the spirit world. Did you ever stop to think life might get boring when you're 'in the know' about the meaning of life? Definitely, Resurrection is about occurrences in the near future written about in a 'current event' style that fills the reader with technology and jargon that purposely teeters on how readers digest current events and fictional thrillers.

If you like fictional thrillers, then you can digest the quick pace of Resurrection. The novel follows Domain, which is set more in the immediate future with an apocalyptic bent that features the Mayan prophecies of 2012.