Customer Reviews

Unholy Domain

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This futuristic story pits technology against religion in an all-out bloody war, ostensibly to save the human race. The thing is, both sides have dark secrets that they'd rather stay hidden from the world, and now one uniquely talented young man is threatening to expose them all to clear his father's name.

It's 2012 -
A year of great scientific progress
Except of course for the virus
Which cripples computers
ALL the computers
ALL
OF
THEM!
Killing more than a million people
Who couldn't get food,
Water,
Gas,
Heat
Or e-mail

It's 2022 -
A year of economic depression
Some believe that the answer
Lies in Artificial Intelligence
Human-like robots
THAT
CAN
THINK
And spectacles that are
voice-activated
to give you the news
on the go

It's 2022
A year of the Church of Natural Humans
Who believe that technology
Is the tool of Lucifer
And are prepared
TO
KILL
EVERYONE
Who dares to support
Artificial Intelligence
As they have no right
To play GOD

In between, there's David Brown, son of the man who has been vilified for creating the virus, but after receiving a delayed transmission e-mail from his late father, David now thinks otherwise.

David has a unique talent when it comes to AI, and once he sets his mind to proving his father's innocence, he stirs up the vipers on both sides, and the result is an action-packed, page-turning read.

The dialogue doesn't always flow smoothly and the female characters are sometimes (ahem) overly developed, but these are minor hiccups in an otherwise well crafted story that may yet prove to be prophetic.




Amanda Richards, June 7, 2008

Dan Ronco probably didn't realize when he was writing this very excellent 'sci-fi thriller' that within months of it's writing the world would be in the crisis in which we now find ourselves. Ronco's latest UNHOLY DOMAIN may not be about the financial state of the world, but reading his sensitive (terrifyingly sensitive!) insight into the world of computers and their use and abuse and the resultant responses to the people of the universe when a deadly virus 'disconnects' our main means of communication and livelihood draws some pertinent analogies.

UNHOLY DOMAIN pits technology against religion, good against evil, and vengeance against discovery of truth The story is tightly woven by a man with a depth of expertise in computer knowledge, a fact that prevents us from dismissing the sci-fi classification: it all seems far too real. Summarizing the story line well would take more space than is allowed by the new review system here, but suffice it to say that for a fast paced fascinating read, there are few books out there that whisk the reader away on as exciting journey as this very well written book. Dan Ronco will be around for a long time with novels of this caliber. Grady Harp, October 08

It's 2020. The Church of Natural Humans has condemned all technology and its army is conducting open warfare against the "technos," who it sees as the devil incarnate. After a devastating virus named Peacemaker knocked out the net and almost destroyed the world economy, the world's governments have outlawed the development and distribution of technology, creating a huge black market which is now run by powerful mobsters.

Into this violent climate comes David Brown, son of the notorious creator of Peacemaker. When David, who's been raised hating his father, receives a time-delayed e-mail from the man proclaiming his innocence, he knows he must investigate. Unfortunately for David, it's an investigation those who know the truth will do anything to stop.

A tight, tense, fast-paced knockout of a novel, Unholy Domain chronicles a pivotal moment in the future; the first true blending of man and computer. It's a great read. Highest recommendation.

Art Tirrell is the author of "The Secret Ever Keeps" a dashing adventure novel set on the shores of Lake Ontario.

"Simply put...the best underwater scenes I've ever read." - reviewer Meg Westley.

In 2012, the PeaceMaker virus destroyed the Internet; causing pandemic catastrophes as so much of the world was tied to cyber space with millions dead as a consequence. Over the next decade since this debacle destroyed the global economy, the government has banned the development of new technology outside of what the Feds create. The Technos strongly object to the taboo while the Church of Natural Humans want all technology outlawed.

The Domain has developed new illegal technology with the intention of a coup d'etat to take control of the government; the Church wants to expand its hold on the government. These two groups are ready to take their cold war hot. At the same time David Brown, the son of software guru Ray Brown, the person universally blamed for unleashing PeaceMaker, wants to prove his dad is innocent of these charges. He does not care one iota about the power struggle.

The second PeaceMaker tale (see THE PEACEMAKER) is an exciting follow-up warning to the premise that the destruction of the Internet will lead to many direct deaths and a global collapse exponentially worse than that of the Great Depression. The story line is fast-paced, filled with plenty of action as David (apropos first name) is a human sharing space with two five hundred pound battling gorillas. Although the rampart sexism seems unnecessarily comical and ergo out of place UNHOLY DOMAIN is an entertaining futuristic cautionary thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Having read many "technothrillers", I can truly say that Dan Ronco has captured a view of the future which is compelling, overwhelming, and unparalleled. This second book in the series (Peacemaker was the first) delivers a story that both thrills and frightens, yet provides a spark of hope.

I received my copy on Thursday, and once I started reading I could barely put it down. Ronco's deep character development combined with a literary canvas of impressive colors provided me with a wonderful experience. Through rich use of visualizations, Ronco led me through a maze of technology which may soon be upon us and which may, someday, become a part of our everyday life.

Once into the action of the book, the story just pours from the pages and moves at a perfect pace. The intertwining storylines come alive as each character begins to interact with the others and the vision of the future of our planet is revealed. Ronco takes you into a world which is not only believable, but is beginning to become a reality!!! With every twist and turn, the thrill becomes more intense.

UNHOLY DOMAIN is a riveting read which will pique and keep your interest. I HIGHLY recommend this book and also Ronco's first book, PEACEMAKER.

When I started reading (back in college when I stopped studying), I got hooked on science fiction, all the masters: Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Pohl. While I have subsequently moved into historical novels, I still like to detour back into science fiction when a particular novel or novelist grabs my attention. I read Dan Ronco's Peacemaker a while back and was sufficiently impressed enough that when I heard he had a second novel, I immediately laid aside Colleen McCullough and ordered Unholy Domain. I finished it last night. It took me three nights to read, which is very good considering all the things I have to do before I go to bed. (Not science fiction unfortunately). Unholy Domain is science fiction a la Da Vinci Code but with far better characters than Da Vinci Code and with more detail and complexity. Mr. Ronco has created a post-acopalyptic world that is very frightening because it is all very possible. Domain tackles religion, politics, and technology and does it in a way that is not at all burdensome but fun to read. It is not just for sci-fi buffs but also for fans of page-turning thrillers.

Unholy Domain, a novel by Dan Ronco is a brilliantly written novel. The plot, a thrilling science fiction account of the potential for a worldwide disaster should an unstoppable virus be loosed on the web. The characters are realistic, the scenes vivid, the action fast-paced...a real page turner from the beginning to the exciting and unexpected ending. I give it five stars--Justin Dwinnell, author of The Coronado Brief.

In Unholy Domain, author Dan Ronco takes us on a fascinating adventure that pits the dark side of technology against the forces of fanatical religious zealots with the rest of humanity caught in the middle.

Ronco leads us to explore the possibility of a world where black market technology is a more valuable commodity than drugs or weapons and organized crime bosses are eager to make their millions by assisting the devious and unscrupulous techno group known at Domain in the distribution of this technology which includes highly sophisticated artificial intelligence in the form of human looking robots. Not possible, you say. Consider, if you will, that today we are living in a world of hybrids (everything from corn to cars) and artificial intelligence is a matter of fact. When you examine what is currently happening in the world of technology, you you will find it is not such a big leap to Roncos vision of "techno-humans"(part man- part machine).

Ronco's rendering of the not too distant future (2020) is part suspense thriller, part horror story. We are told that ten years earlier a deadly computer virus disrupted the worlds infrastructures causing the death of over a million people. How, you say, could this be possible. Ponder, as Ronco has, our dependence on computers. They control our power generation, transportation, government and educational facilities, personal information, law enforcement, food distribution and a multitude of other aspects of our lives.

The characters in this tale are believable, well developed and very "human". Each believes in their own cause and no one involved truly believes that they are doing anything wrong.

One can almost see this tale played out as a metaphor for our world situation today. The "Technos"(United States government ) are pitted in a war against the "Army of God" (religious Muslim fundamentalists) in an apocolyptic fight for dominance. Or metaphor number 2, the "Technos" (read Supreme court decisions) versus the "Army of God" (the religious right). Roncos book lends itself to an abundant variety of interpretations not the least of which is, "Will our dependence on computer technology eventually lead to our downfall."

Reading Unholy Domain is akin to watching a plane crash. The thought of the outcome is terrifying, but we cannot force outselves to look away. So it is with this book.....it provides a story so engrossing you will not be able to put it down.

Among the sci-fi books depicting life in the future, Dan Ronco's UNHOLY DOMAIN stands out as a penetrating look at artificial intelligence and its implications. What makes it especially scary is that its time-frame is 2022, a scant 14 years from now. Given technology's rapid rate of acceleration during the late 20th and early 21st century, we can easily imagine that humanoid robots and mind-bending virtual reality booths, already working concepts, may be commonplace within the next decade or two.
The story concerns David Brown, son of the brilliant but disturbed scientist, Ray Brown, who has been accused of unleashing "Peacemaker", the destructive computer virus that crippled the nation's economy "back" in 2012 and plunged the world into depression and chaos. In the process of trying to clear his father's name and discover the truth, Ray encounters two malignant and opposing forces that threaten his life.
One is the "Domain", led by Dianne Morgan, Ray Brown's one-time lover, a power-hungry wench, determined to rule the world by pushing technology to its limits. Her plans to use artificial intelligence and genetic manipulation to develop a race of super-humans are violently opposed by the Church of Natural Humans and its "Army of God", a horde of religious radicals who carry assault weapons under their holy garments and vow to stamp out the evils of technology even if it means murdering every last scientist.
The intriguing characters and rapid plot twists make UNHOLY DOMAIN as entertaining and hard to put down as "PEACEMAKER" Ronco's first book, published in 2006. What is especially absorbing is the way Ronco explores the ethical and moral issues of technology gone wild. Even as they recoil from the ugliness of extremism, many readers would nod in agreement when Domain's proponents ask "Why would we not want a world of ease and comfort, where children can be genetically engineered to be sound and healthy, and where artificial intelligence enhances the capacity of the human brain to its full potential and beyond? Yet there is something chilling about the totalitarian methods the Domain will use to achieve these ends. Further, devout believers of all faiths might concur with The Church of Natural Humans as it condemns the Domain's attempt to meddle in the process of creation. "Abominations!" scream their disciples, as they see lifelike robots walking, talking and even duplicating thought processes, while the power of artificial intelligence threatens to change the very nature of the human species.
In our own time, we see something uncomfortably similar to this controversy, as debate rages over such advances as stem cell research, cloning, and genetic engineering. By the time we reach the 2020's, what new issues will technology present? UNHOLY DOMAIN compels us to think about it. After all, it's just a few years from today.

"Unholy Domain" is the second book of a science fiction series that starts with "PeaceMaker." I felt it was easy to follow even though I hadn't read the first book - but I also believe that all series books should be read from start to finish.



That said, I really enjoyed this book. It is set in the near future after a computer virus was unleashed on the world. As you can imagine, because the world so heavily relies on technology, this causes complete and utter chaos. Over one million people die as a result, and 10 years later the United States has not come close to recovering - as a matter of fact they are in a depression. The government has had to enforce strict regulations on all technology to try and prevent another such tragedy.



There are two groups that are ready to go to war over this, and what a war it will be. The first group is The Church of Natural Humans. As you can see by their name they believe that technology has no place integrating with humans, and they are ready to fight to the death for that belief. Then there are The Technos. They believe that integration of humans and artificial intelligence would be completely beneficial to the world. They are also ready to fight for what they believe. There are many other complex characters and they are well developed and really keep you intrigued.



I thought the writing was fast paced and very interesting, even to a non-techy like myself. What I think I found most intriguing is the fact that a lot of this is very believable. I think under the right circumstances events in this book aren't too far off.