End of Days (Hardcover)

by Dennis Danvers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In Dennis Danvers's New York Times Notable Book, Circuit of Heaven, the majority of earth's population escaped death by uploading their minds into the virtual reality of "the Bin." But, as End of Days reveals, their escape is not the success they had thought. The Bin is supposed to be paradise--yet immortals are committing suicide. And the mortals left behind on the ravaged earth are fanatically seeking the Bin's physical location, which they believe God has ordered them to destroy.

An exciting, romantic SF entertainment, End of Days is at the same time a thoughtful consideration of mortality and love, divinity and reality, the purpose of life and the end of the universe. The novel is so ambitious that the last few symbol- and action-packed chapters go by too quickly; they should have formed the frame of a full-length sequel. But End of Days brings Danvers's duology to an appropriately vast ending. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly
As detailed in Circuit of Heaven (1998), to which this novel is a sequel, more than a century ago most of Earth's population abandoned reality to upload onto the Bin, a computer-generated Nirvana of instant gratification created by Newman Rogers. Those outside the Bin were decimated by the Army of God and its fundamentalist leader, Gabriel, who prophesied the "end of days," when the righteous would be rewarded for their faith and sacrifice. When Gabriel dumped a killer virus into the Bin to destroy it, Rogers secretly saved his creation and moved its disembodied souls to a hidden site off-world. Now, despite the Bin's coziness, its inhabitants are increasingly unsatisfied. Donovan Carroll, aka "Dr. Death," links ennui and the increasing suicide rate to the fact that life inside the Bin is meaningless. Meanwhile, Sam, a disillusioned Christian Soldier, has found the hidden prototype for the Bin. Sam tries to keep it secret, if only to protect its sole inhabitant, Walter Tillman, the ugly duckling geneticist unwittingly responsible for the creation of Constructs, clone-slaves since freed. Betrayed by a fellow soldier, Sam teams up with a tough hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold named Laura, who just happens to have a communication link with the Bin, setting in motion a complex plot to reunite old lovers and destroy Gabriel. Danvers raises thoughtful questions about identity and personal responsibility, but the story suffers from overplotting and limited character growth. Attempts at religious allegory collapse under stereotypesAfrom the evil Gabriel and his minions, opposed by benevolent god-scientist Rogers, to a forced replay of the Nativity. But even so, Danvers is a skilled writer with a good, inventive story to tell. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Eos (T); 1st edition (June 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380974487
• ISBN-13: 978-0380974481
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,178,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The End is Near, June 1, 2000

By	Kevin Wohler (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing cyberworld, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, original, witty, and full of energy, November 27, 1999

By	"kornel" (San Francisco, CA, USA, Earth....) - See all my reviews

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.