Resurrection

Rating:
Summary: Alten should have stopped with Domain
Review: "Domain" is one of the best science fiction books I have ever read. Definately in my top 5. In addition, I've read every other book Alten has written, which is why it pains me so much to write a negative review, almost as much as it pained me to read "Resurrection."

I normally don't buy books, but instead check them out from the library, and if I do buy a book, I wait until it comes out in paperback. I loved "Domain" so much that I pre-ordered "Resurrection" months ago. Probably the first hardcover book I've bought in years. The story gets off to a good start, but falls apart after the first few chapters. This book is nothing like Domain. Whereas Domain had a great Mayan/Alien storyline, Resurrection almost completely abandons this and shifts over to a plot involving aliens, time travel, and Heaven & Hell. The word "Mayan" appears in this book maybe 5 times. No more visits to Chichen Itza or theories involving the Yucutan crater, which is what made Domain such a great book.

Resurrection focuses mainly on Michael Gabriel's twin sons, and what I think is their quest to free their father. I still don't know if I have any idea what the book was really about. Characters that seem important, are introduced, built up, and then killed or removed a few chapters later. Alten focuses the first half of the book on the twins, and the latter half on the aliens, in what comes off almost as two completely different books. He introduces the concept of wormholes, time travel, species evolution, the afterlife, and so many other concepts that will have you completely confused as to what is going on. All of this culminates into one of the most anti-climatic endings I have ever read. I actually started reading a new book with 10 pages to go because it felt like such a chore to finish it. I have been forcing myself to read 2 or 3 pages a night so I can be done with it.

As I aid, it hurts me to give my favorite author a negative review, but this book is truely deserving of it. While I don't doubt it will appeal to some, I didn't buy it for a space fantasy. I bought it to recapture all of the great memories I had from reading Domain. Unfortunately, the best part of this novel is the sneak preview of Alten's next book, "Primal Waters." Hopefully he will learn from "Resurrection" and his continuation of the MEG series won't stray too far from the original.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic read -- however a bit too graphic for teens...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Was this suppose to be one book or three thrown together?
Review: First off, I like to say I'm a big fan of Steve Alten and was looking forward to reading this sequel to Domain. Unfortunately, this one turned out to be a big disappointment. There is no question that Mr. Alten is a great writer, but I don't know what he was thinking with this book. It almost appears as if he had written three separate novels here. The first third is a rehash of the first novel. The second half is a bleak outlook on mankind's future with no true relevance to the first book. The last third is some weird pseudo mystical piece of tripe that does an injustice to the first novel, which tried to stay on the science side of life. It appears as if he was forced by his publishers to come up with a sequel to his first novel, so in between his writings of his other works, he came up with this. It also seems like he had sections of this book proofread by different people as he wrote it. Unfortunately none of these people read the book from cover to cover. The ending of this book left a bad taste in mouth and I have no desire to read the last book to this trilogy when it comes out. One final thought, Mr. Alten wants schools to select him in the Adopt an Author program. There is no way a child should be reading this book, which is filled with unnecessary graphic violence and gratuitous sex scenes.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read!!!
Review: First, let me start off by saying that I've been a fan of Steve Alten's work since I first read MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror, and he's quickly climbed the ladder to being my favorite author. Now that that's out of the way, this novel is the second part of the DOMAIN trilogy and it's completely different from the first book. This book follows the birth and growth of the Hero Twins, two young men destined to resurrect their father and save the planet. It also follows Lilith, a young girl born into abuse, who rises up to became the chief adversary of the Hero Twins. While I thought this was a great book and worthy sequel to Domain, I found myself being pulled out of the story somewhat due to the sexual nature, almost all of the central characters are engaged in sexual activity somewhere in the novel. While most of these encounters serve the basic plot of the story i.e. the abuse young Lilith suffers throughout her childhood, causing her to become the predatory creature she will grow into...that being said, I do think that some of the sexual contact in the novel was not needed. What the book needed was more action. Readers may also find that some parts were confusing, but I'm hoping that Mr. Alten will tie everything together in PHOBOS. For fans of sci-fi novels, this book is right up your alley. I found myself visualizing the epic battles in my minds eye as I read all the way until the end. This is definately one of Alten's best novels to date and I can't wait for PHOBOS to hit shelves as I was left with wanting more when I finished the book.

Rating:
Summary: Too "out-there" .....
Review: First, off I want to agree with one of the other reviewers below about kids not being able to read this book. At times it was vulgar, sinful, and overly dramatic on the sex scenes. Let's put it this way, if this book was made into movie, it would be no less than NC-17.

That said, this book is a huge myriad of technical mumbo-jumbo thrown together into one very strange, very unbelievable book.

I didn't think it added anything to its predecessor-Domain-and only detracted from how much I liked the original. This one was just too "out-there." It mixed too many Christian beliefs into mythological and new age voodoo nonsense, IMO.

Unlike Domain, this book didn't have the journal of Julius Gabriel, which absolutely sold me on the idea in the first book. I had actually emailed Steve and asked if it was a real journal after I read the book. He told me "nope." That was how well he had written it.

I guess, in conclusion, I give this one 4 stars because of Domain. I just liked seeing a sequel to my favorite book even if it didn't quite add up to my expectations. This is not too shabby of a book, mind you, but you will absolutely just have to take the author's word on most of it. You will have to suspend disbelief hardcore for this one. If you can do that, you will love it. If you can't, then get ready for some weird stuff.

Rating:
Summary: fine apocalyptic tale
Review: Five centuries ago the Mayan Popul Vul predicted that Michael Gabriel will sacrifice himself to save Earth from an alien invasion in 2012. The Mayan forecast also included that Michael would sire twin supermen. Finally the prophecy included a third super person born at about the same time as the twins. All three come true by 2013.

With the heroic Michael dead, their mom raises Jacob and Immanuel in a haven sponsored by the American government. The third special child, Lilith Eve Robinson, is not as fortunate as the twins as she is raised in a strict God fearing atmosphere by a sexually abusive parent. She turns away from his hypocritical religious fervor as she finds solace in the dark side. Lilith confronts the twins for ownership of all human souls while Jacob and a reluctant Manny must find the means to resurrect their dad if they are to defeat evil.

Though intriguing as an apocalyptic tale based on the Mayan mythos, the ethics and anti-ethics of the two antagonists seem more Judeo-Christian. In turn it is the angels vs. the devil war that makes the twins especially Jacob and Lilith Eve seem too stereotyped in a good and evil confrontation. Still the story line of RESURRECTION moves rapidly whether it occurs on earth or in an afterlife underground Xibalba so that fans of wars between heaven and hell with battlefield earth as one of the fronts will appreciate the sequel to DOMAIN.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: Great Book !
I couldn't put this book down.
Having read the first in this series Domain I could not wait for this one to come out. My only advice it read is if you can read Domain first and then follow with Resurrection. However, this book stands on it's own just fine. So if you haven't read Domain, and this is your first Steve Alten book, you are in for a treat.

Rating:
Summary: Another page turner!!
Review: I absolutely loved this book! I am not a sci-fi fan at all, but the way Steve Alten writes, I could not put it down. Usually, sci-fi bores me, and I cannot finish the first chapter, but Steve makes it extremely interesting by throwing in many different senerios. I read Domain and I could not wait for this book to come out. Now I cannot wait for Phobos, the third book in the series to come out!! This book is definately worth it!!!

Rating:
Summary: Keeps you guessing
Review: I am I huge fan of Dr. Steve Alten! I love his characters, the stories, how he mixes history, fact, and fiction. For those who are familiar with his work understand! Domain is one of my favorite books! I have been waiting years for the 2nd in the series. Now, Resurrection is out and I have apprehension to recommend the title. The story picks up where Domain left off, Dominique alone and with child (twins, the 'Hero Twins') and Mick is gone. However, Dominique, a great character in Domain, takes a secondary role to her sons when the story starts up. Our loving Mick...well, we are all confused. The twins...well, they are products of the environment; isolated for their protection. A new character Lilith,...well, you just don't when to feel for her or want to kill her; you'll understand when you read the story. I would love to talk about the story, but as a fan of Alten, I do not want to give the story away. Nevertheless, I will say, that the story jumps around A LOT, from memories, and Mayan prophecies, to the future. I would like to blame that on editing (maybe), because Domain doesn't have the same pattern. Anyhow, there is a bunch of unnecessary characters that have been developed that you never understand their significance, lots of random history that is inserted, sexual assaults that seriously could have been alluded to instead of described (besides I still am lost what the purpose was to have them in the book). The question of existence, God, heaven and hell...which is good, but you as the reader can't figured out what it has to do with the story. The Hero twins get annoying and there is time travel; which I'm still trying to figure out where everyone is. Okay, truth...I do not know. As I said before, I loved Domain. Maybe my expectations for Resurrection were too high. Or maybe everything will make sense in the 3rd book Phobas, I'm hoping. We will see. This book, well, keeps you guessing.

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: i definitely recommend this book. alten does a great job blending science/historical fact with fiction, while still keeping the book a good read. too often other authors end up writing more of a technical manual than a novel.
if you havent read the first book, domain, read it before this one. you wont be disappointed with that one either. so far its shaping up to be a really good trilogy.