Rating: 
Summary: A Solid and Enjoyable Adventure
Review: Steve Alten is a talented young writer. In perusing reviews of his various books it interesting to note that he has a very large number of dedicated fans and a few detractors. They both have one thing in common. That is that they all enjoy reading his books. In Domain he weaves an adventure story around some good archaeology and science and comes up with another winner. He varies from authors like D. L. Tanner, who writes great novels on Cryptozoology that successfully educate the reader while also supplying a great story line. Tanner's first purpose seems to be to educate while making it enjoyable and entertaining. Alten, on the other hand, writes first to entertain and makes the story itself work by including bits of science, archaeology, or zoology.
In any case, this is another in a growing stable of works produced by a fine, energetic, and imaginative author. My guess is that his expanding group of devotees will continue to grow over the years as he continues to apply his talent to the fields of endeavor he enjoys. He will, of course, have to do the trick of satisfying his existing fans that have come to enjoy his initial style of presentation while drawing new readers with new twists to his work.
Take a look at this book. If you have an interest in archaeology, nuclear science, or legends of alien visitation along with an appreciation of a good adventure story, this book will not disappoint.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: This book starts off with what seems like a good premise, but... there is no focus, no character building, and no clarity. I am a fan of Dan Brown books, which marry fact with fiction, and I am also a fan of other books of Domain's genre, and I love the idea of combining science with the spiritual, but this book was simply very poorly written. The plot eventually became so over-the-top that I just had to stop. Why waste any more time. This was my first Steve Alten book; I will not try another.
Rating:
Summary: Strong on Mayan facts, weak on psychological plausibility
Review: Alten ties together a littany of Eric von Daniken facts about the pyramids, ancient Mayan ruins etc. and throws in a wild alien plot and an out of control protagonist's ego to save the world ...
Zero for the use of hackneyed ancient trivia, several points for weaving a potentially interesting theory about the Yucatan peninsula meteorite, but in the end it falls apart because he has no clue about how to realistically write up psychological dynamics between his protagonist and heroine.
There were shades of Lincoln-Preston here and there, but it does not deserve the comparison or the reference to those authors. This is not to say that Lincoln and Preston always get it right. They don't. But at least when they do - say in the way they mix science facts with historical fiction - they back it up with slightly better character research.
Rating:
Summary: Domain
Review: An intern at a mental institution believes an inmate's story that an ancient Mayan prophecy is about to come true and that the world will end. The inmate, Mick Gabriel, is the son of a late ridiculed archaeologist and convinces an intern (Dominique, a beautiful adopted woman of Mayan decent, of course) that his being locked up is part of a conspiracy by the American Secretary of State who has a personal vendetta. Dominique helps Mick escape and together they run around trying to save the world as the sinister Secretary of State, evil aliens, and nuclear war impede their progress. That's the rough synopsis of this book's stupid plot. Steve Alten is actually a pretty good thriller writer and keeps the plot moving along at an entertaining pace. Mostly though this book just screams out to be turned into a high-budget but utterly crappy sci-fi movie. There's apparently a sequel to this book that I don't plan to bother with.
Rating: 
Summary: Fair thriller with superficial existential theology
Review: As a science fiction thriller, this novel works fine. The science (mostly archeology in this case) is good enough to allow suspension of disbelief, but ultimately it is not really believable. The existential theology behind the book is superficial, and traditional religion suffers one serious attack when a key character declares that it is motivated by fear and encourages hate (this opinion is never rebutted by other characters). This book contains multiple sexual situations (at times somewhat graphic) and profanity, so middle and high school librarians might want to pass on it.
Rating:
Summary: Von Daniken Revisited
Review: First, there are those who believe that humanity cannot achieve great things without some form of divine or extraterrestrial assistance, yet we have the Parthenon, the 9th Symphony, the Declaration of Independence, and a Theory of Relativity. So why is it so hard for people to accept that we could also build pyramids and understand the movements of the constellations?
That said, Steve Alten has created a fairly interesting plot for a fantasy novel. He has doubtlessly done a lot of painstaking research, which is why it is almost possible to suspend disbelief. The book starts out slow, with a lot of political and academic intrigue, then picks up and moves at a pretty good clip, and then...over the top, way over the top. Alten must resort to the metaphysical in order to pull it all together. A little more finesse with the final scenes could have made the book enjoyable.
Alten skips back and forth through history, always a satisfying device, but, annoyingly, he writes in the present tense, which is distracting. The hardcover edition I read had more typos than I have ever seen in a published work. I could recommend Domain as a pocket-book distraction for a long airplane flight, but the ending is not satisfying enough to make me want to read any of the sequels.
Rating:
Summary: DOMAIN - LOSES THE MOMENTUM!
Review: I have been a big fan of Steve Alten's books MEG and THE TRENCH so I dove into DOMAIN ready for an exciting tale. In the first 250 pages or so Alten does not disappoint. The amount of research in the novel is astounding. I loved the fact that I didn't know what was real and what had been "doctored" for the sake of the storyline. Alten mixes in research, the journal of explorer scientist Julius Gabriel, and the adventures of Michael Gabriel together nicely to keep the story moving at a staggering pace. The scenes involving Michael in the asylum (and the potential for escape) were my favorites.So why only 2 Stars? Well...Domain takes a serious stumble in the last 50 pages or so. What started off as a great storyline devloves into a series of cliches that if you read or watch movies you will be able to identify all too easily: nuclear war (aborted at the last second), a giant monster that is very 'B' Movie-like in description, dream sequences (do people ever dream like this in the real world), and a climax that leaves a lot to be desired. After all of his adventures, when the main character reaches the ending...he basically just stumbles around and lets others guide him along, it certainly would have been nice to see the portagonist handle something on his own. The antagonists are also let off way too easily in this novel, robbing the reader of the "pay-off". By the way, why is it that characters in books or movies always have twins when they are impregnated...after that one-time only romantic encounter? Of course, these same parents also have that special "mental bond" with said progeny. Oh yeah, and the story doesn't end here...or at all. Instead we end with a sequel blurb on the last page. That really robs you of any feelings of completion. Kudos for Mr. Alten for all of the work he put into this story (especially the first 250 pages), and hopefully in the future he'll avoid the easy ending and the highway to clicheville and give us an original ending worthy of his efforts.
Rating: 
Summary: Great fictional and actual history story line
Review: If I could I would rate this book a 6 but it would not let me. Mr. Alten's use of Christian and Mayan mythology work hand in hand to provide a very engrossing story. So far I have read all of his books and love all of them so much they all get a 6 from me except for the newest book Resurrection. It was a highly unusual story and all but I could only rate it at 4. I would recomend reading everything he has written.
Rating:
Summary: The Apocalypse Never Looked So Good
Review: If you thought movies like End of Days were good and stories about the Devil causing Armageddon were cool, then this book is for you. It starts off in 2012, where the hero, Mick, is trapped in a mental hospital. Things get gradually worse, as we learn the heroine isn't totally on Mick's side, and the destruction of mankind is coming quickly in the form of Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec death god, who proves to be one nasty mother. Of course, Steve Alten throws in some killer twists, as the "gods" have some earth-shattering secrets that can help save not only mankind, but themselves! Sadly, the heroes don't have it easy in this story, as the villains seem to constantly grab them by their short-hairs! To top it off, we're giving the "doomsday evidence" in the form of diary entries by Julius, Mick's father, who died trying to convince the world of his beliefs. Trust me, this story is more than well worth it!
Rating:
Summary: Hangs together fairly well...
Review: If you're a Steve Alten fan, you'll definitely like this one of his offerings. Unlike the MEG shark series, which is very fast paced but more intellectually "breezy", Domain requires a little more thinking on the part of the reader. Blending archaeological fact and speculative prediction, Domain hangs together fairly well as a summer read. And who knows?-you may just want to retain this book for its background information when 2012 actually rolls around!
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