Dominion

by Bentley Little

His attempts at fitting in at a new school complicated by disturbing dreams, Dion Semele befriends Penelope Daneam, an orphan who has been raised by nuns, and the two become catalysts for a reign of incredible terror. Reissue.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Paranormal, Witches, Horror Thriller

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Bentley Little is an American author of horror fiction. Publishing an average of a novel a year since 1990, Little avoids publicity and rarely does promotional work or interviews for his writing.

Reviews

[Tracy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

[Danger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy hell, this book really GOES FOR IT. Literally the most demented "coming of age/young love" story I've ever read. Little takes his time, teasing out the beginning, but once that 3rd act really kicks into gear...well, not many books have the balls to go as far and as weird as this one does. Keep this thing away from your kids.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for something "deep" then move along--there's nothing to see here. If you are looking for a Stephen King clone, again, move along. If you are looking for a good, pulp, horror novel that makes no apologies in its presentation, then you've found it.

I love Bentley Little novels. They are truly a guilty pleasure. They are perverse, unapologetic, twisted & very jolly in their excess. This novel is no exception.

& it takes place in snobby Napa Valley. Ha! Love it.

It is about a teenage boy who doesn't realize he is the host for the god, Dionysus, & with said god being the deity of the grape & ecstasy, how perfect the setting is in Napa Valley. Actually, how convenient. Dion (I know, I know. How obvious) is the new kid in town & he is targeted by a group of women who own a vineyard & are the "mothers" to a gorgeous girl, Penelope. They want to awaken the god within Dion & have him mate with their "daughter". You see, the women are actually harpies & are devoted to changing the world into a massive orgy with the coming of their god. Dion is important in their scheme.

From the opening chapter--a flashback of a man keeping naked women in his basement, impregnating them in order to give birth to the harpies (I love the scene where the newborns with sharp teeth come at him to rip him apart!)--to the last, this is a wild novel. It revels in it's excess that one can't be offended & should just enjoy it for what it is: A good pulp novel. How can one take a novel seriously when Penelope's "mothers" have the sex-talk with her & emphasize their want of her to have as much sex as she can & DO NOT USE BIRTH CONTROL! Awesome. & when Dion does morph into Dionysus, the madness is kicked into high gear--group sex everywhere! Love it.

B. Little is very good at what he does & I intend to keep reading more of his mindless, entertaining novels. He'll go to the dark places King is too pussy to take on. Good. Somebody has to.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dominion is a somewhat atypical Little book, and not just because there's no "The" before the one-noun title. In it he explores the nature and themes of ancient Greek mythology, particularly those of the lustier nature. It's the story of Dion, a new boy in school who meets Penelope, a girl who's been raised by an odd sisterhood of women who operate a winery. It sounds like an innocent if potentially naughty set-up, but Little carries it through to an unrelenting conclusion, with graphic and extreme events all along the way. It's one of those "not for the faint of heart" novels, but I found the mythological overtones fascinating.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dominion started with a lot of promise, but the second half of the book dragged on and on until the denouement. Our lead, Dion, starts the novel moving with his single mother from Mesa, Arizona to Napa in California. Dion 17 or so, is pretty shy, but well grounded, unlike his mother, who seems to have a knack for drinking, picking up men and getting into trouble. The two moved around quite a bit, usually to escape some mess his mother got into. For Dion, Napa seems pretty cool. He meets a friend, Kevin, at school and develops a crush on Penelope, a beautiful fellow student who also seems like a loner.

So, we have a coming of age romance guiding the plot along, but alongside this, strange events are happening in Napa, which Little just drops into the pot as the story unfolds; men being butchered and eaten around town just for starters. Penelope takes a lot of grief due to her family-- her five mothers who run a winery it the valley. Lesbo wine is the taunt. Anyway, things seem to be looking up for Dion and for a spell his mother behaves, but sure enough, she starts boozing and playing around once again.

Little attempts here to incorporate Greek mythos into a horror story and for a time this works well. Mild spoilers ahead! Penelope's moms have a plan to 'raise' Dionysus and bring him, along with the other Greek gods, back to reality. Further, it seems Dion and in fact Penelope are at the center of this plan (Dion, Dionysus-- get it?). The creepy build up with lots of Greek mythology scattered around create a tingly, suspenseful feeling in the first part of the book, and then we get Part II. Well, Penelope's moms came through and reincarnated Dion as Dionysus and then we spend 150 pages or so with Dion and his 'groupies' boozing and trashing the town. Lots and lots of sex and random violence, but the creep factor became displaced with the dragging out of the final clash between Dion/Dionysus and Penelope. Three or four stars for the first part, one or two for the second, I will settle for 3 overall. Very different outing for Little, with lots of shock, blood and sex, but a bit too OTT for my tastes.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5.0 stars for me on this one. While it was not at all what I was expecting (in terms of the story or Mr. Little’s normal quality) I did end up enjoying myself. I would have a hard time recommending this particular book to anyone but I would recommend several of the other books I’ve read by this author, and look forward to picking up some more in the future.

[Paul (Stephen King's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much

I love Bentley Little books but this was way out there. If I had a pound for each time he's used the word erection in this book I could retire

[Kim Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book, but if you cannot handle blood, gore, and perverse sex, do not read it!

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book. It's about 2 teenagers, Penelope and Dion. Dion and his Mom move to Napa, where Penelope lives with her "mothers" at their winery.

When these two meet, its instant chemistry. The plot deals with a lot of greek mythology, specifically the greek god Dionysis. The book gets going about 1/3 of the way in, and it's loaded with a lot of killing, lots of bloodshed with blood being smeared over people, killing of animals, sex with animals, sex with corpses. Like I said, I had no idea what i was getting into.

But, I HAD to finish this book. The storyline was well written if you can stand all of the carnage. I would not recommend for those with weak stomaches, but if you like this kind of storyline, go for it, you will not be disappointed. IT's the 7th Bentley Little book I've read, and I find you never know what you're going to get with him. There might be some subtle writings about blood, sex and gore, or the whole book can contain it from start to finish. Happy reading!

[Addy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very weird and perverted book yet still has the room for a certain love story that is sweet and feels out of place. And even though I said out of place when I think about it, it makes perfect sense. This is a Bentley book, after all. Certainly low on the list for me compared to his other books.

[Richard K. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot believe that after almost 30 years....this book STILL SHOCKS with extreme HORROR!
I live only an hour and a half from where this book takes place, and I still look over my shoulder when I lift my glass of wine!

Bentley Little went above and WAYYY beyond she shock value of the subjects of beastiality, gay sex, cannibalism, dismemberment, and the debauchery of EVERY kind of sex you can imagine, then throws it into the small town of Napa, California!.

WARNING: This is NOT for weak hearted readers, or those who do NOT have a very open mind!
Hate to admit this, but I read it when it first came out, and listening to the audiobook, was even BETTER!

5 screams

[Adam Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Domion was the only Bentley Little I honestly didn't like. I liked it in the beginning but after that I got lost in the weird sex rituals. The story is about a kid who is trying to fit in in a new school but, after meeting a girl named Penelope find themselves mixed up in a take over of the town and a festival for Dion, the main character, whom Penelope's multiple mothers believe to be Dionysus. The novel is violent and involves as much random sex as a Laymon, but I don't like it as much when Little writes it. Dominion is the kind of book that I dislike half way through but push through to the end anyway hoping that it will improve.

[Debra]

Stephen King recommended author. He says: "BEST OUTRIGHT HORROR NOVELIST. Bentley Little, in a walk. Don't know Bentley Little? You're not alone. He's probably the genre's best-kept secret, but at least 10 of his novels are available in paperback; you can pick up three for the price of that flashy new hardcover you've got your eye on. The best thing about Little is that he can go from zero to surreal in 6.0 seconds. My favorites are The Store (think Wal-Mart run by SAYYY-tan) and Dispatch, in which a young fellow discovers that his letters to the editor actually get things done. Bad things."

[Heath Kampa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just have to respond to several reviewers comments about the style of Little's writing and how it doesn't come close to Stephen King. I'm sorry but King's writing is in no way complex or deep. He keeps his writing style simple (he's even admitted that fact in numerous interviews and in his book "On Writing") because he's trying to appeal to a large audience and reach as many people as possible. I would by no means ever compare Bentley Little's writing to say a Colson Whitehead or Cormac McCarthy but I would also never say Stephen King was a better writer than Little. To be fair I have read and enjoyed several of King's novels (Salem's Lot, Cycle of the Werewolf, and the Gunslinger series all come to mind) I just don't see where Little's writing is no where near as good as King's.

Having said that I enjoyed this book tremendously for two reasons; the first being it introduced me to a great horror novelist that was new to me and secondly I thought like many other reviewers that the premise of the novel was original and the Greek mythology aspect was a highlight for me. Much like most of Little's other novels he has an inherent ability to take something mundane and seemingly innocent (a trip to the grocery store, a call from an insurance agent, a visit from the mailman)and turn it into a horrible nightmare. I think that true horror is finding yourself in a situation beyond your control and not being able to figure out how you got there and how to get out of it. When I started reading this book I certainly didn't see a lot of the twists and turns coming and that's what I liked about it so much...I had no idea how things would play out and just when I thought things couldn't get any more weird or violent or disturbing he'd hit you with something else. If you read much of Little's work you shouldn't be surprised by the amount or type of violence or gore found within this novel either.

[Sean McBride · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was whole-heartedly disappointed with this book. There was a lot of potential that Little built into the concept of the book, but he decided to go the route of shock artist instead of building a unique and satisfying storyline. The rating of the book is a little bit deceiving, because there are moments of brilliance. Little is a good writer and there are some passages in this book that are just...well...great, but that makes the rest of the book that much more disappointing.
The characters are built well, and the mythos of the book are built well, but then Little doesn't follow his own rules that he built. Three quarters of the way through the book, the characters dialogues begin to blend, and the story takes a strange turn. It builds to an obvious anti-climax, and it doesn't make all that much sense.
To top all of this off Little tries to hang a lantern on some of the tropes, which is fine, but he does it time and time again in the last 100 pages...for example: "It was a cliched phrase, a staple of bad horror novels and worse horror films, conjuring up vengeful demons and cursed land."

If you're going to do this don't admit that it's bad! He does this at least two more times, where he admits that what he's doing is bad, but it's what is happening. Took me right out of the book.

Little has some good books. I've really liked everything that he's set in Arizona so far, something about the setting maybe, but I'll stick to those in the future.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75/5
This story was told in two parts, the first before the event and the second afterward. The first section was a fun and interesting slow burn but the second part was an idiotic, tedious slog.

[Kellybrianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book when I read it and I have read all of Little's books (except Dispatch which I bought but haven't gotten to yet). This is one of my favorites of his and one of his most unique stories. It's a great horror novel and very original b/c it combines Little's usual take on the world in the face of chaos and mixes it with greek mythology (something I have yet to find in another book). Coincidentally I was taking a Greek mythology course in university at the time I read this book and it made it all the more interesting. However you don't have to be a mythology expert to enjoy this enthralling, creative book. If you love horror, especially stories that are uniquely different, or if you're just a Little fan, I would tell you to read this book. It's still on the top of my list for Little's works.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could rate the book's 2 parts separately...I would give part one a "5" and part 2 a 3. I found the first part to be a great horror story with mysteries and hints at some future unstoppable horror. Plenty of gore and bizarre sexual practices and I could tell this was all leading to something really big. In Part 2 the really big event has occurred and now the characters are dealing with the situation. In my opinion the horror aspect of the story vanished and part 2 is more of a fantasy adventure. I think the author should have shortened the novel a little instead of continuing the story 120 pages or so after the horrific event. Since part 2 is less than one third of the entire novel I still give it a 4.

[tam tam]

this one was a tough go. truly weird, even for him: Bentley Takes On the Greek Myths. It’s almost YA except for the extreme gore & sex & gory sex. i mean, talk about god-bothered!

on the reread: i guess i just like it more when he goes totally surreal but he’s on to something, clearly.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bentley Little became one of my favorite authors quickly after reading both, “The Store,” and, “The Haunted,” and he has proven himself yet again with, “Dominion.” When I tell you this book is a wild freaking ride! I didn’t know what to expect from this book and honestly, not sure if you can expect what this book ends up being. I’m honestly not sure where to start. The characters were so amazing, developed, and intriguing. The story is super exciting, thrilling, creepy, messed up. I even teared up a little at the end. The one thing that may put people off with this book is that it has more sex and sexual talk then a playboy magazine but it makes sense with the story and doesn’t cheapen the plot. If you are a fan of Greek mythology and horror, I highly recommend this book to you!

[LicReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books I WISH they would make into a movie.
Despite me wanting this to be turned into a movie and despite me already having a dream cast in mind (haha!), it is also one of those outlandish and freaky stories that I cannot even begin to imagine how Hollywood could recreate it.
The book starts out so tame and pleasant and then bullet trains fast into an orgy of twisted madness that left me both "too stunned to speak" and DYING to know what happens next.
I also dug the ending.
And
I want a sequel.

[Lokigyrl · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as out-right frightening and most of the Bentley Little books I read but it made up for it with all the shock factors

[Victoria Narizhna · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Dominion by Bentley Little, you will be able to write a compelling manual How to Make a Novel, Full of Imaginative Violence and Perverted Sex, Boring as an Account Book. The plot is amazingly predictable, virtually no surprises are waiting for you. The leading characters are almost loveable, but that is not enough. There is very little action, dramatically speaking, most of the time the characters do or want to do unimaginably bad things and then think about how unusual it is for them to do or want to do such atrocities. As a result we have a shallow metaphor about order and chaos, culture and nature, masculinity and femininity (yes, there is an overall misogynistic tone in this novel to my ear), with no breathtaking plot and no colorful characters. Waste of time, to say frankly.

[Mastorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the story, and the pacing was good.

The characters were unlike anything I've read before, and they seemed real enough. There were things said throughout the book that when they came up later I was like, oh shit, I've seen that before! And it didn't seem like obvious foreshadowing at the time. Our main character has these dreams (nightmares) that are really crazy and interesting to read.

Now, that being said, I would not recommend this book to anyone. Let me say why

- I'm not against porn or smut, but some of this stuff was downright vile and lazy. At first I liked something sexy happening, but it happened over and over and over. And it added nothing to the plot. It was tacky and happened way too much. I'm talking every few pages once the plot picks up.

- The characters were unique.. but we learn almost nothing about them. They just interact

- When something happens over and over, the author describes them in the same way. ("That scared her." "That scared him." "She was incredibly thirsty.") Some things came up multiple times and that's fine, but it got boring reading the same thoughts over and over.

- At the end when the story was "over" I was satisfied, but with literally two pages left they made a little epilogue with much to be desired. They wrapped up all of these little loose ends that didn't need to be wrapped up. I don't normally like epilogues for no reason but this one especially sucked. It felt thrown together, and things were better left to be wondered about.

[JayKay42415 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is good old-fashioned pulp horror that goes for the jugular and DOES NOT hold back in the slightest. If anything, it's one of the most accurate portrayals of Greek mythology in mainstream fiction I've read. Even better, it takes place in stuck up Napa Valley (also a fantastic example of foreshadowing, although the cover art is practically a walking, talking spoiler)!
What's the story? Well, Dion is a troubled teenager with a mom who can't hold down jobs and is constantly on the move due to her hormones (ultra-milf, basically) and meets a girl, Penelope and she lives with her five mothers (yes, really) who run the local winery. Lesbian wine seems to be the most popular item. Before you know, Dion is revealed to bethe reincarnation of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and fertility. Dion-Dionysus, get it, get it! The second half of the book is nothing but Dion/Dionysus and his "groupies" boozing and trashing around town and all sorts of sexual depravity is inflicted upon the town's inhabitants; bestiality, incest, pedophilia, serial murder, nothing is off limits here! Truly accurate to the Greek mythology's more ribald elements, and this is likely what would happen if Dionysus was resurrected!
So yeah, unabashed pulp horror in a contemporary (well, mid-90s) setting with no subtle hints or atmosphere; everything is out in the open for all to see, your eyes are practically being pried open like Alex's in "A Clockwork Orange" to witness the nightmare of ecstasy unfolding before you. Great stuff! This is the Bentley Little we all know and love!

[Reece Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

With Bentley Little you get a true nightmare, an otherworldly evil without logic or explanation that leaves you feeling hopeless. You get that in this book, but what made me like it better than his other books is that this one - from what I've read previously - is the first book to really try and develop relationships between characters; to provide some research into the premise; and to build the horror slowly. In short, this one seemed more ambitious.
There are things I don't like. The horror isn't really set up. Bentley Little goes right for the shock. For instance, there is a scene in which a husband is visiting his wife who is in a coma...and something shocking happens. But this is the first time we meet these characters so the shock comes from the act itself, instead of from knowing the people.
Of course this might have been a very different book if Little had carefully set up every scene.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In high school, I absolutely HATED Greek mythology and anything to do with it so imagine my hesitation when I got this book and it had a Greek statue on it, and the main character's names are Dion and Penelope....but I am VERY happy that I stuck with it.

My first Bentley Little and I think I chose a great one to start with. This is one of those books that was super good, but if anyone asked me what it was about I would lie, haha. This book was full of blood, murder, orgies, wine, Greek mythological creatures and gods, lust, etc.

I loved the dark energy/atmosphere, I loved the characters, and Little's writing style.

Overall an excellent read!

[Kry Tiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, disturbing, and incredibly hard to put down.
I first read this book back in high school. After years of searching, I finally found it again! So this was a re-read for me.. and it was just as good as the first time I read it. There were a lot of parts I forgot..
This book has everything: gore, humor, sex, murder, romance, and it's all wrapped in mythology! Beware of those around you.. not everyone is as they seem. Some have darker tendencies than others, but no one is safe. Are you ready for this thrill ride? Buckle up, because it's about to get bumpy. Good luck.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Bentley Little and I did love most of the book! I love the mythology in it, and of course, in Bentley Little fashion, it made me physically uncomfortable reading it. It is disturbing, gory and isolating, mixing folk horror with survival horror. However, I'm not a big fan of bringing strong sexual elements into horror, and while I understand why it was such a big part of the story, it just got to be a bit too much for me, and I honestly couldn't wait to finish it so I didn't have to read about it anymore. I would only recommend this to select people.

[Hali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welp that was out of pocket. The synopsis gives no credit to this book. This was a very vulgar horror novel. Honestly I was hooked from the prologue, it starts out super gory and strange and then just goes into high school relationships but then after a while they start adding more and more to the macabre side until it is a full on thrasher. This is definitely good old fashioned bloody horror with somewhat of a romance subplot. Oh also this has a lot of Greek mythology just to add on. This is one of the more out there books I have read and I quite enjoyed it

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anybody looking for a good, graphic and surprisingly accurate horror book with themes of Greek mythology I highly recommend this book. Everything from the characters to the world building is amazing, I will give a few trigger warnings for sexual assault/violence as well as images of animal death and abuse. If somebidy is looking for an adult themed book with heavy elements of Greek mythology this is the book for you!