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Domina: Society's Ilk
Society's Ilk is the story of a woman who refuses to be defined by those who can barely define themselves and rejects the dogged conventions of how she is supposed to be - levied by...yet based upon those who claim to be like her. It is the story of a superheroine who is capable of carrying an entire imprint as its franchise offering - so respected so as to garner the support of characters from an entirely different imprint for the purposes of ensuring her proper send-off into the universe. It is a story of last resorts, of sorts - in a pool of prose where the defiant metaphor which takes its plot seriously cannot be drowned. To Domina, none of this is anything new. She has always shouldered the ever increasing responsibilities of being a protector, the always welcome obligation of being a friend, and the treacherously important burden of being an entrepreneur. So why do her detractors continue to believe that they can win?
63 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 26, 2011
1 person want to read
About the author
Edmund Alexander Sims
9 books3 followersEdmund Alexander Sims is the Chief Executive Officer of and a Frequent Contributor for Dope Enterprises Infinity - a Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based company that creates, publishes, markets, and distributes literary and music entertainment. He is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and leading its two subsidiaries: Dope Enterprises and Def Mute Records. Edmund joined Dope Enterprises Infinity in 2009.
When asked about writing, Edmund's first love, he often takes a modest tact in describing himself as merely a scribe - just the hand which guides the pencil across the paper or the fingers that type the text into the word processor. Nothing more. All credit is really due to the characters because they are the ones who truly drive these stories. They are the ones who are responsible for navigating the most pressing of situations, sorting out varying degrees of conflict, and seeking some semblance of resolution. He cannot take the credit for this because, ultimately, their stories deserve to be told, and it is his duty (as an author) to honor them.
Prosaic cinematography and stream of consciousness are the literary tools that Edmund uses to create deeply immersing works which plunge readers completely into the middle of the action as well as the heads of the characters. With intricately woven story lines and a naturally diverse character set, he seeks to broaden the audience for reading while giving the bookworms a tantalizing new feast of refreshing literature. His bibliography includes the SpaceStation Colt, Enforcers, and Domina series.
When asked about writing, Edmund's first love, he often takes a modest tact in describing himself as merely a scribe - just the hand which guides the pencil across the paper or the fingers that type the text into the word processor. Nothing more. All credit is really due to the characters because they are the ones who truly drive these stories. They are the ones who are responsible for navigating the most pressing of situations, sorting out varying degrees of conflict, and seeking some semblance of resolution. He cannot take the credit for this because, ultimately, their stories deserve to be told, and it is his duty (as an author) to honor them.
Prosaic cinematography and stream of consciousness are the literary tools that Edmund uses to create deeply immersing works which plunge readers completely into the middle of the action as well as the heads of the characters. With intricately woven story lines and a naturally diverse character set, he seeks to broaden the audience for reading while giving the bookworms a tantalizing new feast of refreshing literature. His bibliography includes the SpaceStation Colt, Enforcers, and Domina series.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 18, 2011
What an odd little story, so very different from what I would normally read, and so completely opposite of what I expected. At first, I had a hard time getting into the story, simply because of the way in which it’s structured. It jumps between news broadcasts, third-person narrative asides, first-person narration, and abrupt changes in POV. I actually had to stop, think about what I was reading for a moment, and forget whatever expectations I brought into it with me.
That’s when everything suddenly fell into place. In essence, this is a comic book without the comics, a graphic novel that’s missing the graphics. It has that narrative feel of a superhero comic book, so much so that you can envision the dialogue bubbles, narrative panels, and split-scene POVs. Like I said earlier, it’s an odd way to tell a story, but once you understand that’s what you’re reading, it is a lot of fun.
Not only that, but it becomes a much more clever story.
Domina is a superheroine who, as both a character and a narrator, is almost ironically self-aware, and able to offer commentary on that absurdity of her role. You need to accept the graphic-less graphic novel to really appreciate her storytelling, but the story itself is delightfully self-aware as well. In her civilian disguise, Domina leads a global corporation that secretly uses her superheroine technology to develop, market, and distributes toy and video games based on the secret science fiction exploits of one its other Executive officers.
It may sound like something that has the potential for campy silliness, but it’s a very sombre, serious, straightforward science-fiction story that has a lot of potential for future instalments. The nanite technology used in Domina’s costuming and equipment is fascinating, and it’s refreshing to see it exploited outside the secret lair. For the most part, the supervillains (and one other superhero) are as practical and plausible as Domina, and she is quite happy to call out those who embrace their comic-book silliness. It's also a story that explores the implications of superpowers and advanced technology, with Domina's actions not only impacting a loyal employee and his family, but giving rise to the supervillain introduced in the final act.
Like any good comic book, of course, the story ends on a cliff-hanger. It has certainly left me wanting more and, while I would love a full-length Domina novel, a series of serialized adventures seems entirely appropriate
That’s when everything suddenly fell into place. In essence, this is a comic book without the comics, a graphic novel that’s missing the graphics. It has that narrative feel of a superhero comic book, so much so that you can envision the dialogue bubbles, narrative panels, and split-scene POVs. Like I said earlier, it’s an odd way to tell a story, but once you understand that’s what you’re reading, it is a lot of fun.
Not only that, but it becomes a much more clever story.
Domina is a superheroine who, as both a character and a narrator, is almost ironically self-aware, and able to offer commentary on that absurdity of her role. You need to accept the graphic-less graphic novel to really appreciate her storytelling, but the story itself is delightfully self-aware as well. In her civilian disguise, Domina leads a global corporation that secretly uses her superheroine technology to develop, market, and distributes toy and video games based on the secret science fiction exploits of one its other Executive officers.
It may sound like something that has the potential for campy silliness, but it’s a very sombre, serious, straightforward science-fiction story that has a lot of potential for future instalments. The nanite technology used in Domina’s costuming and equipment is fascinating, and it’s refreshing to see it exploited outside the secret lair. For the most part, the supervillains (and one other superhero) are as practical and plausible as Domina, and she is quite happy to call out those who embrace their comic-book silliness. It's also a story that explores the implications of superpowers and advanced technology, with Domina's actions not only impacting a loyal employee and his family, but giving rise to the supervillain introduced in the final act.
Like any good comic book, of course, the story ends on a cliff-hanger. It has certainly left me wanting more and, while I would love a full-length Domina novel, a series of serialized adventures seems entirely appropriate
October 12, 2011
originally appeared on:Bookshelf Confessions
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
this is actually my first win in Early Reviewers:
after opening the ebook, i got really confused, i mean i'm lost.
but then, after scanning and looking for the real story, i get a good grip on the book..
the storyline is good, though i agree, the book is really more on description rather than story-telling..
the book would be good if the author focuses on what he wanted the reader to really get and not just diverging and diverging the topic or theme of the story..the characters was developed though by a really vivid imagination..:D..
one could really like the book, if you've just give time to it..
all in all, this book is ok!
Domina: Society's Ilk is the story of a woman who refuses to be defined by those who can barely define themselves and rejects the dogged conventions of how she is supposed to be - levied by...yet based upon those who claim to be like her. It is the story of a superheroine who is capable of carrying an entire imprint as its franchise offering - so respected so as to garner the support of characters from an entirely different imprint for the purposes of ensuring her proper send-off into the universe. It is a story of last resorts, of sorts - in a pool of prose where the defiant metaphor which takes its plot seriously cannot be drowned. To Domina, none of this is anything new. She has always shouldered the ever increasing responsibilities of being a protector, the always welcome obligation of being a friend, and the treacherously important burden of being an entrepreneur. So why do her detractors continue to believe that they can win?
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
this is actually my first win in Early Reviewers:
after opening the ebook, i got really confused, i mean i'm lost.
but then, after scanning and looking for the real story, i get a good grip on the book..
the storyline is good, though i agree, the book is really more on description rather than story-telling..
the book would be good if the author focuses on what he wanted the reader to really get and not just diverging and diverging the topic or theme of the story..the characters was developed though by a really vivid imagination..:D..
one could really like the book, if you've just give time to it..
all in all, this book is ok!
Domina: Society's Ilk is the story of a woman who refuses to be defined by those who can barely define themselves and rejects the dogged conventions of how she is supposed to be - levied by...yet based upon those who claim to be like her. It is the story of a superheroine who is capable of carrying an entire imprint as its franchise offering - so respected so as to garner the support of characters from an entirely different imprint for the purposes of ensuring her proper send-off into the universe. It is a story of last resorts, of sorts - in a pool of prose where the defiant metaphor which takes its plot seriously cannot be drowned. To Domina, none of this is anything new. She has always shouldered the ever increasing responsibilities of being a protector, the always welcome obligation of being a friend, and the treacherously important burden of being an entrepreneur. So why do her detractors continue to believe that they can win?
August 6, 2011
I received this book as a Librarything Early Review Copy.
From the beginning I didn’t get the story and it really wasn’t what I expected so please keep that in mind. From the beginning I was confused. The first page, a news alert, was fine but then there four random comments before the first chapter. Then there was a page that said “for those who get it”. Well, that wasn’t me but I continued reading anyway. The chapter started out with a five page fight sequence which I had a lot of trouble following. Perhaps it was because I don’t know a lot about fighting styles so I didn’t understand a lot of the moves and positions. The next few pages discusses her super suit which is apparently painted on. The funniest thing about the costume knee-high heeled boots of speed, after reading the description all I thought of was a bad porn character costume. The story itself is pretty good but I think that there are definitely too many details to sort through to get to the story. All in all an OK book and I don’t think that I would buy another one in the series but that because it is not my style of writing.
3 Stars
From the beginning I didn’t get the story and it really wasn’t what I expected so please keep that in mind. From the beginning I was confused. The first page, a news alert, was fine but then there four random comments before the first chapter. Then there was a page that said “for those who get it”. Well, that wasn’t me but I continued reading anyway. The chapter started out with a five page fight sequence which I had a lot of trouble following. Perhaps it was because I don’t know a lot about fighting styles so I didn’t understand a lot of the moves and positions. The next few pages discusses her super suit which is apparently painted on. The funniest thing about the costume knee-high heeled boots of speed, after reading the description all I thought of was a bad porn character costume. The story itself is pretty good but I think that there are definitely too many details to sort through to get to the story. All in all an OK book and I don’t think that I would buy another one in the series but that because it is not my style of writing.
3 Stars
August 7, 2011
This novel is definitely for science fiction fans. There is plenty of sci fi speak and some wacky, but good, names for the characters. The main character is a strong-willed female-she is definitely not the norm as far as main characters go, but the reader will grow to respect her. The novel is really short-more like a novella almost, the reader will finish within an hour or two. Some parts are confusing, others are intriguing. There could have been more explanation in the book, the reader may get lost. The best part was easily the main character; she appears as smart, dependable, loyal, etc... the secondary characters are worth reading about as well, though they do not appear much in the story. This book is recommended for science fiction fans.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews