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Death's Dominion
When a scientist discovers a way to bring the dead back to life, using them as slave labor, the government, disgusted by, and afraid of, these hideous, yet docile creatures, sets out to destroy them, until one of the creatures decides to take a stand. Original.
342 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2006
5 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Simon Clark
212 books300 followersBorn, 20th April, 1958, Simon Clark is the author of such highly regarded horror novels as Nailed By The Heart, Blood Crazy, Darker, Vampyrrhic and The Fall, while his short stories have been collected in Blood & Grit and Salt Snake & Other Bloody Cuts. He has also written prose material for the internationally famous rock band U2.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 8, 2021
Truly a strange book by Clark. This must be an alternative reality, for scientists discovered a way to 'raise the dead' over 50 years ago. The 'reborn' are once again young and really hardy, with full mental processes; they are not zombies, as they live and breath just like humans, but they are hard to kill. While never specified, it is set in England, the only nation to keep on raising the dead and now coming to ruin due to UN economic sanctions. This is all back story, however.
The story starts off with Dominion awakening in a 'transient station', e.g., where they raise the dead. Soldiers are killing all the reborn, but Dominion flees for his life. It turns out the reborn have a code or law, stating that they must obey humans and can due them no harm; something like Asimov's robot laws. Why the government is now killing all the reborn is a mystery. The reborn occupy a second tier socially, 'born' if you will to serve, but the economic sanctions laid waste to the economy and a scapegoat is necessary, so the reborn must die.
Dominion is different, however. He is not bound to the rules, and kills humans when necessary. He manages to lead a ragtag band of reborn (fellow escapees from the station) to an old castle and their starts planing the future...
This is an odd duck of a book. On the one hand, it is a modern version of Frankenstein, bring the dead back to life as servants, but maybe the undead have other plans... On the other hand, it is an inversion of your typical zombie story, with the 'zombies' fleeing for their lives from an enraged humanity...
Simon pulls us along nicely and his prose flows along at a good pace. Some good twists and turns at the end helped the book, but overall, it was just a good, not great read. Way too many unresolved plot lines for my taste and at the same time, too many unexplained aspects about the world he builds in general. 3 zombie stars.
The story starts off with Dominion awakening in a 'transient station', e.g., where they raise the dead. Soldiers are killing all the reborn, but Dominion flees for his life. It turns out the reborn have a code or law, stating that they must obey humans and can due them no harm; something like Asimov's robot laws. Why the government is now killing all the reborn is a mystery. The reborn occupy a second tier socially, 'born' if you will to serve, but the economic sanctions laid waste to the economy and a scapegoat is necessary, so the reborn must die.
Dominion is different, however. He is not bound to the rules, and kills humans when necessary. He manages to lead a ragtag band of reborn (fellow escapees from the station) to an old castle and their starts planing the future...
This is an odd duck of a book. On the one hand, it is a modern version of Frankenstein, bring the dead back to life as servants, but maybe the undead have other plans... On the other hand, it is an inversion of your typical zombie story, with the 'zombies' fleeing for their lives from an enraged humanity...
Simon pulls us along nicely and his prose flows along at a good pace. Some good twists and turns at the end helped the book, but overall, it was just a good, not great read. Way too many unresolved plot lines for my taste and at the same time, too many unexplained aspects about the world he builds in general. 3 zombie stars.
August 6, 2015
Now, I'm a relatively easy person to please. Give me a creepy cover, a horror book filled with gore, and an apocalyptic terrible future, you have me hooked--anything else you can throw my way is just a gravy in the ladle.
I really liked the concept of this book--set in the future, where people who die are placed in Regenerators, and serve humankind but are unable to retaliate or defend themselves, and suddenly these peaceful zombies/Frankenstein monsters find themselves chosen for mass extermination by a vengeful downtrodden population. I can envision the movie/game in my head while I read this book.
However! It could have been so much better! There were parts I almost wanted to shove the author over and be like no! Make this better! Expound upon it! The whole Transit Center attack, while interesting at the beginning, could have definitely been seen through other survivor's eyes too. Or how the world had changed with the war between Monsters vs. Saps (very neat term for homo sapiens, points to the author).
I really like Simon Clark books too, but some criticisms with this one--that I see in all his other books too:
1. Ok. Books are hardcore. There will be random explosions of intestines and all characters can be killed off at anytime...but each and every sex scene in his books is not kind of dumb, but agonizingly stupid. In the woods surrounded by zombies. In an empty swimming pool while evil aliens are above murdering your mother. In a sewer filled with bloodthirsty vampires. In this book, while evil townspeople are right outside the house with a murderer/traitor in your group, with the door open. If it's the worst possible time in the most terrible circumstances, people in his book get it on. All this does is make me hate the characters and deem them as stupid (like any 80s horror flick) while wondering why the author felt the need to add these parts.
2. He starts neat things but doesn't finish them. The song of the dead--the connection with the Bronze Age past that the Regenerated have--very neat concept I was on board with--how come nothing was really done with this? Had potential, went nowhere.
3. The end. In one sense I liked the end, because it wrapped up neat plot lines, but also an ehhh... book could be longer/have an obvious sequel (I doubt there's a sequel to this) and I'd be happy. Felt like everything got tied up way too fast and I didn't see the point in a giant twist at the end at all. And a lot of his book's endings seem rushed, especially after all the craziness that precede the final page.
But happy I read this book, and would recommend to those who like off-the-wall addictive horror/thriller novels.
I really liked the concept of this book--set in the future, where people who die are placed in Regenerators, and serve humankind but are unable to retaliate or defend themselves, and suddenly these peaceful zombies/Frankenstein monsters find themselves chosen for mass extermination by a vengeful downtrodden population. I can envision the movie/game in my head while I read this book.
However! It could have been so much better! There were parts I almost wanted to shove the author over and be like no! Make this better! Expound upon it! The whole Transit Center attack, while interesting at the beginning, could have definitely been seen through other survivor's eyes too. Or how the world had changed with the war between Monsters vs. Saps (very neat term for homo sapiens, points to the author).
I really like Simon Clark books too, but some criticisms with this one--that I see in all his other books too:
1. Ok. Books are hardcore. There will be random explosions of intestines and all characters can be killed off at anytime...but each and every sex scene in his books is not kind of dumb, but agonizingly stupid. In the woods surrounded by zombies. In an empty swimming pool while evil aliens are above murdering your mother. In a sewer filled with bloodthirsty vampires. In this book, while evil townspeople are right outside the house with a murderer/traitor in your group, with the door open. If it's the worst possible time in the most terrible circumstances, people in his book get it on. All this does is make me hate the characters and deem them as stupid (like any 80s horror flick) while wondering why the author felt the need to add these parts.
2. He starts neat things but doesn't finish them. The song of the dead--the connection with the Bronze Age past that the Regenerated have--very neat concept I was on board with--how come nothing was really done with this? Had potential, went nowhere.
3. The end. In one sense I liked the end, because it wrapped up neat plot lines, but also an ehhh... book could be longer/have an obvious sequel (I doubt there's a sequel to this) and I'd be happy. Felt like everything got tied up way too fast and I didn't see the point in a giant twist at the end at all. And a lot of his book's endings seem rushed, especially after all the craziness that precede the final page.
But happy I read this book, and would recommend to those who like off-the-wall addictive horror/thriller novels.
June 2, 2011
People piece the dead together to make and train as servents. Soon they fear an uprising for the undead who still think and have feelings. I love this book. It is sad to stand with the un-dead but a great read.
June 19, 2011
A fascinating twist on the "Frankenstein's monster" story, in this book the dead who are brought back (called TRANSIENTS, not monsters - do the people who write the descriptions of the books even READ the bloody books?) are stronger, healthier and more attractive than when they died (the cover of the book notwithstanding - I don't think that whoever did the cover art actually knew ANYTHING about the book except it was going to have a "Frankenstein's monster" type theme). Although they have been programmed to not harm humans, nor allow harm to come to them through their action or inaction, there are several instances in the book where they allow harm to come to humans through their inaction - simply because to act would cause harm to _other_ humans - quite a dilemma. Therefore, most of the transients are completely helpless to defend themselves when the government of the last country to allow them is toppled and passes word that all Transients are to be destroyed. There never really is a lot of explanation as to why humans have turned upon their creations, but apparently the destruction of Transients is now a world-wide hobby. Or is it? Because a new type of Transient has just been born - the first to awaken while still in the Regenerator, and the first (among those with whom he takes up) to actively harm humans.
The book is a beautiful example of "that which we do not understand, we fear; that which we fear, we destroy." There is also, toward the end of the book, a quite obvious parallel to Israel. This book isn't as horrifying as I have generally seen from Mr. Clark but it nonetheless is a very satisfying read which kept me glued to the pages until I had finished the entire book in one sitting. Strongly recommended for fans of Simon Clark, horror, suspense and those who like to read a book that makes them think.
The book is a beautiful example of "that which we do not understand, we fear; that which we fear, we destroy." There is also, toward the end of the book, a quite obvious parallel to Israel. This book isn't as horrifying as I have generally seen from Mr. Clark but it nonetheless is a very satisfying read which kept me glued to the pages until I had finished the entire book in one sitting. Strongly recommended for fans of Simon Clark, horror, suspense and those who like to read a book that makes them think.
August 17, 2016
2.5/5. The writing is fine, and quite good in places, but the plot leaves too many things unanswered. What is it about being raised from the dead that prevents the resurrected from harming humanity? This works in Asimov's stories because there's an explanation for it. Here? It's just because. Is there a minimum age someone can be regenerated at? Why does everyone seem to go back to being 30? Also, Dominion himself just wasn't that interesting of a character. When you discover his purpose near the end, it's more disappointing than shocking or surprising.
On a random note, I also picked out 6-8 obvious typos in this professionally printed book. How do you mess up the difference between "too" and "two"? Clark needed a better proofreader on this one.
Overall, this is a pretty good book with pretty good writing and a half-baked concept. Skip it and read Asimov's robots series instead. Unless you like the undead having sex with humans. Then this might be your jam.
On a random note, I also picked out 6-8 obvious typos in this professionally printed book. How do you mess up the difference between "too" and "two"? Clark needed a better proofreader on this one.
Overall, this is a pretty good book with pretty good writing and a half-baked concept. Skip it and read Asimov's robots series instead. Unless you like the undead having sex with humans. Then this might be your jam.
March 11, 2009
after quite a few disappointments in the leisure "horror book of the month club" books, this one was a pleasant surprise.
it fell a little bit prey to the stephen king syndrome of explaining things a little too much at the end and chalking it all up to science where a more ambiguous, supernatural climax would have been more interesting, or at least, preferred (though i feel the very end made up for it in a "soylent green is made from people"/"i am legend" kind of way).
the characters were also a little bit one-note, and it was a note that was played over and over and over again.
BUT, beyond that, it was an enjoyable book. it was fast-paced, full of well-written action scenes, AND, despite my complaints about the ending, an interesting story.
it fell a little bit prey to the stephen king syndrome of explaining things a little too much at the end and chalking it all up to science where a more ambiguous, supernatural climax would have been more interesting, or at least, preferred (though i feel the very end made up for it in a "soylent green is made from people"/"i am legend" kind of way).
the characters were also a little bit one-note, and it was a note that was played over and over and over again.
BUT, beyond that, it was an enjoyable book. it was fast-paced, full of well-written action scenes, AND, despite my complaints about the ending, an interesting story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2009
Fantastic! I couldn't put this one down! Simon Clark has a way with words - you can visualize the gore!
March 17, 2017
Excellent use of Frankenstein's Monster. A Clark Horror novel hasn't let me down yet
January 12, 2026
In a world where the dead are brought back to life to serve humanity, one of these “monsters” wakes up in the revive chamber; a new leader of the undead.
Frankenstein made even more gruesome, this book is violent and thought-provoking in almost equal measures. Observations on morality and the psyche of outcasts are sandwiched between murders and gunfights. Dominion, the protagonist chamber-waker, grows from a confused, child-like figure, to one strongly reminiscent of it’s Gothic inspiration, to a maniacal leader. The antagonists, the humans trying to hold the “monsters” in a coup, grow from passive-aggressive hatred-from-the-porch, to the mob of randomly-grabbed weapons that appear in many a Frankenstein-inspired movie, to tanks and literally putting dynamite in the mouth of one of the “monsters”.
However, the world-building is pretty weak in this book. There are a lot of elements introduced that are just dropped, and elements thrown in as plot fixes - I’m thinking specifically of the Transportable Revivers here. Fleshing out (to force a loose pun) the world building elements, rules around revival, stronger hints to the final plot twist, would have brought the story to life (to force a tighter pun) a lot more.
Weak on the world, strong on the violence, I give this book a 4/5.
December 12, 2017
I think this or Stir of Echos might be the first Simon Clark book that I have read.
The book is quite entertaining and it goes in ways you would not expect it to. What I thought would happen when I first started reading the book was totally different than the ending, yet I liked the ending a lot better than any I had thought would happen.
Spoiler
The book has a happy ending and this ending is that everyone is violently murdered.
In the future humanity has found out how to revive human beings after they die. The resurrected human being has great strength, enhanced immunity to damage, and are slightly programmed. The programming is mentioned and the best I can gather they are a modified version of Asimov's laws of robotics. They are not allowed to listen to humans and must obey them, even if the human in question tells them to jump off a cliff to their death...well second death. At first this is seen as a herald of a time of cheap labor as the resurrected can work for a lot longer than normal humans and can survive on food and water that would kill a human. Besides the rules placed on them they are sentient and do feel pain. So they are zombie slaves sorta. Soon however distaste leads to the practice being banned in all countries but the unnamed country of the book. It has faced economic sanctions and it's economy has gone into the toilet for it. The general people do not understand why the government is still making these undead, where they are getting the bodies from, or where they are sending them as they are not being put to use in the country. All they see is that because their government still doing this practice their country is dying.
The book starts with a undead named Dominion waking up in a revive chamber while a revolution is going on. Still fresh from the process with most of his mind still settling he watches as others of his kind are tortured to death. He runs from the building despite being told to stop. Outside in the woods he meets others of his kind who have escaped. One of them was the doctor in charge of Dominion's resurrection and he states that Dominion was different because he woke up while still in the revitalize chamber, something that has never been done before.
Dominion continues to show his difference by killing soldiers that get in his group way. This upsets his whole group as they are conditioned to never disobey or hurt humans. For a while his group wanders the country side slowly losing numbers through encounters with humans. The group has figured that they might be the last of their kind alive and that all they are doing is delaying the inevitable. Still they follow Dominion.
Eventually Dominion leads them to a small town that is at the base of a hill that has a castle. Entering the town Dominion demands food and wrecks a few vehicles on his way through. A woman, the daughter of the mayor, joins his group because despite being undead she thinks these people are more alive than the town. With what food they can carry Dominion leads them to the castle and locks the doors.
For a while there is an uneasy truce between the humans and the undead. Meanwhile Dominion starts to appear to break down. He is confused and lines are appearing on his body that seem to indicate that rather than being raised from a full human he was made out of a bunch of people, a Frankenstein like monster.
During his breakdown the doctor and the mayors daughter have sex and fall in love, in that order and yes it seems like necrophilia as it is repeatedly mentioned how war the woman feels to the doctor. A few of the undead are mysteriously killed until it is shown that one of the undead has been killing his own. He was an administrator of the reviving station and he feels it's his duty to end it all. Dominion despite being hurt brutally attacks the man and kills him. Then he sends two of his group back to the reviving building to pick up a portable revive chamber. They come back and he puts the man back in it. The man comes out of the process a bit more saner and fills in the gaps that are in Dominion's memory of his predeath life.
The government has been shipping the undead off top the Sahara desert where they have built a community. They have been able to survive on the fetid water their wells are able to bring up and have started to reclaim the desert. Humanity seeing a now habitual space tried to take it over and the undead revolted. Dominion was one of their warriors. He was made of multiple corpses and had an enlarged brain, other brains had been grafted onto this. There was a mission he was supposed to do in this country but he had died before he was able to start. The administrator had snuck him into the building to have him revived again so that he could fulfill the mission.
It is then that Dominion remembers his mission. He walks into the town and grabs a fishing net. One end of it is tied to a dock. Without warning he walks to the other end of the beach and walks out to the water. This entraps a lot of villagers who were crowding around him. He drowns them all. Then returning to his group he kills them one by one snapping their necks.
In the epilogue it is shown that his mission was to turn anyone he could into an undead. But not a normal undead, but instead one free of the rules that they usually had instilled in them. This is why he killed his group so they could be revived without the rules. They then continue his mission killing and reviving people with the hope that once they get enough of the population converted they will no longer be seen as monsters but as family since pretty soon everyone will be closely related to at least one of the undead. Soon the world will be converted into a world where Death has no Dominion (See what he did there?) The plan shows promise as the mayor's daughter turns up with her son, yes the doctor's son, and asks to be killed so she can join the doctor in his work.
The book is quite entertaining and it goes in ways you would not expect it to. What I thought would happen when I first started reading the book was totally different than the ending, yet I liked the ending a lot better than any I had thought would happen.
Spoiler
The book has a happy ending and this ending is that everyone is violently murdered.
In the future humanity has found out how to revive human beings after they die. The resurrected human being has great strength, enhanced immunity to damage, and are slightly programmed. The programming is mentioned and the best I can gather they are a modified version of Asimov's laws of robotics. They are not allowed to listen to humans and must obey them, even if the human in question tells them to jump off a cliff to their death...well second death. At first this is seen as a herald of a time of cheap labor as the resurrected can work for a lot longer than normal humans and can survive on food and water that would kill a human. Besides the rules placed on them they are sentient and do feel pain. So they are zombie slaves sorta. Soon however distaste leads to the practice being banned in all countries but the unnamed country of the book. It has faced economic sanctions and it's economy has gone into the toilet for it. The general people do not understand why the government is still making these undead, where they are getting the bodies from, or where they are sending them as they are not being put to use in the country. All they see is that because their government still doing this practice their country is dying.
The book starts with a undead named Dominion waking up in a revive chamber while a revolution is going on. Still fresh from the process with most of his mind still settling he watches as others of his kind are tortured to death. He runs from the building despite being told to stop. Outside in the woods he meets others of his kind who have escaped. One of them was the doctor in charge of Dominion's resurrection and he states that Dominion was different because he woke up while still in the revitalize chamber, something that has never been done before.
Dominion continues to show his difference by killing soldiers that get in his group way. This upsets his whole group as they are conditioned to never disobey or hurt humans. For a while his group wanders the country side slowly losing numbers through encounters with humans. The group has figured that they might be the last of their kind alive and that all they are doing is delaying the inevitable. Still they follow Dominion.
Eventually Dominion leads them to a small town that is at the base of a hill that has a castle. Entering the town Dominion demands food and wrecks a few vehicles on his way through. A woman, the daughter of the mayor, joins his group because despite being undead she thinks these people are more alive than the town. With what food they can carry Dominion leads them to the castle and locks the doors.
For a while there is an uneasy truce between the humans and the undead. Meanwhile Dominion starts to appear to break down. He is confused and lines are appearing on his body that seem to indicate that rather than being raised from a full human he was made out of a bunch of people, a Frankenstein like monster.
During his breakdown the doctor and the mayors daughter have sex and fall in love, in that order and yes it seems like necrophilia as it is repeatedly mentioned how war the woman feels to the doctor. A few of the undead are mysteriously killed until it is shown that one of the undead has been killing his own. He was an administrator of the reviving station and he feels it's his duty to end it all. Dominion despite being hurt brutally attacks the man and kills him. Then he sends two of his group back to the reviving building to pick up a portable revive chamber. They come back and he puts the man back in it. The man comes out of the process a bit more saner and fills in the gaps that are in Dominion's memory of his predeath life.
The government has been shipping the undead off top the Sahara desert where they have built a community. They have been able to survive on the fetid water their wells are able to bring up and have started to reclaim the desert. Humanity seeing a now habitual space tried to take it over and the undead revolted. Dominion was one of their warriors. He was made of multiple corpses and had an enlarged brain, other brains had been grafted onto this. There was a mission he was supposed to do in this country but he had died before he was able to start. The administrator had snuck him into the building to have him revived again so that he could fulfill the mission.
It is then that Dominion remembers his mission. He walks into the town and grabs a fishing net. One end of it is tied to a dock. Without warning he walks to the other end of the beach and walks out to the water. This entraps a lot of villagers who were crowding around him. He drowns them all. Then returning to his group he kills them one by one snapping their necks.
In the epilogue it is shown that his mission was to turn anyone he could into an undead. But not a normal undead, but instead one free of the rules that they usually had instilled in them. This is why he killed his group so they could be revived without the rules. They then continue his mission killing and reviving people with the hope that once they get enough of the population converted they will no longer be seen as monsters but as family since pretty soon everyone will be closely related to at least one of the undead. Soon the world will be converted into a world where Death has no Dominion (See what he did there?) The plan shows promise as the mayor's daughter turns up with her son, yes the doctor's son, and asks to be killed so she can join the doctor in his work.
April 22, 2018
This is the third Simon Clark novel I have read this year and the third one I have thoroughly enjoyed. The style and intellectual base, in my opinion, confirms him as the best horror writer in the UK in the last 20 years. His work reminds me of James Herbert in his combination of visceral, sometimes stomach turning horror with very interesting observations about the human condition. His vehicle here is a group of reanimated humans who are a modern version of the Frankenstein myth. They have been brought back to life to serve humans and are subservient to them in all circumstances until Dominion is reborn. From the start he is prepared to do the unthinkable and harm human beings in extreme circumstances, all the while being sure that he has a destiny far beyond his limited horizons. This book is fascinating, thought provoking and superbly writtem. If you love modern horror this is a must read.
August 3, 2018
I thought the plot was really interesting, but a lot of the plot points never really coalesced.
August 11, 2016
In a world where death is not the end but merely a beginning of a whole new existence, bodies are reanimated and pumped with Lazarite. Like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon they emerge reborn and renewed, fresh, strong, beautiful but with little or no memory of their past. The decaying flesh of valued members of the society lucky enough to go through the process is reborn as a Transient, meant to serve and protect humanity with their incredible strength and stealth; not invincible but very hard to kill they are machines of war made to be pleasant and helpful to their new masters; the still living original humans. They follow new laws based on Isaac Asimov's humanist and rationalist theologies forbidding them from harming any human being and to protect them from any harm they may cause to themselves.
In the beginning of the story there is a government raid upon a Transit Station where the reanimation takes place. Soldiers are on a mission killing all of the inhabitants, both human and Transients for unknown reasons. They manage to kill them all but one, a staggering giant who woke up early from the resting period and who managed to break out and run away, his name was Dominion and he was the only thing that stood up to the law. Upon his escape he runs into other Transients who are escaping humans, together they reach a small fishing village of Scaur Ness where nearby lies an abandoned castle, the Pharos. It is in the remains of the statuesque home of the old Gods where they seal themselves of to fight the angry mobs.
Simon Clark has reached into depths of his imagination for this gem. The story is unlike anything else I have ever read. The fascinating and peaceful beliefs the Transients withheld were clashing against the blood hungry humans who for now reasons known to them, other than the orders they got from the government, forsake all their human compassion and love for the metallic taste of blood and gratification from killing those who used to walk amongst them. It would all have ended in terrible tragedy if it wasn't for one special specimen and his name was Dominion. He alone stood up and disregarded the laws that were pumped into his veins with the Lazarite mixture and he alone decided to defend his fellow people against the humans. Clark's story was a moral and bloody battle with some nice bone crushing and plenty of gore as the strong Transients took matters in their own hands. The real kicker what the reason why Dominion was special, he was made to complete a specific task and the government wasn't too keen on letting him live. With his past memory hazy he knew nothing of his past lie and feared that he was never human after all, that be was death brought to life.
This was a fantastic read with a rich plot that I wouldn't dare to spoil. I was absolutely immersed in the tale and really loved the ending, it was dramatic and powerful and I still remember it weeks after I read the book. For fans of sci-fi and some blood gushing horror this is a great fast read that will thrill and captivate even the finickiest of readers.
In the beginning of the story there is a government raid upon a Transit Station where the reanimation takes place. Soldiers are on a mission killing all of the inhabitants, both human and Transients for unknown reasons. They manage to kill them all but one, a staggering giant who woke up early from the resting period and who managed to break out and run away, his name was Dominion and he was the only thing that stood up to the law. Upon his escape he runs into other Transients who are escaping humans, together they reach a small fishing village of Scaur Ness where nearby lies an abandoned castle, the Pharos. It is in the remains of the statuesque home of the old Gods where they seal themselves of to fight the angry mobs.
Simon Clark has reached into depths of his imagination for this gem. The story is unlike anything else I have ever read. The fascinating and peaceful beliefs the Transients withheld were clashing against the blood hungry humans who for now reasons known to them, other than the orders they got from the government, forsake all their human compassion and love for the metallic taste of blood and gratification from killing those who used to walk amongst them. It would all have ended in terrible tragedy if it wasn't for one special specimen and his name was Dominion. He alone stood up and disregarded the laws that were pumped into his veins with the Lazarite mixture and he alone decided to defend his fellow people against the humans. Clark's story was a moral and bloody battle with some nice bone crushing and plenty of gore as the strong Transients took matters in their own hands. The real kicker what the reason why Dominion was special, he was made to complete a specific task and the government wasn't too keen on letting him live. With his past memory hazy he knew nothing of his past lie and feared that he was never human after all, that be was death brought to life.
This was a fantastic read with a rich plot that I wouldn't dare to spoil. I was absolutely immersed in the tale and really loved the ending, it was dramatic and powerful and I still remember it weeks after I read the book. For fans of sci-fi and some blood gushing horror this is a great fast read that will thrill and captivate even the finickiest of readers.
August 9, 2010
I’ve looked at some other reviews for Death’s Dominion, before I review this book I want you all to know most people who have read this book have enjoyed it. Most ratings on Death’s Dominion are three stars and over.
God scarers are the dead reborn to serve humanity. They live by a code. “Do not harm humanity. Allow no harm to befall humanity due to your action or inaction.” However times are changing, humans find the God Scarers repugnant and have set out to destroy them. As the God Scarers run in fear for their lives, they find another of their kind, one who breaks all the rules.
Okay I tried to like this book, I just couldn’t get into it.
The Good
The premisis is an interesting one and I do like the theory of economical collapse due to the use of the undead as servants. Simon Clark has a knack for writing scenes that are gore intense. I loved the sub plot with the priest and the scene where he died was crafted with great description, while not bogging the story down with nitty gritty details.
The Bad
Characters, this was a big cast, so it made things hard when it came to attaching myself to a character and caring what happened to them. The plot was a little sparse in places and there were segments where I was asking why? Call it personal preference but you need to do something pretty special to impress me with a zombie novel. While I read the novel cover to cover, I struggled through some parts and there were several times where I simply wanted to give up.
God scarers are the dead reborn to serve humanity. They live by a code. “Do not harm humanity. Allow no harm to befall humanity due to your action or inaction.” However times are changing, humans find the God Scarers repugnant and have set out to destroy them. As the God Scarers run in fear for their lives, they find another of their kind, one who breaks all the rules.
Okay I tried to like this book, I just couldn’t get into it.
The Good
The premisis is an interesting one and I do like the theory of economical collapse due to the use of the undead as servants. Simon Clark has a knack for writing scenes that are gore intense. I loved the sub plot with the priest and the scene where he died was crafted with great description, while not bogging the story down with nitty gritty details.
The Bad
Characters, this was a big cast, so it made things hard when it came to attaching myself to a character and caring what happened to them. The plot was a little sparse in places and there were segments where I was asking why? Call it personal preference but you need to do something pretty special to impress me with a zombie novel. While I read the novel cover to cover, I struggled through some parts and there were several times where I simply wanted to give up.
June 28, 2011
Simon Clark always delivers an enjoyable, dark read, and DEATH'S DOMINION is no exception. What starts out as an fantastic spin on the Frankenstein franchise turns into a slightly predictable, yet ultimately poignant tale. A few of the resolved mysteries near the end felt a bit far-fetched in regards to the missing God Scarers, but I went with the ride and had a good time. The very ending was powerful and I find myself still thinking about it. This is a very solid read from one of today's premiere horror writers.
March 25, 2010
Interesting concept. Not my favorite story. This is the story of a time when the dead are reanimated and brought back as servants and workers. But then the same people that brought them back from the dead eventually persecute them in something akin to the Salem Witch Trials. As I said, it was an "interesting" read, but a little too far-fetched and "hokey" for my taste.
April 11, 2014
Rated 3.5 out of 5.
Clark is certainly the UK's finest horror writer at the moment and this modern take on the 'Frankenstein' story is certainly full of visceral scenes and the tension is palpable in places. BUT, for some reason it felt as if the author ended is too quickly with everything tied up in a neat bow. Not Clark's best work but still an engrossing and enjoyable read.
Clark is certainly the UK's finest horror writer at the moment and this modern take on the 'Frankenstein' story is certainly full of visceral scenes and the tension is palpable in places. BUT, for some reason it felt as if the author ended is too quickly with everything tied up in a neat bow. Not Clark's best work but still an engrossing and enjoyable read.
February 1, 2015
Good take on Frankenstein's monster.
April 14, 2008
Horror
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