If Not For The Dawn

by Dane St.John

Eight people are on a perilous collision course in a world that never sleeps. Their individual journeys are the culmination of a leading neurosurgeon's herculean efforts-ten years before-to save his dying wife's life. His research results in a chance discovery that will later completely alter society when AltaMira Pharmaceuticals releases Vigorex, the most explosive drug in a century, one that manipulates nucleotides in the human mind in a way that allows people to sleep and experience R.E.M. while they're awake. Jake Paris is a former LAPD Narcotics detective who has come aboard a federal agency whose sole mission is to monitor the black market version of the revolutionary drug, which is controlled by a Latino syndicate boss named Isidoro Raimundez, or "Izzy." Somehow, Izzy has discovered a way to mass produce his own version of Vigorex, a recipe that adds a cocktail of narcotics, making it cheaper and even more addictive than the prescription. Jake and his partner, Carlos Guzman, are determined to bring Izzy's stranglehold to an end. They launch a rigorous, off-the-book investigation that will put their resolve and integrity to the test, and lead them to Izzy's doorstep following a series of risky undercover operations. Meanwhile, a colorful cast of characters each begin to take the drug for their own personal reasons, including a CEO, a professional basketball player, an escaped North Korean soldier, and a blind piano tuner. Even Jake and his broken wife, Teri, are compelled to start on a Vigorex regimen together as they work through the heartrending tragedy they experienced a year before. She soon after blossoms into a world-class artist, but her success comes at a steep price. At first, all of these characters benefit from the daily dosage, which if not taken properly, will have hazardous consequences. But throughout the story, we come to discover that each of these people has undergone a deeply traumatic episode in their formative years, which will affect them in differing ways; murder, arson, kidnapping, vigilantism, among other crimes, will characterize their nightly personalities and send them crashing into one another, into Jake Paris, and into the dark world of the Raimundez syndicate, as Jake's iron will and incessant drive for justice ultimately leads him back to the man who unwittingly invented the drug and puts him at war with AltaMira Pharmaceuticals.

340 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2012

About the author

Dane St. John grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and earned undergraduate degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, going on to earn a postgraduate degree in history at the King's Manor in York, England. Writing fiction since the age of 17, St. John initially pursued a professional career as a marketer at a major music label before transitioning to full-time writing.

St. John's fiction tends to rely heavily on his background in history, technology, contemporary art, music, and modern American culture, all of which collectively inform his futurist themes in a genre he often refers to as “spiritual sci-fi.”

Currently, St. John works as a chief content officer at a boutique innovation agency in downtown Seattle, WA, while sometimes moonlighting as a literary consultant for other authors on matters of historical research. An avid food and cocktail aficionado, he also spends his spare time traveling, cooking, hiking, playing his Xbox, and sailing his boat, aptly named the "First Draft."

Reviews

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, I wish I had some Vigorex so I could have finished it sooner!

I was recommended this book by my stylist, who knows the author, but has yet to read the book, and have to say that I am not disappointed at all!

Exactly how the description reads, the book starts out with 8 different characters, characters that you will care about as the plot moves on. I was intrigued from the start, I wasn't sure what was going on and the mention of this new pharmaceutical does not truly get explained until you meet one of the characters. From that moment I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know more about these characters and I wanted to know how they all fit together. I found myself reading late into the night which rarely, if ever, happens with me and a book.

This is a great start from a promising successful writer.

[Patricia Locati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book ... it delved into a subject that I didn't know much about and/or weren't really aware of it (even though it's fiction ... but, it could come to fruition at some point). It was very enjoyable to read a fiction novel about this. This book reminded me of the movie "Crash" ... where you have a group of people who are totally unrelated to each other ... and, as the book evolves ... you see how each person slowly glides into one another's lives. Their lives get really intertwined until everything becomes to a head. Fantastic read!

[Erin Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you ever get about halfway through a book and it starts to feel like one big car wreck? You know you are not going to like it, but you just want to finish it to see if anyone is dead? That's how this book felt. Aside from the fact that the author was too chicken to kill anyone, this person is desperately in love with their ability to string together metaphors (which might be ironic considering I started my review with one). So much so that you find your self faux puking every time you hear another cliche sentence. I could go on, but in short - do not read.

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book had a great premise - a drug that eliminates the need for sleep. The characters who interact are all enthusiastic drug users, and it all start to goes wrong. I began to get a bit bored, however, and I found the plot getting predictable.