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The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James
Loner Geordie James joins four other struggling fifth graders in a science fair group project that answers the question "what is our place in this world?" When Geordie becomes obsessed with the fate of a pig who escaped from a factory farm, the group project gets put in jeopardy. As Geordie starts to push harder into difficult questions, he finds everything changing--his friendships, his ability to express himself, even how he plays his favorite online role-playing game, DOMINION..
The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James is about kids coming to terms with a world that feels outside of their control, ending with the uplifting message that we humans do not exist apart from nature, but rather as an integral part of it.
The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James is about kids coming to terms with a world that feels outside of their control, ending with the uplifting message that we humans do not exist apart from nature, but rather as an integral part of it.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2026
About the author
Mike Dawson
39 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 26, 2026
Yes, this book has a lot of gaming in it.Yes, the games very important to Geordie, and while that is part of the point, it is also a point that we should pay attention to.
Geordie is upset that the news, which reported a pig that escaped the slaughter house, hasn’t been found yet. He wants the pig to survive, but he says, why have all the other pigs not been able to escape too.
His father works at home. Geordie says he didn’t used to, but now he does. In the flashbacks, there is a mother, but not in the present. We don’t know what happened to her. We only know that she is not here now, and no one talks about it.
And the only solace that Geordie has is his Dominion game. His father doesn’t understand. He keeps thinking Geordie needs friends. That’ll fix things.
This is a heartwarming story told from a kids point of view. A world view that doesn’t understand why we have to kill pigs, and why can’t we care about them, and the planet more.
And yes, towards the end, we find out what became of Geordie’s mother.
This was one of those books that I thought i would just take a look at, and found myself reading all the way through. Very engaging. Good middle-grade graphic novel.
Geordie is upset that the news, which reported a pig that escaped the slaughter house, hasn’t been found yet. He wants the pig to survive, but he says, why have all the other pigs not been able to escape too.
His father works at home. Geordie says he didn’t used to, but now he does. In the flashbacks, there is a mother, but not in the present. We don’t know what happened to her. We only know that she is not here now, and no one talks about it.
And the only solace that Geordie has is his Dominion game. His father doesn’t understand. He keeps thinking Geordie needs friends. That’ll fix things.
This is a heartwarming story told from a kids point of view. A world view that doesn’t understand why we have to kill pigs, and why can’t we care about them, and the planet more.
And yes, towards the end, we find out what became of Geordie’s mother.
This was one of those books that I thought i would just take a look at, and found myself reading all the way through. Very engaging. Good middle-grade graphic novel.
September 6, 2026
On page one, Geordie initially introduces himself as a twelve-year-old who is looking for a pig that escaped from a slaughterhouse. By page 30, he also shows us that he is a student assigned with 4 others who are all failing science to collaborate on a science fair project of their own design, a person "full of ideas" but unable to speak to his peers, son of a talented architect, dog-owner, a liar (instead of telling his dad that he's failing science, he makes up a story), a younger brother to his sister Maisie, and a kid obsessed with the (fictional) MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) called "Dominion."
He also points out that with all the options in Dominion, he only chooses the constructive ones and protects himself against the players who focus on "marauding" - stealing other people's creations or ruining their projects. So readers might think he has an ethical compass. (Later, this turns out to be more like a pet peeve, sour grapes, or just easy snobbery. Or maybe Dawson just forgot that his character had ethics?)
In the images, we see that ordinary daily life is depicted in muted-color cartoon panels, while walks in nature and images in the MMORPG are depicted in full-bleed, vivid-color illustrations.
This makes it clear from the beginning that this author/illustrator sees time spent on the MMORPG as immersive and fulfilling as time spent in nature, an outlook borne out in the end when - due to the creation of a nature preserve and the construction of accessible paths into the wilderness - the ONLY thing Geordie misses about nature is his hiding place that had such good wifi he could fool his father into thinking he was spending time in nature when he was in fact online.
The final image is a double-spread illustration showing Geordie's cartoon-style school project about feral pigs shrinking to appear in his electronic tablet in his room at home, which itself morphs into the backyard and the wilderness beyond the city. This one image sums up the stunning lack of any message, ethical outlook, or relevance of the story; if Dawson sees effortless, beautiful continuity between the MMORPG, the assignment, real daily life, and the outdoors, does that mean there is no further conflict? Does it mean anything that the character's total lack of interest in nature coupled with a weird obsession with one escaped pig shows that his drive is more along the lines of a psychological problem, rather than an appropriate response to our (IRL) shared circumstances?
And does Geordie's cheerful agreement to see a psychologist - after he thrashes about in a storm, lashes out at his new friends, and happens to break his tablet - also mean that he will finally talk about the fact that he learned how humans kill animals for food just a few months before his mom died of Covid-19?
OH, DID I FORGET TO TELL YOU HIS MOM DIED? Yes, well, so did Geordie and everyone else in the story forget to mention it until page 220 of a 250-page book.
I believe many readers will assume, like I did, that his whole family always consisted of a dad and a sister and that his social awkwardness is normal for him, because plenty of literary characters have families like that and are acclimated to their Autism-spectrum behaviors - they aren't broken, they are different. BUT in this case, it seems like suddenly around page 200 we are meant to suspect that these are recent developments in his life, not his normal situation.
Those pages imply that Geordie latched onto the escaped-pig story at least in part because he and his mom befriended a pig on a working farm and one week the pig disappeared and nobody apparently had talked about where bacon or burgers come from until then.
Was Geordie tongue-tied, isolated, game-obsessed, and prone to lashing out because of his difficult life experience? If so, once he's starting to confront his feelings, presumably readers could hope for a growing cohesion of his emotional, intellectual, psychological, familial, and social life - confidence, harmony, etc....but instead we get the cryptic final image that seamlessly melds his fantasy world, his internal thoughts, his physically real desk, and his idealization of nature.
To readers who like MMORPGs, this will seem normal. To readers who like pigs or other creatures, this will seem oddly unfocused, since the character lost the thread of the instigating story. To readers who like being in nature or are aware of the various threats it is now under, the contradictions and irony will be stark, with an abrupt ending that leaves no clarity about the community or the individuals.
I certainly hope that the majority of readers are those who observe the current extinction-level threats to the environment and want to wrestle with the complex issues around responsibility, awareness, and choices. I fear that in fact the majority of readers will pick up this book without expecting to it to be imbued with a higher standard of relevance than any MMORPG they might also pick up. Those readers scare me; if we can't differentiate between IRL and MMORPG, between reality and fiction, between cause-effect cycles and random occurrences, then where the hell can we hope to end up when these young readers are adults?
What it feels like to me is that this author has given up on imagining the future and is just drawing nature because it's pretty and fun. Or maybe one of his loved ones died during Covid-19, and he is still in a position of retreat from the world to grieve?
At this point, I turn to the title of the book, which for adults (even ones who are not religious) calls to mind the Bible quote from Genesis 1:26; Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” - is there any reason to think Dawson was *not* referring to this quote?
If so, why does he so thoroughly lose track of the point about stewardship, compassion, ethics, accountability, and the fundamental connection between human beings and all other living things? I strenuously object to making light of the time kids spend online as if it had no effect on them or on our planet and the environment.
In fact, I strenuously object to even depicting the scenes in nature as equivalent to the scenes online in the MMORPG. Sorry, this book is really, really not for me.
He also points out that with all the options in Dominion, he only chooses the constructive ones and protects himself against the players who focus on "marauding" - stealing other people's creations or ruining their projects. So readers might think he has an ethical compass. (Later, this turns out to be more like a pet peeve, sour grapes, or just easy snobbery. Or maybe Dawson just forgot that his character had ethics?)
In the images, we see that ordinary daily life is depicted in muted-color cartoon panels, while walks in nature and images in the MMORPG are depicted in full-bleed, vivid-color illustrations.
This makes it clear from the beginning that this author/illustrator sees time spent on the MMORPG as immersive and fulfilling as time spent in nature, an outlook borne out in the end when - due to the creation of a nature preserve and the construction of accessible paths into the wilderness - the ONLY thing Geordie misses about nature is his hiding place that had such good wifi he could fool his father into thinking he was spending time in nature when he was in fact online.
The final image is a double-spread illustration showing Geordie's cartoon-style school project about feral pigs shrinking to appear in his electronic tablet in his room at home, which itself morphs into the backyard and the wilderness beyond the city. This one image sums up the stunning lack of any message, ethical outlook, or relevance of the story; if Dawson sees effortless, beautiful continuity between the MMORPG, the assignment, real daily life, and the outdoors, does that mean there is no further conflict? Does it mean anything that the character's total lack of interest in nature coupled with a weird obsession with one escaped pig shows that his drive is more along the lines of a psychological problem, rather than an appropriate response to our (IRL) shared circumstances?
And does Geordie's cheerful agreement to see a psychologist - after he thrashes about in a storm, lashes out at his new friends, and happens to break his tablet - also mean that he will finally talk about the fact that he learned how humans kill animals for food just a few months before his mom died of Covid-19?
OH, DID I FORGET TO TELL YOU HIS MOM DIED? Yes, well, so did Geordie and everyone else in the story forget to mention it until page 220 of a 250-page book.
I believe many readers will assume, like I did, that his whole family always consisted of a dad and a sister and that his social awkwardness is normal for him, because plenty of literary characters have families like that and are acclimated to their Autism-spectrum behaviors - they aren't broken, they are different. BUT in this case, it seems like suddenly around page 200 we are meant to suspect that these are recent developments in his life, not his normal situation.
Those pages imply that Geordie latched onto the escaped-pig story at least in part because he and his mom befriended a pig on a working farm and one week the pig disappeared and nobody apparently had talked about where bacon or burgers come from until then.
Was Geordie tongue-tied, isolated, game-obsessed, and prone to lashing out because of his difficult life experience? If so, once he's starting to confront his feelings, presumably readers could hope for a growing cohesion of his emotional, intellectual, psychological, familial, and social life - confidence, harmony, etc....but instead we get the cryptic final image that seamlessly melds his fantasy world, his internal thoughts, his physically real desk, and his idealization of nature.
To readers who like MMORPGs, this will seem normal. To readers who like pigs or other creatures, this will seem oddly unfocused, since the character lost the thread of the instigating story. To readers who like being in nature or are aware of the various threats it is now under, the contradictions and irony will be stark, with an abrupt ending that leaves no clarity about the community or the individuals.
I certainly hope that the majority of readers are those who observe the current extinction-level threats to the environment and want to wrestle with the complex issues around responsibility, awareness, and choices. I fear that in fact the majority of readers will pick up this book without expecting to it to be imbued with a higher standard of relevance than any MMORPG they might also pick up. Those readers scare me; if we can't differentiate between IRL and MMORPG, between reality and fiction, between cause-effect cycles and random occurrences, then where the hell can we hope to end up when these young readers are adults?
What it feels like to me is that this author has given up on imagining the future and is just drawing nature because it's pretty and fun. Or maybe one of his loved ones died during Covid-19, and he is still in a position of retreat from the world to grieve?
At this point, I turn to the title of the book, which for adults (even ones who are not religious) calls to mind the Bible quote from Genesis 1:26; Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” - is there any reason to think Dawson was *not* referring to this quote?
If so, why does he so thoroughly lose track of the point about stewardship, compassion, ethics, accountability, and the fundamental connection between human beings and all other living things? I strenuously object to making light of the time kids spend online as if it had no effect on them or on our planet and the environment.
In fact, I strenuously object to even depicting the scenes in nature as equivalent to the scenes online in the MMORPG. Sorry, this book is really, really not for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2026
6th-grader Geordie is lost and lonely. His architect father thinks that his iPad gaming is stunting his social growth, and he tries in various ways to decrease it--encouraging "playdates" (cringe) and even forbidding it. Geordie actually wants to make friends but finds it nearly impossible to talk, much less express his opinions, to his peers-- but a mandatory group science project with some other academically-struggling kids (each with their own attitudes and problems) challenges his limitations. He is also very concerned about a pig that escaped from a factory farm and is treated as an amusing throwaway in the news--what happened to the poor pig??
This book, like a few others, makes the point that for some kids, gaming IS a means of social interaction. Geordie finds a hangout in a Christmas tree dump, and escapes there to play Dominion. He eventually shares the spot, and his gaming, with Shamesh, who's in the school group. Shamesh helps him realize that he has to respect the rest of the group's opinions, and share his growing ecological questions and frustration in a less intense and more supportive way.
This book goes deeper than many of the gaming graphics I've read, dealing with younger Geordie's loss of a favorite pig on a farm, but also of his mom due to COVID. Geordie has to accept, somehow, that some promises can't be kept, and some things can't be controlled. At the end (after partially destroying the group project and running away from home to the hideout), he's made some friends, he and his dad are closer and he's getting therapy.
Geordie's concerns about animal welfare will resonate with many tweens. The other kids in the group have some standardsolutions, but how can you address such big issues--and not everyone will have the same reaction to a complex problem.
The artwork is wonderful--detailed and rich, especially in the gaming scenes, which makes so much sense. Flashbacks are indicated by going monochrome, with some mentions of "a virus". Still, the mom's death, presentated subtly (we see her coughing) hit hard. Also, as a parent, I really related to the dad's desperation and cluelessness about Geordie's friendships and struggles.
This book, like a few others, makes the point that for some kids, gaming IS a means of social interaction. Geordie finds a hangout in a Christmas tree dump, and escapes there to play Dominion. He eventually shares the spot, and his gaming, with Shamesh, who's in the school group. Shamesh helps him realize that he has to respect the rest of the group's opinions, and share his growing ecological questions and frustration in a less intense and more supportive way.
This book goes deeper than many of the gaming graphics I've read, dealing with younger Geordie's loss of a favorite pig on a farm, but also of his mom due to COVID. Geordie has to accept, somehow, that some promises can't be kept, and some things can't be controlled. At the end (after partially destroying the group project and running away from home to the hideout), he's made some friends, he and his dad are closer and he's getting therapy.
Geordie's concerns about animal welfare will resonate with many tweens. The other kids in the group have some standardsolutions, but how can you address such big issues--and not everyone will have the same reaction to a complex problem.
The artwork is wonderful--detailed and rich, especially in the gaming scenes, which makes so much sense. Flashbacks are indicated by going monochrome, with some mentions of "a virus". Still, the mom's death, presentated subtly (we see her coughing) hit hard. Also, as a parent, I really related to the dad's desperation and cluelessness about Geordie's friendships and struggles.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2026
Geordie is embarrassed by a poor grade in his class and accepts the teacher's offer that he do a group project with other students who need to pick up their grades. He is a loner. He prefers the online world to the real world. The real world has painful truths: issues with family, lack of friends, painfully shy and often tongue tied in public. None of that happens in the online world he has built. He finds it hard to connect with his group members until he learns they are also in that online world. He pairs up with one student and when his father takes the device away due to constant time spent online, Geordie finds a place in the local wooded area to create a space of his own. He sneaks out to play and ultimately is trapped in a storm. He is surprised by who looks for him and makes a big change with his father to improve their relationship in a productive way. The group uses ideas from their game to create a final project for that class, also. I enjoy this story. There is laughter, frustration, fear, angst, and acceptance of differences all the way around with these diverse characters.
I do not play multiplayer games online, but most of my students do, so this would be a book that draws them in, for sure.
I do not play multiplayer games online, but most of my students do, so this would be a book that draws them in, for sure.
June 22, 2026
Incredible graphic novel with great messages and gorgeous art. My only gripe with this is it feels like the first in a series, didn't wrap up the ending as well as I wanted and also doesn't explain the hidden dominion at all. Since Dominion is a fake game based on many, (Minecraft, Fortnite, Rust) it's hard to make set rules for it. Meaning that some parts of the book just didn't have any weight behind them even though they were supposed to. I didn't like the pig since it should need a human player to control and I didn't like that they never explain how they get wifi. With some expansion of the plot this could make for a really great series about battling depression in your youth and how nature helps with it but instead they dismiss the early theme of how video games are damaging. While this felt really cozy and very very relatable, it just felt like Mr. Dawson could have made it less surface-level for middle schoolers. OR just continue this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2026
Geordie discovers that not only is he failing science, he is being assigned a group project with other kids who are failing in a last-ditch effort to raise their grades. Shy Geordie finds the idea of a group project painful. He likes being alone and he especially likes the MMORPG of Dominion, where he can spend hours in solitary intricate builds. When his father insists he spend time outside, getting fresh air, Geordie finds a hidden away glade that he transforms into his private fort. He can spend hours there in solitude--and wonder of wonders--he has wifi access. Dominion seems to work miraculously well there, and eventually he shares his secret with one of the kids in his group. Geordie's small world begins to expand, but can the happiness he has found go on forever? This one was delightful in every way.
August 6, 2026
3 stars (I liked it)
In this book, Geordie is failing science, along with 4 other classmates. So they get put in a group together... not sure that was the best plan science teacher...
There are lots of important messages/themes here. The science project has to deal with human's responsibility in the world (recycling, waste, etc). Geordie and his classmates all really like to play this online game. It almost seemed like Dawson was going to make a point about screen addition since the one character is failing her classes because she can't focus when things are online, etc but then it never really gets there. I guess the reader can chose to drawn the conclusion about screen activities on their own.
At the end there is a hint at the fact that Geordie's mom died of COVID.
I kind of wish some of these themes/messages/plot points were fleshed out a bit more.
In this book, Geordie is failing science, along with 4 other classmates. So they get put in a group together... not sure that was the best plan science teacher...
There are lots of important messages/themes here. The science project has to deal with human's responsibility in the world (recycling, waste, etc). Geordie and his classmates all really like to play this online game. It almost seemed like Dawson was going to make a point about screen addition since the one character is failing her classes because she can't focus when things are online, etc but then it never really gets there. I guess the reader can chose to drawn the conclusion about screen activities on their own.
At the end there is a hint at the fact that Geordie's mom died of COVID.
I kind of wish some of these themes/messages/plot points were fleshed out a bit more.
November 6, 2025
The art in this book is at times simple and at times very complex in detailed, but always clear and flowing. Dawson is clearly a master of the art of cartooning and comic books in general. The story likewise on the surface is relatively simple, but with hints that deeper meaning peppered throughout culminating in the finale. He’s smartly utilizes the trope of kids playing video games and while there are shades of Minecraft Fortnite Warcraft, etc. none of them are explicitly mentioned making this feel timeless. Should definitely be a fun thought-provoking and mildly challenging read for youngsters and even a fun round for adults.
June 30, 2026
It is always a joy to enter into a world entire and Geordie is a world creator, in his very shy, private way. One who believes deeply in his mission: to play his favorite online game that allows him to be on a farm that doesn't kill its animals. He's hurting because he lost his mom and his dad worries about him, but doesn't always know the right thing to do -- perhaps because he's mourning his wife, too. A sweet, school-based slice of life story that will tug on your heart. (and of course as a vegan, I was cheering him on and truly sympathizing with the reactions he keeps getting from others.
May 19, 2026
One of those rare books that speaks to tweens and their grandparents alike. It will make you both laugh and tear up as it touches on the ups and downs of middle school through parenthood: the little pleasures, childhood struggles, and deeper tragedies of life. Past and present, fantasy and reality are expertly woven via splashes of color or monochromatic scenes on every page. The writing is raw, authentic, and immediately immersive. A must read for everyone in the family. I cannot recommend it enough!
August 17, 2026
Geordie is happiest when playing his favorite online game, Dominion, but he finds it hard to speak up at school. When his science teacher assigns a group project to Geordie and others at risk of failing the class, he has to find a way to work with the group. He connects with one member through Dominion and he also discovers a fort in the nearby woods that becomes his hangout. The town becomes obsessed with an escaped pig which shows up in Geordie’s Dominion world. When a storm descends, the group must work together to help Geordie.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I enjoyed the Fifth Quarter books, but this felt like a big step forward for Mike Dawson. The illustrations were impressive, the story was entertaining and engaging, and all the different environments felt really lived in and well realized. I think this will become a favorite story for many children.
Review of advance copy
This graphic novel was ambitious and very inventive. It was funny and the main character was very relatable. I think a lot of kids will see themselves in this story. It moved along at a good pace, and even though there was some jumping around in time, primarily in the form of flashbacks, it was not confusing to read, and always easy to follow.
July 27, 2026
I love that the main character in this middle grade graphic novel is in sixth grade (because our fourth and fifth graders are happy to read up, but no student seems to like reading about kids at a younger age than they are!) Readers will be drawn to this storyline because gaming is a huge focus, but there’s lots more here (like teamwork and grief and animal welfare), too.
July 30, 2026
This was a tough read with an unlikeable protagonist, ultimately about how the Covid-19 pandemic and playing too much Roblox had an impact on kids and their social development. Really beautifully drawn, especially the forest scenes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This is kind of a quirky little graphic novel that will appeal greatly to kids who like online gaming.
July 7, 2026
This went a lot deeper than I ever expect a graphic novel to go. Well done indeed
July 13, 2026
For kids who like grahpic novels and online gaming. Can see kids pouring over the illustrations - alot of details to take in.
July 20, 2026
I tend to like Mike Dawson stuff and, in general, liked this title as well. Some of the transistions from scene to scene were abrupt and confusing; chapter breaks might have helped this.
August 20, 2026
GORGEOUS illustrations in this one
August 31, 2026
Great combination of gaming, environmental issue, school aspect, and dealing anxiety and grief.
September 3, 2026
Loner Geordie James joins four other struggling fifth graders in a science fair group project that answers the question "what is our place in this world?"
September 27, 2026
Good story.
September 28, 2026
Lush, layered illustrations with relatable characters trying to find their way through an increasing complex world. Relevant, timely, tween-friendly way to address anxiety and animal rights issues.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews