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Domino Trilogy #1
Domino Theory
She's a misfit with no present. He's a bad boy with no future. And they have 23 days to save the world.
A deadly plague divided humanity into three different species. An ongoing ecological crisis has plunged the world into chaos. What's left of the once-powerful United States in 2081 is a scorched wasteland where day-to-day survival is a struggle.
Life in the pristine bubble of the Greater Los Angeles District isn't as idyllic as the Central Protectorate wants its citizen to believe. Iris Flores and her friends are relegated to the edge of a society that has no use for them—until the day she is hunted down and forced to leave her home to spy on the enemy.
The wayward son of Cascadian political royalty, Xander Kendrick is once again in trouble after pummeling a man in front of dozens of witnesses. When given the choice to serve his sentence in the Army instead of going to a maximum-security prison, he accepts the former. Little does he know that the military stint will set him on a collision course with danger... and Iris.
As loss and betrayal destroy their lives, Iris and Xander will risk everything to save the people they love.
A deadly plague divided humanity into three different species. An ongoing ecological crisis has plunged the world into chaos. What's left of the once-powerful United States in 2081 is a scorched wasteland where day-to-day survival is a struggle.
Life in the pristine bubble of the Greater Los Angeles District isn't as idyllic as the Central Protectorate wants its citizen to believe. Iris Flores and her friends are relegated to the edge of a society that has no use for them—until the day she is hunted down and forced to leave her home to spy on the enemy.
The wayward son of Cascadian political royalty, Xander Kendrick is once again in trouble after pummeling a man in front of dozens of witnesses. When given the choice to serve his sentence in the Army instead of going to a maximum-security prison, he accepts the former. Little does he know that the military stint will set him on a collision course with danger... and Iris.
As loss and betrayal destroy their lives, Iris and Xander will risk everything to save the people they love.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2021
About the author
Christopher White
3 books3 followersBorn and raised in Texas, Chris White has lived on all four U.S.A. coasts (in Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Cleveland), before settling down on Puget Sound in the well-caffeinated Pacific Northwest.
An Internet humor pioneer, he spent 25 years producing the popular online feature The Top 5 List. Although he’s ghostwritten more than 50 books and novellas, the Domino Trilogy are his debut novels under his own name.
Chris lives in Olympia, WA, and spends his time competing in epic tug-of-war battles with his dog, Mingus.
An Internet humor pioneer, he spent 25 years producing the popular online feature The Top 5 List. Although he’s ghostwritten more than 50 books and novellas, the Domino Trilogy are his debut novels under his own name.
Chris lives in Olympia, WA, and spends his time competing in epic tug-of-war battles with his dog, Mingus.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 15, 2023
I actually really enjoyed this book- I couldn’t put it down! I always like a dystopian settings and although the writing isn’t Pulitzer Prize winning the story is interesting and believable. I will definitely continue the series.
December 26, 2021
This book was a Xmas gift. I started reading after Xmas brunch and was hooked - couldn't put it down. Clever and witty with engaging characters, the plot is fast-paced as plot threads become twisted. The story and setting reflect today and it's headlines in a funhouse mirror. By Xmas dinner, I was finished and eager to get the next book. Best gift of the day.
November 20, 2021
Well written book. A different world and not easy to survive in. Still has prejudice in it. You wonder why nothing has changed. Outstanding
August 6, 2026
Domino Theory is the first book in a three-volume dystopian Sci-Fi trilogy by Christopher White and Monica La Porta. I haven’t read the other two yet, but I intend to.
Before I start with the review, disclosure: I know Chris White. We used to be in the same business networking group. He gave me a copy of this book in PDF back when it came out, but we’ve all accepted a freebie, put it aside, and then realized we still had it years later. At least I have. But I’ve never been the type to tell anyone over 13 that something they did was great if it wasn’t. If I didn’t like it, I just would not review it.
The book starts sort of abruptly with Iris, one of the two main characters, being chased by what passes for cops in her part of the world. As the story unfolds, we’re introduced to a post-climate-disaster Los Angeles, now a domed city state in an America torn apart by climate migration, sea-level rise, population decimation, and a virus that split humans into three “species” – Homo Revertus, Homo Sapiens, and Homo Superior.
And if you’re having a nerd moment, yes “homo superior” is the term Magneto used for superpowered mutants in the Marvel universe. We quickly find that, like Magneto, the folks who use that title for themselves are mostly arrogant douchebags who kick out anyone they consider genetically inferior… basically like Nazi eugenecists who want to keep the species pure. They use their big brains to preserve Los Angeles and Silicon Valley under giant climate-controlled domes.
Don’t think that the Homo Sapiens are that much better. Even in Seattle, the capital of the “Cascadia” nation where they don’t yet need domes, the homo sapiens have mostly pushed the Homo Revertus out to reservations and there is open hostility to them inside the city. Essentially, in this dystopian future, speciesism has replaced racism and there are very few allies among the groups who are willing to call out casual speciesism.
In this first-person narrative from the POV of two different characters, both our narrators start the book by getting arrested. Iris, the “defective” homo superior gets arrested for being more defective than allowed, and Xander the son of the first president of the Cascadia nation, gets arrested for beating up a speciesist who was picking on a Revertus kid. Their arrests set them on a collision course with each other and some serious intrigue.
It’s been a long time since I read a novel in first person and that took a little getting used to. My one gripe with it was, though each chapter is from the POV of one character, once the worlds of Iris and Xander start colliding, I sometimes lost track of whose eyes I was seeing through until an observation about their own state re-clarified it. But maybe that’s me. Sometimes I read too fast for my own good.
Don’t let that stop you. It’s a good book. Both the story and characters were engaging and the plot moved quickly, but not so quickly I felt dragged along or that I missed anything. I am curious to read the second volume, and not just because the first ends on a cliffhanger. And if I were casting the movie of this, I’d cast a young Robert Duncan MacNeil (aka Lt. Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager) as Xander. Iris would be a slightly younger Anya Taylor Joy.
Before I start with the review, disclosure: I know Chris White. We used to be in the same business networking group. He gave me a copy of this book in PDF back when it came out, but we’ve all accepted a freebie, put it aside, and then realized we still had it years later. At least I have. But I’ve never been the type to tell anyone over 13 that something they did was great if it wasn’t. If I didn’t like it, I just would not review it.
The book starts sort of abruptly with Iris, one of the two main characters, being chased by what passes for cops in her part of the world. As the story unfolds, we’re introduced to a post-climate-disaster Los Angeles, now a domed city state in an America torn apart by climate migration, sea-level rise, population decimation, and a virus that split humans into three “species” – Homo Revertus, Homo Sapiens, and Homo Superior.
And if you’re having a nerd moment, yes “homo superior” is the term Magneto used for superpowered mutants in the Marvel universe. We quickly find that, like Magneto, the folks who use that title for themselves are mostly arrogant douchebags who kick out anyone they consider genetically inferior… basically like Nazi eugenecists who want to keep the species pure. They use their big brains to preserve Los Angeles and Silicon Valley under giant climate-controlled domes.
Don’t think that the Homo Sapiens are that much better. Even in Seattle, the capital of the “Cascadia” nation where they don’t yet need domes, the homo sapiens have mostly pushed the Homo Revertus out to reservations and there is open hostility to them inside the city. Essentially, in this dystopian future, speciesism has replaced racism and there are very few allies among the groups who are willing to call out casual speciesism.
In this first-person narrative from the POV of two different characters, both our narrators start the book by getting arrested. Iris, the “defective” homo superior gets arrested for being more defective than allowed, and Xander the son of the first president of the Cascadia nation, gets arrested for beating up a speciesist who was picking on a Revertus kid. Their arrests set them on a collision course with each other and some serious intrigue.
It’s been a long time since I read a novel in first person and that took a little getting used to. My one gripe with it was, though each chapter is from the POV of one character, once the worlds of Iris and Xander start colliding, I sometimes lost track of whose eyes I was seeing through until an observation about their own state re-clarified it. But maybe that’s me. Sometimes I read too fast for my own good.
Don’t let that stop you. It’s a good book. Both the story and characters were engaging and the plot moved quickly, but not so quickly I felt dragged along or that I missed anything. I am curious to read the second volume, and not just because the first ends on a cliffhanger. And if I were casting the movie of this, I’d cast a young Robert Duncan MacNeil (aka Lt. Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager) as Xander. Iris would be a slightly younger Anya Taylor Joy.
January 4, 2024
It’s 2081 and climate change has wreaked havoc on the planet. What’s more, divisions have increased along racial, err, rather *special* (as in “species”) lines. Homo sapien, homo revertus, homo superior, and those who are of mixed lineage and not accepted anywhere. The protagonists are 21 and 23, and despite coming from backgrounds as different as you can imagine, are both forced by their governments into completing pretty much impossible missions. Of course, their paths meet and cultures clash. Are the “species” actually all that different after all? Will budding friendships save the day?
I was delighted by the cool new technology their world holds, and the clever new language to accompany it. 🤓 And I’m happy there was good internal consistency with the story.
Domino Theory kept my interest, yet despite the cliffhanger, I find myself more interested in the other books on my Kindle shelf rather than digging into the sequels.
I was delighted by the cool new technology their world holds, and the clever new language to accompany it. 🤓 And I’m happy there was good internal consistency with the story.
Domino Theory kept my interest, yet despite the cliffhanger, I find myself more interested in the other books on my Kindle shelf rather than digging into the sequels.
October 22, 2022
Domino Theory
An easy world to stumble into where I had no trouble keeping up. There's enough explanations of whats going on and why, but not so much you get bored and tired of it. I found this to be an exciting and entertaining read. Some of the things that happen are slightly predictable but not in a way to ruin the read for me. The characters are easy to follow as you go from the points of view for Iris and Xander. A great series starting here.
An easy world to stumble into where I had no trouble keeping up. There's enough explanations of whats going on and why, but not so much you get bored and tired of it. I found this to be an exciting and entertaining read. Some of the things that happen are slightly predictable but not in a way to ruin the read for me. The characters are easy to follow as you go from the points of view for Iris and Xander. A great series starting here.
October 17, 2022
Good time reading
Setting in the not too distant future one can relate to the possibilities of future decline. Just the right amount of snark, and and action makes for a fun ride. Looking forward to the next books.
Setting in the not too distant future one can relate to the possibilities of future decline. Just the right amount of snark, and and action makes for a fun ride. Looking forward to the next books.
November 19, 2022
May or may not continue with series.
October 13, 2023
Bleh, probably won't continue the series. But it was free.
August 17, 2021
Wow, just wow. Now let me say that usually the dystopian genre isn't my cup of tea. For some reason I can never get past a few chapters, but this I literally devoured. This is a slow-building world, an easing into the characters and a step cautiously into a story that helps the reader visualise a future that could easily become a reality to us all. The authors Christopher White and Monica La Porta are combustible together. They have created a piece of literary excellence that will be unforgettable. The amount of detail you manage to absorb while you're inhaling every word is astonishing. Bit by bit, page after page this book came alive in my hands. At the start of my review I said that the dystopian genre is not for me, now.. now I can't get enough.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews