The Dominion Trilogy: Nemesis (November 2019), Liberty (July 2020) and Echo (July 2020) by John Arkham
John Arkham
Independently Published
This is a review of The Dominion trilogy by John Arkham. The books in this series are: Nemesis, Liberty and Echo.
Thousands of years ago, humans left a dying Earth, referred to as Old Terra, in search of a more sustainable planet to live on. The various shuttles settled on various planets in this distant system and the first book takes place about ten thousand years later.
In Nemesis, we are introduced to the Saturnines: Young Rex and his parents. The father, Augustine, has been at odds with the Dominion for months, which is the government body that has a sort of fascist approach to governing the citizens of the planets in that System (the galaxy of planets they are in). The leader of the Dominion, Gaius Marius, rules with an iron fist, and Saturnine is determined to overthrow him. Unfortunately, his political revolution forced him to take his family into hiding, or face death. The story picks up on when he has been in hiding for his ideas and cries for resistance, and he fears being discovered. His is not an army of one; many of his followers, called Saturninists, have taken upon themselves his crusade against the oppressive Dominion. This is one of the reasons why the Dominion wants Saturnine dead.
Meanwhile, young Rex Saturnine has been receiving strange coordinates his entire life, though at the young age of twelve, he has no idea what they mean, nor does his father. The family is eventually found, yet they escape to a mysterious red planet. After Rex survives an ambush by the Dominion’s police force, the Dragoons, he is taken in by a mysterious figure, who is known as a Sorcerer. Rex becomes this Sorcerer’s student, learning fascinating powers.
In this book, we are also introduced to Raven Tiburine, a professor of biology on the planet Metropolis, who is on an investigative study with a team when she is rescued from carnivorous plants by a mysterious figure identifying himself as Ghost. Here, Raven also discovers a monolith with strange writing on it, but with Ghost’s help, she is able to read it. The message she reads is a warning of ancient doom, and after she returns to the university to share what she has discovered, she is mocked and ostracized by her peers. It doesn’t help when Raven later returns to this same area of the planet and discovers the writing on the stone is gone.
Another character who plays a major role in this series is Cruz Petroize, a renegade soldier who is against the Saturnine movement yet also is no friend of the Dominion. The Dominion is constantly hunting him down, and on another occasion where he escapes, a mysterious force keeps him from falling several feet to his death. Cruz is determined to find out what it is.
The second book in this series is titled after a spacecraft in this story named Liberty. However, the space vessel doesn’t make an appearance until much later in the book. The first book ended with a cliffhanger that involves Raven, and the beginning of the story picks up where it left off. However, one of Raven’s students who observes her leaving the class, Maximian Rhodes, becomes concerned about what is going on. He tries to push these concerns aside and focus more on his life as a college student, but he gets into trouble with the Dragoons and is arrested. Max eventually escapes and learns about a secret community of rebels living on the ground who are loyal to the Saturnine cause. Max is not just your ordinary college student; he practices the secular art of bio-kinesis that enables him to tap within his inner powers. This ability helps him learn he actually has special powers that are equivalent to the Sorcerers.
Meanwhile, Raven’s associations with Ghost gets her into trouble once she discovers his real identity, and she is charged with treason. The Saturninists whisk her off to another planet to keep her from being arrested and sent off to certain death at the prison planet known as Carceri.
The character, Cruz, also returns to the story. After being betrayed, he joins the Saturnine cause, fast transitioning to one of the leading members of the group.
Max must come to terms with his gifts and adapt to a new identity, which will help him in the fight against the evil force known as the Nemesis, doomed to destroy all of humanity and the System along with it.
This book ended on a cliffhanger and I was sad to see one of the major characters murdered in this story. At least this character's death is not in vain and the other characters honored this character's legacy.
The final book in this series, Echo, wraps everything up. Although the story is a little rushed and, in some cases, things happen too easily, it offers a logical and satisfying conclusion to ongoing struggles.
Unlike the two previous books, the story in the third book unfolds quickly, with a lot of action and suspense. It mostly centers on the character Max, now known as Iratus, who has been chosen to fight the Nemesis that threatens all life. The characters Raven and Cruz are also in this story, with Raven taking on the role as a form of guidance and support for her former student. There is another character in this story who is a surprise to readers of the first book. This particular character is the one who must face the Dominion and challenge Gaius Marius for the seat of power.
I sincerely enjoyed reading the three books in this series. The entire series tells a story of rising up against authoritarian power and saving humanity from an evil threat bent on destruction. The phrase “Long Live Saturnine,” often phrased as LLS, became catchy and one which became an inspirational force in this series. I will certainly be reading these books again.
Five stars
Disclaimer: I downloaded these books to read as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription and this review is entirely voluntary.
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