READ THIS: KINGDOM by Anderson O’Donnell Our Coverage Sponsored by Cosmopolitan Dental, Official Dentist of Whom You Know
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Anderson O'Donnell's new book, Kingdom, will keep you on the edge of your seat as you read. Once I started reading it, I had a very difficult time putting it down! The book tells the story of a dystopian future. A time not too far off from our own, where society has taken a turn for the worse in its quest for perfection. The subject matter is heavy, and at times very depressing. The writing is superb, however, and the story is captivating. I really felt as if I was transported into the novel and experiencing the events first hand. It can be very difficult to find a writer who has the ability to pull you in this way. If you enjoy good story telling, a bit of science fiction, action, and sobering reality, you will love this book.
Imagine a world in the not-too-distant future where a once-mighty city is on the verge of collapse, where lawlessness reigns and the very essence of what it means to be human is in grave jeopardy. Sound creepy? Well it is! And thanks to Anderson O'Donnell's thrilling new novel, Kingdom, it all seems just a little too possible. From the second I picked this book up, it was nearly impossible to put down. Interwoven stories of a bioengineering company that has isolated the gene responsible for the human soul, a group of rogue monks dedicated to discovering the essence of humanity, a 24-year old young man desperately clinging to his hard-partying life as he struggles to maintain some semblance of normalcy in the crumbling metropolis at the center of the story, and the seemingly inexplicable death of a charismatic U.S. Senator, all intersect and intertwine as Mr. O'Donnell tells his bleak yet captivating tale. At the heart of the narrative lie some intriguing questions: What makes a human, human? What is the soul? What happens when we become too bold with our genetic research, when humans try to play God? This book would be intriguing under any circumstances, but especially in light of the new research that has just emerged about the existence of the "God particle," it seems especially timely. A fascinating read, and one that is sure to provide not only an exciting journey for the reader, but also cause the reader to think long and hard about where the human race came from, and where we're going.
Ever imagine what the future will be like? A collapsed economy, underground labs, a bio engineered human race? In Kingdom by Anderson O'Donnell, many of your biggest fears come to light in a web of supreme story telling. This book is a heart pumping, action filled, sci-fi thriller that you won't be able to set down. Set in futuristic Tiber City, where there is no day nor night, O'Donnell's cast of characters jump off the pages in horrific detail. Painting the picture of an experiment gone wrong, we are introduced to Campbell and Dylan who now must face the aftermath of Project Exodus. Every chapter unveils a new piece of the puzzle with such vivid details that you began to actually believe this could be the future. Who will save Tiber City and the human race from extinction? To find that out you'll have to pick up this excellent book, Kingdom by Anderson O'Donnell.
In his debut novel, Anderson O’Donnell fascinates readers with his dark and twisted tale where unbridled greed and apathy co-exist in a world devoid of humanity. The premise -can the soul be manufactured-first grabs you, but it is O’Donnell’s writing that won’t let you go. Learning that his years of research in Project Exodus have been hijacked by his star-pupil turned megalomaniac nemesis Michael Morrison, geneticist Jonathan Campbell casts himself on a whiskey and drug filled journey in search of the road to redemption. After his departure, Project Exodus' scientists uncover the mystery of the Omega gene and its fundamental, if not divine, role – the soul. And Morrison needs Campbell back to harness it. Flash to Dylan Fitzgerald, the tortured twenty-something son of a once-rising political star, whose biggest concerns are where and when the party begins. Dylan's vapid yet conflicted existence has more to do with Exodus, Morrison and Campbell than he cares to know, but as images of his dead father flash before him, Dylan can no longer ignore who he is or where he came from. O'Donnell's fast paced bio punk thriller unfolds in the ultra modern and at the same time forgotten, Tibor City. His gifts of language and description do not just set the scenes, they pull you into the story. Readers will feel as if they too are walking the streets of Tibor City, hanging out with Dylan and his friends at a club, experiencing the atrocities of Kingdom's world and getting a glimpse into the souls of the characters..that is if they have them.
Summer reading is a must in my house. When I saw Anderson O'Donnell's book Kindgom, I knew it would be a book that would be great poolside reading. I was not disappointed. Set in the near future, this book follows three main characters around the desert in a city called Tiber City. Beneath the desert is a secret laboratory housing a covert bio-engineering project. Without giving much more of the story away, all I can say is I couldn't put this book down. I was hooked right away and found Mr. O'Donnell's writing pulling me in. If you are a fan on sci-fi or thriller books, Kingdom is one that should be on your reading list. I have suggested this book to several friends of mine about this book. I can't wait for Mr. O'Donnell's next book.
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Kingdom
by Anderson O’Donnell
Hacking The Human Soul
GRITTY BIOPUNK THRILLER LOOKS AT THE DEHUMANIZING EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY
Do human beings have a soul? This question has plagued the world’s greatest minds for centuries. If humans are, biologically speaking, little more than a flesh-and-bones version of binary code, where does our life force come from—and can it be re-created?
In Kingdom by Anderson O’Donnell, a group of scientists in an underground laboratory in the desert have finally solved this age-old mystery…or so they think. Having isolated the gene responsible for the human soul—known as Omega—these scientists attempt to bioengineer the perfect human being. Unlocking the secrets of Omega, however, triggers a series of events that threatens to forever transform what it means to be human.
A wild, thrill-a-minute ride through philosophy, theology, sex, politics, violence and a world where mankind has everything that it wants but nothing of what it needs, Kingdom winds its reader in the web of an ultra-modern, neo-noir future state known as Tiber City. Telling the story of a young man’s race against an impending revolution—and personal war against a particularly hopeless vision of mankind’s future—Kingdom is fueled by the sense of rebellion and freedom introduced by the original punk rock revolution.
With a terrifying, weighty narrative, O’Donnell’s full-length debut—and first installment in the Tiber City Trilogy—follows in the biopunk tradition, exploring the dehumanizing consequences of technological dependence and modernity’s pursuit of biological perfection.
“Kingdom takes a big step beyond the traditional pillars of genre pulp—the drugs, violence, sex, and loser anti-hero taking one last stab at glory with tattooed dancers,” says O’Donnell. “It has its fair share of that, too, but it goes one step further, asking hard questions about what’s wrong with the modern world—and where we might start looking for answers.”
Gripping and gritty, Kingdom looks at:
· The deification of technology and science as the source of depravity and corruption in the modern world;
· ‘Outsmarting God’: the terrifying consequences of attempting to reproduce mankind’s intrinsic divinity;
· Cultural amnesia and disconnect as symptoms of modernity, not the disease; and
· The need for rebellion against political and corporate structures.
Says the widely regarded father of biopunk literature, Jack O’Connell: “Toss William Gibson, Andrew Vachss and David Fincher into a Petri dish, irradiate them, then infuse the result with Transylvanian meth, and you’ll have some sense of what O’Donnell has concocted with Kingdom.”
About the Author:
Anderson O’Donnell holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut, as well as an undergraduate degree in English from the College of the Holy Cross. He has studied creative writing extensively with biopunk genre master Jack O’Connell and poet Robert Cording, whose work influenced Kingdom’s high/low culture dynamic.
Kingdom is O’Donnell’s full-length debut, and the first installment of the Tiber City Trilogy. It is now available in paperback and e-book formats exclusively via Amazon.
Exile, the second installment in the Tiber City Trilogy, is set for release in the summer of 2013.
To learn more please visit, http://www.tibercitynoir.com
