End of Days

Detroit Free Press

Compelling, entertaining...deeply thought-provoking...a love story with a harsh philosophical bite.

Gerald Jonas

The story Danvers tells is complex beyond the possibility of synopsisbut he never loses control of his material....To appreciate how [varied] musings connect with one anotheryou will have to read this thoughtful and consistently entertaining book. —The New York Times Book Review

Orlando Sentinel

A haunting novel that will make readers wonder.

Publishers Weekly

As detailed in Circuit of Heaven (1998), to which this novel is a sequel, more than a century ago most of Earth's population abandoned reality to upload onto the Bin, a computer-generated Nirvana of instant gratification created by Newman Rogers. Those outside the Bin were decimated by the Army of God and its fundamentalist leader, Gabriel, who prophesied the "end of days," when the righteous would be rewarded for their faith and sacrifice. When Gabriel dumped a killer virus into the Bin to destroy it, Rogers secretly saved his creation and moved its disembodied souls to a hidden site off-world. Now, despite the Bin's coziness, its inhabitants are increasingly unsatisfied. Donovan Carroll, aka "Dr. Death," links ennui and the increasing suicide rate to the fact that life inside the Bin is meaningless. Meanwhile, Sam, a disillusioned Christian Soldier, has found the hidden prototype for the Bin. Sam tries to keep it secret, if only to protect its sole inhabitant, Walter Tillman, the ugly duckling geneticist unwittingly responsible for the creation of Constructs, clone-slaves since freed. Betrayed by a fellow soldier, Sam teams up with a tough hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold named Laura, who just happens to have a communication link with the Bin, setting in motion a complex plot to reunite old lovers and destroy Gabriel. Danvers raises thoughtful questions about identity and personal responsibility, but the story suffers from overplotting and limited character growth. Attempts at religious allegory collapse under stereotypes--from the evil Gabriel and his minions, opposed by benevolent god-scientist Rogers, to a forced replay of the Nativity. But even so, Danvers is a skilled writer with a good, inventive story to tell. (June) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

The sequel to Circuit to Heaven, this SF tale follows the consequences of a society that seeks to live in eternal bliss. Cut off from their true bodies and the Earth, some of these people still don't feel fulfilled. Revolutionary "Christian Soldiers" on Earth, on their part, want to destroy non-believers and composite personalities. In the midst of these worlds, two characters who were once in love, and are now separated by the Bin, try to reunite. Their love story provides a backdrop to the philosophical and moral crises of the two worlds. The suspenseful adventure and a complex set of fascinating characters make this an enjoyable read. With the disembodiment of folks, this story might not make it as a movie, but the pictures in the mind carry well—as does the philosophical quandary about the need for freedom and death. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1999, Avon/Eos, 390p, 18cm, 99-20947, $6.50. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Lesley Farmer; Lib. Media Teacher Svcs., Credential Prog. Coordinator, Cal. State Univ., Long Beach, CA, May 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 3)

Library Journal

Severing their ties to the physical world, the inhabitants of the virtual reality known as the Bin dwell in a timeless paradise until a young man in the outside world discovers their existence and seeks a way to bring the two worlds back together. While the Christian Soldiers of the material world labor to bring about the end of the world, a few residents of the Bin search for a way to infuse their meaningless lives with purpose and direction. Continuing the story begun in Circuit of Heaven (Avon, 1998), Danvers brings two flawed realities together in a confrontation that defines both worlds. Suitable for most sf collections. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Gerald Jonas

The story Danvers tells is complex beyond the possibility of synopsis, but he never loses control of his material....To appreciate how [varied] musings connect with one another, you will have to read this thoughtful and consistently entertaining book.
— The New York Times Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

Sequel to the virtual-reality romance Circuit of Heaven (1998). For more than a hundred years, life has continued electronically for most of Earth's population in the orbiting Bin. Excluded are the mad, the Constructs (triple-minded former slaves with mingled human and animal genes) and the fanatical Christian Soldiers, whose twisted, sadistic leader, Gabriel, has secretly been cloning himself in order to live forever. Worse, he's blasted his religious opponents with old US nukes, and now he threatens to nuke the Bin and everything else to bring about the End of Days. Some Bin residents, like Donovan Carroll, find life boring and pointless—until the Bin's legendary inventor, Newman Rogers, tells Donovan what Gabriel is planning. Rogers proposes to send multiple copies of the Bin off to other stars. Meanwhile, down on Earth, Soldier Sam discovers geneticist Walter Tillman, isolated in a prototype Bin. Sam agrees to help Walter escape and asks Construct whore Laura to provide Walter with a body (there are lots of spares, since Constructs join three minds in one body as soon as they're mature). Walter's beloved, former supermodel Stephanie, whom he thought dead, is actually in the Bin and also wanting out. After various adventures, Walter takes Sam's body, Stephanie takes Laura's, while Sam and Laura download into the baby (Sam's) that Laura is carrying, so she can grow up as a natural Construct, while Rogers and Donovan plot to destroy Gabriel.