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Dusk Before the Dawn
Book 1 of the Enlightenment Cycle
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Dusk Before the Dawn description:
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Selected a Finalist for the 2006 Book of Year awards.
Combining the traditions and legends of ancient Mayan culture and martial arts with the possibilities of nanotechnology and quantum mechanics, DUSK BEFORE THE DAWN is a thrilling novel of one man's terrifying vision to change the world, and the people who oppose him trying to not only survive in the new world order but to shape it.
One of the best novels I’ve come across this year - I liked it so much, I added it to my best first science fiction novels list here on Amazon. A really fine mix of ancient culture, modern-future nanotech, written by a sure hand - Paul Levinson, Author of The Plot to Save Socrates and other fiction and non-fiction books; past president of the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America)
I thoroughly enjoyed his debut effort. This is a novel with a big idea - if our planet is truly threatened by human population growth and technology, what is the ultimate solution - and what is the morality of that solution? At what point does the idealism of a genius become insanity? And is there a need for a change in human consciousness, and can this truly be achieved? This is a lot to bite off, and the author has constructed a very fast-paced story that covers a lot of ground within an apocalyptic scenario. - William Dietrich, author of Napolean’s Pyramids, Hadrian’s Wall, and other novels
I hope Dusk Before the Dawn won’t be Larry Ketchersid’s last novel…he needs to get more of us thinking. - Dr. Phil Rhyne of Multiverse Reviews
A fascinating mixture of mysticism, nanotechnology and martial arts. The book reminded me a bit of King’s “The Stand,” but not because of any story similarities (there aren’t many), but because of the way the writer deals with a multitude of characters embroiled in a world facing near-extinction. - Ty Johnston, Logical Mysanthropy
As first novels go, this one was pretty darned good and shows excellent promise. Ultimately the story is an engaging scientific/supernatural thriller. - John, SFSignal.com
Larry Ketchersid has written a very impressive first novel, one with a distinct vision and a creative approach to apocalyptical theorizing. The way of enlightenment plays just as important a role as the cutting-edge science that invigorates the story. Various sub-plots among a cast of personable characters are incorporated seamlessly into the overall narrative. The book pays tribute to the remarkable accomplishments of past cultures while introducing esoteric ideas of spiritual enlightenment and martial arts philosophy in a wonderfully engaging manner. You won’t find many novels that so effectively compare and contrast quantum mechanics with the concept of Qi. With Dusk Before the Dawn being the first book in Ketchersid’s Enlightenment Cycle, much more along these religious/spiritual lines are doubtless to come, and this reader certainly looks forward to the second installment in the series. - Daniel Jolley, Amazon Top 50 reviewer
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| Amazon.com customer review: | Dusk Before the Dawn (2006) is the first novel in the Enlightenment Cycle. According to Mayan predictions, the current 3,000 year cycle will end with a cataclysmic incident. Julius, a Mayan villager who has been educated in the United States, has gathered a group of fellow villagers to meditate on the top of El Templo del Gran Jaguar while awaiting the coming event.
In this novel, Professor Gerald Tooney has come to believe that the world is facing mass extinctions under the current polities; too many people and not enough sense. He releases a breed of nanomedical devices that cause sleepiness and then coma in the victims. These devices infect people around the world, causing countless deaths to persons in cars, planes and other vehicles. If untreated, the survivors will eventually die.
Joseph Davis is the father of two girls. On a trip to the beach, the youngest falls asleep in the water, but Joseph pulls her to safety. As they speed toward the hospital where Joseph works, the other girl falls asleep and then his wife. Joseph becomes very sleepy, but still rushes into the emergency room and cries out for help.
Janet Grayson, PhD, is a topline researcher in nanomedical devices. She awakes in a strange hospital and later learns from Gerald Tooney that she has been unconscious for months. Tooney needs her help to solve a problem with the nutritive nanos, which have recently been losing effectiveness.
Master Yang is an instructor in Taijiquan. As part his instruction, Master Yang also teaches meditation and the use of Qi, a spiritual force within the body that is often thought of as energy by Westerners. Unlike his latest students, Joseph and Janet, Master Yang is capable of detecting and flushing the nanomeds in his system before they can cause sleepiness.
Julius and his student Carlos have come to the city where Tooney is operating to guide the effects of this manmade disaster. Julius has achieved enlightenment -- i.e., the capability of imposing his will on the world -- and one of the effects of the nanomeds is the lowering of barriers between such enlightened persons. They are able to perceive each other from a distance. A major part of his agenda is to reestablish contact with other such enlightened persons throughout the world.
This novel is about the coming of a millennium, albeit from a different perspective. In several respects, it is similar to The Second Coming by John Dalmas; e.g., it draws on Buddhist and other religious principles. Yet this work more closely resembles the spiritual aspects of Asian martial arts than these religious dogmas per se. Qi (also known as ki or chi) is integral to most such disciplines, although often misinterpreted by Westerners.
This novel also resembles the backstory of The Shadow radio play and movie; the ancient powers may return to the enlightened. This work is only the first novel in the Enlightenment Cycle. There is more to come!
This is the author's first novel and an excellent work. However, it occasionally shows; some passages are a bit awkward, probably because the writer knew what he meant even if the reader doesn't quite get it on the first reading. Yet such passages are infrequent and should disappear with more practice. Overall, this novel was very hard to put aside when other duties arose (like sleeping).
Highly recommended for The Second Coming fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of martial arts, ancient powers and exotic cultures.
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| FrontStreetReviews.com: | What would the world be like if ninety percent of its population suddenly fell asleep?
In the Tike National Park a group of Mayan shamans led by Julius, a Mayan villager who has been educated in the United States, sit on the top of a temple waiting for the important event, the event predicted hundreds of years before as part of a cycle change in the Tzollhin (the Mayan calendar). At the same time, hundreds of miles away, Joseph Davis watches helpless, as his family falls asleep before desperately asking a stranger for help. Janet Grayson, PhD, a well known nanotechnology scientist, wakes up in a hospital to find that the last things she remember happening did occur, but several months ago, not the day before.
Welcome to a world gone wrong. Gerald Tooney, a scientist who decided that nature needs saving over humanity. introduced a devastating, even deadly, nano-virus into the worlds water supply. This is to prevent the mass extinctions that he has come to believe will happen if humanity continues on the path it has been taking. The survivors are either dependent on a temporary vaccine that keeps them awake, or on the help and knowledge of enlightened practitioners of ancient techniques.
Dusk before the Dawn is the first book in the Enlightenment Cycle. Larry Ketchersid has created a world in conflict. The author weaves his tale together with scientific technologies and oriental mysticism to show the struggle between Gerald Tooney, who made this life affecting, world altering decision, and the growing resistance group working against him. These men and women are led by an enlightened Mayan scientist and his student Carlos who are trying to search out other survivors and find a way to re awaken the sleeping humans.
This is Larry Ketchersid’s first novel and it is the first book in the Enlightenment Cycle. It is an excellent work of fiction. I found the story slow to start, but soon it became engrossing, and ended leaving me wondering what was going to happen next. One of the things I enjoyed most was the attention to detail and the descriptions of the martial arts and ancient practices that he shows us in his story. I will be looking forwards to the next installment in the series.
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| Paul Levinson, past president of SFWA (Science Fiction Writers Assoc) and author of The Plot to Save Socrates: | One of the best novels I've come across this year - I liked it so much, I added it to my best first science fiction novels list here on Amazon. A really fine mix of ancient culture, modern-future nanotech, written by a sure hand. Ketchersid offers just the right mix of science and myth, packed into a fast-paced story with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Highly recommended, especially for fans of what I think of as anthropological science fiction.
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| Foreword Magazine: | | Dusk Before the Dawn is a Finalist for the 2006 Book of the Year Award from Foreword Magazine. |
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