Dominion

Dion Semele has just moved to Napa Valley, California. He lives with his attractive mother who has trouble holding jobs due to her hormones. He is a high school senior, a typical kid by most respects.On the first day of school, he befriends Kevin Harte, a local rude-yet-cool dude.By the end of the first week, he befriends Penelope Daneam.Penelope lives with her mothers at their winery. They are strange yet friendly, and treat her as if she were there own daughter. In fact, one of them IS her mother, but she doesn't know which.Finding the identity of her mother will soon become the least of Penelope's concerns.For she falls madly in love with Dion, but there is a catch. The wine produced at the windery--Daneam Wine--is not your typical beverage. It is the same recipe used by the ancient Greeks, and it has astounding effects on those who drink it...like insanity...Penelope and Dion soon find out that Napa Valley is in for a wave of trouble. It appears that the Mothers want Dion for a ritual...a ritual to bring about the ressurection of the god Dionysus...Their entire world thrown into chaos, Penelope must join forces with Kevin to save the Valley, themselves, Dion...and quite possibly the world.This is a great read. Bentley Little outdoes himself. Yes, some of the content is graphic and disturbing; but it adds to the novel (in an entirely appropriate way, I mean). Bentley Little's "Dominion" is packed full of scares, gore, and some great Greek trivia. Not a read for someone alone at night...

Bentley Little is a genius. He manages to weave the mythology of ancient Greece into a gripping horror tale. Little catches the reader's attention instantly with a gruesome prologue that opens this captivating novel. Dion Semele moves to Napa Valley after his mother is fired from her job in Arizona. He meets Penelope Daneam at his new high school and the two are instantly drawn to each other. Unlike the synopsis on this site, Penelope has not been raised by nuns, but by a group of women who run a winery. She does not know which one of them is actually her mother. Dion and Penelope do not realize that their meeting has been fated. Each has felt a force within them. Their union will bring about an evil that will forever change the world. This is a disturbing book. Little does not flinch in his writing. The scenes are extremely graphic. When the town is gripped by the insanity that follows the rebirth of the god Dionysus, no one is safe. The violence is constant and brutal. The book is filled with drunken celebrants, satyrs, and Maenads who turn Napa Valley into a hell on earth under the rule of their new god. A couple of reviewers have stated that the ending was too abrupt. That's not necessarily a bad thing. When an entire novel is a battle between good and evil, a long drawn out ending is just overkill. I tried for a long time to get my hands on this book and it was definitely worth the wait. I would easily count it as one of my favorite novels. It has everything, great characters, an original storyline and the kind of writing that keeps you reading well into the night. If you can find it, snap it up, you wont be sorry.

Little has written another cold-blooded classic of horror.This is the only horror novel I know of that combines ancient greek myths and supernatural evil and creates a tale of terror that you will never forget.While other horror authors try to go mainstream Little sticks to what he knows best: scaring the hell out of his fans and with that he has no peer!

I have only read two of Bentley Little's books, this one and "The Store", and I am totally hooked. His stories are unusual, graphic, and compulsively readable, at least the ones I've read so far. Best of all, they are truly creepy. I thoroughly recommend this book. I am starting on "The House" right now, and I hope it is as good as the others I have read. PS - If you don't like books that are "nasty", you probably shouldn't be reading horror novels. Just a thought.

Whether intended or not, this book gives a dramatic rewrite of the Christian tale of the return of Jesus. Only in this there is to be no true Heaven for believers but only an orgiastic Hell that threatens the destruction of all concerned with it. Little's graphic descriptions of wanton violence, sex, and licentiousness are breathtaking to say the least. He does not stsint the reader in any way with this tale of mounting terror up to its curious climax. Interestingly, Little also evokes some measure of sympathy for the villain with his portrayal of latent softer emotions that maintain in him some measure of humanity even while they serve to make his viler acts more depraved and appalling. In short, Domion is a great read any true horror fan would do well to read, if not purchase.