Dusk Before the Dawn [Paperback]

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.

-Arthur W. Jordin

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.

Dusk Before the Dawn combines the ancient with the ultra-modern in describing an apocalyptic-like event that is far outside the norm of doom and gloom prophecy. Put aside any ideas involving a whimper or a bang, for in this story men, women, and children all over the world simply begin to fall asleep - not according to any kind of divine will, but rather via the free will of a brilliant scientist. Convinced that mankind is on the verge of irrevocably destroying the natural habitat of the earth, Dr. Gerard Tooney, an expert in nano-medicine, decided to act before it was too late. Having discovered a way to achieve self-replication in nanobots, he unleashed his microscopic minions on an unsuspecting world, thereby freeing nature to reestablish its natural balance in the absence of human destruction.

Of course, millions died in the aftermath (such as those driving or flying at the time of the Big Sleep), but Tooney believes he had no choice but to act as he did. There's no question that the Earth has been revitalized from the temporary elimination of humanity's dangerous influence, yet Tooney now has reason for concern. The feeder bots he developed are failing, which puts in jeopardy the lives of all individuals currently in stasis. Tooney has gone so far as to "resume" select individuals to help him, including Dr. Janet Grayson, a former colleague (and expert on nanobot replication) he basically kidnapped after usurping some of her own private research - not the kind of thing that encourages cooperation and trust.

Meanwhile, scattered individuals and pockets of people watch and wait, unaffected by Tooney's nanobots - some of whom had prior knowledge of the current crisis. What has happened to the world is simply the fulfillment of ancient prophecies of such enlightened cultures as the ancient Mayans. One such group, led by the enigmatic, cigar-smoking Julius, has prepared for this moment in time, monitoring Tooney's work and even manufacturing their own version of the anti-bots used to "resume" select individuals. With their links to other enlightened groups around the world (both technologically and - increasingly - spiritually), they are prepared to reshape the brave new world to come. Getting to that point is the hard part, especially with the wild card of a megalomaniacal associate determined to use Tooney's anti-bots for his own immense gain.

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.