Damien the Man

Damien the Man
Ralph D. Nybakken
Outskirts Press, Inc
ISBN: 1-4327-0259-9
Fiction, Spiritual Science Fiction
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

The future has come. Dr. Michael Nelson is finally getting his due. His project will change the way the world works. With his implanted identification markers imbedded in every person on the earth, money will no longer be an issue. All deposits and purchases will be made electronically through a simple scan. Crime will become extinct as there will no longer be any money to steal and criminal acts could easily be tracked to the person responsible within minutes. It seems a little 1984, which has some scary implications but the positive aspects seem to outweigh these scare stories.
ust as the new system is readying to start up, something really strange happens. People start to disappear. The only thing that seems to connect these individuals is that they are all Christians. Has the Day of Reckoning arrived? What does this disappearance have to do with the new identification system?
As I read, Damien the Man one question kept popping into my head. I kept wondering how the author was going to tie the religious undertones to the technological advance described in the opening portion of the book. In my mind, this was the one piece that could either make the story seem slapped together or bring another layer of depth to the storyline. Although I don’t want to spoil the ending, I have to say I’m quite happy with the resolution.