A Reign of Peace is an adventure epic where characters engage in larger than life heroics
to preserve a distant yet familiar civilization. It focuses on a young man named Dominus and his struggle with faith as he confronts threats of war and conquest. How does it all start?
In turning over the soil for the next crop, two hapless farmers unearth a small metallic box—about the size and shape of a pocket calculator. To their amazement, it hums and has a small translucent window with an eerie pulsating green glow. The community buzzes with excitement. News of the strange artifact reaches Dominus and his close friend, Rumanion, farmers who have also studied history and archaeology at the University. They decide to have a look at this unique relic. Before they realize what happens, they are caught up in a series of events which forever alters their lives and their society as well. Memorable life-like characters struggle in a unique setting and, as a result of their conflicts, mature as they learn more about themselves and the world around them.
Although Dominus is only in his late twenties, he is embittered and cynical as a result of a tragic youth (“Man is no better than a swine,” he laments, “clinging to miserably to this cosmic prank called life, only to have it snuffed out. ..”). Later, with the help of the devout cleric Thomas and his sister Elaina, Dominus acquires faith and finds love.
As readers battle villains and a secret race of mutants along with Dominus and Rumanion, they feel as if they’re traveling through the Middle Ages. However, the novel is actually set in the future. At one point, fleeing for his life, Dominus stumbles into a network of caves which houses a missile complex. How is he to relate this discovery to the simple, agrarian values of his society?
Besides Dominus and Rumanion, the book abounds with characters who have distinct and engaging personalities. Mangross, the self-serving mercenary, represents the dark path Dominus could take. Mangross would rather count his gold than ponder noble causes. (“I am accustomed to being well paid for my services,” he proudly boasts, “and with my earnings, I can drink, game, and swyve my fill. Causes make man grim and morbid.”) There is Sablestone the hermit, a proud warrior who spurns society, yet is a help to all. And Harrington Nob, the man bound by science and society, who learns friendship and compassion. Grunorga is the chieftain of the mutants; he is revealed to be a sadistic maniacal leader bent on fulfilling his imagined destiny as conqueror.
In addition to the qualifies of a suspenseful fast-paced adventure story, the themes of man’s relationship to nature, technology, his fellow man, and to God all predominate throughout the book. However, these motifs all emerge from the action of the story. And the action never stops!
