Kingdom by Anderson O'Donnell

Genre: Sci Fi / Dystopia
Series: Tiber City #1
Publisher: Tiber City Press
Buy the book: Amazon
Source: I received an ecopy from the author

In a secret laboratory hidden under the desert, a covert bioengineering project—codename “Exodus”—has discovered the gene responsible for the human soul.
Somewhere in the neon sprawl outside the nation’s collapsing economic core, a group of renegade monks are on the verge of uncovering a secret that has eluded mankind for centuries.
In a glittering tower high above the urban decay, an ascendant U.S. Senator is found dead—an apparent, yet inexplicable, suicide.
And in the streets below, a young man races through an ultra modern metropolis on the verge of a violent revolution....closing in on the terrible truth behind Exodus—and one man’s dark vision for the future of mankind.
Welcome to Tiber City

Kingdom is a debut by Anderson O’Donnell en with Tiber City he has created a gritty disturbing world set in the near future.

The story is told from different point of views and this makes sure you get to see the whole thing from all the different angles this world has to offer.


The two characters that stick out the most are Jonathan Campbell a geneticist and cofounder of Morrison Biotech and Dyland Fitzgerald, the son of the late US senator. Both characters have a self destructive lifestyle and dealing with their own issues. You I’m not a big fan of troublesome characters but O’Donnell knows how to make sure these two fit into the story with giving the problems the upper hand.

But what I found to be the best part of this book was this gritty and disturbing world O’Donnell created with Tiber City, genetic experiments to decipher the ‘Omega gene’ the one thing they think will help create the perfect human being.

This was not a fast read and I really needed to pay attention while reading it. But that was no problem at all. O’Donnell’s writing and worldbuilding makes sure you keep interested en flipping the pages to see what will happen next.
This is the first installment in his Tiber City series and I must say I’m looking forward to his next installment.

My rating: 4/5

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Anderson O’Donnell presents a biopunk, dystopian noir-esque thriller in this amazing read, KINGDOM. Most people are familiar with the term “cyberpunk,” but “biopunk” is harder to nail down. In many ways, biopunk is similar to the cyberpunk genre, and shares many of the same themes and archetypes: the dystopian future; the overreliance on technology; mega-corporations; a constant and overwhelming flow of data; the anti-hero—these elements are integral parts of both genres.

Both genres are fueled, to some extent, by the sense of rebellion and desire for individual freedom expressed by the original punk rock revolution. But the main difference—the most important difference—is that while cyberpunk focuses on invasive technological modification of the human body, biopunk explores the dehumanizing consequences of biological modification, of re-arranging our DNA in the pursuit of perfection.

Anderson lives in Connecticut with his wife and 2 sons. Anderson himself deems Kingdom as “a thrill-a-minute, bio-punk myth that manages to wrestle with the most pressing issues of the new millennium. O’Donnell has crafted a kickass novel of tomorrow night, when the big party gets raided by the monsters we’ve been building for the last half-century.”

His debut novel, Kingdom, a dystopian, biopunk thriller, is now available in paperback and ebook format. Kingdom is the first part of the Tiber City Trilogy. Look for part two, Exile, in the summer of 2013.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from First Rule Publicity from the author as part of a virtual book tour. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”