A science-fiction novel by Konstantin Devereaux, The Doomed is the first book in a series on science creating superhumans. The first four chapters take place in Russia and Slovenia. The story of Alexander Sokolov’s upbringing and vision to genetically alter humans is laid out. Seeing the corruption of politicians, Dr. Sokolov decides to start at the beginning by creating humans. He meets Marcus Gray and incorporates him into his organization. They successfully create four “artifinoids” before government officials send mercenaries after Dr. Sokolov. Dr. Gray escapes to America with the four artifinoids. The remainder of the story focuses on the four and their activities in America. While in America, they incorporate additional “family” members, but the ending is a cliffhanger, proving the Graylove family has caught some unintentional attention.

The Doomed’s details are balanced well for understanding and yet leave enough to the imagination. I, personally, liked chapter 4’s subject files. Each one of the created beings details their strengths and flaws. Astonishingly, every one of the created human traits is extremely different as individuals, despite having the same genetic makeup. I liked the second half of the story because the subjects were no longer just numbers and had assumed names. I found connecting with these unique beings was effortless, and I look forward to reading Devereaux's series. There is mild violence and profanity, and mention of drug use. The explicit scenes are left to the imagination. The science used in the book isn’t overwhelming, and I felt the emotional element in the topic of people tampering with creationism. What is the perfect human being? Would you opt for super intelligence, the ability to heal yourself in mere seconds, super strength, or the ability to run a mile in less than 10 seconds? This book had me thinking about these questions while still fully engaging my attention.

Konstantin Devereaux’s novel The Doomed charts the future of human destiny, but where other futuristic depictions of humanity are content with the wonders of science and its ramifications, Devereaux gives us a magnified look at how we could possibly get there, beginning with a political turmoil that plants the seed of hatred. The future seems comfortable, but it is far from being a utopia. The plot does not follow one specific protagonist that unfurls the entire storyline. It is more of a pulsing diorama that illustrates concepts of artificial creation, human engineering, and augmentation. As political power leans toward force over reason, enhanced artificial humanoids are designed to possess maximized capabilities in comparison to standard human abilities. It is a story where humans play god and the artificially created walk among us.

While artificial intelligence used to be a defining concept in the past, Konstantin Devereaux depicts it as our inescapable future. In this first volume, he does an impressive job of breathing life into his chosen theme with an imaginative vision that is on a par with the genre’s most esteemed men of letters. The Doomed may strike you as dramatic, but it can also be depressing as it does not pull any punches in tackling politics, religion, and philosophy. The Doomed will leave you with an unforgettable yet unsettling sense of existence and will make you wonder if what he has written is truly a manifestation of our inevitable destiny. This is a well-written and must-read work where the question is not whether we will realize full scientific advancement but how we will find a way to deal with it.

Having lost his parents at the age of nine, Alexander Sokolov’s future seemed uncertain. Peter Sokolov (Alexander’s father) and Anastasia (his mother) had been executed in 1954, subject to a political violation of which they had been found guilty. Alexander had then been sent to an orphanage by the Soviet state authorities. However, turns of events at the orphanage motivate Alexander to escape. He then finds himself in a remote village called Elabuga, where he spends part of his life. Alexander meets new people and makes friends, among them being Arkadij (a boy his age) and Yuri Federov (a Russian leader). However, something terrible happens to Yuri, and Alexander is left all by himself and with Yuri’s wealth. Find out what choices Alexander makes later on and how they affect the people around him in Konstantine Devereaux’s The Doomed.

Konstantine Devereaux loads his simple sentence structure with quite sophisticated vocabulary, serving to make his details on science and technology convincing. He depicts his scenes with just enough vividness to prompt colorful images in my head. He aligns his ideas in a consistent manner, giving his storyline a good flow. I commend the creative plot twists. Some of them were quite ingenious. The traits of the characters in The Doomed are well depicted. This and the way the author progressively builds the storyline and the plot make it easy to understand his characters' choices and actions. Alexander Sokolov is depicted as a genius mind whose interactions with human beings have exposed him to immense trauma. It is the reason why Alexander believes he can fix human nature through scientific developments. Enthusiasts of science fiction stories with a touch of a dystopian theme will like The Doomed.

The Doomed: Volume 1 is a pulse-quickening work of science fiction by Konstantine Devereaux. Alexander Sokolov lost both his parents at the tender age of nine to an executioner. Hope was not lost, however, as a guard called Dimitri at the orphanage took a liking to the young intellectual. Under his mentorship, it was apparent that Alexander was destined for greatness, but Dimitri wasn’t fated to see that greatness manifest. Alexander escaped the confines of the orphanage after losing Dimitri, and he would later resurface as the brilliant Dr. Alexander Sokolov. He then began conducting unethical experiments in a bid to create new life to replace the flawed human species. In time, Dr. Sokolov's controversial experiments yielded four formidable clones. They had the appearance of a typical human down to the last detail but their capabilities far exceeded what was possible for a human. Dr. Sokolov was ecstatic; his plans to eradicate humanity were proceeding exceedingly well. Soon his version of an ideal world would materialize before his eyes, or not? Alexander has built a house of cards and a slight oversight could threaten to bring it all tumbling down.

The Doomed is a pretty good book. I liked how the story was told over a period of decades from the 50s to 2010. That approach made the plot difficult to predict and genuinely interesting till the end. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the plot. The characters were another high point of my reading experience as each one held my interest and the clones, in particular, were my favorite. The clones could be given unique personalities because… well, they're clones, and the author took advantage of that and crafted four intriguing characters that piqued my curiosity till the final page. The dark humor of XVII partnered with the humorless XXV was a pairing that seldom failed to crack me up. The recurring theme of despair throughout the decades of the plot was something else that I enjoyed. During these scenes of sorrow, characters were at their most vulnerable, and Konstantin Devereaux conveyed that brilliantly and realistically. I had fun reading this book and have high hopes for volume 2 as a result. Readers that appreciate the sci-fi genre’s creativity and a solid cast of characters are sure to enjoy this book.