World War II has finally ended, but for Jonathan Preston—the US Army’s most successful covert operative—a new mission is just beginning.
World War II has finally ended, but for Jonathan Preston—the US Army’s most successful covert operative—a new mission is just beginning. To aid US Army intelligence in its post–World War II transition, Preston travels to Mukden, China, to take custody of scientists and technicians involved in a clandestine Japanese biochemical research program known as Unit 731. There, he discovers an even bigger secret—the Japanese stole and hid thousands of tons of gold, precious gems, and antiquities from invaded Asian countries during the war.
Although initial reports claimed the gold was in Japan, Preston learns from a surrendered Japanese general that most of it was sent to the Philippines for safekeeping. Preston and his team race to Luzon and soon discover the spoils have been scattered across multiple countries. But they’re not the only operatives eager to possess the stolen gold and other valuables. A slew of dangerous thugs, corrupt politicians, and ruthless underground organizations are also on the hunt.
Among them is Japanese assassin Asami Nakada, who wants revenge against Preston’s team after they took out her own band of female assassins during a mission in India six months prior. It’s imperative that Preston and his American operatives recover the gold first. If it falls into Russian, Filipino, or Japanese control, deadly forces may rise again to cause even greater destruction.
Preston follows the gold trail from China, to the Philippines, and finally back to Japan where he prevents an underground Japanese organization—still determined to destroy America—from obtaining the gold.
Professional Reviews
Robert Gandt, Author and Historian
“Steve Doherty’s Gold Dominion continues the kick-butt, adrenaline-soaked, action-driven WWII adventures of his larger-than-life hero, Jonathan Preston. Preston’s latest saga will leave the reader breathless and wanting more.”
Amazon.com - March 13, 2018
Gold Dominion, you can't put it down! I am very familiar with this book and the author. First about the book. I was one of the editors on this book while it was being written and I was mesmerized by the content. I could not put the book down. My wife thought I had left her because I was always hiding away reading Gold Dominion. The book covers a time in history right after the end of WWII when many artifacts had been secretly stolen by the Japanese. The United States was determined to find these valuables and return them to the rightful owners or countries. Steve weaves a super interesting story about what was stolen, where it was secretly hidden away and how the United States was going to get it back. There is a great deal of intrigue to the story, a large amount of danger for the undercover U.S. operatives trying to recover the artifacts before other ruthless countries do, and although a work of fiction, the book closely follows actual history during that time.
This is Steve's third Jonathan Preston novel, and everyone is as good as the one before it. Steve grew up in a small town in central Texas, the same town I live in and we have become friends over his books. Steve is a great guy, a retired Air Force pilot, and a very accomplished writer.
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Reviews for "Gold Dominion"
Reviewed by Michael Hartnett
4/19/2018
A Thrilling Post-War Novel
Gold Dominion: A Jonathan Preston Novel by Steve Doherty is an exciting and complex novel, filled with daring, spy missions and tricky political/military operations. It’s 1946 and World War II is over, but as Admiral Dubois explains, “you know we are still at war, just with a different adversary. There is no declared war, no uniforms, and no code of conduct that they follow. These enemies are greed- and power-driven, and will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals.”
What better conditions for a novel about hidden stashes of gold that had been plundered by the Japanese during the war? And what better protagonist in this environment than agent Jonathan Preston, who operates in the shadows and is congenitally one step ahead of his enemies, his associates, and the United States government? Preston’s prescience and his geopolitical savvy imbue this adventurous spy tale with rich historical context and sophisticated world views.
Doherty is a tremendously skilled and knowledgeable writer, deftly shifting his narrative from America to much of Asia as various international players vie for the upper hand. Doherty is like a chess master delineating the feints and countermoves on the board as a game of great complexity plays out. Part of the fun is the seamless and lively integration of major historical figures like MacArthur, Truman, Marshall, Eisenhower, and even wild Bill Donovan. He also does a fine job of getting into the minds of the enemies, offering sympathetic portrayals of the troubled, mistreated female assassin Asami and the wily and stubborn Russian Major Chistyakova.
Simply put, Gold’s Dominion satisfies a reader on so many levels: as a political thriller, a spy novel, a post-war novel, and a world-wind tour through Asia (the novel bounds from Australia to China to Korea to the Philippines). Preston and his comrades face daunting missions and terrible odds, but both Doherty and his characters are so smart and nimble that they find solutions that are simultaneously inspired and practical. In fact, the novel’s conclusion is deeply satisfying in its complexity and its realism, qualities that are so central to this terrific novel.
The fifth and final book of the Jade Owl Legacy sees a full battle for life as we know it. The world is threatened by the denizens of the Jade Village leading the China Hans through a fantastical world and to a conclusive battle.
SURGICALLY RE-WRITTEN and CONDENSED Feb-May 2013... A MONUMENTAL JOURNEY is an adventure mystery historical fiction novel that follows a young mans journey (with friends) to find Truth, happiness, purpose, and a long lost Norse tribe.
