In Dominion: Ascension, D.A. Murray builds a dystopian future that doesn’t just invert the familiar—she interrogates what the inversion reveals. The world of Dominion is shaped by control, technology, and a social order where women occupy the highest levels of leadership while men are constrained into roles defined by utility. It’s a premise that can sound like pure “what if?” science fiction on the surface, but the episode makes clear that Murray’s real target is power itself: how it’s designed, how it’s maintained, and how quickly it can become a weapon when the system rewards obedience over humanity.
A striking part of the conversation centers on the book’s protagonist, Danny Matthews. Danny is 29, but readers may initially misread her emotional maturity through a modern lens. Murray explains that Danny’s internal development is shaped by the conditions of her upbringing—limited information, defined roles, and a culture that discourages self-discovery. When growth is contained, so is the person. That framing turns Danny into more than a viewpoint character; she becomes evidence of what systemic control does to an individual over time.
And then there’s the emotional core. Dominion: Ascension isn’t only about institutions and hierarchy. The mother-daughter relationship at the heart of the novel gives the story weight and warmth, grounding the dystopian machinery in something intimate and human. As Dominion evolves, so does the relationship between Danny and her mother, creating a parallel arc that makes the stakes feel personal rather than theoretical.
Murray’s background as a tech executive adds another layer. She describes technology as having a “jagged edge of progress,” where advancement isn’t a straight line and society can lurch forward and backward depending on fear, incentives, and who holds the controls. When the discussion turns to AI, the tone stays measured: there’s real value in efficiency and access to information, but also real concern around privacy, understanding what we’re consenting to, and building guardrails that allow humanity to lead rather than scramble behind the latest tools. The episode also looks ahead. Dominion is the first book in a trilogy, with the second installment titled Anarchy—a promise of rebellion, destabilization, and deeper backstory about how this world arrived here in the first place. If Dominion: Ascension asks what happens when power flips, this conversation suggests the bigger question is what happens when power, once taken, refuses to loosen its grip.
