A decent read but somewhat formulaic. I enjoyed it and tore through it in less time than it usually takes me to finish other books, so I think that's a good sign. The depictions of the government cracked me up, but I could see how that might turn some off. ( )

Wow! This was a page turner. I appreciate authors who have backgrounds in what they are writing about (i.e: Kathy Reichs & forensic anthropology). I can usually count on accuracy and I learn about non-fiction themes via novels - a neat way to learn difficult concepts. This is the case with this novel that discusses physics (Einstein's theories)and the 'Theory of Everything'. ( )

"Thriller" whose brutalizing and psyche-searing episodes of violence more than cancel out the interesting parts having to do with advanced physics and computer science. Needlessly vile.

FINAL THEORY's dust jacket includes a gushing review by thriller writer Douglas Preston, who not only exclaims that the book is "a stupendous read!" but rather cattily suggests that "If I were Michael Crichton, I'd be packing my bags and heading for a quiet retirement in Tahiti."

Don't buy your ticket yet, Mr. Crichton. Your position as contemporary literature's premier writer of science-based thrillers is still secure.

Not that Alpert's book is bad -- quite the contrary. It is a fast-paced thriller with an excellent mix of science, technology, and interesting characters. But it is also predictable, almost to a fault; and hews closely to the typical formula of such books.

The big, bad U.S. government, controlled by a group of maverick conservatives (including a thinly disguised Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld), wants to get its hands on a vital scientific secret -- in this case, Einstein's mythical unified field theory -- the theory that not only explains literally every particle in the universe, but is potentially able to be used to unleash unbelievable and devastating power. Well, by gosh, by golly, who wouldn't want to get their hands on such a formula? As it turns out, not all that many folks -- though one would expect a landscape simply teeming with agents of foreign powers and representatives of terrorist groups. Nope. It seems that there is only one other shadowy figure determined to acquire this potentially unlimited power. The evil-doers that thriller readers have come to expect are conspicuously absent in this book. While that may make FINAL THEORY a refreshing change of pace for some readers, I found the absence of other players oddly unrealistic.

Another jarring touch, which is never fully explained, is the reason for all this interest in a theory that Einstein searched for over fifty years ago. Why the sudden, frantic interest in this theory now? Even at the denouement, when all is revealed, and the master puppeteer emerges from the shadows, too much is left unexplained. One madman's jealous rage seems too thin an answer to adequately cover the questions that remain.

Add in one brutal Russian ex-secret service agent, who leaves a trail of some dozen or more corpses in his wake, a corrupt FBI agent, a beautiful black string theorist, and two, count 'em, two children in jeopardy; sprinkle with a generous helping of scientific exposition, stir well, and voila! You now have your standard thriller.

Better written than many, admittedly, but still too shallow and predictable for Michael Crichton to experience any serious qualms about his throne.

A fast-paced summer read, but not anywhere as earth-shaking as the subject matter seems to demand. ( )

Lots of dead bodies, but not a bad thriller. It held my interest through the last page, even though I kept thinking there were too many lucky breaks and way too much killing. But it's a thriller, so that's what one can expect. Interesting bits about the physics. ( )