Blasphemy

Wyman Ford returns. Having left the monastery from Tyrannosaur Canyon, Wyman is now a PI. Wyman makes for an interesting character; but the story is just...ugh, too busy. The central plot is the delay to the successful start of a particle accelerator -- similar to the Hadron Collider.

Plot tangents include:
annoyed Navajo residents,
a greedy lobbyist that the Navajo Nation fired,
a slimy TV evangelist in bed with the lobbyist,
a homicidal fundamentalist preacher,
Wyman's former lover, and, of course,
Washington politics.

The central plot would have been plenty without everything else around it. There's enough happening on the site of the collider with staff to move the entire book forward.

I'm not sure why I torture myself with Douglas show more Preston novels. Maybe because I keep hoping they will be as good as Lincoln Child's or as good as their collaborative effort in the Pendergast novels. show less

The US government has poured several billions of dollars into building a supercollider out in the Arizona desert, and they're now running out of patience because the scientists trying to use it can't get it to work. Or so they say. Something fishy seems to be going on out there, so the feds send in Wyman Ford (a former FBI agent with a history with one of the scientists) to see if he can suss out what's really going on. As it turns out, what's really going on is that the scientists think they may have contacted God when they turned the machine on... Meanwhile, the Navajo people living nearby aren't happy with how their deal to let the government use the land to build this thing hasn't turned out in their favor (and why are they shocked, show more one has to wonder). Also, a nearby evangelical preacher teams up with a Washington televangelist (who has teamed up with a DC lobbyist, who in turn is using the televangelist to try to exploit the Navajo nation) in an attempt to destroy the newfangled machine that's trying to disprove God exists. It all ends up in a hot mess, as you may well imagine.

Kind of like the book itself. I mean, there's a *lot* going on here, and in general I like a book that gives me various sub plots that eventually all tie in together, but this one felt too disjointed and the eventual tying together seemed oversimplistic. Also, it felt like Preston couldn't decide which genre he wanting to be writing in: is this an FBI thriller? a social commentary on the corrupt nature of Christianity/religion itself (this, by the way, was the best part of the thing, in my opinion)? straight-up sci-fi? or a mystery? If you're gonna blend genres, fine, but find a way to hide the seams, or at least smooth them out enough that your readers aren't constantly tripping over them. Now, having groused about all that, I did kind of enjoy it. It's a good-enough story that at least kept me interested enough to want to know what happens, and honestly I was happily surprised at the end with how it all shook out. show less

A pot-boiler that pits scientists trying to make a supercollider work against the fundamentalist Christian right. A pretty easy read although a little short on tension and excitement (or maybe I'm just a little too jaded). I found the scientist characters too 'mad' and dysfunctional; I found the fundamentalists affirming my stereotypical view of those characters, which I found pleasing, but I did not always think rang true. The denouement had a role reversal I did not see coming.

A comfortable read, but too many loose ends and not quite enough energy.

Well, the title of the book is spot on.

I've been making my way through most of the Preston and Child novels, enjoying each in turn, so I thought it was time to hunt down some of their individual efforts. My local library happened to have Blasphemy on the shelves, which came home with me for a few days.

This is a very well written book. Not only is it intriguing, it weaves in several themes, allegories, allusions and straight up social commentaries. At the same time it is a fast paced thriller. I really enjoyed it.

Of course the title is likely to make some people a little nervous about reading the book. It should be made clear that The Flying Spaghetti Monster is not mentioned, nor is his noodliness likely to be happy with the religious show more comments - beer and pirates are not mentioned once. No doubt some will be offended, especially if they swear blind that Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins have horns and pitch forks. Everyone else will enjoy this interesting and fast paced novel. show less

Some books I call "popcorn reading" because they are fun and quick to consume, while providing a minimum of nutritional value - which isn't to say that popcorn reading lacks worth, just that it's really not brain food, and there's nothing really wrong with that. Reading should be enjoyable. One of my favourite types of "popcorn" is chick lit. And some popcorn actually provides food for thought, like Mitch Albom's books, but absorption doesn't require much effort and the thoughts come easily. The thriller category also has a preponderance of popcorn. And with Blasphemy, you get the jumbo sized popcorn with a candy bar. Think movie. This was an ultimate popcorn experience. At Red Mesa, Arizona, tunnelled deep inside the mountains, mad(?) show more genius Gregory North Hazelius heads up the government-funded Isabella Project. Isabella, the most super supercomputer ever built, is at the heart of a mammoth, enormously powerful particle accelerator built to smash together subatomic particles, unleashing energies last created during the Big Bang. We dive immediately into intimations of danger - what if Isabella creates a black hole? The first run - Isabella is not responding as anticipated - Hazelius insists on continuing - and then, as Isabella and the particles scream in the tunnels - contact with another being. What is this being - the work of a hacker or maybe God? Add to the plot: Wyman Ford, ex-CIA, sent by the US government to find out what is really going on; Navajos protesting the mega project in their backyard; Reverend Don T. Spates, a slimy fundamentalist preacher experiencing sagging revenues; and Pastor Russ Eddy, one of the scariest religious fanatics I've ever met in print. There's blasphemy of all kinds in this book as well as fanatics of all persuasions who converge at Red Mesa. Can science be perverting our humanity or are the scientists showing the way to God? It all comes to a, well, roaring conclusion. Most enjoyable, easily consumed, and yes, thought-provoking. show less

In an attempt to learn the secret of the Big Bang, the moment of creation itself, scientists have built the largest supercollider in the world. Hidden in a mountain in Red Mesa, Arizona, the supercollider accelerates particles to very high energies that could either reveal the mysteries of creation or suck the earth into a mini black hole. Torus is run by the world’s most powerful supercomputer, a creation of physicist Gregory North Hazelius. The supercomputer, known as Isabella, is ostensibly seeking new forms of energy, but her creator secretly hopes to be able to talk with God.
But there are problems with delays, cost overruns, power issues, computer hitches. When Isabella is fully powered, she “behaves” strangely . . . and then show more something tries to communicate with the scientists.

Worried about secrets being kept by the scientists, Washington sends former CIA-turned private investigator Wyman Ford to find out what is going on in Arizona. As the word about Isabella and the supercollider experiments spread, there are folks ready to stir up trouble, inciting the masses with fearful prognostications and fanaticism. And, as emotions intensify, what will happen when the inevitable occurs and the scientists clash with the religious right?

With its techno-thriller plot filled with unexpected revelations, readers will find this book difficult to set aside. True-to-life characters keep the narrative on track, offering much food for thought as the story plays out.

In this fictional tale, it’s not about which faction is “right;” it’s about readers suspending disbelief and accepting the fictional premise and, as the narrative unfolds, seeing where the journey takes them. Good writing makes readers consider, makes them speculate, makes them think.

Readers are apt to find themselves glad they took the journey.

Recommended. show less

The world's most powerful particle accelerator, Isabella, buried deep in an Arizona mountain is the most expensive machine ever built. The purpose of the machine is to explore what happened at the moment of creation, but there is a fear that it may suck the earth into a miniature black hole.

Against a backdrop of rising concern about the money spent, the team of 12 scientists led by Gregory North Hazelius is under increasing pressure to demonstrate the value of the project. In addition there are rising Christian fundamentalist views that the plan is a satanic attempt to disprove the book of Genesis, as well as concerns about the project by the Navajo people (on whose reservation the site is located). There seem to be problems in getting show more Isabella on line and Wyman Ford is implanted within the team to report back to government about what is really happening.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The setting is interesting. The characters are unique. There is a good plot and plenty of twists. If you like Preston and Child's other novels, you will like this one as well. It kept my interest through the entire story right until the end. Thought provoking theories are presented. It's very much worth a read. show less