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| View Larger Image | Blasphemy
by Douglas Preston
| | List Price: | $25.95 | | Price: | $15.10 | | You Save: | $10.85 (42%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 12795 | | Studio: | Forge Books | | | Binding: | Hardcover | | Number Of Pages: | 416 | | Publication Date: | January 08, 2008 | | Publisher: | Forge Books |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
The world's biggest supercollider, locked in an Arizona mountain, was built to reveal the secrets of the very moment of creation: the Big Bang itself. The Torus is the most expensive machine ever created by humankind, run by the world’s most powerful supercomputer. It is the brainchild of Nobel Laureate William North Hazelius. Will the Torus divulge the mysteries of the creation of the universe? Or will it, as some predict, suck the earth into a mini black hole? Or is the Torus a Satanic attempt, as a powerful televangelist decries, to challenge God Almighty on the very throne of Heaven? Twelve scientists under the leadership of Hazelius are sent to the remote mountain to turn it on, and what they discover must be hidden from the world at all costs. Wyman Ford, ex-monk and CIA operative, is tapped to wrest their secret, a secret that will either destroy the world…or save it. The countdown begins… |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.0 based on 140 reviews)
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What garbage! 
Love the Pendergast novels, but this one isn't worth the trouble. It will offend everyone and it's laborious to get through.
September 01, 2008 | |
The words of Isabella is the best part. 
Ok, I started this book because LHC is about to go online and I'm a Relics fan. Unfortunately this book is not as good as I have hoped. The story is slow (it did pick up pace near the end, but not a lot), and the storyline of the televangelist/pastor is rather boring. The lead scientist's resume is way over the top and sounds like a character from a bad science fiction novel. 10(?) people running a 40 billion dollar project occupying a mountain is not believable, and we didn't get any interesting details of the accelerator itself.
There are also some rather disturbing plotholes which remain unaddressed. I'm not going to spill the details, but suffice to say the author underestimated the power of the scientific method. A crticial requirement for a scientific discovery is repeatability, after you made the big announcement, others would want to repeat what you have done, and if they can't repeat it, your credibility in the science community would be in serious trouble. This would easily crash the scheme in the novel, even if it may take another 40 billion dollars.
In the end, I found the best part of the novel is what Isabella says, you don't have to agree with it, but it's a fun reading for anyone with a science/technology background.
August 28, 2008 | |
Hard to Put Down for Anyone Interested in Religion and Science 
Over-the-top, maybe but painfully true. This book strikes a responsive chord for anyone not trying to deny the history of fundamentalist Christianity. I ended up suspending everything until I finished this book.
In addition to being a great mystery and a great read, this book gives you a lot to think about.
Highly recommended, especially today.
August 23, 2008 | |
Religion vs Science
This is a decent book with some unsettling thoughts about life, humans and the relationship of science and religion. As I read the book it dawned on me that this could be a fictionalized account supporting a version of Stuart Kauffman's Reinventing the Sacred. Dr Kauffman, an researcher of emergent properties, attempts to bring together the separate belief systems of science and revealed religion in general in his book, although he is partial to the science side throughout.
The imagines in Preston's book are unsettling, especially of the fanatical masses attempting to destroy what they don't or won't understand. It reminds me of the villagers trying to destroy Boris Karloff's Frankenstein in his old monster movie.
Also, the idea of establishing a new religion through fraud is compelling although the tools worked beyond expectations. The references to L. Ron Hubbard and various other religious figures is interesting, although he doesn't reference Joseph Smith which might have been a good comparsion considering his own martyrdom.
I rated it as a 3 out of 5 because I felt it lacked something and I can't really put my finger on it.
August 14, 2008 | |
If a book ever deserved 5 stars its this one! 
Seriously I recommend you do whatever you can to get a hold of specifically the AUDIO BOOK version. The narrator was fantastic in the varous voices he created ranging from Navaho Indians, to a southern televangelist and even a Borne Agan Biker. His voice for Gregory North Hezalious was particularly memorable though he sounded a lot like Sandi Griffin from Daria LOL. Truly though it was great book to listen too...the climax made feel like I was watching rather than listening to a very exciting movie. The audio version brings this book alive.
Trust me you will enjoy it.
August 07, 2008 | |
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