Blasphemy
by Douglas Preston
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Book Reviews of Blasphemy
Book Review: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Blasphemy is as much a commentary on religion, science and fanaticism as it is a fictional novel. I finished the book at a record pace and was immensely enthralled from beginning to end. I would place this novel in my Top Five favorite works of all time as it still has me reflecting on its message and implications relating to science and religion in our world today.
In a nutshell, a group of elite, well rounded scientists from various backgrounds and expertise build an enormous supercollider named Isabella. Located in Northeast Arizona, Isabella is able to replicate the point of singularity of the "Big Bang Theory" giving further insight to the origins of the universe. The ideas are well researched and based on sound applications including quantum physics, particle theory, astronomy, etc Working against the scientists are various religious based factions claiming the project was seeking to play and replace God.
Clearly, this novel may be upsetting to Christians or anyone else of faith due to the atheistic overtones presented from the scientists as well as the results of the experiment with Isabella. I believe this is exactly what Preston intended to do since science and Christianity are often in conflict. Presented within Blasphemy is the notion Christianity has its origins from long dead primitive man whose core beliefs were predicated on primitive ideas such as propagation (old testament) and survival against a domineering culture oppressive of religious ideology (new testament).
Blasphemy is a must read for free thinkers, philosophers and any one else independent from the shackles of religion. If you are one such person who has been blinded by the biggest sham ever in the history of humanity which we call organized religion, then this book is not for you. Admittedly, I have been unsuccessful in writing an impartial review, but given the highly controversial subject matter, can anyone?
Book Review: Preston Takes Aim at a Difficult Target ...
Summary: 4 Stars
Preston's books are not only highly entertaining, they manage to increase your knowledge database at the same time. The same goes for the "Pendergast series" he writes with Lincoln child. In Blasphemy, Preston's massive particle collider is the physical counterpart to the book's overall theme: the collision of science and religion. Warning: If you're particulary religious and touchy about your beliefs you may find yourself offended. It isn't too difficult to tell which side of the argument Preston the writer is on.
Blasphemy is probably my personal favorite among all the books he's written. What's not to like? You've got a cadre of mega-IQ scientists holed up in a gigantic abandoned coal mine in Arizona, religious fanatics, charlatan televangelists, Washington bureaucrats, a former CIA agent with a tragic past who may or may not rediscover a lost love among the scientists. And you've got Isabella, the supercomputer in charge of the most expensive machine ever built.
The ending to a book with such a huge and powerful theme is almost bound to disappoint. It's kind of like the last book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. You just know that whatever's in the tower can't match your expectations. Yet I'm happy to say that in Blasphemy Preston comes pretty darn close. The ending he's constructed is very clever indeed. And satisfying.
Most of the characters I found interesting, especially Hazelius, the leader of the project and "the smartest man in the world." My only criticism has to do with Spates, "God's Prime Time" televangelist, and Crawley, the Washington lobbyist. Though engaging, these characters seemed more caricature than real. Nevertheless, this wasn't so much of a downer that it detracted from the great fun of reading the book.
Not only does Preston know how to entertain you, he knows his technolgy. I highly recommend this book.
Book Review: Excellent 'mysteries of the universe' thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
As an avid reader of thrillers, especially ones with a measure of the supernatural (these are also the types of books I like to write), Blasphemy is a book that I absolutely had to have based on the story description. It plumbs the depth of some of the most fascinating topics - the big bang, supercolliders, science & religion, the mysteries of the universe...what's not to love?! Blasphemy goes from zero to 60 in a heartbeat, the story grabs you immediately, leaves you breathless & excited to know more, more, more...
That feeling never left me, and though I would zoom through pages, there were times when I paused before going back to the book, because I knew the story would come to an end, I knew certain mysteries would be revealed, and I didn't want it to end. The story captured my imagination so vigorously, I wanted it to go & on & on...
Blasphemy is also rich in detail, both of the environment and the scientific aspects. The cast of characters is an interesting blend of various government, religious, scientific, and Navajo folks. The storylines bounce off one another at a quick pace throughout, each heightening the tension. There were a couple of holes, but forgivable ones. For me, the strongest part of the story was the philosophical ideas and arguments it proposes. These are absolutely brilliant and left me hungering for more. It explores quantum, string, entanglement theories from a very beautiful perspective, and postulates some very intriguing possibilities. I want to learn more. One of my favorite things to discover in any book or movie is an underlying theme that keeps me reflecting, pondering the deeper mysteries, asking big questions, something that gives me a sense of hope for the future, long after the story ends. Blasphemy does all of that. Douglas Preston has penned a winner. I highly recommend this book.
Rai Aren
Book Review: I'm really not sure how I feel about this book . . .
Summary: 2 Stars
"Blasphemy" is the fourth novel I've read (and reviewed) by Douglas Preston, and I'm at a bit of a loss to describe my impressions.
Wyman Ford, the monk-turned hero of "Tyrannosaur Canyon" is back investigating difficulties with the construction of a giant particle accelerator in the Arizona desert. What is interesting is that the protagonists of Preston's previous two novels Tom Broadbent and his wife are nowhere to be found. Obviously, "Blasphemy" is not really meant to be a sequel, even with the presence of Wyman Ford. But I digress.
There have been more than 200 reviews of this book before mine; therefore, I do not intend to re-hash the plot. I just have a few observations to offer.
In my comment on Patrick A. Hayden's fine review, I state that I fully agree that the debate between religion and science is a debate well worth having -- but Preston does not do the debate justice, by any stretch of the matter.
Don't get me wrong -- this is a fun book to read: fast-paced, plenty of action, etc. But Preston caricatures with far too broad a brush -- on both sides of the debate. The arguments for science vs. God are presented more along the lines of "radical atheism" vs. "radical fundamentalism" which is fair to neither position. The whole idea of religious faith being compatible with honest scientific debate is almost completely lost in this novel.
Will this novel in any way help to bridge the divide between the extremists on both sides of the debate? No. In fact, the extremists on both sides will likely use the caricatures of their opposites to further their own biases and "straw-man" arguments -- which is truly a shame.
Preston shows that he may be able to write a good thriller, but that he is out of his depth when tackling religion -- even from a skeptical point of view.
Book Review: Disappointing Effort
Summary: 3 Stars
I guess my main problem for this book would be that I just really didn't care. I'm not saying that the topic is lame or that the book is really bad but the author just didn't really develop the character or plot in a way that really made me care for either. I didn't really feel any attachment or concern for any of the characters and never really got to know them. The author has the ability to give the characters depth with some of their back stories but he just never really goes that deep into it and just sort of glosses over it and their past actions barely seem to drive them much in the present.
There are some other plot points throughout that were either not needed or some that I just thought to myself "there's no way that would happen." (Some Minor Spoilers) I mean seriously thousands of people amass in the middle of nowhere in Arizona because of a mass e-mail that went out only two hours prior. I mean come on, there's no way that many people probably even lived that close to the place and then all of a sudden there they were.
One last complaint. This book really wasn't going anywhere for about the first two-hundred pages or so. You get kind of the gist of the plot but you never really see the conflict till way in so there is no real anticipation to read further and with the really short chapter through the whole thing it was really easy for me to just say that was enough for now and put the book down.
I will say that I was a fan of Preston's last two solo works but this just seemed to fan flat and turn out to be a mediocre book at best. He is a good writer and does have some good ideas but this book just seemed rushed and he didn't let the characters and plot flesh themselves out better before he wrote and finished the book. Could of been better with some more time and a little bit more depth.