Blasphemy
by Douglas Preston
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Book Reviews of Blasphemy
Book Review: Preston is a most beloved rabble rouser
Summary: 5 Stars
The negative reviews for Douglas Preston's books amaze me, considering that Preston AND Lincoln Child are probably the brightest, most interesting writers to reach popularity within the last ten or fifteen years.
Consider this: Blasphemy (the cover colors remind me of L. Ron Hubbard's books, by the way, which I think is no coincidence) deals with the fanatical right, but also the fanatical left, creating, as his main plot point, a matter/anti-matter showdown not only from the super-collider, but between the two extremes.
The novel is a page-turner, and although the protagonists seem to be the scientists, they are also the antagonists, as is the theme of many of Preston's books.
Preston is definitely a beloved rabble-rouser of the finest caliber, with an educational and experiential background that supports his own beliefs and research that makes the fiction plausible.
Personally, this is the first writer to interest me in thrillers, because I'm not a fancier of Clancy-like books. However, in both Preston's and Child's books, I've been enjoying the refreshingly intelligent writing and the stirring of thought generated, even when I disagree with the premise at times.
Definitely worth the money and time. I don't waste either with bad writers.
Book Review: Foolish Depiction of Large Scale Science
Summary: 1 Stars
Douglas Preston's "Blasphemy" depicts the world's most powerful new particle accelerator, costing 40 billion dollars, as being operated by only twelve people (only ten scientists plus a gonzo security agent and a dippy psychologist) with no support staff and no guards (other than the one bozo). No electrical communication with the outside is allowed from the underground area of the accelerator during its operation because, so we're told, somebody could use the electronic communication system to hack into the accelerator mainframe computers, even though scientists would obviously have a physically separate communications system if hacking were a concern. Of the 12 people, three of the female scientists are beautiful; two of them "hit" on one of the male main characters. They all talk at a scientifically superficial level, often without skepticism. When the particle accelerator is operating at full capacity, it shakes the entire mountain under which it's constructed, and whines and screams loudly. The plot's conclusion is wildly foolish, totally unbelievable, contrary to the character of a Nobel Prize Winner. The Evangelical Christians are cardboard cutouts depicted as stupid and superficial in every way. And finally, the control room of the accelerator is described as having been consciously built like the "bridge" of the Star Trek Enterprise.Book Review: Think this is fantasy? There's more here than meets the eye!
Summary: 4 Stars
I was half-way through this creative tale, and enjoying the fantasy of a super collider being built in the midst of Indian reservations in New Mexico, when a current news story really made it all immediately plausible. Did you know that the large Hadron Collider is being built near Geneva, Switzerland? That it has attracted some of the top scientists in the world, and that the U. S. is participating? Like our scientists in Blasphemy, they are working on simulating the conditions after the Big Bang! Douglas Preston was certainly inspired by this effort in coming up with Blasphemy, and that definitely explains how he managed to come up with such impressive technological descriptions of the equipment and how it works. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and really got into some fast page-turning toward the end. Did the premise cause me to dig deep into my spiritual convictions? Did I spend any time trying to decide whether or not this was an experiment God would want us to mess around with. No, I just enjoyed the "what if" musings coupled with thinking about what must be going on in Switzerland. If you need something to get stirred up about, google "Large Hadron Collider" and read about how far along they are. If you just want to read a good story - one you'll think about for some time after you put the book down, read, Blasphemy!Book Review: The words of Isabella is the best part.
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Book Review: Extraordinary in its message of the ordinary
Summary: 4 Stars
The book was a little hard to get into at first until you hit the middle. Preston's character development was not his best. But what an underlying message. He sanctifies the Native Americans a little bit, which I don't think is fair because they are not held harmless in history either, but nonetheless it was a very intelligent story.
I found the truths in this work fiction of fiction to be terrifying. It was like reading "THE HOT ZONE" only with respect to the religious factions in this world. What could be, what is so close to being, what the internet and email makes possible... etc.
Having just finished reading "THE END OF FAITH", I was surprised to learn the topic of "BLASPHEMY". It seemed quite a coincidence. But I was not disappointed by Preston's BLASPHEMY. Because in the end, here we are screwing up again, people with huge egos, crazy mixed up humans, looking for bigger meaning. That poor Kate. So sad and tragic. Such a sad bunch. And the references to scientology were subtle and pertinent. All so sad. All the worlds religions preaching peace, harmony, goodwill. And all so ready to persecute and kill each other. I enjoyed this book. It was not as fun a joy-ride as his usual work, but it was worthwhile.