Blasphemy by Douglas Preston Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Blasphemy
Book Review: A Novel of "Big Ideas" that comes up short
Summary: 3 Stars
Douglas Preston, along with his frequent collaborator, Lincoln Child, has written some of the more memorable science-based thrillers of the past decade. The novels involving their very original protaganist, FBI Agent Pendergast, usually are well plotted, expertly paced, and written with scares and some of the supernatural in mind. With Blasphemy, Preston's third major novel without Child, the ideas and the plot is there, but the pacing is weak and the story a bit much even for a Sci-fi fan like myself.
The novel centers around a former CIA-agent turned monk turned PI with the unlikely name of Wyman Ford. He is tasked by the President's Science Advisor to investigate what is happening at Isabella, the largest Superconducting Supercollider in the world, a project that the President has hung his legacy on and that has cost the US taxpayers billions of dollars. Isabella, it seems, is not working as it should, and Congress is threatening to pull funding. Unless Ford can get the team of scientists at the site to admit what the real problems are, the project may be doomed.
The Isablla project is run by the enigmatic Dr. Hazelius, a super-genius who is trying to recreate the conditions of the Big Bang so that science can learn more about the creation of the Universe, and other big scientific questions. Hazelius is probably the best written character in the novel, as all of his motivations and actions, as they are revealed, make a very good logical sense. He feels like a real person, not just like a character in the book.
The problem with Blasphemy is that Hazelius is the only really well-defined character. Ford, essentially spying on the scientists, is at first only in it for the money, but his heart changes when he discovers the ex Love of his Life is one of the chief researchers. His character acts mostly as a sounding board for the other characters to run through the philisophical and theological arguments that come up in the book.
The theological elements are also a problem. The book is trying to start a debate about how and if religion and science can coexist. The Isabella project is under verbal assault from a televangelist who feels like a cross between Jim Bakker and Jerry Falwell, and who never seems like more than a cipher than a real character. He's obstensably the villian of the piece, but he's such a caricature it's hard to take him seriously or what his actions lead to seriously either, and since his actions spur the last third of the book, I found my interest in the novel waning. The religion vs. science debate is a debate worth having, but Preston makes the mistake of setting up strawman arguments for the science side to strike down, and then escallating the religious wackos into militant crazies by the final act.
There are too many threads running around and the message that Preston is sending, while noble in my eyes, is lost in the poor characterization and motivation for both the hero's and the villains. The action is well described and the book reads quickly, but I would recommend a visit to the library for this one over a purchase. Preston may have a great novel in him yet, but this is not it.
Book Review: A Ridiculous Non-Scientific - Poorly Written Religious Book
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this book hoping to experience life inside a particle accelerator with scientific insight into the experiments, philosophy and purpose of spending billions of dollars on these projects. Instead I read a book about religion and a poor one at that. The author doesn't know about Christianity or the true beliefs, instead he just takes the worst examples and perversions, then exaggerates them, until you hate every Christian. What is the "Blasphemy"? God spoke and BIG BANG! Do you think everything just fell into place randomly? The premise of the book is ridiculous! God talking through a computer and the "words" of God are ridiculous. The ending is even more ridiculous. Confirming that reading this book is a big waste of time!
Book Review: A Ripping Good Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
I was never a reader of Douglas Preston until I came across his novel, Tyrannosaur Canyon, by mistake. I read it and, I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed. So, when I saw this one, I hesitated. Still, as I read the dust jacket, the idea sounded so fascinating that I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did because this is a fun, interesting novel.
This book fits nicely into the religion vs. science debate that continues to rage today. More like Dan Brown's Angels & Demons than The Da Vinci Code, Blasphemy pits a group of damaged scientists against a cadre of fundamentalist Christians. I don't want to give to much away for potential readers but let me just say that the basic premise is this: the world's biggest superconducting supercollider has been built on Native American land in Arizona where it is run in secret by a dozen scientists. In response to their secrecy, religious groups begin to questions what is going on out in the desert. Because the scientists have discovered something they did not expect, the tension is heightened, inevitably leading to a clash.
Once you've suspended your belief for the premise--that a group rather unstable scientists are left alone to run multi-billion dollar equipment with no oversight--the rest plays out rather nicely. The characters Mr. Preston develops are well-drawn and act as you would expect them to. No outrageous actions that kill the plot here. And, ultimately, Mr. Preston is trying to put to question the meaning of faith, both in science and religion, bringing out the similarities between the two modes of understanding. In this he succeeds rather nicely. Along the way, he illustrates the power of belief over the cynicism of knowing.
All in all, it is a twisting corkscrew that digs into the heart of both religion and science. On top of that, it's a ripping good story that Mr. Preston handles very well with none of the weaknesses of straining against reality that I saw in his previous novel. I highly recommend this one as tops in its genre.
Book Review: A Rollicking Read
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a decent science fiction novel about scientists making a machine that talks to God. It's got some faults. A bit slow getting started (the page-turny-ness cranks up after the first 100 pages), some thin characters, and a SciFi idea that stumbles toward the end and could have been pushed farther. But by the end, it's strengths win out - it's a rollicking read that recovers nicely with a satisfying resolution, that has the added plus of possibly upsetting a few radical Christian fundamentalists. An enjoyable SciFi ride and it's Good Fun!Book Review: A fictional look at Science verses Christianity
Summary: 5 Stars
Bottom line, I loved it. I didn't see the obvious holes, but could understand why the author is getting bashed. It's a science verses Christianity thing. I've noticed such books get stoned, so I tend to not listen to the negative reviews. For me, it's an awesome audio book. But first, let me go over the key points.
Believable Story - I'm gonna say yes. I also loved the author's writing style and the dialog was so on target.
Define Characters - VERY WELL DONE! If I could give extra points here, I would.
Good Ending - Yes, I never knew how it would end and there was no dramatic climax. What the author did was have me reflect upon my own beliefs and wonder if we'll be faced with the same situation one day.
Interesting Plot - I'd say interesting and original. Of course, I am not well read, so there might be other books like this out there.
No Dry Spots - Maybe if I'd read the book, the answer would be different. The audio version kept me quietly listening to what was going to happen next. If I missed a part, I'd rewind to listen again.