Product Description

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15396 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-08
• Released on: 2008-01-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Like Isabella, a giant superconducting supercollider particle accelerator, the thought-provoking new thriller from bestseller Preston (Tyrannosaur Canyon) takes a while to power up, but once it does, this baby roars. The ostensible goal of Isabella's creator, physicist Gregory North Hazelius, is to discover new forms of energy, but what he really wants is to talk to God. The project, located inside Red Mesa (a five-hundred-square-mile tableland on the Navajo Indian Reservation), is behind schedule, so presidential science adviser Stanton Lockwood hires ex-CIA man Wyman Ford to go to Red Mesa and find out what's causing the holdup. Meanwhile, a Navajo medicine man, a televangelist and a pastor who runs a failed mission on the reservation are gearing up to pull the plug on Isabella before she destroys the earth. Science has often tangled with religion in this genre, but Preston puts his own philosophical spin on the usual proceedings, and when he gets his irate villagers with their burning torches headed for the castle, the pages simply fly.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
Praise for Blasphemy: "This baby roars... the pages simply fly."--Publishers Weekly

"Highly recommended... Preston joins Michael Crichton as a master of suspenseful novels that tackle controversial issues in the realm of science."--Library Journal

"An unusually alarming and thoughtful thriller... Clever and terrifying."--Kirkus “A superb read! Blasphemy is both thoughtful and flat-out entertainment--a page-turning thriller about science and religion in which good and evil collide at the speed of light. You'll be up all night with this book.”--Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of The Sleeping Doll

"Science versus religion--the ultimate crunch.  Douglas Preston has written The Novel of the Year, an extraordinary, unique, fascinating, wildly imaginative mix of thriller, satire, Sci Fi, and every other genre in the book.  Blasphemy--you're going to love it."—Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassin

"Terrifyingly realistic.  An electrifying page turner.  Preston at his very best."--Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, New York Times bestselling author of Revenge of Innocents

"With Blasphemy, Douglas Preston has finally gone too far. One way or another, I'm afraid he may burn for this book."—Lincoln Child, New York Times bestselling author of Deep Storm “Blasphemy takes the latest theories of physics and pits them against the ancient religious beliefs that they now threaten, in an explosive, hell-bent and finally deeply moving book that I doubt I will ever forget. It literally made me pace as I contemplated the ideas that crackle through these pages, and it gave me pause as I realized that the physics here is so close to reality that the face of God that appears in this book may soon be, in real life, before us all.”—Whitley Strieber, New York Times bestselling author of 2012: The War For Souls “In Blasphemy, Preston rips the toga off God, and what remains is simply the answer to the most profound question of human existence...why are we here?  A stunningly great read.”—W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA Today bestselling authors of People of the Nightland and the novels of North America's Forgotten Past

“Blasphemy is one hell of a good book. I couldn't stop reading, and at the end I had to force myself to slow down!”—David Hagberg, winner of three American Mystery Awards and USA Today bestselling author of Dance With the Dragon

“Preston has taken a fascinating concept and implemented it brilliantly. It's one of those books you think and talk about after you've finished it. I loved the characters. Even the sleazy ones were well-done.  Science meets religion with a side order of politics. The mixture is explosive!”—Larry Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Dangerous Ground

“Can science discover God? Blasphemy is a stunningly ambitious novel that lives up to its goals. The theme is nothing less than the question: Is science the new religion?”—Barbara D’Amato, Edgar Award Winner and author of Death of a Thousand Cuts

About the Author
DOUGLAS PRESTON is the co-author with Lincoln Child of the famed Pendergast series of novels, including such bestselling titles as The Book of the Dead and The Wheel of Darkness, as well as The Relic, which was made into a number one box office hit movie. His solo novels include Jennie, made into a movie by Disney, and New York Times bestsellers The Codex and Tyrannosaur Canyon.

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Customer Reviews

After CERN
How could someone who remember CERN this past summer and
not love this novel is beyond me.
It even helps you understand a lot about what CERN is all all about.
It's a shame we have to wait till next year before CERN is
turning it on again.
This is a GREAT NOVEL!!

A Fantastic Read
This book will definitely give you "food for thought". I thoroughly enjoyed it and could hardly put it down between reading. It's suspenseful, intriguing and downright scary. It's makes you fully realize how fanatical one of the most popular religions in our country (USA) can be. It is truly a fantastic read.

Guilty Pleasure for Amateur Science Nerds
Blasphemy is a Douglas Preston novel that tells the tale of a group of scientists working on the Isabella, the newest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world. Along the way they encounter problems from the local Navajo, some Christian fundamentalists, and a machine that provides a great mystery.

With the excitement surrounding the new particle accelerator at CERN, this book caught my eye. It mixes a lot of up-to-date issues in our world. The constant moral and ideological struggle between science and religion. The politics of Washington from powerful lobbyists to shady backroom dealings. It finds a way to blend these cultural clashes that play out in our headlines everyday.

From a story perspective, I thought the first half was gripping. The characters were well developed (although heavily stereotyped) and the buildup toward the climax was great. Unfortunately, the second half of the book does "jump the shark" at times and gets really outlandish. I can give the book some leniency on the science issues as it is a thriller, but some of the personal relationships develop in a way that will have you rolling your eyes.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed it. It's an easy read that will keep you in suspense. The science in it isn't too deep and will surely peak the interest of any amateur physics fan. Most importantly though, it tells an interesting story of our cultural conflicts from the extreme perspectives of our society.

I'd also note that this book does not bash religion. I think it portrays scientists, politicians, and lobbyists in just as negative connotations. The book is about the extremes on each side of the ideological fence. It's about egotistical, greedy people poisoning their respected fields of study. But most of all, it's a fictional story with fictional characters. If every character in every book was toned down as to not offend a particular race, religion, ethnicity, etc; reading novels would be a bore.