Spectacular!!!!
#10 Anyone who knows me knows that the debate between science and religion sets my hair on fire for various reasons. So imagine my glee when I found Douglas Preston's newest novel, Blasphemy:
The novel is about a new government project - a particle accelerator designed to reconstruct the Big Bang. Sashed away in a mountain in Arizona, the project is on a Navajo reservation under a deal made without the approval of the people there, making the Navajo residents angry. By some political manipulation, a televangelist gets wind of the project and riles his flock up about the government trying to abolish Christianity, making the more radical Evangelicals angry. Meanwhile, there are big problems inside the mountain in which the particle accelerator is operated, making for even more trouble for the scientists inside....everything is in this one. Politics, philosophy, murder, emotion...before I give away too much, I'll cut
When the computer running the system claims to be God and can answer deeply personal questions posed by the scientists, all hell breaks loose. There are serious questions here. Preston puts forth the idea that religion has served its purpose and now science is the way to find the truth that religion has always seeked. It's an interesting thought. Frankly I'm a bit surprised this one hasn't caused the furor of The DaVinci Code. The plot is at least as controversial as that one. The fervid religious followers don't come across as the rosiest people. Then again, neither does the government. That's gotta be enough to upset some folks. Perhaps this just hasn't had enough press.
I've read some of the Preston/Child books but I think this may be my first by Preston himself. Huzzah! Another author to follow! This may be my favorite book so far this year. No doubt I'll read it again someday. It's worth pondering.
The novel is about a new government project - a particle accelerator designed to reconstruct the Big Bang. Sashed away in a mountain in Arizona, the project is on a Navajo reservation under a deal made without the approval of the people there, making the Navajo residents angry. By some political manipulation, a televangelist gets wind of the project and riles his flock up about the government trying to abolish Christianity, making the more radical Evangelicals angry. Meanwhile, there are big problems inside the mountain in which the particle accelerator is operated, making for even more trouble for the scientists inside....everything is in this one. Politics, philosophy, murder, emotion...before I give away too much, I'll cut
When the computer running the system claims to be God and can answer deeply personal questions posed by the scientists, all hell breaks loose. There are serious questions here. Preston puts forth the idea that religion has served its purpose and now science is the way to find the truth that religion has always seeked. It's an interesting thought. Frankly I'm a bit surprised this one hasn't caused the furor of The DaVinci Code. The plot is at least as controversial as that one. The fervid religious followers don't come across as the rosiest people. Then again, neither does the government. That's gotta be enough to upset some folks. Perhaps this just hasn't had enough press.
I've read some of the Preston/Child books but I think this may be my first by Preston himself. Huzzah! Another author to follow! This may be my favorite book so far this year. No doubt I'll read it again someday. It's worth pondering.