Blasphemy | 
| Author: Douglas Preston
Publisher: Forge Books
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  129 reviews
Sales Rank: 2244
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0765311054
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780765311054
ASIN: 0765311054
Publication Date: January 8, 2008
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Condition: FAST SHIPPING! SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! BUILDING OUR REPUTATION ON YOUR SATISFACTION.. Book is brand NEW.. Dustjacket is torn on bottom next to spine, a few page corners have been turned down...smudge on edges of pages
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Product Description
The world's biggest supercollider, locked in an Arizona mountain, was built to reveal the secrets of the very moment of creation: the Big Bang itself. The Torus is the most expensive machine ever created by humankind, run by the world’s most powerful supercomputer. It is the brainchild of Nobel Laureate William North Hazelius. Will the Torus divulge the mysteries of the creation of the universe? Or will it, as some predict, suck the earth into a mini black hole? Or is the Torus a Satanic attempt, as a powerful televangelist decries, to challenge God Almighty on the very throne of Heaven? Twelve scientists under the leadership of Hazelius are sent to the remote mountain to turn it on, and what they discover must be hidden from the world at all costs. Wyman Ford, ex-monk and CIA operative, is tapped to wrest their secret, a secret that will either destroy the world…or save it. The countdown begins…
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| Customer Reviews: Read 124 more reviews...
 This is the best book I have ever read July 5, 2008
I wish that human belief could be like this. I want to believe. This book is amazing and incredibly relevant to what's going on in America with regard to fundamentalism and with the rest of the world. Everyone should definitely read it. I could not recommend it more highly!
 Eminently Returnable July 3, 2008
I only made it 60% of the way through this dispiritingly biased blend of bad science and cartoonish characters before returning it, making it only the second book that I have returned to a seller (the first being Hal Duncan's "Vellum: The Book of All Hours").
Smug anti-science Christians and smug anti-Christian scientists are the two factions at odds in Mr. Preston's latest novel, which was considerably less enjoyable than the stupefyingly awful Tyrannosaur Canyon. Christians, Mr. Preston reminds us, fall into two categories: hypocritical, self-important TV preachers and rabid, irrational, self-deluding small-town clergymen. Scientists, happily, all fit a single profile - brilliant, credulous, atheist misfits. Thank you, Mr. Preston, for clearing that up for us.
I confess that I am utterly mystified by the gross inaccuracies in the particle accelerator physics in this book. Neither Mr. Preston nor his editors apparently saw fit to consult with an actual high energy physicist to check basic facts, terms, and procedures used in collider research. It is a shame that this already mediocre novel be dragged down further for want of a physicist with a red pen and a rough draft.
I could have managed to overlook all of that (with a little effort, mind you). I was willing to press on, stay the course and finish Blasphemy, until I read the following lines from the hypocritical TV preacher
"...God is clearly withdrawing his protective hand over America..."
"...To the pagans and the abortionists, to the feminists and the homosexuals, the ACLU - all who are trying to secularize America - I point a finger in their face and say, 'When the next terror attack comes, it will be your fault...'"
If Mr. Preston cannot be bothered to create lifelike characters in a believable and accurate setting, the least he could do is to write his own dialog instead of borrowing from our own real-life smug, anti-science TV preacher, Jerry Falwell. (Yes, I understand that the character is quoting Falwell. Mr. Preston gets 10 points for verisimilitude, but zero points for class and originality.)
 A superb thriller that is DEFINITELY destined for mixed reviews! June 28, 2008
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
Isabella is a giant superconducting supercollider particle accelerator, the most expensive and probably the largest scale scientific experiment ever devised by man, designed to examine the state of the universe at the very moment of its creation, mere millionths of a second after the explosion of the Big Bang. Isabella is supposed to be the poster child achievement of a president in the final months of his first term in office so it's a major political concern when it consistently fails to operate as it's supposed to. Presidential science advisor, Stanton Lockwood, sends in ex-CIA agent Wyman Ford undercover as an anthropologist to root out the problem and report back. So what would one expect from the pen of the likes of best-selling author Douglas Preston - nothing less than the supercharged, high speed, dynamic, breathless thriller that he has consistently produced for his fans. "Blasphemy" doesn't let them down!
If one bothers to look at a novel like "Blasphemy" with a literary eye, an English major might suggest the over-riding them is "conflict" - the perennial dispute between science and religion (fundamentalist right wing Christians led by bible-thumping southern televangists call the scientists "secular humanists" who believe that the universe was created by accident without the guiding hand of an all-powerful God); the ongoing difficulties between North American aboriginal peoples and white politicians with the endless string of broken promises, broken treaties, land disputes and governance problems; and, of course, the endless conflict between big budget science and the exigencies of modern life's demands on politics and politicians.
I enjoyed Preston's homespun philosophy and his attempt to portray the possibility that science may ultimately BE the modern religion of choice. His suggestion that the Big Bang was not in conflict with creationism and the existence of God, that the Big Bang was only the obtuse and perhaps ultimately inscrutable method chosen for creation by a God whose motives and philosophy are beyond our ken, certainly matched my own thinking. But Preston certainly will not have created any friends among the fundamentalist Christians. His portrayal of their religion as a collection of fanatical wild-eyed zealots willing to label even Roman Catholics as idolaters destined for the endless torment of Hell because of their reverence for Mary was perhaps a trifle overbearing.
If this review can help, I'll make a suggestion. If you class yourself as a member of the fundamentalist Christian movement in North America, do yourself a favour. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! It will only give you an ulcer.
That said, Preston has produced one heck of a thriller that doesn't fail to pull its readers from one page to the next for even the briefest second. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
A Masterpiece June 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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?
I waited for nothing. June 22, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I pre-ordered this book anticipating another great read from a member of the Preston/Child team. What a disaster! This could have been a good story if Preston hadn't spun off on a radical, political tangent.
The only reason I forced myself to finish this novel was to find out how Preston was going to resolve the grotesque portrayal of Christians. He never did resolve it, so I must conclude that Preston actually believes this prattle. Move over, God. We're now going to worship the physical laws that you created instead of you. Way off target, Douglas.
I pitched the book in the trash when I was finished. Usually, I donate books to the local library, but I couldn't bring myself to do that to any other readers. Unfortunately, from now on I'm going to be skeptical about purchasing even another Preston/Child novel. Sorry, Linc.
Doug, the last line you wrote was, "You will know the truth. And the truth shall make you free." Obviously, you haven't found it yet, but I encourage to keep looking.
SVC
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