Blasphemy

By: Douglas Preston

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

In Douglas Preston's Blasphemy, 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…

©2007 Splendide Mendax, Inc. (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Listeners are in exceedingly capable hands - Sowers never lets us down. He weaves together the complex subplots of what happens when science and religion collide.” —AudioFile

“When a talented reader narrates a spellbinding story by a consistently powerful author, great things happen in the audio world. Scott Sowers nails the suspense of Preston's latest novel; listeners will be grabbed from the very first line of this 'ripped from the headlines' story of science and religion clashing, with tragic results...Preston never fails to deliver a first-rate thriller, and with Sowers providing the outstanding narrative, listeners are in for a non-stop - and thought-provoking audio experience.” —Library Journal, starred review

Flop From Favorite Author

Blasphemy, from a favorite popular author of mine, is a very hackneyed work. If you have read (or watched movies) very widely, you'll find this a warmed-over caricature - even shallow by comparison - of better books. I suspect Preston erroneously believes that in targeting Christianity he has displayed considerable courage. But the result is very trite and juvenile: good Navajos, good scientists, bad Christians. That's about it. Stick with his other stuff.

Preston's worse book

Having read every other book by this author, I was surprised and disappointed by the inanity of the plot, and the overall poor writing. What appalled me, however, was the use of stereotyping for all the characters. The Christians were murderous fanatics, the Native American were poor and mystical, the scientists were too intelligent to be practical and the government was inept. The book was one of the most mean-spirited and bigoted books I have ever listened. I could not finish the book.

Ho-hum

Blasphemy starts off well but by mid-listen it is borderline boring and very predictable. I wouldn't recommend this to friends that are looking for a stimulating listen with plot twists and turns.

Not his best work

I'm not sure if its the actual writing or the narration of the book that I'm not enjoying. While I do enjoy the Inspector Pendergast novels written by Lincoln & Child, I am not finding this book as engrossing. The dialogue seems contrived. I do have to give him points for dumbing down some of the scientific aspects of the novel; I have absolutely no background in quantum physics but am able to follow what is going on quite easily.

The narrator is horrible. Awful. Very nasal voice, not much range for the differing characters. I will stay away from his readings in the future.

Poor

Excellent narrator. Interesting topic, but poor story structure.

Blasphemous to both Christians and scientists

Spoilers ahead: This book is offensive to both Christians and scientists alike - asking the former to hear horrid offensive language about Christ while portraying all Christians as money grabbers or ignorant cultists. At the same time, the story portrays a large group of scientists as being willing to subvert their scientific principals and intellects in order to create an enormous scientific lie. As both a Christian and a scientist, I recommend a hard pass on this novel.

waste of time

I have read or listened to most of the books by the team of Preston and Childs. Preston without Childs is very weak. This book was too far-fetched to even be fun. Don't bother.

Subterranean and subpar

I am a long-time fan of the previous novels by this duo, but found this one nowhere near the quality. I loved "Wyman Ford" in "Tyrannosaur Canyon," but the Wyman in this book is a far cry from the wise and intricate character of "Tyrannosaur." We are listening to this book exclusively to hear how it turns out, and never anticipate the need to hear it again. There are many other audio books out there that are very enjoyable, including previous Preston-Child books. We enjoy them over and over, particularly Michael Connelly's works, but won't revisit this one. It drags, it preaches, and almost all of the characters are reprehensible. Only the Navajos are interesting in this potboiler. I love science fiction, or science faction as the case may be, but this one is simply the dregs of a plot. I await the return of Agent Pendergast, who will hopefully keep control of his story. If returning characters could sue their authors, Wyman Ford would have an excellent case.

Entertaining

Interesting story with an unforseen ending.

Anti-religious Bigot

What would have made Blasphemy better?

Focus on an antagonist that is not a cardboard cutout of a person representing religion (with which the author clearly has a beef)

What was most disappointing about Douglas Preston’s story?

characters are stereotypes

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

anger

Any additional comments?

Don't waste your time